mfgniagara
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2010
- Messages
- 92
Somehow I've managed to add a fifth boat to the fleet here today.
A buddy called me early this morning and asked me how is the best way to cut up an old boat, when I asked what or why he wanted to cut up a boat he says he bought an old boat for it's motor and trailer and needs it gone. My first reply was to just take it to the dump, but he's too cheap to pay the dump fee.
I finally asked what kind of boat it was and what was wrong with it that he wanted to cut it up? He went on to say its an old MFG which needed new seats, and its too narrow. When I asked him how long, he said I'd have to come over and measure it, he's already put it down in the woods.
When I got there I found a super nice 1967 MFG Westfield, still on the trailer with an older 60hp Johnson on it. The deck is mint, the hull doesn't have a scratch. The transom is rock solid and my 300lbs on the lower unit doesn't budge the transom. There's a Bimini top, the original steering still works and the gel coat has almost no fade at all. Whoever removed the seats filled the deck holes with 5200 over rubber plugs.
Needless to say I promptly offered to dispose of it properly.
He handed me the title and said to bring back the trailer.
A closer look at the boat at home revealed an even nicer boat, most of the finish issues were just dust and dirt, the transom had a pair of old fish finder transducers screwed to it, so I removed those, drill tested the holes and got dry wood, so I promptly filled the holes with Marine Tex epoxy and the screw holes are gone. I pulled the motor, slid the boat onto a newer roller trailer and returned those right away. The motor has an adapter plate behind it, about 1/2" thick at the top, and 1/8" thick at the bottom, and it's curved on the front side to match the transom. The transom bolts are stainless and in good shape, so I plan to hang a later model 50hp on the boat soon.
If I hadn't gone right over, chances are he'd have started cutting it up. He had it parked next to his excavator and he had a chainsaw gassed up and ready to go when I got there. He was planning on cutting it up and putting it 6' under. I've got the title in hand and the boat was being used and had a current registration in the side tray.
The dash has no holes drilled at all other than three that appear to have been from an old fish finder. There's an old Ray Jeff depth sounder as well.
I have to decide on what type of seats I want to use, most likely a set of back to back seats are in order. The boat will clean up to look almost new when I'm done. Even the windshield has no scratches or cracks.
Does anyone have any pics of a 67 Westfield dash layout? This one has no gauges at all, just a black block off plate covering four 1" holes. I want to add a tach and speedo and would like to make it look factory if possible. I have a new pair of vintage Airguide gauges. I'm thinking maybe of putting the bilge and light switches all on that black panel, and having the speedo and tach on the next level above that? That leaves room for my fish finder and GPS to be mounted on top. I also want a good compass in plain view somewhere right in front of me.
A buddy called me early this morning and asked me how is the best way to cut up an old boat, when I asked what or why he wanted to cut up a boat he says he bought an old boat for it's motor and trailer and needs it gone. My first reply was to just take it to the dump, but he's too cheap to pay the dump fee.
I finally asked what kind of boat it was and what was wrong with it that he wanted to cut it up? He went on to say its an old MFG which needed new seats, and its too narrow. When I asked him how long, he said I'd have to come over and measure it, he's already put it down in the woods.
When I got there I found a super nice 1967 MFG Westfield, still on the trailer with an older 60hp Johnson on it. The deck is mint, the hull doesn't have a scratch. The transom is rock solid and my 300lbs on the lower unit doesn't budge the transom. There's a Bimini top, the original steering still works and the gel coat has almost no fade at all. Whoever removed the seats filled the deck holes with 5200 over rubber plugs.
Needless to say I promptly offered to dispose of it properly.
He handed me the title and said to bring back the trailer.
A closer look at the boat at home revealed an even nicer boat, most of the finish issues were just dust and dirt, the transom had a pair of old fish finder transducers screwed to it, so I removed those, drill tested the holes and got dry wood, so I promptly filled the holes with Marine Tex epoxy and the screw holes are gone. I pulled the motor, slid the boat onto a newer roller trailer and returned those right away. The motor has an adapter plate behind it, about 1/2" thick at the top, and 1/8" thick at the bottom, and it's curved on the front side to match the transom. The transom bolts are stainless and in good shape, so I plan to hang a later model 50hp on the boat soon.
If I hadn't gone right over, chances are he'd have started cutting it up. He had it parked next to his excavator and he had a chainsaw gassed up and ready to go when I got there. He was planning on cutting it up and putting it 6' under. I've got the title in hand and the boat was being used and had a current registration in the side tray.
The dash has no holes drilled at all other than three that appear to have been from an old fish finder. There's an old Ray Jeff depth sounder as well.
I have to decide on what type of seats I want to use, most likely a set of back to back seats are in order. The boat will clean up to look almost new when I'm done. Even the windshield has no scratches or cracks.
Does anyone have any pics of a 67 Westfield dash layout? This one has no gauges at all, just a black block off plate covering four 1" holes. I want to add a tach and speedo and would like to make it look factory if possible. I have a new pair of vintage Airguide gauges. I'm thinking maybe of putting the bilge and light switches all on that black panel, and having the speedo and tach on the next level above that? That leaves room for my fish finder and GPS to be mounted on top. I also want a good compass in plain view somewhere right in front of me.
