1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

[89nissanbassboat]

I wanted to say hi and also let you all know this is my first boat...it is a low hour 16' boat that is in overall decent condition that just needs some general maintenance and a fresh look, the sun has done it in...we all know money is tight these days and I am going to do this as money allows...the boat itself is in dire need of some new carpet and front seat foam...it looks like something ate thru the cushion...I will post some pictures next week on my progress...as for me I am not much of a fish eater, mainly a sport fisherman or a wanna be SF LOL...I mainly got the boat for entertainment and to pull the nephews around on a tube...I couldn't pass it up cuz the price was really a good deal...traded a VW engine for it, LOL.

It seems as though these Nissan Bass boats are not that popular and finding replacement parts will take some creative thinking...I will need a prop, a new bilge pump, front and rear aerators, new carpet, and some upgrades as well...the new upgrades will include battery voltage meters, a 12V power source, a CD player and a couple of speakers and a nice Bimini top as well as some drink holders...it seems these boats were very nice when introduced but never took off, compared to the other popular brands I think these Nissan boats hold their own in reliability and dependability...while it is being stripped I want to redo the entire top coat as it is rough and still in good shape before it starts to crack the fiberglass and introduce water between layers...I haven't figured out just how I'll be doing that yet...I need a process that will not involve a spray gun...maybe something in a rattle can or a brush on application, then I can wet sand and buff to a shine.

Anyone got any advise on getting a new smooth surface that wont break the bank?

Thanks for reading and hope you'll follow my refurbish.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Welcome to iboats! As you are now experiencing.....we like pictures You'd probably have had like 10 replies by now if there's been some pics.

Anyone got any advise on getting a new smooth surface that wont break the bank?

I cannot recommend Petit Easypoxy enough. Reasonably priced, goes on excellently with a brush and foam roller, has great gloss and looks sprayed. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1329#

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

As for parts, if you mean for the motor, then yes, you may have a problem finding some of them if its old. If you mean for the boat itself, well, there are no parts available for most (all) old boats, even on newer ones its rare to find anything for sale as a replacement, there are some scrap yards though. If you mean items like you listed, bilge pump, aerator, prop, etc, these are all third party items and can be found right here on iboats.

 

[osborn159]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

if it has a nissan motor on it check with local nissan auto dealer, i worked at one for a while which sold everything they made cars, boats, diesel trucks, and they still have rights to sell parts for all,motors are fairly reliable, not many compliants there, the boats never took off, if i remember correctly they used pt dimensional lumber in them under deck, a few complaints they wouldnt ride straight, hull had a hook in them, not many, it was a concern for a few tho, maybe thats why they didnt take off, word of mouth, as far as boat parts salvage yards, cl, ebay will be your best bet, the rest can all be aftermarket.
D

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Thanks for all the reply guys, much appreciated!...I did take my camera to get some pictures but forgot to download the old photos I took a few weeks ago so I will get some uploaded tomorrow as the boat is at a friends house...I'm not sure of such a good deal now as I was under the impression this boat was solid...as I was removing all the seats and pulling up the carpet, I noticed the fiberglass layer on the deck was lifting up, and the drain hole has a weak area about a foot around the hole...a friend of the PO was telling me that they almost sank the boat..so I will have to wait till warmer weather gets here to do any good repairs...since the fiberglass has delaminated, can I slice or drill a few holes and squeegee some good epoxy between the wood and fiberglass to reseal the floor back down?...or do I need to separate the the upper section of the boat and just replace the entire floor?...I do like to have nice things that are not in the back of my head knowing it's not done right...so I should cut out an area and see how bad the damage is...even though the boat is a Nissan like others have said, a boat is a boat...it's the motor that makes it what it is...if I just remove the center section I will be able to access the rest of the floor underneath and coat it with some good weather proof epoxy and cleat the repair section back in doing a good coat of epoxy on the underside before installing...doing the repair this way will avoid total dismantling of the boat.

What is you'alls opinion on how I should approach this floor issue?

Thanks...promise to have pictures up tomorrow.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Patch it up and use it. If you really like it, then go looking for trouble and decide to tackle a full restore if needed.

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Patch it up and use it. If you really like it, then go looking for trouble and decide to tackle a full restore if needed.

I honestly wish that was the case...as I was preparing the top of the boat for the clearcoat, I was removing the rest of the carpet around the drain hole between the driving seats where the soft spot was I had found earlier...so I removed some of the fiberglass and took a screwdriver and poked around and it went through the floor...I pulled up some of the fiberglass covering and the wood was just flacking off...the wood was gone!...so much for doing a patch cuz the damage goes under the seats in both directions, not to mention that the foam is soaking wet like a sponge!...it looks like I'll be removing the upper section of my boat, major bummer...for a boat that looks as good as this one does, you would never know until you step on the deck...I appreciate all your input and hope that you will follow along with the rebuild of the deck.

I have also decided on using the Grizzly Grip to replace the carpet...no more carpet for me...I feel that carpet does not belong on a boat. Period!

Pictures will be up in a few hours as promised.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish

no more carpet for me...I feel that carpet does not belong on a boat. Period!

Preachin' to the choir here

Sorry about your findings. You've come to the right place! Good luck on your project. Lets see some pics!

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish(pics)

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish(pics)

So I have some pics for you as promised...the one with the hole in the floor I think you can see there is no wood on the left side...lucky for me the boat builder did engulf that piece that runs from front to rear so those are solid...the floor had also dropped quite a bit as it had pulled all the screws out of the upper section that was secured to the deck...I was able to remove all the screws with just my fingers...so these were taken after I had started the restore...more to follow showing the water damage.

2 questions-can I get this foam stuff under the deck in small batches?, and is there a different material that can be used for the deck that wont rot? a fiberboard or maybe a sheet of ABS plastic, I don't know, just looking at other alternatives.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish(pics)

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish(pics)

That is a very sharp looking boat. I think it would be well worth the effort to fix up. The design makes it look newer than it is. Properly sealed plywood for your new deck will last as long as you need to it to.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

Start reading other threads on the same subect, this will answer most of you questions and give you a good idea of what to expect.

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

Thanks for the tips...I have been searching the site for other material choices and haven't found anything as of yet...I am considering doing my own laminate type of skin...my ideal is to do 3 layers of veneer with a coat of fiberglass in between each layer...my thoughts are by totally engulfing the wood and saturating it with the epoxy with glass in between will yield a very strong floor that will be impervious to any water saturation...normal plywood is not done this way...I know this will add some extra money and time but I do not want to do this deck again and am willing to spend the money to make it last a very long time...I plan to keep this boat for a very long time as well so I want to do it right.

I noticed that there was a water line inside the boat between the seats...and after talking with the PO I found out he forgot to remove the drain plug for a whole yr...this is what rotted the floor and the reason why the boat was performing slow cuz the flotation foam under the deck is soaked with water...I'm guessing about another 200lbs of weight on the boat would cause the performance to be a little sluggish not to mention the prop had a chunk missing and was damaged pretty bad.

I will get some photos of some of these problems and show the before and after shots as well as the progress for removing and redoing the deck...I will also be replacing the rub rail as mine had done its job and that will also be the finishing touch on the refurbish job...I'd hate to get the boat looking like a new boat and reinstalling the old rub rail.

Thanks for all the support guys and hope to keep hearing your inputs.

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

More update...I forgot my camera but will take it tomorrow and get some pics...my bad...any way I got the engine disconnected and removed the steering and all wiring that was attached to the upper portion of the boat...I removed the engine and removed an aluminum piece of angle attached above the transom...there was this thick hard white stuff that was keeping me from separating the upper section of the boat...I used a saws-all to cut this glue but was still un-able to separate the upper section...frustrated, I called it a day...keep up as I do promise more pics tomorrow.

I do hope that some other Nissan boat owners will appreciate my hard work as I have researched and not found another Nissan Bass boat that has been restored to look new...my research has shown that these boats are going for 5K+...I'm sure my hard work and investment will pay off.

Thanks for viewing.

 

[motorpsykler]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

Really nice boat. I'm not normally a fiberglass guy, but I am an Infiniti (owned by Nissan) mechanic by trade and am intrigued by your boat. I will be enjoying your thread.

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

It's good to know there's a Nissan engine guy hang'n around...well, were do I start...I have found even more work ahead...as I was removing those aluminum sleeves that allow water to drain out the back top rear section of the boat I found rotten wood in the transom...so I took some picture to show you my horror story as this boat project was just to be an easy refurbish and detail cleaning that turned into a full on restore...as I was trying to remove the switches on the dash they just crumbled from sitting out in the sun...I was hoping for a simple deck fix but that went out the window after seeing how bad the transom was on the one side.

I'm hoping for words of encouragement from others who have done this to their boat





This is the hole that has no more wood...the left hole has wood but feels soft so I'm gonna have to do the whole transom as well...I'm still fighting to remove the back section of the boat...it seems that they did a good job sealing this part down.

 

[osborn159]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

i have my transom made and waiting on one other part to fab and i will be dry fitting all peices prior to gluing/glassing in, i do not have a top cap on mine so im not much help there, to this point the transom has been the least trouble for me, stringers that came out looking like potting soil and no templates to work with have been my headache. i used an appropriate sized peice of cardboard and replicated the transon b4 demo, cut 2 peices of plywood glassmat and resin, about a dozen ss screws, mat on the rear and rail tape (surfboard stuff i think) on all edges, front will be glassed once adhered to the hull.
hope this helps in any kinda small way, good luck, aint it great how these quick floor and cosmetic things snowball into, ok i gotta gut it and start from scratch? at least when its done we'll both know what we have under us. D

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

I do feel ya osborn159...I have been reading other deck replacement threads and found most needed the transom done as well...I honestly thought I had a pretty solid boat...from 10ft away my boat looked like a winner...the only visual major flaw was the carpet was ragged and was missing a deck drain...after this boat is finished I will definitely take a break and enjoy my hard work with a few beers and a fish'n pole!...then maybe, just maybe if I score a good deal on another boat I might do this again only for an investment reason cuz I do enjoy fixing things and making improvements on older stuff.

Actually my brother bought a 23' Sterncraft that we are going to be installing a healthy 302 with FI and doing a 50/50 cooling system conversion on...it's a very solid boat with a frozen motor...I will be making a separate thread for that build as well.

Thanks you all for those kind words and helping me keep my spirits up.

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

Success!!...I finally separated the cap from the boat...damn that cap was glued good at the transom...now if the company only took the same pride in the rest of the boat I wouldn't be redoing the deck...it took a floor jack and a air chisel to separate the transom section from the cap...the sides are pretty weak without the cap...I am thinking about water proofing all the foam they sprayed along the skirt surface on the inside of the lower boat section...I will have more pictures of my progress as I continue the demo...thanks for those who have followed along and hope that my efforts will be appreciated as I will keep this boat for a long time coming.

 

[osborn159]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

i'll join ya for the beers and the fishun pole part, dont get much better'n that!

 

[89nissanbassboat]

Re: 1989 70HP Nissan bass boat refurbish (pictures)

i'll join ya for the beers and the fishun pole part, dont get much better'n that!

It's too bad you live in Florida cuz I would certainly invite you on board for some beers

I removed the cap yesterday and cut the fiberglass layer and removed it...the wood was all loose and wet as we haven't had rain here in a while...all the floor support (stringers) were totally encapsulated in fiberglass so I am very lucky the boat MF was smart enough to protect the frame...the foam under the floor was done very poorly as there were a lot of voids...I would like to know if it needs to come out and be redone cuz it is water logged and not sure if letting the foam sit open for a while will dry out the foam of should I remove the foam and redo it prior to doing the final glass layer on the deck so I can seal up the holes used to spray the foam.

Another concern of mine is the battery floor area...the support straps for the battery were just screwed to the deck at the rear just above the bilge pump...these screws penetrated the fiberglass deck which helped with the water intrusion and caused my deck to rot out...when I reinstall my deck I need to think about supporting the battery straps and find a way to secure the mounts without causing any water intrusion problems...I am thinking after the final deck coat is done I will add another 3/4" piece of wood to support the battery and do some glassing over those pieces, this way if they should rot out I can just redo those without worry that the deck will be contaminated...there is also another piece of wood that supports the 18gln fuel tank...I also want to fix this as it too is not fully fiberglassed...I am considering on using a piece of aluminum with angle metal for structural support and longevity to replace the wood...I am researching the possibility of using epoxy to secure the shelf for the fuel tank...any thought and answers about my foam would be helpful as I need to know weather or not to remove the foam and if so how much will it cost to redo it later?

Thanks