I'm normally a motorcycle guy. Will trade motorcycle advice for boat restoration advice.
I purchased this boat when I was in school for $900 with the trailer and a 4-stroke 5-horse Honda motor. The motor was worth what I paid for the whole mess so I figured I was ahead from the beginning. I didn't mind the brushed-on latex paint or the oddly-sized trailer. We fished from it a few times only to discover that idle on the motor was too fast for trolling and mice got into the foam flotation inside the benches and tore it up. I had great plans of a quick, half-assed fix, throwing on a trolling motor, and going, but my big plans and nursing school got in the way. Now the boat's co-owner (my mom) is tasking me with completing the job for a first voyage sometime after ice-out.
It's a 16' aluminum. Built in the 60s, I think. Starcraft, maybe. I have the Honda and I also have an electric trolling motor. The boat is a shell, freshly sandblasted for $150.
I have no idea how to go about half of what I want to do. I have plush seats from a pontoon boat for the rear bench and the front bench for me and mom as both of us have terrible backs. It'll stay a tiller to decrease drama. It also needs a floor for my mom to walk on without breaking an ankle, rod holders, cup holders, and hopefully a downrigger mount.
Here it is, before sandblasting, and after I discovered that sandblasting was superior to removing the paint by hand:
I purchased this boat when I was in school for $900 with the trailer and a 4-stroke 5-horse Honda motor. The motor was worth what I paid for the whole mess so I figured I was ahead from the beginning. I didn't mind the brushed-on latex paint or the oddly-sized trailer. We fished from it a few times only to discover that idle on the motor was too fast for trolling and mice got into the foam flotation inside the benches and tore it up. I had great plans of a quick, half-assed fix, throwing on a trolling motor, and going, but my big plans and nursing school got in the way. Now the boat's co-owner (my mom) is tasking me with completing the job for a first voyage sometime after ice-out.
It's a 16' aluminum. Built in the 60s, I think. Starcraft, maybe. I have the Honda and I also have an electric trolling motor. The boat is a shell, freshly sandblasted for $150.
I have no idea how to go about half of what I want to do. I have plush seats from a pontoon boat for the rear bench and the front bench for me and mom as both of us have terrible backs. It'll stay a tiller to decrease drama. It also needs a floor for my mom to walk on without breaking an ankle, rod holders, cup holders, and hopefully a downrigger mount.
Here it is, before sandblasting, and after I discovered that sandblasting was superior to removing the paint by hand: