new owner

[Blitzgs]

I just became a member and wanted to share my new project (a 1976 Aristocraft 19' 165 with the hardtop).

Five years ago I bought a old boat (1989 Sunbird i/o 4.3 V6) and spend as much time on the lake (Lake Lanier, GA) as possible? I have 2 boys, wife and we love boating. But at the start of the summer (2009) my brother in-law (iboat name = ramblingreck) bought a 1977 Aristocraft 19 with a hardtop.

I immediately fell for the style of the boat and started looking for one. In November 09 I found one in Michigan, a 1976 AristoCraft 19. I called the owner and he sold the boat to me for $800. He sent pictures and he told me that the boat ran great, everything worked even the lights on the gauges, gel coat on the hull still shines great but it could use some TLC (new carpet, new vinyl, and some elbow grease). Fortunately a friend of a friend was driving down to Atlanta for Christmas from MI and he charged me $350 to tow it down. I received the boat a couple of days before Christmas, I washed it, moved it into the garage and now I have started to play. What I plan on first is carpet, vinyl, and shinning up the trim work (not fun, I have tried a number of different products and the aluminum trim looks a lot better but it?s not perfect). I?ve removed the kicker and fortunately whoever installed it did a nice job because they used some very thick sheets of rubber sandwiched between the mounting plates and outside of the wholes the fiberglass looks great. The previous owners also mounted different things on the transom and I plan on filling the holes and matching the color as close as possible. Also I hope to find a OEM ladder and reinstall it.

Oh well I think with new carpet, vinyl, rub rail, and detailing, it will be a nice looking boat.

 

[ziggy]

Re: new owner

congrats man. love that blue!!!! got more pics?

glad ya posted up here. i been jonesin for someone to add an aristocraft thread... whew, ya saved the day for me... thanks.

don't forget to go over to the i/o forum top of the page. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288430
ya can get the service manual you'll need for maintaining the engine and drive from there. check out thread #9.....

congrats again. i like my lime green, but if i had my choice of aristocraft colors. your blue would be my pic... did ya see this one...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=275852

that oughta make yer mouth water..... it does mine anyways....

yer gonna love yer nineteen man... the best thing since sliced bread...

 

[Blitzgs]

Re: new owner

I forgot to mention that I live very close to the Aristocraft office and went to see their museum (very cool and I think they have at least one boat of each model ? some are brand new). Although I have talked to Scot a couple of times I haven?t driving the boat over to them yet. Hopefully soon so they can give some advice, expertise, and sale me some OEM parts.

Since I bought the boat I have looked at a lot of the threads? and I love your lime green (it so 70?s looking). I bet, I know you get a lot of looks/people stopping to talk to you. I was at the lake in my 89 Sunbird and my brother in-law (rambling reck) had his boat there also, as we left a party cove with about 30 boats there and I saw a new 21? $80k Chris Craft? being a fan I pulled close to him and told him how much I liked his boat. He thanked me and he pointed over to my brother in-laws boat and said he loved the Aristocraft more.

Oh well, I always wanted a old collectable car but I have replaced that want with the Aristocraft. I will post some pic?s now and of the restoration.

 

[ziggy]

Re: new owner

(it so 70?s looking

yer blue is right there too man.... way to go....

man, she looks like she's ready to be a daily driver as she sits.... sweet....

if ya didn't get em. get the side window and aft curtain. i use mine as a super sleeper.... works great for two.

yer the second fella that's lived next to aristocraft... you guys make me so envious... if i ever get to travel on a real vacation someday. the museum is on my list of 1st places i wanna go...

hope ya have good luck on your blue for carpet. that one Scott did came out sweet. unfortunately, my carpet is something i've abused since i got mine. stained and cigg burns. so far, i've not found a thing close enough to replace it color wise.

I know you get a lot of looks/people stopping to talk to you.

you'll get used to it too... assume other folks have the binos on ya too....

all i can say is welcome to the club. now yer hip. folks that don't have a nineteen just don't know what there missing....

yer gonna like that 165 too. one of the best engines to ever be marinized...

got more pics?

 

[Blitzgs]

Re: new owner

I have the side windows but not the aft curtain. As far as I know the only things missing is the original ladder and curtain? when I first was looking at buying one I had different ideas of what I wanted to do, although not original I wanted to keep the add-on?s from the same time period. But now that I have it I really want to leave it alone as much as possible except a few little things. I will do my best to keep the vinyl/carpet the same color/pattern but I have been to a couple different upholstery shops and I think I can get it very close but not an exact match. Also I want to change the square inserts on the seats to a ?tuck and roll? look and use a off white color (I will try to match it to the color of the fiberglass). I noticed on the older brochures that Aristocraft used a tuck & roll style on their older 19?s.

So I have a wish list but I need to be careful and do a few things at a time.

 

[ziggy]

Re: new owner

I really want to leave it alone as much as possible except a few little things.

yep, that's the way i feel about it too. mine didn't come with the ladder so i'm just gonna do w/o. i'm pretty good at climbing up the drive + i do have a portable over the gunnel type onboard too. i got zero holes in my transom so plan to keep it that way.
from looking at carpet on Scotts restored boat, looks like you'll likely find something tolerable for color to match your hip blue. that's a real plus i think.
i don't know about the tuck and roll seats. link me to the brochure from the aristocraft www. my vinyl is still mostly intact. not perfect by any means though. so all i been doing is keeping the 303 on them to keep them pliable. which they are. i sit on a towel usually. i like the seamless design of the seats + very nice to have the logo on ea. piece too. somewhere in these aristcraft threads i think you'll find Scott say the interior vinyl is most important part to keep intact on a nineteen. so i'm trying to keep it from destruction...
Scott may have some of them aft curtains. might give him a call. they really work great. i keep mine onboard all the time. been boating in the rain many times when everyone else goes in.... july 4 comes to mind last year... if ya wanna use it as a super sleeper the aft curtain is a real winner too.

so what's yer list? for sure on taking your time. there will always be something pop up to be onto. i've had to do a bit of maint. to mine too along with the fun stuff...

i remember when i got mine. i had a cb + a crummy 4 speaker 8 track indash. them had to go and since the mods to the boat were already there. a vhf and cd worked out well. did me a horn replacement, added a 6 gang fuse block and 12v cigg. lighter. that's about all the mods i did to mine that i can think of off hand...

 

[Blitzgs]

Re: new owner

http://www.aristocraftboats.com/fiberglassbrochures/19689-TEENpage3.pdf

yeah, I want to keep it as original as possible but I might change it a bit. The aft curtain is something I would like but I guess I need to prioritize what I do first? regardless March is just around the corner and I hope that I have most of my major wish list completed. Can?t wait to get it out on the water!

 

[ziggy]

Re: new owner

thanks for the link. i've looked at the one before but never really noticed the difference in seats. interesting... imho i like the newer version better. mostly because it says aristocraft on it. imho again. your seats look to be in pretty darn good shape (the whole boat for that matter) as they sit. they look to be in at least as good a shape as mine are. i consider mine serviceable, that's about it.. i'd leave well enough alone till ya got no choice but do them. that'll give ya time to figure out what ya wanna do with them. that's the way i'm looking at mine anyways. i wish you well in whatever ya decide to do to it. that's the fun of boats. ya can make them anything you want.

i remember my 1st priority when i got mine. my manifold was rusted and gave me water intrusion into the engine.... that happened to me in the first few weeks of owning it. i mostly did routine maint. to mine when i got it. then the aesthetics. hows your bellows? impeller? water hose on the drive? shift cable? these were all things i had to address early on. did ya get yer service manual yet? i'll be the most important tool in your tool box...

i hear ya, march is around the corner.. unfortunately, i can't see it though the snow drifts right now... . i fig. i'm about half way through the darn winter here in Nebraska. least were getting on the back side of it sliding towards spring... i'm ready for it. my poor ol nineteen is ready for it too. it looks unhappy sitting in a snow drift....

Can?t wait to get it out on the water!

ditto!!!!!

 

[dbkerley]

Re: new owner

Glad to have you. I come and go. Been plying with my trucks mostly here of late. Hope to get back to the water in a few months though.

 

[Blitzgs]

Re: new owner

Still a little cold so I haven?t had the chance to drop it in the water. I know I?m going about it completely backwards but I?m going to keep the boat in my garage and work on the cosmetics and in a couple of months I will test it out. The previous owner really bragged on the mechanical side and I feel comfortable on what he told me but I still haven?t tried it out.
Yeah, I copied the Merc manual and started to review? good info and thanks for the link.

 

[ziggy]

Re: new owner

if ya got the time and the place, (garage, i'm envious again) might as well put the time to good use.

fwiw, all previous owners will likely say that their boat is in tip top shape. unless he's got records to prove it. i wouldn't believe him. most po's can't be trusted in what they say. i'd even go so far as to say they'll lie to you about it. also, ya got it for a song and dance. bet the po knows why and my guess would be it isn't because the carpet and vinyl are deteriorating. just food for thought.

R&R the impeller at the very least. 1 drive impellers are good for a year, maybe two on the outside. mine gets replaced yearly. they all show signs of wear even though they're mostly not abused.

the right one was abused and ran with low water pressure. the other two mostly not abused. an overheat is about the worst thing ya can do. imho. i hate overheats. they really can cause damage...

 

[steve0361]

Re: new owner

Blitzgs

I am also a new owner of a 1959 or 1960 aristocraft (not sure yet) because I have not picked it up yet. It has original 75 johnson and hardware and is in very good shape and will not require too much work. I live and work in north georgia about 15 minutes from the Aristocraft manufacturing plant in Alpharetta. I will post pics as soon as I get the boat home.

Steve0361

 

[Blitzgs]

Re: new owner

Steve0361

Great! Have you had the chance to go by their office/museum yet, they have at least one boat of each model they made (some are brand new)? If not, give them a call. I plan on taking my boat up there this week or next week and have them go over my boat. It's in good shape but could use new carpet, vinyl, and rub rail. Boating season is just around the corner and I hope to have it done before it starts.