New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

[pred8tr]

I spent just over a week in Boca Ciega FL doing demo on a friends house and somewhere along the way I caught the boat bug. I am far from wealthy and very much a do-it-my-selfer so when I saw a boat and trailer on freecycle I pounced on it.

Long story short the boat was left by a tenant at a house after they moved out. After over a year in her backyard the land owner said that if you can move it you can have it. I have already started the process of retitling through the VA DGIS and if uncontested will have it wrapped up by the end of the month.

Some research with DGIS and the boat's serial number has identified it as a 1970 FISH-N-SKI 18'. The hull is ugly and covered with mold or mildew or something but it seems solid. The engine is complete but most likely not running. The trailer is rough looking but appeared solid enough to get the boat home and after replacing a tire performed that just successfully.

I don't want to sink much money into this until it's officially my boat so I would like to start by cleaning the outside of the hull... and then maybe figuring out the engines status. The boat will need a new floor, though the transom and hull both seem solid.

I've perused the forum enough to see the most common response would be to not put ANY money into this boat... and I may determine that it's indeed not worth it but so far I am thinking of this as a nautical vessel education.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Oh yeah. The pics were from before I moved it. DGIS told me that the boat was registered in VA just 4 years ago (iirc) and looking at the engine and the trailer I see signs of fairly recently replaced or repaired parts. I can wait to dig into it further.

 

[Lrider]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

And how much are you going to sink into it?

Welcome to our world

 

[mattb1974]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

You should check out the restoration threads here. Your stringers and transom are likely rotted . If there is foam it will need to be replaced. Your looking at lots of money and time just in that and you havent even scratched the surface on the engine/drive. $2k to $4k plus countless hours of work.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Wow. I've already learned something here. I guess I won't know about the stringers until I get the floor out.

To my neophyte eye and to my buddy that knows a little more about boats the transom is fine. Is there a more definitive way to test the transom? Is there a good way to test the stringers prior to floor removal?

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Don't get too discouraged before you start - you got it as a project, right? Once you get the floor up take a screwdriver and probe (jab?) the stringers. If they are mush, they are rotten. Same goes for the transom. You can also put weight on the outdrive and look for deflection of the transom (should be none or very little). Lastly, I've seen people reccomend drilling a 1/4" hole at the bottom of the transom and watch for water to come out. Good luck and have fun with it. The boat will inevitably need some tinkering, but that's half the fun!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Welcome to iboats!!

Why don't I slide this into the restoration section

Please make sure you can legally register the boat before you invest a penny

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

The good news is my certified letter got returned to me "addressee unknown" so I should have no trouble retitling the boat now.

The other good (I think) news is that I pulled up most of the floor the Monday evening... I am fairly pleased with what I see but that may be because I know not what I am looking at!

The entire wood floor was rotting and I realized once I started the only reason I wasn't falling through was the thin layer of fiberglass sitting on TOP of the wood. I pulled up all the wood except for in the far rear on either side of the engine. In the front it's all gone up to the captains seat area. I didn't get under the "dash" on either side. Forward of that is all fiberglass save a small wooded over opening connecting the under seat area and the under dash area.

I also removed the nails from the stringers.

Some questions I have are:

The stringers, (which I gather are the wood floor supports that run lengthwise from the front to the rear of the boat) feel solid mostly in that they don't compress when I pinch them together. One (the center if I recall) all the way at the end near the engine did feel just a little mushy... Well, not mushy but had some give when I squeezed it.

The part that I worry about is that while ripping the nails out one of the stringers pulled away from the hull. I assume that's really bad and indicates they need to be replaced?

It appeared that they fiberglassed over the wood floor and a little up the sides of the inner hull. I assume this is normal. Is there risk of hull damage when removing this layer of fiberglass? I got most of it but there is still some.

In places on the hull there are folds of material like a folded t-shirt. Am I correct in assuming this is where the fiberglass they put down to enclose the stringers has started to come off of the proper fiberglass hull?

Finally, the engine appears complete. All spark plugs are in place. I sprayed them with PB Blaster to make it easier to remove them. I checked the oil and it looked clean. the carb was a little stiff but all parts where present and it did move with the throttle cable so I feel good about that. The actual throttle at the captains seat was disassembled and parts missing but the cable at the engine moved freely.

The battery cables are there, the fuel tank is still connected so it looks like the engine is still complete. Only the distributor cap was removed.

I know how to change the oil in most vehicles but I don't know where I will find the drain plug on a boat. lol... so I need to review a procedure.

The steering doesn't work. Everything is there but it doesn't turn so I will need to investigate that.

I found a label on the engine designating it as a Mercruiser. It's an I4 and is labeled 120HP. I've started reviewing the Mercruiser section of the site.

Last thing I did was block up the front of the trailer really high to try and get as much water to drain as possible. Unfortunately all of it doesn't seem to want to drain. I imagine there is trash blocking it somewhere. I stuck a drum stick in the hole a few times and got more out but there is still some that runs back when I lower the boat.

Okay. Now for the pics!

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Almost forgot to post the 'best' pic... from the back pointing forward with the floor out.

 

[NoKlu]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Welcome to iboats pred8tr. It Looks like you have a complete cap off restoration on your hands. I could be wrong but I don't think too many builders used nails to hold their boats together so someone has already put at least a floor in it at some time. First thing I would do is make sure the engine and drive are still good before I did anything else. If they are shot it will be cheaper to find another boat. Put a wrench on the front pulley and see if the engine turns. If the engine is shot the drive might still be good and you can sell it and the trailer and make a few bucks off this thing. If you are in a hurry to get on the water it will cost you lots of money but if you take your time and shop around you can save money. Read the hull extension with pics thread for a little entertainment and a lot of real life ,blow by blow, restoration, ups and downs. Its long but when you are finished you will come away with a ton of knowledge and the confidence you need to bite in to this project. When oops! started that job had almost no experience and just the great people on this forum to help him. Good luck and keep the pics coming. Resize your pics to 640x480 and post them instead of the thumbnails. More of the lifers here will chime in and help if they don't have to klik on thumbnails.

 

[Isaacm1986]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

A word of caution if I may. You have a pretty good idea of what work the boat needs so I would suggest you get into the engine and drive BEFORE spending any money on the boat itself. If the engine or drive is shot you are looking at several thousands of dollars if they have to be replaced. Its far better to know that BEFORE you spend a ton of time and money on the interior of the boat.

I agree with this! Don's spend a lot of money on the boat until you have the motor and drive in good working condition.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Thanks for the input guys! Taking your advice tonight I will start reading the hull extension thread and if the rain holds off I will dig into the motor a little bit.

In junk yard motors that I've pulled before I've pulled the plugs and filled each cylinder with oil and let it set overnight prior to trying to turn it or start it.

That will be my first step here as well.

I'll pick up new plugs, oil, and filter, distributor cap, rotor, and plug wires.

Remove the fuel tank and dispose of any contents.

Remove the fuel lines and filter and drain them and try to reuse them for the run test.

So, I reckon I'm looking at around $50. Hope to know more by this weekend.

My next step is to determine what part numbers etc I need for a 1970 Mercruiser 120 wrt plugs, dist cap and rotors etc.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Good news.

The motor isn't seized. Last night I put a spare battery in the boat. I jumped the starter and it spins.

I also played with the trim and the motor spins for that as well. I didn't see if the drive section actually moved.

The throttle has been disassembled but has two cables going to it. The one for the throttle (to the carb) seems to work properly but the other of the two (forward / reverse ?) cable broke while I was freeing it.

I pulled the plugs and replaced them with new ones and today I will pick up a new rotor for the engine. The contacts on the dist cap appear unused so I will try to use it. I will attempt to start it with the existing nasty plug wires just to see if it runs. (This may not be feasible though. They are pretty bad.)

I will change the oil and filter first.
The top hose going to the water pump is water coming into the engine right? So I can run a lawn host to this input on the motor to replace the incoming water, correct?

I will have to bypass the ignition switch since I don't have a key for it but that should be easy enough with some alligator clips.

The motor has both a mechanical pump AND an electric pump in line. Is this normal on a boat motor? Are they supposed to operate simultaneously or is the electric a backup for the mechanical?

Lastly, I cleaned up some more with the wet dry vac and got more wood chips and such out of the boat.

Making progress.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

So my list for today goes like this:

Get rotor
Change oil and filter.
Find firing order
Put it all together (install rotor, cap, plug wires)

Disconnect fuel hose at tank and run to fresh fuel source.
Disconnect fuel hose at carb.
Power fuel pump to cycle out bad fuel.
Reconnect fuel hose to carb.

Hook up muffs
Try to start engine from ignition switch (using alligator clips since I have no key).

I can operate the throttle from the carb or from throttle side of the disassembled throttle so I am okay with that. What I am unsure of is how to ensure the out drive is in neutral. Is it sufficient to simply try to spin the prop by hand and if it spins it's in neutral? I've identified the rods that the shifting cable go to. If the prop doesn't spin is there a specific position I need to put these rods in?

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Changing the oil in a boat is apparently very tricky. The drain plug is near inaccessible. I've no doubt I can remove it but catching the oil will be impossible. I can't get anything between the motor and the bottom of the floor. I've googled and some people say use a small can with a trash bag rubber banded to it.

Is this a common method?

I've also read that some engines allow you to remove oil via the dipstick hole. This doesn't seem likely on my engine (though I could be wrong) since the hole is a standard and very small diameter.

Any other ideas?

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

It is common to suck the oil out through the dipstick hole. I use a vacuum oil extractor and do it that way on mine. Works fine but it is easier if you can get the oil hot. I would dump into the bildge, collect it through the transom plug, and then clean up remaining with oil adsorbent towels. Not pretty but will work for now.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

I got the oil changed. Filter, plugs, cap, rotor so I should be ready to start it but it hasn't started yet. I think my problem lies in the fact that the ignition switch is shot (ie has no key and most of the wires are disconnected). I've isolated the wire that spins the starter but I am still looking for the "ignition" wire that sends voltage to the ignition coil. Hopefully I will have this sorted out this weekend.

Next question.
I broke off the nipple on the mechanical fuel pump fighting with the oil filter. I was planning to bypass the unit entirely and just try to run the motor with the electric fuel pump.

Finally, when I was removing the electric fuel pump the plywood started to pull away from the transom. I had assumed the transom was going to be okay... but this would indicate the transom is actually shot right?

Thanks, Ron

 

[83mulligan]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Ron,

I don't want to dampen your spirits, but with what you've described (mushy stringer spots, transom pulling away) i think you'll find that you are going to have to basically gut the boat and remove all the wood and foam below the deck. Someone here posted the 10 stages of denial in boat restoration and its funny, but it's true. Once water is in those areas, its probably everywhere. Don't get discouraged though, if its a project you want to tackle, there are plenty of very good and knowledgeable people here to walk you through it. Good luck with it!

 

[jonesg]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

Well its 40 yrs old, the transom is gonzo for sure.
its a gut job.

 

[pred8tr]

Re: New Boat Owner - Deep Rehab Project. (pics)

That's actually kinda good news. I got a much better, prettier project boat to work on now... but I want to salvage as much as I can outta this one and part out the unneeded stuff.

It appears almost none of it will work on the newer boat.

Other than motor out drive and related components what should I plan to NOT throw away? The boat IS complete minus the throttle / forward reverse handle.