Just before Christmas of 2011, my Father-In-Law passed away. He was a "Collector"! Tucked away in one of his garages, was this boat on a trailer. I swear, in the 8 years I had visited there with my Wife, I had never seen this thing.
In the whole "you can have this, and I'll have that" routine that followed, my Wife and I ended up with the boat and last week, we towed it back to Kansas City.
It was pretty obvious that the entire deck needed to be replaced, as well as nav lights, control cables, seating etc.
Of course, it would be cheaper and less hassle to just scrap the boat and buy something else, but I think deep down, my Wife really wanted something of her Father's to keep and enjoy.
So here we are. We now have the Steury in our back yard ready to start work on cutting out the deck and doing a complete replacement.
Yes, I'm handy, and I have plenty of tools and know how - but I know nothing about boats. I'm a pilot, not a boat pilot!
I need help.
I have read and read and read forum after forum, blog after blog, but so far, have not committed to purchase any materials prior to working on the vessel.
We did cut a small section out of the deck to see exactly what was going on underneath that spongy platform. Turns out, that with just a pry bar, a screwdriver and a shovel, my 13 old son and I pulled up about 3 Sq ft of decking with very little effort! It was absolutely rotten.
Underneath that plywood, the stringers are rock solid and have about 1/2" of fiberglass wrapped over them.
What do I do now? Do I still need to get all of that out and then redo everything, or can I just resin and matt the entire pieces of plywood and then glass the top over and above that?
I have attached pictures of when the boat was in the garage in Iowa. I will post pictures of exactly what I have currently, later today.
I plan on updating pictures and status every few days.
I just need some ideas and some direction on product, technique etc.
Engine is a Chrysler 70 Magnapower, not exactly sure of the year (presumably early 70's)
The engine does turn over easily by hand, so it's not seized, but the last time the boat was permitted for use was 1996!
In the whole "you can have this, and I'll have that" routine that followed, my Wife and I ended up with the boat and last week, we towed it back to Kansas City.
It was pretty obvious that the entire deck needed to be replaced, as well as nav lights, control cables, seating etc.
Of course, it would be cheaper and less hassle to just scrap the boat and buy something else, but I think deep down, my Wife really wanted something of her Father's to keep and enjoy.
So here we are. We now have the Steury in our back yard ready to start work on cutting out the deck and doing a complete replacement.
Yes, I'm handy, and I have plenty of tools and know how - but I know nothing about boats. I'm a pilot, not a boat pilot!
I need help.
I have read and read and read forum after forum, blog after blog, but so far, have not committed to purchase any materials prior to working on the vessel.
We did cut a small section out of the deck to see exactly what was going on underneath that spongy platform. Turns out, that with just a pry bar, a screwdriver and a shovel, my 13 old son and I pulled up about 3 Sq ft of decking with very little effort! It was absolutely rotten.
Underneath that plywood, the stringers are rock solid and have about 1/2" of fiberglass wrapped over them.
What do I do now? Do I still need to get all of that out and then redo everything, or can I just resin and matt the entire pieces of plywood and then glass the top over and above that?
I have attached pictures of when the boat was in the garage in Iowa. I will post pictures of exactly what I have currently, later today.
I plan on updating pictures and status every few days.
I just need some ideas and some direction on product, technique etc.
Engine is a Chrysler 70 Magnapower, not exactly sure of the year (presumably early 70's)
The engine does turn over easily by hand, so it's not seized, but the last time the boat was permitted for use was 1996!
