1979 Borum Bobcat ski boat restoration

[sphelps]

Hey everyone ! I just pulled this boat out of the weeds so we may as well restore her to it's former glory !
Or at least as good as I can restore it ..
I purchased boat, motor, and trailer for 200 bucks from a nice lady and her sister . The boat was her brothers and he passed away so they just wanted it out of the yard .. It came with a 175 V6 Evinrude o/b . I have 2 other boats lined up in front of this one to restore so the Borum may take awhile to get done . So I will start with just getting it cleaned up and maybe do some research and idea's on how I want the finished product to look like .. Hopefully it will turn out good !
Here it is on the ride home ... I needed to put air in the tires ..

Made it home with no problems and as you can see it's been a planter for a while ..



Notice the front of the trailer is bent . Not quite sure how I will fix that ..

 

[sphelps]

Here it is after a quick bath .




Notice the Chicken pocks ?

Not sure what type paint this is but it,s blistering just on the cap ..

 

[Woodonglass]

Soooo I guess no controls showed up????

 

[jbcurt00]

Nothing too horrifying, just a neglected glass boat problems.

Hit Gus w/ a PM about the twisted tongue. Probably related to being moved while it was water and mulch fillled.......

I bet you could get it untwisted safely for continued use.

 

[sphelps]

Nope no controls yet ... I'm hoping the p/o may find them in her garage . I asked if she would keep an eye out .. Steering cables are toast . :grumpy:
The trailer must have hit something or maybe got hit by something . I wonder if the floor deck was set up this way originally or modified later in life ..
I think I found the guy Don that built these boats down state . Sent him a message on F/B to see if it is the same guy ..

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm thinkin' a little heat and some S.I.L. twistin' on a big pry bar will have the trailer tongue fixed in a Jiffy!!!

 

[sphelps]

Took the seats and carpet out . I'm assuming the way the stringers are installed the middle section must be foam . The whole middle section feels good and solid But I'm gunna do some exploration just to be sure .

They actually had a decent concept of shedding water but the application was not that great . If they had done the bigger hole then fill and drill smaller hole trick I'll bet it would have not started to rot ..

This was strange ... No plug just a hole drilled . When I poked the stick in there you could here foam squeaking ..

What were they thinking ?

 

[Woodonglass]

It's a SPEED Boat, They don't get Paid to Think!!!!

 

[jbcurt00]

May have had a drain tube installed at some point.... Just no longer present.....

 

[sphelps]

Well it couldn't be a hang over cuzz I only had 2 beers last night but walking around the Bobcat I had an idea . Now I know I could never make this boat look like this .. https://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&hsimp=yhs-001
But would it be out of the realm of possibility to inlay wood in the recessed section of the bow ? And make it look like it was meant to be there ...So more of a classy look instead of just flames or something ...http://www.v-drivevideo.net/pictures/albums/b/DSC01203.JPG

 

[jbcurt00]

Hmmmm, a add-on Wood On Glass? Where is that okie when ya need him.....

If you have the wood working tools and skills, I'm sure it could be done and done well. If you look at some Riva's and other 'currently' produced wood boats, the recess could be mahogany and holly and the currently brown gel could be black, red, burgandy, white or gold, not unlike the 1s you posted:

Or these

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhmmmm,.... Uhmmmmm...Uhmmmmm....Uhmmmmm....:faint2:

 

[nurseman]

I'm gonna subscribe to this one, I think the wood inlay would be super cool! I think a man of your talents could pull it off!

 

[sphelps]

Yeah the wood tools that I have now are not the greatest in the world so an upgrade of some sort would be in order ..
Soooo Woody , what tools would be the necessity to pull something like this off ? Table saw , miter saw , jigsaw/band or scroll saw ? Along with multiple types of sanding tools ...
I'll have plenty of time to gather stuff up should I decide go this route .. That will give me time to talk myself out of it too .. :facepalm: :joyous:
But man that glossy black paint with the wood inlay on the one boat posted looks absolutely incredible !!!!

 

[rickryder]

I think wood inlaid in the tear drop shapes on the cap would look great... Time to get new woodworking tools! Table saw, Jig saw , Miter/chop saw, belt sander, biscuit joiner ,bar clamps Lots of wood glue That's a start!

 

[gm280]

While the wood look in that shiny black boat setup looks amazing, you could duplicate that look with some clever glass/resin work to mimic the look of the wood while having the same expansion and contraction of the rest of the finished boat... Just a thought. But going with actual wood lets you buy some many new woodworking tools too. Decisions decisions... :wave: Oh, I think you got your $200 dollars worth either way you go...

 

[nurseman]

Don't forget to buy some clamps...

 

[Woodonglass]

Portable Planer, 6" Jointer, Table Saw, Band Saw. A Power Thickness Sander would be OPTIMUM but..They are Pricey. Doing an overlay like that would not be all that difficult. 1 1/2" strips epoxied to the top of the hull. Then epoxy and spar Varnish High gloss finish. Would be a KILLER look!!! If you decide to do that, It just might be enough to entice me to make a trip to Florida to help you out!!!:rockon:

 

[jbcurt00]

WOG, I think you could make several loops of the US, in an RV w/ an upholstery machine, Tyvek suit and a respirator all packed in the back, and spend a couple weeks or so in each destination 'working' your magic on these kinds of projects.... Paying upholstery gigs covering the gas and RV expenses. Iboat's mail in upholstery work via whatever host's locale. Then keep 'em and finish 'em on the road to the next and mail 'em out as you get 'em done...

Want to start living your 'retirement' dream in Florida or WV :watermelon:

A small wood shop would easily fit in a moderately sized towable trailer.... I'm just sayin'

Don't worry, I get that look all the time from my Admiral......

 

[Woodonglass]

Ya Know JBC, I saw a guy In a RV pullin a Trailer with his logo's all over it that was doing something similar to that!!! I'd LOVE it but...as you say, the ADMIRAL would Divorce me after the first month I think!!!!