Hello Ladies and Gents!
Last fall I got my hands on an old runabout that just needed a little TLC, or so I thought.
I got the trailer, boat and motor for $250.00 expecting the need to do a little glass work. Once I got it parked at a buddies place I hopped in the boat, noticed the soft deck and made my plans to start demoing. I was able to rip up most of the wood/ply by hand as it was just that rotted. For the rest of it and the old fiber I used a multi tool as it was more precise but man do you kill blades fast.
I ended up removing all the deck and stringers except in the very back and close to the front as they were solid I was was pooped after spending 4 hours cutting. I did make one fatal mistake... I put a new blade on, forgot how much faster it cut and cut a small straight hole (fingernail wide, maybe 8cm long).
One other thing I noticed after removing the centre stringer, a small crack along the bottom. I'll be sanding it soon so I can see if its all the way through or not. On this boat there was no foam and the centre stringer was shaped to fit the indent. This will be a fun shaping.
As I have no indoor space to work on the boat I build a stand about 4 feet off the ground, wrapped it in foam, flipped the boat and covered it for the winter. Here is what I have done during the winter:
- Dropped the motor off at a marina for repairs (stuck in forward gear, impeller was toast).
- Made a motor stand on wheels.
- Picked up the engine, had parts replaced in the gearbox, impeller replaced and a tune up.
- Cut rotten wires, replaced with new wiring which seems to be working.
- Discovered the ignition key doesn't appear to be working, looks like the starter solenoid is toast (engine starts fine jumped).
I'm going to get back to action this weekend and I'm looking for any advice I can get. The boat is going to stay upside down so I can sand down the entire thing (paint is awful, someone spray painted it...), mark any cracks, holes, dents and repair them with some 1.5 oz Chopped strand matting (Thank you boat works today on youtube!).
Last fall I got my hands on an old runabout that just needed a little TLC, or so I thought.
I got the trailer, boat and motor for $250.00 expecting the need to do a little glass work. Once I got it parked at a buddies place I hopped in the boat, noticed the soft deck and made my plans to start demoing. I was able to rip up most of the wood/ply by hand as it was just that rotted. For the rest of it and the old fiber I used a multi tool as it was more precise but man do you kill blades fast.
I ended up removing all the deck and stringers except in the very back and close to the front as they were solid I was was pooped after spending 4 hours cutting. I did make one fatal mistake... I put a new blade on, forgot how much faster it cut and cut a small straight hole (fingernail wide, maybe 8cm long).
One other thing I noticed after removing the centre stringer, a small crack along the bottom. I'll be sanding it soon so I can see if its all the way through or not. On this boat there was no foam and the centre stringer was shaped to fit the indent. This will be a fun shaping.
As I have no indoor space to work on the boat I build a stand about 4 feet off the ground, wrapped it in foam, flipped the boat and covered it for the winter. Here is what I have done during the winter:
- Dropped the motor off at a marina for repairs (stuck in forward gear, impeller was toast).
- Made a motor stand on wheels.
- Picked up the engine, had parts replaced in the gearbox, impeller replaced and a tune up.
- Cut rotten wires, replaced with new wiring which seems to be working.
- Discovered the ignition key doesn't appear to be working, looks like the starter solenoid is toast (engine starts fine jumped).
I'm going to get back to action this weekend and I'm looking for any advice I can get. The boat is going to stay upside down so I can sand down the entire thing (paint is awful, someone spray painted it...), mark any cracks, holes, dents and repair them with some 1.5 oz Chopped strand matting (Thank you boat works today on youtube!).
