Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

[Fishpoop]

Here it is...I'll keep posting more as we go.

It's a 1955 Feathercraft Skipper (13'). I bought it in 1993 at a public auction for $50. It was a college graduation present to myself. At the time it floated and got me to my fishing holes which is all I cared about. Unfortunately in 1999 I bought an 1800's stone home and since the house need a remod, the boat took a back seat and did not get used since. Well, the house is now done to a point where I can enjoy my hobbies again, and so as one of them, I turned to my boat. Here goes...

Here she is just starting to get the exterior duck boat green paint off. I used a citrus strip biodegradeable stripper. It worked, but it had to sit for a while. Stripped all paint with a plastic scraper and then used a wire brush on my drill.

Interior after I ripped out the wood seats and transom

Stay tuned...

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Here she is after paint stripping was completed

Had to JB some cracks

I then sealed up the exterior seam with 5200

Next it was time time to flip the boat and clean well and Gluvit the interior rivits and seams

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

After the Gluvit set, I primed with automotive zinc primer amd shot the interior with grey rustolium. I rebuilt the floor as per the original 1955 layout with ACX ply painted with exterior porch floor paint with grit (primed first and then 4 coats of paint).

I then rebuilt the seats with the same ACX ply and coated them with 4 coats of spar varnish prior to carpeting.

Here is the transom dry fitted prior to spar varnish. It is 3/4 Red Oak. I went through a ton of boards until I found the one board that was the heaviest and most tight grained of the bunch.

I need to take photos of the finished product so stay tuned for the final reveal...

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Here's a few of the finished interior. The carpet is regular outdoor carpet with outdoor carpet adhesive. I really scuffed up the spar varnish used to seal the plywood so I could get good adhesion to the wood.

Here's the finished transom and motor plate. As I stated in my last post, the transom is 3/4" Red Oak. The motor plate is 3/4" ACX ply with 4 coats of spar varnish. I made the motor plate a tad oversized so I would have more surface area to dissapate the thrust of the motor. Solid...
I installed 1/8" plate alum on on the motor plate and transom to protect the wood from being chrushed by the motor clamps. All hardware used on the boat was stainless or brass.

Next stop is a 7.5 or 9.9 horse motor and a new trailer.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Nice work FP That transom is going to be solid and the two knee braces add quite a bit of integrity as well.

What's the boat rated for as far as HP? I'd recommend the 9.9 vs the 7.5 since more is always better when it comes to power

I was looking for a 7.5 and got a 5.5 and since I usually load the boat to the max when fishing I could use an extra horse or two once in a while. When empty it's much faster though so it really depends.

The 1800s stone house intrigues me, is it like a castle?

 

[scipper77]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Nice work FP
What's the boat rated for as far as HP? I'd recommend the 9.9 vs the 7.5 since more is always better when it comes to power

I agree. I wouldn't think of the 9.9 as just a couple more horsepower. It's actually a 25% increase in horsepower. With a 15 you might even get that thing on plain. That would be my goal, just enough power to get on plain.

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Yea, a 9.9 short shaft is the motor I want but the minimum for me is a 7.5 shorty. the boat is rated to 20 hp but my reasoning for a 9.9 or 7.5 is the 10 hp limit set on some lakes. A 9.9 will be more than enough to move me where I go on the susquehanna river. Any faster than a 9.9 can push on some sections of the susqehanny and I would just rip the boat a part on rocks.

Huron - My house was built around 1880 early 1890's and was used to house the blasting forman at the cornwall iron ore banks (us locals call it the pit). There is much history here since our open pit supplied the bulk of iron for george washington's army during the revolutionary war. It was the largest deposit of iron ore east of lake superior. Iron Ore from the pit has been mined from the mid 1700's up through to 1973 when the pit was flooded by huricane agnis (sp?). the history of my area is noted quite indepth on the web.

http://www.oldindustry.org/PA_HTML/Pa_Cornwall.html

I digress...yes A 15 hp will push the "Fish-full Thinkin' " (catchy name huh?) along pretty well, and if it was just lakes I was going to fish, it would be the ticket.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

FP I take my boat on the Looking Glass river quite a bit(good pike and bowfin fishing) and with the '55 5.5hp I don't have to worry as much like you stated. There are logs, rocks, and who knows what that can damage the boat/prop so 10-15mph is fine with me

I haven't had a GPS out yet though so

That link about the old Cornwall stories is pretty interesting PA is good for that, early American history. People were just trading furs in Michigan at that time, no cities.

Are you looking for a newer outboard or older? Johnson made a mean 2-stroke in '55 and I can attest to their ease of use, mine runs like a top and sips fuel

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

I would like to stick with a mid 70's or newer motor and a 4-stroke. less fouling at low speed and I hate the smell of mix exhaust when I'm on the water. How does your two stroke do with the blue smoke? any problems with fouling the plugs? I'm not too edumacated with the newer 2-strokes. Do you still have to mix or do the new ones mix it for you, like fill an internal oil fill on the motor and then the motor mixes oil and gas in the correct ratio?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

You did a REALLY nice job on that boat. Looks great.

 

[bananaboater]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Great job restoring. Beautiful transformation from wart to gem.

 

[69starcraft]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Thats a great looking feathercraft! I have a 54 D-lux runabout.

I currently have a 16 hp, but its rated for 25hp. Feathercraft boats were built well. Yours is rated for up to 15 hp according to the catalog.

Here's a great feathercraft site <br>

http://www.feathercraft.net/index.html

There is a write up of my feathercraft adventure in my signature

 

[scipper77]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

I know overpowering is a sin around here but with a beefed up transom I wouldn't think twice about putting a modern 2 stroke 20 horse on there even if it's only rated for 15. My main concern would be the weight at the stern and a modern 20 is likely to be lighter than the 1950's 15 that the boat was rated for.

Of course I realize this is a mute point as all you want is a 9.9

Weren't there Johnson/Evinrude motors made in the 70's that could be converted from a 10 to a 15 by rejetting the carbs?? Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

FP my 5.5hp doesn't smoke much at all. Even with the seafoam mixed in it has been burning pretty clean.

The 4-stroke 9.9 Johnsons weigh around 100lbs while the 2-stroke 9.9 is around 75lbs, so that would play a role in my decision. I believe the newer 2-strokes have an internal oil reservoir rather than a mix.

My dad bought a 2009 Evinrude 60hp 2-stroke with internal oil. Mixing isn't too much of a hassle in my opinion and keep in mind, I've heard that the exhaust from the 4-strokes is even worse-smelling than 2-strokes.

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback and to all who responded back to my postings regarding the rebuild. It was a big help!

69starcraft - Thanks for the link and the photo. my motor plate says max 20 hp and the photo says 15 hp. go figure...

Huron - It sounds like I'll have to do some looking into the 2-strokes. If there is an internal tank for oil and it mixes for you I might go 2-stroke. I just worry about plugs fouling running extended time at low rpm (I like to troll for walleye).

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

Huron - It sounds like I'll have to do some looking into the 2-strokes. If there is an internal tank for oil and it mixes for you I might go 2-stroke. I just worry about plugs fouling running extended time at low rpm (I like to troll for walleye).

Trolling for walleye!...nothing wrong with that I'd throw a Minn Kota on the bow for trolling and save the internal combustion engine for WOT

As far as the hp rating...the brochure pic shows a 12'11" and your is a 14' right??? I think you'd be all set with a 15-25hp 2-stroke

 

[Fishpoop]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

The boat length measures out at 12'10". I wish I had this thing done in April so I could play with it. I'm going to check out 2 strokes online tonight and do some research. I'll have to check out the weight differnce between a 9.9 and a 15. Like skipper77 mentioned, it would be cool to be able to get that thing on plane.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Fishpoop's 1955 Feathercraft Skipper Resto

The boat length measures out at 12'10". I wish I had this thing done in April so I could play with it. I'm going to check out 2 strokes online tonight and do some research. I'll have to check out the weight differnce between a 9.9 and a 15. Like skipper77 mentioned, it would be cool to be able to get that thing on plane.

Don't get me wrong, I really don't know what it will take to get that boat on plain. And as a fisherman I'm with you, I'd rather have the 9.9 that I could use on bodies of water with a 10 horse limit than a 15 horse motor that may or may not allow my boat to get on plain. I do know that 2 strokes give more performance per motor weight but 4 strokes are more fuel efficient. On a small motor I'd go for the 2 stroke since fuel cost is on a much smaller scale. This is why weed whackers, leaf blowers and other small engines are almost always 2 strokes. More performance with less maintenance.

 

[Boat Fever]

I don't know what the minimum would be to get it on a plane, but I have a 20hp on my 13' Skipper (I know), and it planes REALLY well. It goes just over 20mph according to my GPS.

 

[GA_Boater]

I don't know what the minimum would be to get it on a plane, but I have a 20hp on my 13' Skipper (I know), and it planes REALLY well. It goes just over 20mph according to my GPS.

You should have replied 10 years ago when the thread was active. Now it's just a dusty book on the bottom shelf.

Closed.