My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

[jvanhees]

Hi and thanks to all of you for your build threads!!!!!...as I have been learning a ton so far. The wealth of knowledge on this sight is invaluable! I am a new member, Jared, and have just picked up my new walleye boat...a 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668. Once I saw watermann's build, I know it will be nice when I am done!

Picked this up on CL for $600 with the trailer, not a bad deal but it is gutted fully and in need of a total rebuild. Kinda glad it is already gutted after some of the threads I have seen so far....I think it is a pretty solid boat, and is just what I am looking for to walleye fish. I am not sure of the year, as the tag and registration do not specify...... I know they were made 76-78.

This boat came with the 2 original live wells, the rod locker peice that fold down over the rods, the side console piece, and another piece I am not sure of. I will also be selling my bass/duck mod v to fund this project . Below are a couple pics to start... thank you in advance for all of your help!

Things I would like to add/modify:

-Front deck with storage for 2 batteries and maybe a livewell - though the ones I have are too short
-New foot controlled trolling motor
-Re intall the Side console for console motor - need a motor yet
-New transem
-Restore the trailer
-Outboard 40-55 ish hp
-Pedestals / Seats
-New Floor & Foam
-Steel flex the bottom, gluvit inside seams , rusto deck treatment or truck bed liner for flooring( i know I will ruin carpet)
-Radio, aux input, lights
-Bilge
-I am sure there will be more. I would like to take my time on this, and do everything the correct way...which is why I am here! Any and all input encouraged.

I have started on the bottom of the hull, and will post up pics of what I have so far... Thanks for looking!

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Couple pics of the gutted boat ...glad I didnt have to gut it!





Then did a leak test...and found some bad rivets...and two cracks, along with a few other leaking seams. I will weld the cracks, replace the rivets with closed end larger rivets & 5200, and steelflex everything below the water line.



Red circles are the two cracks, green is a really leaky area. Arrows are seaping rivets. As you can see the PO put some sort of JB or somthing all over this boat...and it was a bear to get off. This thing has its leaks.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Here is a vid I shot of the main crack :blue: Boat crack - YouTube

Another look at all the crap on it

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Took me about 6 hours, 5 wire wheels, 1 grinder, 2 drills later....

Still have to do the sides, to get it ready for self etching primer. But once the welds are rivets are done, will be on to Steel flex.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Question : Since I will have the cracks (circled in red) welded shut, and possibly the whole lower seam (green circle) welded shut bc it leaks like a siv....would anyone reccomend welding this entire piece of aluminum to the rest of the hull? And then welding over all the rivets?

I mean there are so many leaky rivets(black lines), and welding the cracks is going to melt out the original rubber gasket under this peice(which doesnt work anyhow)... thoughts?





I would be talking about welding this whole piece (in blue rectangle) to the boat to seal up permanently. What do you think?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Jared, welcome to iboats and the iboats drydock!

I have good news for you. The Sea Nymph group here on iboats are without a doubt, the sharpest, best looking collection of guys on the planet. Ultra smart, ultra handsome, all of em!:becky:

Now that we have that out of the way...

First, this is going to be a great project. I think this boat will suit your needs really well!

Second, man, somebody pummeled yur boat though!:blue:

I'd think hard about welding that crack. Sometimes welding can weaken the alum material only to cause crack issues down the road. I do believe if you found an excellent welder who knows his game it can surely be done and done well.

Another option might be a super long patch, gooped up with 5200 and riveted in.

The other guys will probably jump in with good recommendations too.

FlexSteel, nah. Gluvit? Yes!

Rock on:rockon:

(Edit: Oh, and I would not weld that keel plate to the boat.)

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Jared, welcome to iboats and the iboats drydock!

I have good news for you. The Sea Nymph group here on iboats are without a doubt, the sharpest, best looking collection of guys on the planet. Ultra smart, ultra handsome, all of em!:becky:

Now that we have that out of the way...

First, this is going to be a great project. I think this boat will suit your needs really well!

Second, man, somebody pummeled yur boat though!:blue:

I'd think hard about welding that crack. Sometimes welding can weaken the alum material only to cause crack issues down the road. I do believe if you found an excellent welder who knows his game it can surely be done and done well.

Another option might be a super long patch, gooped up with 5200 and riveted in.

The other guys will probably jump in with good recommendations too.

FlexSteel, nah. Gluvit? Yes!

Rock on:rockon:

(Edit: Oh, and I would not well that keel plate to the boat.)

Jas, thanks for swingin in bud! Looking forward to your and others, "experienced" opinions for this build, as I know she could be something sweet!

Your Sea Nymph group opinion...... I humbly agree Judging by all of the builds/ppl I have checked out so far, this is the place to be.

On the boat condition....the PO or OO thought it would be ok to beach on concrete at 5 knots once an hour it looks like!!!!! :facepalm::doh:

That keel seems weak and worries me. This brings me to welding, the fact that you brought up...a good welder will make this stronger, while a bad welder will make this weeker....still leaving me on the fence. I think I will bring it to my welder(he is good I have been told, used to weld for Roush racing) and see what his opinions are, then update all of yall. A nice patch, welded over the crack, stregthening the keel would be the best IMO, but not positive nor do I have the patch ready.

Thanks for the opinions on the keel plate fully welded. Now would you rebuck or replace all the leaky rivets.....OR.....let the steel flex epoxy fill all that in?

 

[Watermann]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Congrats on the start of your thread! You have been super busy with that wire wheel. I too bought a new drill and 3 wire wheels. Every night I picked those damn bristles out of my clothes... Your keel plate does look to be in a bit worse shape than mine was and as you know, I used marine tex and gluvit to make the repairs. After using the marine tex I really think it's stronger than the aluminum, especially when combined with a good smattering of gluvit on the inside to seal it up. I had no leaks at all afterward.

I was thinking about welding too but decided not to, just didn't want more problems than I already had. I thought about forming a new piece over the outside of the damaged keel plate, by drilling out rivets and replacing them with stainless blind rivets in a bed of 5200 or marine tex. One thing is for sure, you will want to use gluvit inside no matter what repair is done just to be sure the rivets don't ever leak. I used gluvit on every rivet I could find below the waterline, just in case. One way to tell if the rivet is going to leak is if it has a black oxidized color to it (on the indside) when compared to other rivets around the boat.

Oh and I can't believe that original bow eye is still there and not been torn out like mine was. Keep up the good work!

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Ok so after some time away from the project..(got married, honeymooned, drove a camper home from FL, read one of JAS's rebuilds that was 89 pages long :joyous I have been itching to get back to the SN. My welder apparently dropped of the face of the earth so I will have to postpone the boat.... I know there were suggestions about skipping the weld, which are still bouncing around up there

This brings me to the trailer. I will be restoring this in the mean time. Last night I finally got to it, and started tearing into it. This is not the most high quality trailer, but I think it will serve its purpose once finished. I am taking almost everything off. The hardware is all junk due to rust and I will replace all of it, new bunks, new rollers, new winch or just winch strap, new tires, bearing buddies, paint, wiring, lights.

Here is what I started with..Poopoo brown.





Now almost done stripping it

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Someone was not happy that the ugly brown trailer got more attention than the bright yellow frisbee:grumpy:




Sorry for the blurry pics, it was about dark

Hope to have a coat of Rusto black on there tonight...we will see what Management(wifeypoo) has planned

 

[Watermann]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Oh man that is some seriously rewarding work there on the trailer, probably the worst thing next to foaming the hull at least for me anyway. Although it is still progress! Be sure to check your spindles for grooves when you pull the bearings. Are your fenders aluminum? If so I took mine off after I wheeled them, SE primed and then shot 3 coats of white automotive enamel and 2 clear coats to try to help keep the rocks from chewing them up so bad when towing. So what color are you going to make the trailer?

My marine tex repairs on the keel crack inside and out are holding up great and I put them through the paces in some rough water

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Wow... that hull had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Good on you for saving her...

The Starcraft gang has the numbers, but the Sea Nymph group is....well, Jas said it best...

Look forward to watching your progress.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Oh man that is some seriously rewarding work there on the trailer, probably the worst thing next to foaming the hull at least for me anyway. Although it is still progress! Be sure to check your spindles for grooves when you pull the bearings. Are your fenders aluminum? If so I took mine off after I wheeled them, SE primed and then shot 3 coats of white automotive enamel and 2 clear coats to try to help keep the rocks from chewing them up so bad when towing. So what color are you going to make the trailer?

My marine tex repairs on the keel crack inside and out are holding up great and I put them through the paces in some rough water

Hey Water..thanks!, yea stripping the rusty trailer of all its hardware was not as bad as wirebrushing the whole bottom of the hull, but still NO FUN. Had to grind many a bolts off. But will replace with all new hardware.

Now those bearing buddys - how do those come out? I have a set of new ones and it looks like you just hammer then in?? Help here! I will be sure to inspect the spindles.

Fenders are alum, so I just cleaned them well and hit them with Rusto Gloss Black like the rest of the trailer, and may be adding some clear for protection. I didnt spend a ton of time prepping this paint job, as isnt the nicest of trailers....and will be down many gravel roads, so I just used the rusto this way I can touch it up easily and cheaply. Will do it the right way on the hull.

Wow... that hull had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Good on you for saving her...

The Starcraft gang has the numbers, but the Sea Nymph group is....well, Jas said it best...

Look forward to watching your progress.

Thanks PMC - I definitely have learned to pick a nicer hull to start with in future builds...first timer here. I think it will be a good a floater once I am done...ray:

Thanks for stopping in gents.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Oh and watermann, glad to hear your seal has held. Do you worry about the original crack ever making it self larger?





Anywho, so I talked management into helping me paint the trailer



what I didnt think about was the amount of overspray on the grass that her hands and feet picked up, which then my shower picked up. :facepalm: Fail.

BUT! The trailer turned out pretty nice. 3 cans of Rusto gloss black. Need to get 2 more to go over once more, and finish the brackets for rollers/bunks.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Not bad for a spray bomb IMO






Need to do the bearings, get new tires & rollers, and make new bunks, new winch and rewire it yet

 

[jasoutside]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Trailers are such a pain man. Nice move convincing somebody else to do it!!:thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

A very good idea getting the newly promoted admiral to help out! I do like the gloss black trailer, as you know that's what I chose for mine too, in a satin though. The bearing buddies, to get them out use a scrap piece of 2x4 and alternate sides of them hammering and they will walk right out and fall off. Hammer the new ones in with the 2x4 flat against the buddy, they take a bit of doing to get started in straight.

The crack in the keel. You have to drill out each end to put a stop the cracking process and then lay in the marine tex inside first with some tape on the outside for backing. Once set you can do the outside of the keel and sand it smooth when set up. After dealing with marine tex, I can say that it is stronger than aluminum once set. Combined with a nice layer of gluvit epoxy over it all inside the keel makes for a serious barrier to water and IMHO is stronger and better than welding which can weaken the surrounding materials not to mention melt out the rubber seals.

 

[jvanhees]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

Trailers are such a pain man. Nice move convincing somebody else to do it!!:thumb:

There was some ehhh, shssshh, really?, fiiiinnne...before I got her to, but yes turned out to be a good move!

A very good idea getting the newly promoted admiral to help out! I do like the gloss black trailer, as you know that's what I chose for mine too, in a satin though. The bearing buddies, to get them out use a scrap piece of 2x4 and alternate sides of them hammering and they will walk right out and fall off. Hammer the new ones in with the 2x4 flat against the buddy, they take a bit of doing to get started in straight.

The crack in the keel. You have to drill out each end to put a stop the cracking process and then lay in the marine tex inside first with some tape on the outside for backing. Once set you can do the outside of the keel and sand it smooth when set up. After dealing with marine tex, I can say that it is stronger than aluminum once set. Combined with a nice layer of gluvit epoxy over it all inside the keel makes for a serious barrier to water and IMHO is stronger and better than welding which can weaken the surrounding materials not to mention melt out the rubber seals.

Thanks for the bearing help! And which marine tex did you use on the crack? The wheels are turning... you and Jas telling me to try something different....hmmm

 

[Watermann]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

This is the exact Marine Tex kit I bought to do all of my keel crack repairs including filling some pits caused by corrosion on both the transom and the keel area inside.

Marine-Tex Epoxy Putty, Gray, 14oz - ITW Philadelphia Resins RM302K - iboats

I wouldn't dream of not using gluvit on the inside seams either. I hit every rivet visible below the water line as well.

Gluvit Epoxy Waterproof Sealer, 2lb - ITW Philadelphia Resins RM330K - iboats

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: My Walleye Project - 70's Sea Nymph SS160 1668

If it were mine and its not, I would form a plate for the inside, I would then JB weld it to the inside of the hull, and fill it with 5200 and call it good. I pretty much did the same on my Starcraft except with bolts not rivets.

Something along this lines.


You can see where I jb welded first then the back side of the backer plate was covered with 5200.

That patch is on the lower left hand corner.



This is before I have cleaned up the outside of it.



The very first thing you should do though is drill the ends of the cracks to keep them from cracking even more.