Mystery Boat Project

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Hi All,

I'm new to the forums, I found them after much googling about boat's and this looked like a good place to come to. My partner has been given a boat from her ex-husband as he was unable to sell it. As you can see from the picture's it's in very bad shape.

It's been stored outside for 2 years in Northland, New Zealand but when it was last in the water it ran fine according to my so, We know NO details about it, Dont know what make/model the boat is and haven't been able to move the outboard enough to even be able to identify it. We figured we'd get it to our place and strip the hull back to wood, I'm told it's a plywood hull which seems to fit with what I can see at the moment.

Our master plan so far it to strip the boat back to the hull + cabin so remove all the fittings, the fence post wood used for decking (wtf?) the basic helm it's running and check it over for rot, We're expecting that the transom will have to be replaced as it looks like it's got rot but the hull seems sound with no soft spots. If it checks out we'll repaint the hull and mount the outboard, If the engines still ok we'll then do the interior over using the current basic structure but with less stupid things like proper decking rather than fence post wood being used.

So thought I would chuck this project up in it's own little thread and see what others think, Are we wasting our time trying to restore it?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20110911_150540.jpg
    IMG_20110911_150540.jpg
    150.8 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_150613.jpg
    IMG_20110911_150613.jpg
    144.5 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_150627.jpg
    IMG_20110911_150627.jpg
    133.3 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_151819.jpg
    IMG_20110911_151819.jpg
    145 KB · Views: 0

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Some pics of the outboard
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20110911_152201.jpg
    IMG_20110911_152201.jpg
    146.8 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_152811.jpg
    IMG_20110911_152811.jpg
    143.6 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_152818.jpg
    IMG_20110911_152818.jpg
    134.6 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_152920.jpg
    IMG_20110911_152920.jpg
    143.9 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_152933.jpg
    IMG_20110911_152933.jpg
    146.5 KB · Views: 0

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Some pics of the damage
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20110911_150552.jpg
    IMG_20110911_150552.jpg
    141.6 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_150613.jpg
    IMG_20110911_150613.jpg
    144.5 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_151808.jpg
    IMG_20110911_151808.jpg
    138.1 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20110911_152005.jpg
    IMG_20110911_152005.jpg
    144.6 KB · Views: 0

BWT

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
363
Re: Mystery Boat Project

I've seen lots worse :) Looks like a good project boat providing the engine(s) situation is manageable.
 

johnmorgan

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
105
Re: Mystery Boat Project

looks like a really old fiberglass. could be home made as for the motor thats a 135 horse merc black max. go to the mercury forum in the outboard section and post some pics of the motor there they will tell you how to get it running.
 

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Re: Mystery Boat Project

I haven't had a chance to strip any of the hull paint back yet but i'm told it's a plywood boat, no GRP as far as I'm aware but I could be wrong. I can't see any GRP on the transom but it could on the main hull. Tossing up if we should try to split the top from the hull in order to help strip + paint it
 

johnmorgan

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
105
Re: Mystery Boat Project

yeah I cant really tell from the pictures but it could even be aluminum because I seen some funny looking supports in the pic of the bow. the reason I dont think it is plywood is, one how can you bend ply to for the bow two the ply would rot if the transom was rotted:confused: wouldnt it. But I am not an expert and really im just guessing kind of:facepalm:
 

johnmorgan

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
105
Re: Mystery Boat Project

ok, looking close I can see the ply in the bow, crazy cool boat you have.
 

johnmorgan

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
105
Re: Mystery Boat Project

If your going to take the cap off the hull you probley just need to take the rub rail off and then the cap will be free
 

rrumba

Ensign
Joined
May 31, 2011
Messages
901
Re: Mystery Boat Project

looks like they went with the Coast Guard stripe paint job, wonder if that was intentional of if it was on old, OLD, CG sevice vessel. hard to tell fro the pics but the bow section from the inside does not really look like plywood to me. looks like a fun project. good luck to you.
 

Sleeper-6

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 7, 2010
Messages
114
Re: Mystery Boat Project

That looks like way too much boat for that trailer. Once You have a spot that it will stay in to work on, I would get it off of there and properly supported.

It does look like a cool project.
 

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Really cool looking old plywood boat. The important bits look to be in pretty good shape. I think it's a worthwhile project.
 

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Thanks for all the replies guys,

How we "got" the boat is last weekend my other half mentioned that her and her ex-husband had a boat and she was sad that it left to rot in a yard for the past two years and her ex-husband had tried to sell it but was now just going to chop it up to clear some room, I was pretty gobsmacked but could understand if it was in really bad shape that they would want to get rid it. I asked if I could take a look at it and did some pretty frantic reading up on hull inspection basic's and marine boating basic's as I know pretty much nothing about boats.

I went over and looked and was surprised to find it in not too bad a state, The hull sounded ok when I checked it over and I couldn't find any softspots apart from the top of the transom. We had a chat and my partner was pretty keen to get it back in the water so we said we'd take it.

We're going to attempt to move it to our place this weekend, The trailer looks in worse shape than the boat! My plan so far is to get it undercover at our place and get the top of the boat off, There isn't much internally to the boat so unless it's glued down very well I dont think it should be too bad but I really dont know much, I'm assuming from comments here that the metal strip running around the top edge of the hull is the rubrail and I should be able to unscrew that and find the rivets or screws holding the top on? Once the tops off we will get it off the trailer and sit it upside down on some wood supports so that it's resting on the deck near stringer's for support, Is this the best place to put the weight? I was going to use 4 supports, 2 front and 2 back to hold it

Once it's apart and the hull is upside down I was planning to strip it back to the wood with a belt sander and some 120grit paper and check for any sign's of rot, maybe do a number of small drill tests to check for rot aswell. Fill any nicks and prime it with International Interprotect, While thats drying sand back the top and prime that, then International 2 pot system for the top coats and antifouling. I'm a little confused with gelcoat's, Is this refering to the top side top coat of paint in this case International Perfection or is it another product over the top of this?

Thats are far as I've really thought this out, Once it's painted I should be able to assemble it back together and do the interior, hook the motor back up and take her out for a spin to see if anything needs changing before finishing everything
 

bonz_d

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
5,274
Re: Mystery Boat Project

I do like the design. Amazing what they used to be able to do with plywood before fiberglass. I always loved the looks of the old molded plywood run-abouts back in the day. I can picture it as a classy little day cruiser when it's done!

Best o luck with it, and have a blast!
 

Ned L

Commander
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
2,266
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Could be a fun project you have there.
The hull looks more "cold molded" than regular plywood. The end result is the same (multiple thin veneers of wood glued together). The differenct is that 'plywood' starts with sheets of flat plywood as we all know it, panels of the right shape are cut out and fastened over a framework. As such, plywood boats can not have areas of (much)compound curve in their hull shapes. Cold molded construction starts with the wood frame, over which are laid successive layers of wood veneer in varying grain directions, all glued together as the layers are built up. It looks like the outer layer grain is at a 45? to the hull up forward, kind of indicative of cold molded construction. Extreme compound curves can be accomplished with cold molded construction.
As for stripping the hull, I would recommend a heat gun or chemical stripper for most of the hull. Unless you are pretty well skilled with a belt sander you may very well end up with reusults that you are not happy with (wavy & uneven surface when done).
 

kfa4303

Banned
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
6,094
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Hi Beccara. Looks plywood to me too. In pretty good shape all and all too. Would make a fun project. Just have fun with it and take it as a learning experience and not a investment of any sort. You'll never get the money back out of it that you put in (B.O.A.T. = Break Out Another Thousand). That being said, there's nothing quite as neat as bringing something back from the dead, and you'll get countless hours of fun once she's up and running. Keep us posted. Good luck.
 

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Any advice on what filter's I should be using for sanding/chemical stripping with marine paint and antifouling (Wet Sanding I know) I'm planning on doing a safety gear buy sometime today.
 

Mark42

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Oct 8, 2003
Messages
9,334
Re: Mystery Boat Project

That looks like an old home built plywood boat. Before you spend on penny on it, I would seriously check out the condition of the hull. It could be very rotted, and then its pretty much kindling.

Get out the cordless drill and a 3/8" bit and drill some holes in the ribs, keel, etc and see if its wet or dry. A wood boat that has been left to sit has often soaked up gallons of water and can have all sort of rot going on.

Also, the cap probably won't come off like they do on fiberglass boats. The wood boat is not assembled that way and the cap is probably integral with the entire hull. Don't expect to remove the rub rail and find rivets or screws. Its probably glued together. But i could be wrong. You will have to investigate and see.

Good luck, its a fine looking boat.
 

Beccara

Cadet
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
11
Re: Mystery Boat Project

Thanks for the advice Mark, I've been over the hull looking for softspots and will be doing some drill test's on it once we get it to our place but so far the only issue is the transom, The rest of the hull whilst the paint doesn't look good the paint is still there and there is no exposed wood on the hull or internally but we shall see! Hopefully the CAP isn't too hard to take off but it's no major to us if it cant, Just means we'll need some kind of rig to raise the boat to paint the hull
 
Top