xrs11
Recruit
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2010
- Messages
- 4
Hi everybody. This is my first post. I?ve read some of the posts pertaining to my boat and have already gotten some excellent information, so thanks for that.
Let me tell you about my boat. This boat is a hand-me-down. My grandpa purchased it new then it was handed down to my dad and now to me. I have very fond memories of fishing with my dad from this boat, which happened very often when I was younger. It was a time that dad and I were able to bond, because really I couldn?t get away from him without getting wet! Those times got fewer and fewer as I grew older, not because of lack of interest in boating, fishing or spending time with my dad but because my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) when I was 11 years old. As her condition deteriorated so did other things in life. The relationship with my dad was strained because he needed to work in order to support his family and this left me to take care of my mom as best I could. That made me bitter towards him and the whole situation. Our number of fishing outings turned quickly to zero and the boat sat in the back yard with no attention being given to it. Years rolled by and in 1996 my mom passed away, I was 19 years old and had no time to worry about some old fishing boat and really had, what I thought at the time, a lot on my mind.
Well, my dad bought a new fishing boat a few years after mom passed. So the old boat hadn?t seen the water in years, many years. As my life began to settle back down, around age 25, I decided I wanted to get the boat and get it to a point where I could go fishing. I got the engine running ok, put some new plywood decking in it and hit the water. For a few years I would fish when I had an opportunity and enjoyed every minute of it. Then I joined the military, went to Iraq, served my six and out. Got married, (and she loves to fish) had two baby boys, bought a beautiful home and am having trouble selling the old home. Now I have a wonderful 2 year old and a newborn and want to take the oldest fishing soon.
So here I am at 34 ready to get this boat back in shape to build fond memories with my boys. I hope it won?t take too much work. The only thing I really knew about the boat was that it was a 14 ft. Alumacraft with a 20 hp Mercury on it. Well thanks to this forum and after contacting Alumacraft I now know it?s a 1964 Alumacraft F-7. Still not sure about the age of the Merc but know I want to keep that motor on the boat. It didn?t leak last time I had it in the water and the transom wood was replaced a few years ago.
As I work on this I will probably have a bunch of questions. I also want to post updates on progress that is made on it. Here are some pictures of it in its current state.
Let me tell you about my boat. This boat is a hand-me-down. My grandpa purchased it new then it was handed down to my dad and now to me. I have very fond memories of fishing with my dad from this boat, which happened very often when I was younger. It was a time that dad and I were able to bond, because really I couldn?t get away from him without getting wet! Those times got fewer and fewer as I grew older, not because of lack of interest in boating, fishing or spending time with my dad but because my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) when I was 11 years old. As her condition deteriorated so did other things in life. The relationship with my dad was strained because he needed to work in order to support his family and this left me to take care of my mom as best I could. That made me bitter towards him and the whole situation. Our number of fishing outings turned quickly to zero and the boat sat in the back yard with no attention being given to it. Years rolled by and in 1996 my mom passed away, I was 19 years old and had no time to worry about some old fishing boat and really had, what I thought at the time, a lot on my mind.
Well, my dad bought a new fishing boat a few years after mom passed. So the old boat hadn?t seen the water in years, many years. As my life began to settle back down, around age 25, I decided I wanted to get the boat and get it to a point where I could go fishing. I got the engine running ok, put some new plywood decking in it and hit the water. For a few years I would fish when I had an opportunity and enjoyed every minute of it. Then I joined the military, went to Iraq, served my six and out. Got married, (and she loves to fish) had two baby boys, bought a beautiful home and am having trouble selling the old home. Now I have a wonderful 2 year old and a newborn and want to take the oldest fishing soon.
So here I am at 34 ready to get this boat back in shape to build fond memories with my boys. I hope it won?t take too much work. The only thing I really knew about the boat was that it was a 14 ft. Alumacraft with a 20 hp Mercury on it. Well thanks to this forum and after contacting Alumacraft I now know it?s a 1964 Alumacraft F-7. Still not sure about the age of the Merc but know I want to keep that motor on the boat. It didn?t leak last time I had it in the water and the transom wood was replaced a few years ago.
As I work on this I will probably have a bunch of questions. I also want to post updates on progress that is made on it. Here are some pictures of it in its current state.
