14ft alum Polar Craft Project.

[Turtlejugger]

Hi Im Zach and am new to this forum. The guys at Ohio Game Fishing told me about this forum and said u guys knew everything about boating. But anyway this is my first boat and i got a good deal on it. Its a 14ft Polar Craft aluminum V bottom. I want to fix this thing up worthy enough to hit the lake then maybe down the line,the Ohio river. I'm new to boating and everything about it. I think i need to coat the bottom of the boat then put in a plywood floor. Then going to build bench's and attach them to the plywood. I'm looking for a 55lb thrust trolling motor to get this big thing moving untill I find a outboard motor. I live in southwest ohio and am having a hard time find affordable used motors. Thanks for any information or tips.

 

[pckeen]

Re: 14ft alum Polar Craft Project.

Hi Zach,

Welcome to iboats. Read through some of the restoration threads here to get an idea of what might be involved. Here's a few pointers to start with:
- Before you do anything - do a leak test (I did this by putting the boat in the lake to see if it was leaking and where). You can also do it by partially filling it with water - search for leak tests on google and iboats and you'll get more information. You will need to replace or rebuck any rivets that are leaking.
- Take a close look at the transom. It looks as though someone has already removed the deck, which means it was probably rotten. The transom looks old to me. Drill some 1/8" - 1/4" holes in the wood with a drill, and see what color the wood chips are. Gold is good, black is bad. Given the condition of the boat, you may be better off replacing the transom.
- If you are thinking of coating the underside of the boat to prevent a leak - that won't work well. Once the rivets are repaired or replaced, consider coating the rivets on the inside of the boat with 'gluvit' or 'coat it.' It's a boat sealant that will provide extra insurance against future leaks.
- if you are building a deck, I would put some floatation foam in underneath.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 14ft alum Polar Craft Project.

I'll start with don't use any pressure treated plywood in your aluminum boat, we see a lot of people make this mistake.

The first thing I'd do is pressure wash the inside of the hull real good, you'll need to do this if you want to apply a sealer and you can also check for leaks and removing any crud from the inside will also help expose any leaks.

Your transom also looks suspect to me, I'd go ahead and pull it out and replace it.

Sealing all of the wood before you install it in your boat will add many years of life to it, I prefer the 2 part marine grade epoxy resin for this. It is the best sealer.

 

[classiccat]

Re: 14ft alum Polar Craft Project.

Welcome Zach! :welcome:

Very cool boat! :thumb:

I wonder if this started life as a closed-bow...and suffered a "bowectomy" at some point :noidea:

If you have basic riveting skills, i'd consider continuing the truncated gunwale-cap up-to a bow cross-member. I've noticed on my Starcraft SS that gunwale cap integrity (or lack-of) translates to more hull twist.

 

[Turtlejugger]

Re: 14ft alum Polar Craft Project.

Welcome Zach! :welcome:

Very cool boat! :thumb:

I wonder if this started life as a closed-bow...and suffered a "bowectomy" at some point :noidea:

If you have basic riveting skills, i'd consider continuing the truncated gunwale-cap up-to a bow cross-member. I've noticed on my Starcraft SS that gunwale cap integrity (or lack-of) translates to more hull twist.

Thanks for the tips. What kinda tools do i need to replace rivots? Im a total greenhorn so sorry in advance if I ask alot of stupid questions. How hard is it to replace the transom? and what does the transom really do on a boat. I just see a flat piece of wood in the back. I just thought it was a board to mount a motor on. where can i get that sealer? lol and also i dont have a power washer so ya think a public car wash would be enough?

thank you so much for the info. Ive been a bank fisherman for years and now im working towards hitting the water. I have my sea legs lol it runs in my family. My father is a pilot bargmen and so was his father. My family has a long line of rivermen blood running through our veins. Ive been feeling it hard lately.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 14ft alum Polar Craft Project.

This is the easiest way to replace rivets:

1989 Sylvan Boat Rebuild Part 4 - YouTube

You can get the epoxy resin here:

Epoxy :?Epoxy Resins and Hardeners
Use it to seal your decking and transom wood.

The wood in the back of your boat is part of the transom, it strengthens the back of the boat so the motor won't bend the transom. With your boat being open like it is right now, replacing the transom will be a lot easier to do now than later when you get a bunch of stuff in the boat.

A public car wash pressure washing will be fine to clean the inside of your boat, hit it with the degreaser and detergent then rinse it out.