Well, about 1 year ago the boat bug bit me. My brother has a 1972 Starcraft tri hull and he took my wife and kids for a day on the lake. It was late summer and there was no one on the lake the whole day! We had a entire cove to ourselves. The kids were able to water ski and, well, we just had a ball!!! A couple of months later we went camping with our trailer and my brothers boat. Again, a good time was had by all.
So the search began. I looked at every site I could find and every style of boat that there ever was. After a bunch of research, I decided on an aluminum boat. I really like the close bow style and I really liked the older aluminum boats. I found Starcrafts and Feathercrafts to be my favorite. Then I stumbled upon a mis-advertised Feathercraft. Well long story short, a long drive later, and a 1959 Aerocraft was mine. It came with a 40hp Merc 402 and a second 402 for parts. The owner says the motor runs, but the boat leaks a little. As I was sizing up the boat, I counted 40 or so rivets with no heads on the bottom of the hull. No wonder it leaked!!! but the hull was in great shape, no dings, no dents, no really bad gouges. The electrical system was a nightmare. I didn't realize that you could use romex to wire a boat!!!!! Lots of electrical tape knots with various wires running in and out. But the boat had what my dad used to say, Good bones. I took the boat home.
The boat sits on a 1959 Balko Bosan "T" type tilt trailer. It didn't have any lights on it or any sign of lights ever being installed.
so my plan is as follows. Take the boat off the trailer, go through the trailer and then put the boat back on, fix all the leaks, replace the transom, replace the dash, replace the wiring and then make the old girl look good again. Once the boat is sea worthy, I want to be able to use the boat on our Phoenix Urban lakes (electric only) as well as the big lakes with the 40hp.
Here are some pics of my starting point!!
So the search began. I looked at every site I could find and every style of boat that there ever was. After a bunch of research, I decided on an aluminum boat. I really like the close bow style and I really liked the older aluminum boats. I found Starcrafts and Feathercrafts to be my favorite. Then I stumbled upon a mis-advertised Feathercraft. Well long story short, a long drive later, and a 1959 Aerocraft was mine. It came with a 40hp Merc 402 and a second 402 for parts. The owner says the motor runs, but the boat leaks a little. As I was sizing up the boat, I counted 40 or so rivets with no heads on the bottom of the hull. No wonder it leaked!!! but the hull was in great shape, no dings, no dents, no really bad gouges. The electrical system was a nightmare. I didn't realize that you could use romex to wire a boat!!!!! Lots of electrical tape knots with various wires running in and out. But the boat had what my dad used to say, Good bones. I took the boat home.
The boat sits on a 1959 Balko Bosan "T" type tilt trailer. It didn't have any lights on it or any sign of lights ever being installed.
so my plan is as follows. Take the boat off the trailer, go through the trailer and then put the boat back on, fix all the leaks, replace the transom, replace the dash, replace the wiring and then make the old girl look good again. Once the boat is sea worthy, I want to be able to use the boat on our Phoenix Urban lakes (electric only) as well as the big lakes with the 40hp.
Here are some pics of my starting point!!