1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Joe had Monday off so I dug the boat out on last Friday and brought it down to the shop to thaw out. Had plans to work on it over the weekend but plans got changed for me. Anyway Monday we were able to re-design the wing windo for the windshield. Before: After: The starboard window was broken from the po and I didn't want the long sweeping windows anyway. I was thinking of using lexan for them. Would be intrested in knowing if you guys have had positive or negative results with lexan. We got the consoles test fitted, windshield aligned, and front deck height figured out. Never seem to get as much done as I think, but all in all, forward progress. Plan is to get decking and storage figured out, the pull everything back out and seal it all up. I also want to get any mounting holes or cut outs on consoles done before painting those.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Interesting, did BlueFin use similar braces/patches to prevent chine/rib end cracking:

Missed that before.............

Looks great, nice work modifying WS to fit consoles & getting them aligned.

 

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Don't know about cracking. It did look similiar to what I had seen in some of the starcraft threads. I'm pretty happy with the windshield, I really like the curved glass that are on new boats, but that wasn't gonna happen.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Nice job getting it all aligned . Looks great !

 

[classiccat]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Outstanding! Very nice W/S modification :thumb:

They added the bracing where the shelving terminates; the integrity of the vertical risers connected to the shelves is crucial. I like BlueFins

 

[Puddle_jumper]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Good job on the resto. I will be following along and puttering slowly behind you with my 1900. I have neglected mine for a few months and need to finish her up.

 

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Good job on the resto. I will be following along and puttering slowly behind you with my 1900. I have neglected mine for a few months and need to finish her up.

Thanks and good to have you along. I had read through your project previously and it was good info to have while tearing this boat apart.

 

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Over the weekend I got to working on the puzzle that is the front of the boat. Since we had decided on a fishing deck height I went and made up some aluminum angle brackets to mount the deck to. Ended up putting 37 new holes in the boat. 36 were where they were supposed to be. 1 got off track and will need to be filled. Made some templates out of cardboard and the layed them out on plywood and cot them out. Still need to tweak them a little, but am pretty satisfied so far. We are trying to incorporate a livewell, rod locker, storage and batteries for trolling motor inside the front deck. Rod locker is planned for center, I'd like to get the batteries up front and center to take the place of the original fuel tank which was moved aft below deck. Livewell on port side. If any of you guys know the dimensions and capacity of your livewells please chime up with the pros and cons. Am planning on making the livewell out of 3/16'' aluminum sheet stock I have on hand. Max height for livewell would be around 14''. Was thinking 24'' to 30'' long. Please let me know what you guys think.

We have about 48'' from front of console to forward bulkhead where bow piece of plywood goes from side to side. We love northern pike to eat. Have not really fished for bigguns and don't know if I want to base a livewell dimension on the odd/lucky catch. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Looks great. You should be quite pleased.

 

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Haven't been exactly slacking, but have been getting minor things done. Got steering controls installed, which was a ? because I didn't take into account room needed for them. All seems good on that front. Joe got gauge area cut out. Got paint on outside of boat. Colors didn't work our exactly as I had in my head but they are livable.Was hoping for more of a burnt orange on the top color but it came out more copper/brown than I had atticipated. First time playing with metal flake. Was to caught up to shoot test panels! Might be a blessing in that the copper/brown matches the Nautolex better than the orange would have. Also got safety chains installed on trailer for both trailer hitch and boat. Livewell is fabricated but still tweaking that. This week brings sandind and epoxy on front seat/deckk area.

 

[jackd1023]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Cool scheme, cant wait to see ya on the big lake!!! Perch should be in or at least in soon,,,,,

 

[Teamster]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Wow,......

It sparkles,.....

It's almost Rangeresque,........

And it looks great!!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

57 Chebby!!!! I love It!!!!

 

[budski]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Great job lokonn, trailer turned out great, dashes totally awesome, nice unique paint job, can't wait to see it finished.

 

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Thanks guys. Was having hard time coming up with what to do on outside of boat. Guy across the street had his 57 chevy out and I was thinking ''why not''. Cool lines, classic, unique. The flake was something I had wanted to try. All overkill but fun and different.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Looks great! Should attract LOTS of attention at the gas station, boat ramp and underway

 

[badbarracuda]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Looks great, now you just need fuzzy dice! I really have enjoyed watching this build.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Hey, I thought you tin guys like to make fun of those glittery boats !
I like it ! Outstanding job !

 

[lokonn]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

I just want us all to get along. Tin, fiberglass, wood, solid, glitter, we are all boats and we're all special in our own way. Baa haa haa!

 

[Puddle_jumper]

Re: 1987 Bluefin Sportsman 1900 - The Fun Begins

Lokonn, what did you use to get the decals and adhesive off? I've spent days on mine- heat gun, acetone, goo gone, scrapers, etc. I've got all the decals off now but the residue left behind is ridiculous.