1970's Aluminum Mckenzie Cherokee Runabout Rebuild

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

If you have pictures showing how the dash is mounted to the port and starboard brackets that would be helpful. TIA !!!

 

[DLuns69]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Well, I thought I posted a pic. I will try again and get some pics of those brackets.

 

[DLuns69]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

See if these show up.

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

See if these show up.

Thanks DL. Those pictures are a good help.

What is the width dimension of your dash?

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

In the end it was something like 16 x 60 grit discs. And some Rockwell ones too.



Still need a second pass over port side patches but all in all happy with the results.

Gflex is applied to all but 40 rivets.

Flip is coming. And second leak test ... Fingers crossed

Happy Canada Day weekend!!

And 4th of July shortly after!!!

 

[DLuns69]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Not sure of the dimensions offhand and I am away until Sunday evening. I can measure and get those dimensions in a day or two. Maybe get some better pics too.

 

[papahoward]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

I'm just joining your discussion. Nice project you have going on. Interesting enough, yesterday I cut out the wood dash for my McKenzie project, a 1959 15' Cherokee using an outdoor grade oak veneer plywood, 3/4", stained & two coats of marine urethene. This model has a very short dash so I added an inch or so to make room for switches to keep from having to cut holes in the aluminum behind the wood. The small Chrome dashboard and steering wheel mount will hold the wood firmly, but plan to add stainless wood screws from behind.

The oak plank in your picture doesn't look 2" thick to me. I think oak would look very classy (in my humble opinion). As you can see in the third picture, I'm in the middle of stripping two layers of 54 year-old thick skid resistant paint from inside the hull - a chore. Good luck to you.

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

I'm just joining your discussion. Nice project you have going on. Interesting enough, yesterday I cut out the wood dash for my McKenzie project, a 1959 15' Cherokee using an outdoor grade oak veneer plywood, 3/4", stained & two coats of marine urethene. This model has a very short dash so I added an inch or so to make room for switches to keep from having to cut holes in the aluminum behind the wood. The small Chrome dashboard and steering wheel mount will hold the wood firmly, but plan to add stainless wood screws from behind.
View attachment 200888View attachment 200889View attachment 200887
The oak plank in your picture doesn't look 2" thick to me. I think oak would look very classy (in my humble opinion). As you can see in the third picture, I'm in the middle of stripping two layers of 54 year-old thick skid resistant paint from inside the hull - a chore. Good luck to you.

Thanks DL. No immediate hurry. Please get them when you can.

And thanks PapaH. I am pretty much sure LA boat is a Cherokee as well. Just not sure which Cherokee? LA boat measures 15.8" or so. I found a bunch of threads with Cherokee details. If you're interested do a search on Cherokee.

Good eye, the oak plank is to 1 and 7/8" not quite 2".

Update ...

G/Flex is done.

Probably aim for flip next Friday or Sunday. Trailer with new bunks is ready for LA boat. I have the u-bolts lightly tightened expecting an adjustment or two when LA boat returns to her rightful resting spot.

In the mean time might as well finish off the chines with the hull exposed. And take care of other hull areas needing a buff.

The next big push will be to install the transom with tilt and trim. I picked up all the parts I believe are required for the transom. Stern eyes, drain fittings and splash well tubes.



I think I am going to go with stainless steel hardware. Dimension suggestions?

Have a good one eh!

 

[DLuns69]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

The dimensions I got on the dash are:

Outer Dash that is the thinner ply
Width 52 1/4 inches
Height in middle 6 1/4 inches
It is slightly less in width at the bottom.

The thicker piece that goes under the bow is 60 3/4 inches wide and about 6 inches tall in the middle,

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Thanks for the dims DL. I am going to have that oak plank cut into two pieces. Probably start work on the dash when the deck is down and installed.



Looking forward to flip!

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Got LA boat flipped and filled her with water to the chimes.

Good news is all rivets are dry except one.

Bad news is there is one leaky rivet. I remember this rivet. It didn't seat well and I think the diameter of the hole was larger than the rivet. Anyway I will take care of it with G/flex.

Rewind a while back when I was working with the transom. Getting started again ...

The CMC is temporarily installed to know where the engine mounting holes need to be marked.

I have the original transom cap and transom plate with ob engine mounting holes.

So I put the transom cap and plate into position and clamped this into place.





A couple of issues I notice

- CMC mounting bracket face not flush with transom plate. The CMC is lined up with the top of the transom cap which overlaps the transom plate leaving a small lip.

- transom plate is not large enough

I need to answer a few questions:

- should the CMC be flush with the transom cap top?

- what height considerations do I need to account for?

- should I remove the transom plate?

Have a good one eh!

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Here's the original transom plate I was using as a template for the ob mounting holes. It's pitted a bunch and too small dimensions for the cmc. But perhaps I can go without the plate and mount the cmc directly through the transom skin.



If the cmc is mounted to the transom skin it would look like this with no plate



and



On the other hand the plate would protect the skin over the life of the transom. So maybe it's worth it to have a larger plate made up. The plate would also serve for a little kicker ob down the road.

What do you guys think?

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

In the end the plate likely won't make a significant difference either way. Probably comes down to personal preference.

I like the idea of the plate protecting the transom skin. So I will mount the transom plate where it meets the transom cap roughly 2" down the skin. This way the cmc will install at the same height as when the ob was mounted directly to the transom.

Would like to make sure I won't have clearance issues when the power tilt and trim is fully trimmed.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

I think you are right on... I mounted my CMC using the same bolt holes that were originally there when my o/b was mounted directly to the transom... This ended up pushing my CMC a little higher than my transom cap, but that worked for me.

In the end, you want your o/b to ride a little higher than it normally would because it is now 6 inches back from the transom and the water tends to rise a bit immediately after coming under the transom. My CMC manual said the (anti) cavitation plate should be 1.5 to 3 inches higher than the bottom of the boat... Mine was exactly 1.5 inches using the original bolt pattern....

The CMC gives you a little wiggle room to move up or down if your original bolt pattern doesn't get your cavitation plate in this range like it needs to be. So, my .02 would be to go with your original bolt pattern holes and then work from there if you need adjustments...

Here is a pic of mine to the extent it helps:

 

[greenbush future]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

I've been watching you go through your restoration and it sure looks nice. The extra plate you are considering on the transom back seems like overkill to me, with a brand new transom like yours I can't see how this would help, and I think it looks tons better without. Just add the backer alum plate to the inside like the other member showed us all and you should be a solid as it gets. In the end I think it serves no function, but it's your boat and you get to decide. Nice work so for.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

To me, an aluminum plate on a Fiberglass Boat transom means there's something wrong with the transom. A properly fabricated and installed Glass transom needs Nothing else. If you want it for cosmetics then there's nothing to stop you, but if and when the time comes to sell the boat, don't be surprised if someone might question the structural integrity of the transom due to the aluminum plate because that is the typical "Band Aid" approach taken when a transom is failing.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

To me, an aluminum plate on a Fiberglass Boat transom means there's something wrong with the transom. A properly fabricated and installed Glass transom needs Nothing else. If you want it for cosmetics then there's nothing to stop you, but if and when the time comes to sell the boat, don't be surprised if someone might question the structural integrity of the transom due to the aluminum plate because that is the typical "Band Aid" approach taken when a transom is failing.

]

WoG, I'm confused... Our brother man here has a metal boat ("Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout"). Still, the backer plate is not 100% necessary on a metal boat either... The only reason I used one was to cover some ugly cracks and holes... Since you have a brand new transom skin back there, you are ready to rock and roll...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Well cut my legs off and call me "Shorty":facepalm:!!!! I apologize to the "Tinners" You all Know I'm just an...

and being one I tend to get discombobulated at times!!!! Sorry for the discombobulation and I'll try not to let it happen agin in da future! Tin on Tin would be more than acceptable as far as I know but I don't know so what do I know!

Carry on!!!!!

 

[jhendery]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Thanks for the comments guys!

Up north till Saturday afternoon. PMC those pics and details are great. Will take measurements when I get home.

Dashing ahead the first mate came through with a 3/4" oak plank. Nice and straight. And 1/4" finisher. Like!!!

Pics later.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Re: 1970's 16 ft Aluminum Mackenzie Runabout Rebuild

Nice work. I don't really know anything about the CMC, but I'm learning something here! The transom plates are optional, I only went with one to protect the new paint on my transom. I'm enjoying following your thread, keep the great pics coming.