My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

Well, I picked her up last night, and I was overly excited as this is my first ever boat.... I had a jetski a few years ago that was more trouble than it was worth, broke down EVERY time I took it out, invariably in the middle of the lake. Swimming that beast back to shore wasn't very fun, but I guess it was good exercise or something.


ANYWAY.. I picked this little honey up at about 9pm last night, too late to take any photos or do anything else with it, and couldn't wait to get on the water today. Previous owner told me it had been out on the water at the beginning of June, and had just had a tune up on the outboard done in May, sounded like she was ready to drop in, and visual inspection didn't reveal any issues.

Well, I dropped her in the lake this morning, pushed her off the trailer, tied her to the dock and went to park the car. When I came back I noticed a bit of water in the back end, but we'll come back to that... Tried cranking it several times to no avail. It sounded like it was cranking a little slow, like the starter is weak or something, I know it's not the power as I just put a brand new battery in it on the way to the lake.

So, I mosied my way to the back with the intention of trying to use the pull start, and realized I was standing in a rather large puddle that seemed to be growing fairly quickly. So I hopped out, ran back to the car, came around and threw her back on the trailer...

I popped the drain plug and sat there for over 5 minutes watching water gush out of my new toy... Eventually it slowed and I noticed water leaking down around one of the rollers.. said to myself, "Self, where the hell could THAT be coming from?" So I investigated further and low & behold, a nice big hole where the roller was previously sitting before I dumped her in the lake.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you how disheartening it is to drop you new boat in the lake only to have her sink like a stone. I had fully intended on ripping out the floor and doing a restore over the winter but was really hoping to use her for the remainder of the season first... looks like that probably won't happen now.

Pics to follow shortly.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer





As you can see, cosmetically for a 47 year old boat it's not too shabby.. Interior will need to be redone obviously, but the seat covers aren't even all that worn.


I was curious about this.. I know the larger hole is the drain, which I have a plug for, but the smaller one is below floor level, not entirely sure if it goes all the way through or not, but it seems to me that there shouldn't be a hole all the way through the transom under the floor... SHOULD THERE?


A few rough spots where the gel coat is peeling off.. looks like they may have been repaired at some point, albeit poorly. I was a little concerned about these but figured they would hold up for the month or two I have left of the season, as they seem sound structurally, and it's more a cosmetic issue.. Now that I'm grounded for a while with the hole in the hull I might as well address these before dropping it in the water again too...

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

Speaking of the hole in the hull...

You can see if you look closely that there is an outline around the hole in the shape of that roller.. looks like it pressed through at some point while sitting on the trailer for however long it's been there. Maybe from people crawling around inside the boat or something.


Finally, here's the shape the floor was in. The glass ended right behind the rear seat that butts up against the splash well, obviously that is what initially led to the plywood delamination. The stringer that is running lengthwise is still very solid in this spot, however the cross brace just barely visible on the left edge of this photo (which is toward the bow) is all rotted, feels like its not even there, just a crumbly bit of glass with nothing behind it.

Clearly this floor needs some help, but on the plus side it's looking like I won't have to deal with any soggy foam, as thus far I haven't seen ANY. Probably will add a bit when I lay down the new flooring, perhaps with a bit extra in the rear as she is much heavier there than up front, on the other hand having that big hole back there did nothing for showing me how she SHOULD sit in the water!

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

repeat after me....

NO BIG DEAL

if your doing a resto on it in the off season.....just patch it with glass....forget fairing and re gellcoating for now.....

read safety basics for grinding and glassing at the top of this forum....

grind out the area with the hole.......dont go thru the hull or grind too much....basically....what you want to accomplish is to clean the area.

after you grind it....vaccume the area...then clean it with aceitone.

take a layer of fiberglass matt....laminate it on the affected area...then use a slightly larger layer of woven roving cloth. laminate it on top of the chopped strand matt...and and then a final layer of matt.......done....fix yer motor and go boating......(total repair time....less than 2 hours)

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

I went back and forth about this boat for the past several hours trying to decide whether to give up or dig in and fix it. I'm very discouraged about not being able to get out on the water, but maybe that will be the motivation I need to get her fixed up quickly and be ready to go...

The section of floor I ripped up thus far was so saturated with water that it pulled up easily by hand, funny thing about that though, it seems to have been the worst spot, yet the hole in the hull is on the other side of the boat. Though I guess if there was a hole on the other side for water to drain out and this side just collected water and the wood sat and stewed in it for however long that makes a bit of sense.

Anyway, I'm off to get a few tools and such and will be spending the rest of the day ripping up flooring. I'm really hoping I can get that all handled without pulling up the top deck, because to do that would mean I'd have to pull the engine, and there's just no way I can manage that feat on my own, that thing is massive.

Wish me luck... I'll keep y'all posted with my progress (and photos too)

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

oops! said:

repeat after me....

NO BIG DEAL

(total repair time....less than 2 hours)

Click to expand...

Damn.. why couldn't I have read this before starting to rip up my floor? hehe..

Well, I think at this point what I'm going to do is fix everything structurally, new floor, etc.. then save cosmetics for the off season (painting, reupholstering, etc) That way, come next season I'll basically have a brand new (old) boat that will (hopefully) turn some heads. Plus, the more I can get done prior to winter the better, now I think about it.. winters are damn cold, even in my garage, and if I don't have to shell out for a big garage heater all the better.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

heh heh heh....you were posting picks when i was typing......

the bottom hole in the transom IS supposed to be there.....plug it with the porper plug.......

just throw some plywood over the hole in the floor, and cover it with a throw rug.......then go have fun on the water......(if the transom is not sound....dont do it.)

but....it will only be good for the remainder of the season....it must be repaired properly, as it is borderline unsafe

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

oops! said:

the bottom hole in the transom IS supposed to be there.....plug it with the porper plug.......

Click to expand...

So there should be another plug in addition to the 1" drain plug?

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

yes....top one is for the splashwell....the bottom is for the hull....

if that hole did not have the proper plug in it......that was a major reason for the knee deep in water stuff

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

not worth fixing, i will let you dump it in my boat graveyard. great find really worth restoring. this is my 66 14' sportcraft.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

oops! said:

if that hole did not have the proper plug in it......that was a major reason for the knee deep in water stuff

Click to expand...

Technically it was only about ankle deep, though if I could have stood under the splashwell that was probably calf deep...


Actually, let me throw up another photo here.. there's a hole from the splash well to outside, then the drain plug hole, and the smaller (about 1/4") hole below the drain plug that goes under the floor. Definitely it seems like it should have a plug, but I didn't get one that size, nor have I seen any that size at the store, but I'll look harder when I run out here again in a minute.

The splashwell is totally enclosed, and that drain should be able to remain unplugged so anything that does get in there just drains back out of the boat.. that's my understanding anyway. So, as far as I am aware I should just need a plug for the smaller hole at the very bottom to go along with my 1" plug for that lower drain....

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

Will this stuff work for patching that hole or do I need a better/different kit?

This was all I was able to find today, but I may have to do some running around on Monday to get larger sheets of glass anyway since I will be redoing the floor...

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

it will work but not the best, will get you thru summer. then fix it right.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

yup the top drain hole is allways open ant the bottom one is allways plugged when in the water.....


and td is correct on the kit.....

but make sure you have both chopped strand matt AND cloth....allways use the matt first...and each layer is just a bit bigger than the other....so each layer touches a little more of the hull

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

Ok.. I'll hunt down the right stuff then... Since I am about 90% finished removing the floor, might as well fix it right right now..

I'll throw some more photos up when I get back from getting some dinner.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

i have never seen a boat with the bottom hole like that. i believe they did that themselves to get water out from under the deck.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

tashasdaddy said:

i have never seen a boat with the bottom hole like that. i believe they did that themselves to get water out from under the deck.

Click to expand...

My '61 Larson had two drain plugs, but they were the same type. One was at the floor level, and the other was at the bottom of the hull.



I had never seen that before either. I'm not sure if it was factory, but not sure how they would have added it later as it was flanged on both ends?

Both of them were 1" brass tubes.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

tcindie said:

I went back and forth about this boat for the past several hours trying to decide whether to give up or dig in and fix it. I'm very discouraged about not being able to get out on the water, but maybe that will be the motivation I need to get her fixed up quickly and be ready to go...

Click to expand...

I can relate to everything you're talking about. I went from highs to lows on my build as well, but all the frustration will be gone when you finish that boat. You have a real gem there - please fix her up.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer


Here's a look at the hole in the hull from the inside.



Making good progress with the tear down of the floor, the rear is almost totally complete, save for the small corner section and a bit of clean up on the edges.



Midships is done, save for a bit of cleanup on the edges



Same with the bow area, just a small section at the very front end that needs to be removed yet, then cleanup..

Then it's jut the stringers left. I imagine it's much easier work without all that foam in there to deal with, but it is a bit worrysome that there wasn't any foam in the boat at all, it will be getting some upon reassembly, question is whether I want to use the pink stuff or pour in some expanding foam. A little extra solidity to the hull certainly wouldn't be a bad thing in my mind..

The other thing I'm considering is chopping out the front seat backs that form the walk-thru and establish the two cockpit layout. It would give me a bit more room on the inside, but I imagine it might also weaken some of the structure a bit and I would also have to then patch the sides where that used to tie into the rest of the top cap piece. Of course, then it wouldn't really be a Larson Pla-Boy anymore, as that is the only thing (that I can see) differentiating my boat from the All American.


I like this photo, kind of looks like my boat blew up or something with the seats and whatnot all scattered in the yard.

It's looking like rain today, so unless I can clear some room to work in the garage I might not get much done today.. I was hoping to finish ripping out the floor & stringers, and get the hole patched. And if time allowed start working on putting the new floor in. Basically once that patch is done and the new floor is in, it'll be ready to go for the rest of the season. I'm going to save painting and such for late fall/winter I think.

I'm off to the local West Marine store to pick up the glass to patch this hole.

Re: My new (and first) project... '61 Larson Pla-Boy 14 footer

Ok, so I got back from West Marine a couple hours ago...

I picked up a chunk of glass mat, and a chunk of woven mat, along with a different patch kit that has the standard glass cloth in it. Also got a smallish container of Marine-tex, they were telling me that I could fix the hull with that too if I wanted, but somehow I can't imagine it would be as strong as several layers of glass would be. Maybe I will do a bit of both.. whatcha think?

I will definitely use the marine tex to plug up that extra transom hole, and I think I'll plug up the regular hull-drain plug hole too as I plan on installing a bilge & automatic bilge pump.

I've been laying around too long today, gotta get back out there and finish removing the floor & stringers. Think I might make a run up to Home Depot first though and pick up some wood to replace the stringers with (ply for the flooring if I am feeling motivated since it'll be a challenge fitting it in my vehicle...)