Hello Fellow iboaters!
My first thread...
I will be documenting, photographing and recording my rebuild of a 1986 MonArk 171 with a 1986 Suzuki DT115 outboard engine.
Background of this project -
Back in November of this year (2011), a friend of mine who is an auto mechanic gave me a 1986 MonArk 171 with a Suzuki DT115 outboard engine. He's not a boat person and just wanted it off his property. So, after looking it over, i decided to take it off his hands.
My friend informed me that this boat has been sitting outside, uncovered for about 10 years. It has not been used for over 10 years. It was originally owned by an older couple, who bought it new and used it a little bit in the summers and only in fresh water in upstate New York.
Upon my initial inspection, I found what everyone would suspect; (i will explain this in categories - boat, engine and trailer).
Boat - 16.5 ft. fiberglass hull, plywood deck/stringers and bulkheads. The deck was completely rotted (with heavy moss growing on/in and under it), rotted transom, electrical shot, broken windshield on drivers side, all seats and seat cushions completely rotted and soaked, stern compartment covers rotted and soaked, aluminum gas tank full of gas but in great condition. All holes in the hull show signs of wear and rot behind them (where screws were put through). Drain hole rotted and under drain hole on bottom of hull...worn out and exposing bottom wood edge of transom wall. This is probably due to pulling boat up on shore...small wear areas in different areas on bottom of hull. The boat is rated to handle a 130 hp. outboard engine.
Engine - The engine is "relatively" shot (but i was able to turn the flywheel with a breaker-bar and a socket on the flywheel), so that was a good sign that the engine was not seized, unable to determine the condition of the wiring harness as the gear shift in the engine was rusted / frozen. It looks as though a small rodent (chipmunk or mouse) had mad its home inside the engine and the carb areas...lots of acorn scraps, a nest in the carb cover, lots of urine pitting all over the lower half of the engine. carbs completely shot, oil and fuel pumps completely shot, all fuel and oil lines shot, most of the electrical is shot...rusted and corroded, flywheel is ok but rusty, magnetos under flywheel shot...all rusted, i actually broke quite a few of the head bolts and other miscellaneous bolts while taking apart the engine. In general and as expected...a complete rebuild depending upon how much i will have to spend in parts...
Trailer - in great condition, needs new tires and full electrical system...but otherwise, in good shape.
So, with all this said, here are my intentions...
I plan to completely rebuild / restore the hull...from keel to glass, deck, stringers, bulkheads, gas tank, etc...everything will be re-built stronger and better than original. I am not sure about the engine yet...it really depends upon how much I will have to spend on the parts...i plan to completely dis-assemble the entire engine (every nut and bolt) and have a mechanic friend of mine give it the once over to let me know what parts are good and what need to be replaced. Additionally, I have another friend who has a beautiful sand blasting machine which I can use to clean any of the engine parts.
I have attached a few images of the boat when I first got it...before any work was done to it...
I hope I have given you guys a general understanding of what I am dealing with...any questions and/or comments and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
updates to follow...
My first thread...
I will be documenting, photographing and recording my rebuild of a 1986 MonArk 171 with a 1986 Suzuki DT115 outboard engine.
Background of this project -
Back in November of this year (2011), a friend of mine who is an auto mechanic gave me a 1986 MonArk 171 with a Suzuki DT115 outboard engine. He's not a boat person and just wanted it off his property. So, after looking it over, i decided to take it off his hands.
My friend informed me that this boat has been sitting outside, uncovered for about 10 years. It has not been used for over 10 years. It was originally owned by an older couple, who bought it new and used it a little bit in the summers and only in fresh water in upstate New York.
Upon my initial inspection, I found what everyone would suspect; (i will explain this in categories - boat, engine and trailer).
Boat - 16.5 ft. fiberglass hull, plywood deck/stringers and bulkheads. The deck was completely rotted (with heavy moss growing on/in and under it), rotted transom, electrical shot, broken windshield on drivers side, all seats and seat cushions completely rotted and soaked, stern compartment covers rotted and soaked, aluminum gas tank full of gas but in great condition. All holes in the hull show signs of wear and rot behind them (where screws were put through). Drain hole rotted and under drain hole on bottom of hull...worn out and exposing bottom wood edge of transom wall. This is probably due to pulling boat up on shore...small wear areas in different areas on bottom of hull. The boat is rated to handle a 130 hp. outboard engine.
Engine - The engine is "relatively" shot (but i was able to turn the flywheel with a breaker-bar and a socket on the flywheel), so that was a good sign that the engine was not seized, unable to determine the condition of the wiring harness as the gear shift in the engine was rusted / frozen. It looks as though a small rodent (chipmunk or mouse) had mad its home inside the engine and the carb areas...lots of acorn scraps, a nest in the carb cover, lots of urine pitting all over the lower half of the engine. carbs completely shot, oil and fuel pumps completely shot, all fuel and oil lines shot, most of the electrical is shot...rusted and corroded, flywheel is ok but rusty, magnetos under flywheel shot...all rusted, i actually broke quite a few of the head bolts and other miscellaneous bolts while taking apart the engine. In general and as expected...a complete rebuild depending upon how much i will have to spend in parts...
Trailer - in great condition, needs new tires and full electrical system...but otherwise, in good shape.
So, with all this said, here are my intentions...
I plan to completely rebuild / restore the hull...from keel to glass, deck, stringers, bulkheads, gas tank, etc...everything will be re-built stronger and better than original. I am not sure about the engine yet...it really depends upon how much I will have to spend on the parts...i plan to completely dis-assemble the entire engine (every nut and bolt) and have a mechanic friend of mine give it the once over to let me know what parts are good and what need to be replaced. Additionally, I have another friend who has a beautiful sand blasting machine which I can use to clean any of the engine parts.
I have attached a few images of the boat when I first got it...before any work was done to it...
I hope I have given you guys a general understanding of what I am dealing with...any questions and/or comments and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
updates to follow...
