14' Fleetform - Starting restore

[saxis]

I moved into a new house in town, with no place to store the boat. Luckily a family friend offered to store it outside behind his garage, and got my Lark7 stored in his garage. Getting settled in, so now it's time to get to work on it again... <br /><br />The transom is the first to be replaced, which I had already started on, and got a good jump and handle on it. Next thing I'll be looking to do is the interior. Try to get some pictures up on the project in my sig soon, but here is a rough sketch.<br /><br />

<br /><br />Red is the top of the bow, and it is not closed off beneath. I want to close it off, put a cd player in, a couple speakers and a decent enough door to store life jackets etc... The gray places are hollow bench seats. They are sealed (except for cracks in 2 of them) and have no foam, just air chambers. Thinking of putting the fuel tank in the left side bench seat, and possibly batter in the right side. (Other considerations were maybe a built in cooler!) All the white is glass floor. I think it was meant to stay a glass floor, as there aren't really any stringers, just fiberglass tubes running the length of the boat to drain water from the bow through the front bench seat. I need to keep as much weight away from the stern as possible. The boat has little freeboard in the back as it is. What I'm wondering is changing these bench seats not very safe, which I assume are to keep the boat floating if the hull gets damaged? Don't plan on doing much with the front bench seat except fixing the crack and bolting on some folding seats on swivels. Will this setup work?

 

[reka12]

Re: 14' Fleetform - Starting restore

Enclosing the gas tank presents potential vapor issues. I would stay away from that. I basically did the same to my little boat. Three bench seats traversing the hull. The front bench I put a battery underneath (trolling motor) and a casting deck to the bow. The second seat I used half for a baitwell and foamed the second half (nearly 2cf of floatation). The third seat I put in a locker in half and foamed (another 2 cf) the second half. I also converted it to a center console and raised the transom so that it is 20" straight across. I also put in floor decks between the bench seats and in the bow. I foamed underneath (approximately 4 cf. of floation).<br /><br />The net effect was moving the center of gravity foward which really balanced the boat and with the added floatation has positive bouancy. Before beginning, do a search for "The Backyard Boat Builders Safety Manual" which has been published by the USCG. It has some helpful information regarding capacities, loading, floatation, ventilation and the like. Good luck. We had a blast with ours!

 

[saxis]

Re: 14' Fleetform - Starting restore

Thanks reka12, some good ideas there. Instead of sealing off the gas tank completely, would it be a better idea to put it in the bench seat, but leave it vented, and then seal off the unused part and fill with foam? Another idea I had was sectioning off the front seat into 3 sections, foam under the sides, and a locker in the center (since it's cracked in the center already). Was thinking about putting a seat between the side benches in the back also, since the side bench seats are very uncomfortable. Not much sitting room and your back rests against the gunwale. I want comfortable enough seating for 4 people max. I've got some time to decide, but would like to have a god plan before I tear into it.

 

[Mark42]

Re: 14' Fleetform - Starting restore

Hi Saxis, <br /><br />Sounds like a nice project. If you want to remove weight from the stern think about installing a permanent gas tank in the bow. It does free up a lot of space. It will detract from the storage plans you have but to tell the truth I don't store my life vests on the boat at all because they tend to get moldy and stinky and the wife and kids don't like that (go figure). So we keep the vests in the house and bring them out whenever we go boating. Adding a small 12-14 gallon permanent tank can run up around $200 or so. New tanks are pricy. See my tank project here. <br /><br />Having a little boat myself I know how important it is to have everything in its place, stored out of the way and easilly accessable. You need every square inch of floor space for all the "gear" you bring with you on each trip! <br /><br />I found there is still space in the bow to store some equipment, ring bouy, spot light, rope, etc. Also the space that was freed up from under the splashwell is going to be enclosed with a simple hinged pannel for additional storage. <br /><br />One trick I found for mounting things on the in sides of the hull is to cut small blocks of 1/2" p/t plywood and epoxy them to the hull. Then you have a mount to screw on whatever fixture you need to mount. ie clips for the boat hook, fire extinguisher, even for wire harness and fuel lines.<br /><br />Regarding the seating, a full bench seat against the splashwell might give you the comfortable seating you want. BUT remember that whoever sits there is going to have their heads near the motor. It can be loud. Maybe building back to back bench seats to replace the existing front bench seat. Like the back to back lounge seats, but in a bench style that does not lounge. Build it by extending the existing bench seat rearward and put an A frame backrest on top. The new base can be used for storage. The old bench seats in the rear can probably be removed without causing any structural problems and frees up needed floor space. Back to back bench seats were common on boats in the 50's and early 60's. They look really sharp in stained and varnished ply with throw cushions. <br /><br />Also look at this post about back to back seats made from cedar. These are just too cool! ( Nikko - hope you don't mind me linking your pic) <br />

 

[saxis]

Re: 14' Fleetform - Starting restore

Thanks Mark! After looking through your gas tank project I'm thinking that's the only way to go. It will free up alot of space in my boat, and I think I can get even more use out of those side seats. I'm worried about taking them out or cutting into them, as they look to provide some structural support to the sides. I want to fill at least half of them with foam, with maybe a baitbox/cooler on the left and battery on the right. Don't think there's room for back to back seats. Not sure what I'm going to do about that yet. I really need to get pictures up, but don't have a digital camera yet... Here's another diagram that should be pretty self explanatory...<br /><br />

 

[saxis]

Re: 14' Fleetform - Starting restore

To give everyone a little better idea of what I've got to work with, I found some pics of another restored Fleetform that shows the stern, dash and sides very well. The difference between the boat in these pics and mine, is that mine does not have the splashwell and sectioned off stern. Mine is believed to be a '58, and this is a '59. You can see why I fell in love with this boat. It just looks awesome... The owner said he can get it to plane with a 9.9hp. I can't wait to put a 40 on it.<br /><br />

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