1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

[classiccat]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Good job on the strippage cj8! Monster boat...and dealing with many years of P.O. hi-jinx. (many of us can relate!)

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Hey Steve, WeepNwilly may not see your request, but here's a couple of pics I found on the internet. This is kind of what I'm wanting to do to my Chief.

Thanks Cj, that is pretty much identical to what I was looking at but I plan on elevation the butt seat behind the helm seat to maybe the same level so when tolling my passengers can sit more up instead of almost on the deck. Then I could possibly put the batteries in a box where the foot rest will be for the rear facing seats.

 

[InMotion]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Hey CJ --- just getting caught back up! Lookin really good.... stripping paint is definitely not the most enjoyable part of the project --- but as they say.... no pain no gain! Personally, I'd like to find out who "they" are... and have a few choice words!!!

Nonetheless, glad to see you have been able to get through the multitude of layers!

Take care,

Jim

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

I don't have a plan yet Watermann, but I really need to flip her. The other boats I've done I was able to turtle pretty much by myself. However, this one feels heavy and awkward. None of the trailers rollers are any good so sliding her off the bow stop the other day was done with a ratchet strap and a tree. The trailer needs some serious work, so the Chief has to come off.

Your pretty much stuck doing what I did, take off the Chiefs headdress and turtle her on some 4x4's. The roll it up on one side and then the other is another option but having the cabin off makes working inside and on the bottom way easier.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Good job on the strippage cj8! Monster boat...and dealing with many years of P.O. hi-jinx. (many of us can relate!)

Thanks for the encouragement BlueFin. One of these guys even used a high build primer over body filler. I think the original owner had a professional paint job put on when he changed the transom. It was in pretty good shape and am not sure what possessed the last owner to put truck bed liner over it. (other than it being yellow )

Thanks Cj, that is pretty much identical to what I was looking at but I plan on elevation the butt seat behind the helm seat to maybe the same level so when tolling my passengers can sit more up instead of almost on the deck. Then I could possibly put the batteries in a box where the foot rest will be for the rear facing seats.

That's exactly what I was thinking WnW. I'm pretty short and would be very uncomfortable facing backwards with my feet dangling. I don't think I'll pull it up to the same level as the helm seat, but about 12" below.

Hey CJ --- just getting caught back up! Lookin really good.... stripping paint is definitely not the most enjoyable part of the project --- but as they say.... no pain no gain! Personally, I'd like to find out who "they" are... and have a few choice words!!!

Nonetheless, glad to see you have been able to get through the multitude of layers!

Take care,

Jim

Thanks Jim. There's gotta be someone around here who's as crazy about fishing as I am. I need a fishing buddy willing to work on a boat! A few more hands would go a long way.... who wants to drink alone besides George Thorogood. :joyous:

Your pretty much stuck doing what I did, take off the Chiefs headdress and turtle her on some 4x4's. The roll it up on one side and then the other is another option but having the cabin off makes working inside and on the bottom way easier.

I think I saw your thread where you did that. You also planned on painting it that way I believe.

I've not figured out how to flip her by myself yet. I'm going to pull the very top windshield off and build a stand for the bow. That way I can keep her top off the ground. I figure a couple of tires will work for the stern. Once I get her off the trailer, my cherry picker might be able to get the bow off the ground to flip.

Thanks for stopping by

 

[barato2]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

senor, if i lived about 2000 miles closer, i'd be over for a threesome with yer big tin floozy in a heartbeat......

don't forget straw bales for use as hull supports....good height to slide boat from trailer.

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Thanks Jim. There's gotta be someone around here who's as crazy about fishing as I am. I need a fishing buddy willing to work on a boat! A few more hands would go a long way.... who wants to drink alone besides George Thorogood. :joyous:


I think I saw your thread where you did that. You also planned on painting it that way I believe.

I've not figured out how to flip her by myself yet. I'm going to pull the very top windshield off and build a stand for the bow. That way I can keep her top off the ground. I figure a couple of tires will work for the stern. Once I get her off the trailer, my cherry picker might be able to get the bow off the ground to flip.

Thanks for stopping by

CJ, on your reply about having a fishing / resto buddy, I have one of the best who's helped me tons, not to mention help flip my Chief into the turtle position. I just need to keep the garage fridge stocked up is all.

It's a pain to drill out all the rivets holding down the cabin but being able to do the work in the bow without being doubled over the whole time was one of my main concerns. Now I can sand, clean and paint the inside of the hull and underside of the cabin way easier. Then I can work on putting in the bulkheads and hatches.

Another plus side was once I got the cabin off, I saw all this crystalized 40+ year old goop that used to make the seal between the cabin and the hull. There would have been a big problem with water intrusion into the cabin as there was no way that stuff would have been water tight.

Lastly I was able to remove the layers of nasty paint from the bottom much easier as it was now a relatively flat surface to do the work. I also could see where some hull damage was and suspect rivets that had been damaged from impacts. It will definitely be a job for 2 guys to get your Chief flipped, maybe even a 3rd to make it safer.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

senor, if i lived about 2000 miles closer, i'd be over for a threesome with yer big tin floozy in a heartbeat......

don't forget straw bales for use as hull supports....good height to slide boat from trailer.

Thanks B2

CJ, on your reply about having a fishing / resto buddy, I have one of the best who's helped me tons, not to mention help flip my Chief into the turtle position. I just need to keep the garage fridge stocked up is all.

It's a pain to drill out all the rivets holding down the cabin but being able to do the work in the bow without being doubled over the whole time was one of my main concerns. Now I can sand, clean and paint the inside of the hull and underside of the cabin way easier. Then I can work on putting in the bulkheads and hatches.

Another plus side was once I got the cabin off, I saw all this crystalized 40+ year old goop that used to make the seal between the cabin and the hull. There would have been a big problem with water intrusion into the cabin as there was no way that stuff would have been water tight.

Lastly I was able to remove the layers of nasty paint from the bottom much easier as it was now a relatively flat surface to do the work. I also could see where some hull damage was and suspect rivets that had been damaged from impacts. It will definitely be a job for 2 guys to get your Chief flipped, maybe even a 3rd to make it safer.

That's a really good point Watermann. It is very possible that this chief is leaking there also. There was some rotted wood in the cabin that I couldn't explain.

I'm off to Texas this week to help my college aged daughter drive up to Maryland. That'll give me some time to think and ponder. I'll take another look with fresh eyes next week, but I'm leaning towards Watermann's suggestion.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

I've decided to remove the top and was hoping someone could chime in with a little 'how to'.

Do I need to remove these solid rivets?

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Once that trim is removed, I should be able to get to the other rivets? ... I'm just assuming the top L downs where it mounts to the gunnel.


Here's a little damage that needs some attention. The PO had a 2 pound ball of silicone in there to seal that up

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[Watermann]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Yes drill out the rivets on both sides that hold on that trim piece in your first pic. Underneath that there will be 100 or so rivets holding down the cabin. There are also some nuts on the inside underneath that hold on the lower windshield, mine had 4 I believe. Remove the upper windshield yet? The lower has the same T bolts and nuts that will most likely snap right off as soon as you try to remove them, mine were all ferrous metal and rusted solid.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Can't help with that one, CJ. But I can guess what you were thinking about between TX and MD. :joyous:

But I will ask a Q. What's under that trim piece to the right of the rivet? And does the L have rivets into the gunnel? It looks like a rivet through the L up near the missing 2 lb. ball of sillycone.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Yes drill out the rivets on both sides that hold on that trim piece in your first pic. Underneath that there will be 100 or so rivets holding down the cabin. There are also some nuts on the inside underneath that hold on the lower windshield, mine had 4 I believe. Remove the upper windshield yet? The lower has the same T bolts and nuts that will most likely snap right off as soon as you try to remove them, mine were all ferrous metal and rusted solid.

Thanks Watermann. The upper windshield had a raised lip channel that it sits in and took me a little while to figure out. The lower had the normal T bolts.

Can't help with that one, CJ. But I can guess what you were thinking about between TX and MD. :joyous:

But I will ask a Q. What's under that trim piece to the right of the rivet? And does the L have rivets into the gunnel? It looks like a rivet through the L up near the missing 2 lb. ball of sillycone.

The trip went well GA ... and you're right about what I was thinking.

There was 1 missing rivet by that ball of sillycone. I'm pretty sure someone got out of the hatch and sat down or climbed on the roof. I've already bent it back to about where it needs to go. It'll get some new bracing so that won't happen again.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

I took advantage of the nice weather the last few days. The transom got pulled even though it was only a few years old. I thought maybe 3 to 5 years old since the PO replaced it, but I'm thinking maybe 10 after seeing the mulch.

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I found where all the ants went. The cabin was totally infested with them.



Here's the cabin roof coming off:

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The cabin is screwed down onto the 2X4's which helped us carry it and to relive the stress.

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The transom came out in two separate pieces and had no glue, spar varnish, paint, or epoxy. Why half *** do something this labor intensive???

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

We have flippage !!!

It wasn't pretty, but the result was the same

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That truck bed liner is some tough stuff to get off. Little bites......

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

The only stripper I could get to even begin to soften the truck bedliner was the Rusto aircraft stripper. Nasty stuff, but w/ lots of sweat & swearing, not necessarily in that order, the liner finally succumbed to my will

Encouragement from a 3500psi gas pressure washer w/ a baddazz rotary tip helped pick at the edges if they lifted.


AutoZone here price matches SummitRacing's price on the stripper, and didn't add to allow for shipping, so $22 instead of $39+. Take the SummitRacing page w/ you. An AutoZone in NY flat out refused to match the price, but if it's a corporate policy, I'd pursue it if they refuse to save half. You'll need quite a bit...................

Great looking topless flip!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

She looks so small all pulled back in the shell! :joyous: I'm with you, CJ - Why not do something to protect the transom wood after all the work to get it out and back in. No wonder we call PO's names. Ooops, someone will end up with my tinny one day - Wonder what they'll say?

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Well ya certainly have her stripped naked :embarassed: I believe ya made some pretty quick work out of the deconstruction. Wish we had your warmer weather up here......freezing rain today.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Nice work cj, hard to believe the PO would jut put the two pieces of ply in without at least screwing them together, some people!!:stupid:

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

Wow that's a lot of work done! Should make life easier now. Funny how that big cruiser starts looking like a row boat when you get her torn down and in the turtle position.

Basically nothing on the transom is the way the factory does it too so I can see ignorant people thinking that it's good to do it again.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: 1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas.

I got back to work on the Chief today. Not a lot to show for it, but I did get most of the paint off. Another few hours should have 'er stripped.


I'm almost ready to start the construction part of this build. The trailer needs quite a bit of attention... but first things first is to fix my little mishap (sliding down the hill and bending the trailer tongue).

Trying to save the brake cylinder:

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Standard tilt type trailer:

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Out of all my years of boating, I've used the tilt part on a trailer one time . . . and that was because I needed to pull a boat out of the water without a boat ramp. I decided not to let the trailer tilt and just welded the new tongue.

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The original tongue was 109" and that's what I have put back on. It sure does look LONG

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