Sea King project complete :)

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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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I just completed work on my Sea King trailer that bought earlier this year along with an old fiberglass runabout .
 
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

My wife and I bought this boat a year ago as a project. We had planned on just doing the minimal work needed to get it on the water, but of course that didn't work out as planned. This was our first boat/engine restoration, and almost everything I learned along the way came from the iboats forum. I only posted a few questions, and the rest of the info needed came through the search function.

This project turned out to be a hull up restoration which included the trailer and engine. I didn't everything entirely "right" I guess, but I tried to replicate the original construction as much as possible. If I ever do another restoration, I'll probably do a few things differently, but it is what it is and this should be a fun little boat to cruise around in this summer.

Oh, the transom was replaced at one point by another owner and the HIN wasn't replaced. The CA DMV gave it a generic registration and hull number at some point and the name "Lawson". I still don't know who made this boat. All I know is it is 13 1/2 feet long, maybe a 1961 and the steering wheel is on the left hand side.


This is what the boat looked like when we got it home:
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We began the task of stripping it and removing all of the hardware and fittings:
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

I made the decision to not separate the top from the bottom of the hull. I thought it would simplify the restoration process, but looking back I should have cut the top off. I didn't though, so I made some gimbal mounts on saw horses to support the boat. I patched all of the nicks, holes and scrapes using Marine Tex and sanded the hull:
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Top Secret Supermarine primer was applied using a gravity feed sprayer:
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

Top Secret gloss white bottom paint applied in my spray booth:
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Masking and the Top Secret North Sea Blue top paint was sprayed on. Painting took about a month to allow drying between coats:
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
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84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

The stringers were sized to the original, epoxied, glued and fiberglassed into place:

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Floatation was cut and added. After reading many many topics on floatation, I settled on foam core insulation:
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The wood support for the dash was replaced. I simply traced the original and cut a new one. It was then epoxied and fiberglassed back into place just like the original:
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Marine plywood was then cut and fitted to the hull in three pieces. I epoxied the underside and fiberglassed the top. I used fiberglass tape around the edges and seams and then laid mat for the rest:
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

At this point the hard stuff was done.  The rest was interior work which I did over the winter. I added marine carpet and a steering wheel. The steering system was upgraded at some point from the old pulley type. I found an old looking steering wheel at a salvage place that fit the new style. It was blasted and painted:
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The windshield was polished using a three stage plastic polish and a buffing wheel mounted to a drill. I added new gasket from Taylor Made and hidden post mounts also from Taylor Made. The chrome trim is that automotive stuff they use for doors:
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The original cleats and other chrome fittings were polished and replaced. The screws and bolts throughout the boat were replaced with stainless along the way. The rub rail was made for a Boston Whaler. It was affixed with marine adhesive:
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The seats were found used, but never used. I had to cut four inches off of the bottom to make them sit low enough in the boat. The interior panels were cut from plywood and epoxied. Foam cushion was added and marine vinyl was placed over it:
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The controls, junction box, starter/choke dash panel and engine were an interesting find. All of these components from the original boat proved to be in very poor shape, but I was determined to make them work with the exception of the 1960 40hp Evinrude (the cowling was incorrect ? 1959). This old engine was abused and beyond repair. My wife found an add on craigslist simply listing an outboard for sale, but the picture attached caught her attention. It looked just like our outboard. She contacted the seller and they settled on a price of $30 for the outboard and anything else attached to the boat. Turned out the engine (1959 35hp Evinrude) was in great shape and the controls/cables, junction box and starter/choke panel were in great shape too. I ended up using all of the new components for the restoration.

I cleaned up the control box, repainted it and added a new custom made sticker:
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

I replaced almost everything on the outboard that needed replacing and repainted it:
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It was quite a project and I?m happy with the results. Because the manufacturer is unknown, it isn?t a collectible boat in that sense. It?s just a fun little runabout.

Here?s a few more pics:
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Some pictures of it on the water for it?s first test run:
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TregoMark

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
84
Sea King project complete :)

Sea King project complete :)

I just completed work on my Sea King trailer that bought earlier this year along with an old fiberglass runabout (also a project in the works).

The trailer was stripped of everything, sandblasted, primed with Rustoleum Bare Metal primer, sprayed with several coats of Rustoleum Marine white, and reassembled with new rollers, bunks and stainless bolts throughout.

Now I can get the boat back on the trailer and get to work on the floor. :p

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