alloffroad
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
- Messages
- 172
I found a free boat in the local pennysaver. I was competing with several other folks for it. When I got to the owners home there was a guy there already. I drove by the house just as he pulled up and by the time I got turned around he was leaving. My heart sunk. All I could picture was a pile of fiberglass straped to a trailer. The owner showed it to me and I was pleasently surprised.
It is a 1958 Dorsett ElDorado. It is wide in the front and narrows toward the rear and is 14 feet long. The back of it looks like the back of a 57 chevy belaire. I quickly looked over it, looking for holes, cracks, and other visible damage to the hull but IO did not see any. I thought that if nothing else the trailer is in goo shape and can be coverted into a motorcycle hauler. Besides, how can you lose with a freebee. I told the owner I would be glad to have it and that was that. I towed it home pulled it in the driveway and parked it untill this weekend. Today I drug the boat off of the trailer and managed to roll it over and set it on a couple of sawhorses. The inside of it is gutted and it has no engine so it is light enough for me to move around. I washed the oxydation off with some soapy water and spayed the inside out while it was still upside down. This is the point where I am now.
There are a few minor scraches to the (I believe) gel coat and a couple of chips. What is the first thing I should do to this old boat in the line of restoring. I don't know much about fiberglass and gel coats so any tips will be good. Oh by the way, it came with all of the original paperwork and the original trailer.
It is a 1958 Dorsett ElDorado. It is wide in the front and narrows toward the rear and is 14 feet long. The back of it looks like the back of a 57 chevy belaire. I quickly looked over it, looking for holes, cracks, and other visible damage to the hull but IO did not see any. I thought that if nothing else the trailer is in goo shape and can be coverted into a motorcycle hauler. Besides, how can you lose with a freebee. I told the owner I would be glad to have it and that was that. I towed it home pulled it in the driveway and parked it untill this weekend. Today I drug the boat off of the trailer and managed to roll it over and set it on a couple of sawhorses. The inside of it is gutted and it has no engine so it is light enough for me to move around. I washed the oxydation off with some soapy water and spayed the inside out while it was still upside down. This is the point where I am now.
There are a few minor scraches to the (I believe) gel coat and a couple of chips. What is the first thing I should do to this old boat in the line of restoring. I don't know much about fiberglass and gel coats so any tips will be good. Oh by the way, it came with all of the original paperwork and the original trailer.
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