Alumacraft Tampico Restoration

hvymtl939

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
495
Well, it's time to pause on the hull for a bit to focus on the trailer. After some discussion with the Admiral, she made a good point that the trailer still needs to be restored and set up, and that I would be very upset if I messed up my new paint trying to adjust bunks.

So, on to that. As of right now, the plan for it is tear down, and prep for paint. Here's the way she sits right now.

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The biggest glaring issue is the leaf springs. You can tell they've seen better days.

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Also, since the trailer is pretty big for the boat, and it currently doesn't fit in the garage by about 3", I want to take a little bit off the tongue, the receiver needs replaced anyway. Besides that, I'm hopeful that all I'll need are new wheels and tires, the bearings repacked, and fresh primer and paint.

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oldrem

Commander
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
2,002
Those springs don't look bad at all. A wire brush, some rust converter, fresh prime and paint - good to go.
 

hvymtl939

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
495
Those springs don't look bad at all. A wire brush, some rust converter, fresh prime and paint - good to go.

The pictures aren't great, but they're both snapped and unsalvageable. Lemme try this. Circled where they're snapped.

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That's why the block is holding this one in place. That was a fun drive home.

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oldrem

Commander
Joined
Nov 7, 2013
Messages
2,002
Oh yeah - wasn't apparent before. At least springs are cheap enough.
 

mickyryan

Rear Admiral
Joined
Apr 18, 2016
Messages
4,210
only issue i see is it puts ya deeper in water when launching, i extended mine by 6 ft to make sure i stayed on dry pavement but then my boat weighs 4k lol
 

hvymtl939

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
495
only issue i see is it puts ya deeper in water when launching, i extended mine by 6 ft to make sure i stayed on dry pavement but then my boat weighs 4k lol

Yeah, I'd be shocked if this thing will be over 500 lbs ready to launch lol. Hopefully it doesn't give the Expedition too much trouble! Biggest thing is I want it to be able to fit in the garage.
 

edgepa

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 30, 2011
Messages
92
There are those swing away trailer hitches. Not sure how good they work. Back in the day, my dad just cut out a 5" slot In the bottom of the garage door.:lol:
 

mickyryan

Rear Admiral
Joined
Apr 18, 2016
Messages
4,210
the swing aways work flawlessly and have been in use for many years, i am actually going to put one on mine as well so i can fit the boat in a 25 ft parking space lol
 

hvymtl939

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
495
So, no progress on the boat for quite a while now. We had a second mate join our family on January 11th, so that has kinda killed my project time.

Here's my favorite picture from the hospital. They're going to be a handful to say the least!

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briangcc

Commander
Joined
Jul 10, 2012
Messages
2,090
Congrats on the new addition!

**I'm wagering you'll fit time in. Good bonding time with the little bundle of joy supervising the work :)
 

hvymtl939

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
495
Well, life has remained busy, as I'm sure you can imagine. I moved the alumacraft out of the garage and back to the yard, as I really won't have time to work on it until this coming fall.

Did find time to get the pontoon dewinterized last weekend, and hit our local lake with my oldest and my father in law saturday morning. Was a great day! Caught 8 channel cats and 2 wiper over about 4 hours. Kept the 2 biggest channels, and the wiper, and made fish tacos before Game of Thrones last night. Hell of a weekend!

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