1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

J

JetPants

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Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
5
Hello All,

I found this forum after being "given" a 1979 Crestliner WestWind (I think) today. It's on a spartan trailer. The boat and trailer have been sitting outside in Central SD for the past few years. The trailer is sound as it was delivered from SD to Duluth, MN with no issues. It was used as recently as 5 years ago, so there should be no leaks. The motor needs a tuneup, but should run.

My question is, is this a good project boat to do some minor restore work to or am I better off taking what I can get on trade on a newer used boat in better condition? I'm fairly handy and wouldn't mind taking the project on. Mechanical and Wiring would be a struggle for me, but I'm willing to try.

My first step would be to remove the plywood that's in there. The wood on the seats is in good enough shape that they could be used for templates. A thought I had would be to remove those all together and have a more open boat, but I don't know if there's any structural use to those bench seats or not. Also, I would like to completely repaint both the boat and trailer. After some reading, that doesn't scare me as much anymore. The trolling motor should work, but would need a new propeller. Not sure if the depth finder works or not.

So I've attached some pics of my new inheritance. Let me know what you think.
 

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S

SnapperMassacre

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
33
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

WOW! Nice that someone gave you that! I would fix it up! thats a nice little skiff!
 
xjdriver

xjdriver

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
341
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

I think the transom would be the main concern on that boat, did you check it out yet? You could be lucky but its not hard to replace if its rotted. The motor should be pretty easy to get running, new impeller t-stat lower oil, plugs then see if itl run.
 
GT1000000

GT1000000

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
4,916
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

Hi and welcome to the Iboats Dry Dock, Tin Division, JetPants...
Nice score on that old AMF Crestliner...
A little TLC and some new epoxy coated, exterior grade plywood to replace all the wood that's in there now, add some under deck floatation, plus whatever mechanicals and electricals need looking after, and you'll have a real nice boat...
The only major concern would be if it has any leaks and a bit of rivet re-bucking or replacing, plus a coat of "Gluvit" on the inside, and that should be a non-issue...
The real tin guys will be along shortly to help you out with any questions you might have.
Have Fun and Good Luck!
GT1M
 
J

JetPants

Recruit
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
5
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

xjdriver said:
I think the transom would be the main concern on that boat, did you check it out yet? You could be lucky but its not hard to replace if its rotted. The motor should be pretty easy to get running, new impeller t-stat lower oil, plugs then see if itl run.
Click to expand...

How do I check the transom? I traveled over 500 miles to get here with the motor still attached, no transom saver bracket. Me tugging on the motor did give me any reason to pause, but then again I'm a complete "cadet" as my new username implies.

Thanks for the reply!
 
J

JetPants

Recruit
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
5
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

GT1000000 said:
Hi and welcome to the Iboats Dry Dock, Tin Division, JetPants...
Nice score on that old AMF Crestliner...
A little TLC and some new epoxy coated, exterior grade plywood to replace all the wood that's in there now, add some under deck floatation, plus whatever mechanicals and electricals need looking after, and you'll have a real nice boat...
The only major concern would be if it has any leaks and a bit of rivet re-bucking or replacing, plus a coat of "Gluvit" on the inside, and that should be a non-issue...
The real tin guys will be along shortly to help you out with any questions you might have.
Have Fun and Good Luck!
GT1M
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome. I suppose I could google this as well, but what is "Gluvit"?

Thanks for the reply!!
 
xjdriver

xjdriver

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
341
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

Check all the exposed wood, lock the motor down and try yanking on the lower unit, if it flexes all around then you know its rotted, knock on the back and listen for hollowness.
 
GT1000000

GT1000000

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
4,916
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

The transom is fairly easy to replace and if you are going to the trouble of restoring this boat, I think it would be time and money well spent replacing it now...
 
jbcurt00

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Messages
25,258
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

xjdriver said:
Check all the exposed wood, lock the motor down and try yanking on the lower unit, if it flexes all around then you know its rotted, knock on the back and listen for hollowness.
Click to expand...

Its 'only' a 2X6 +/- size piece of wood across the interior side of the back of the boat. Take the motor off, remove any thru bolts & remove the transom wood. It will be fairly obvious if it needs to be replaced.
attachment.php


No need to do the yank test on the lower unit, which might work on 'standard' boats w/ 'typical' transoms.

The knock test would be even less effective on this skiff then it is on a standard transom where it's a fairly inaccurate way to test the transom's condition.

In the pix I re-posted, it appears that the transom has already been replaced at some point. It's likely it was supposed to run all the way down to that ledge that's about 2" below the current transom wood.

It is an ALUMINUM utility Crestliner correct?

GT's got you covered @the Gluvit, if it's aluminum.. It looks like it might be fiberglass, and some of the 1979 Crestliner utility boats were FG instead of aluminum. Couldn't find a listing for a WestWind @1979 Crestliners.
 
GT1000000

GT1000000

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
4,916
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

jbcurt00 said:
It is an ALUMINUM utility Crestliner correct?
Click to expand...

Ya know, I assumed it was aluminum 'cause I saw some reevits, but you might be right...it could be glass...hmmm...anxiously awaiting the OP's response...:)
 
J

JetPants

Recruit
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
5
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

Yes - this is aluminum. Good advice on the transom from GT. I'll have to take a closer look at it to see what I'd be getting into on replacing that.

Any advice on taking those bench seats completely out? I would probably have to cut them out close to the boat floor as I suspect they're riveted in. If they add to the structure of the boat, then I'll for sure leave them in. It would be nice to have them out though, as I have a 3 year old daughter that can't wait to get it out on the water to go fishing with Daddy. The old wood will come out soon enough, but any other major work will be a good winter project in the garage.

BTW - I guessed on "WestWind" as a model as I saw that on the side where there appeared to be some decals that had weathered off, leaving darker paint. It could have been a dealer back in the day, who knows.
 
jbcurt00

jbcurt00

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Staff member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Messages
25,258
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

Unless you can get more details about what Crestliner you've got, and how it was made, the answer to your bench question is maybe.

Starcraft made 2 different utility boats in both 14 & 16 foot. 1 of each length was of a heavier gauge of aluminum, and they had a walkthru gap in the benches. The others were lighter gauge & the benches were full width. All 4 boats had flotation foam in the benches, but the lighter gauge boat probably depended more on the bench for structural purposes, but the heavier may have too.

The benches probably do contribute to the structural integrity of your boat, but how much & if it really NEEDS it will be tough to answer remotely via the internet.

And as the only place to have flotation foam on board, I'd be inclined to leave the benches as they are.
 
J

JetPants

Recruit
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
5
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

Another closer look at the boat and I found a well worn out data plate. I think I can make out "Admiral" next to the model. A quick google search give more results about this than "WestWind".

I can definitely see the floatation foam underneath the benches, so I was coming to the same conclusion. Perhaps I can create a "casting deck" of sorts and drop in some livewells over the front two benches.
 
59 Fatty

59 Fatty

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 19, 2013
Messages
260
Re: 1979 Crestliner WestWind restore

Have you checked with mods on retrocrestliner.com?
 
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