Furst boat and first restoration project, have some questions.

[Dylan Beaudry]

The strap method for this is common, yeah, I see it alot in others. But previous owner put the might of Thor into tightening it down and it squished the vinyl bumper trim down flat to the rail and even pulled it out a bit in the back. I think I'm just going to do transom straps anyway. It's a stronger point on the hull and it won't damage the boat when it's painted

 

[matt167]

I gotta say. Mine doesn’t touch the paint, and I disagree. Over the gunnels is safer in general and that is why most modern trailers have hooks to attach a strap in such manor. Actually to be honest. When I brought my boat home on the old rickety trailer that it came with. It had transom straps. The winch as I found out on the way home was busted and wouldn’t lock. The straps were not holding the boat from rolling off the trailer. I cought it before the boat dumped off. Cranked it back tight and tied the bow eye to the winch stand tightly with more than one rope and that is the last time that trailer was ever towed. And I don’t store the boat with the strap tight.

 

[Scott Danforth]

With only $1 BOAT unit in the budget.

I would focus on the engine, transom, flotation foam, deck, bilge pump, clearing the windshield and trailer maintenance. That alone will be over a grand

The paint, strap and rub rail are fine. Plus, spending $400+ on that means you have to skip the important items

 

[matt167]

With only $1 BOAT unit in the budget.

I would focus on the engine, transom, flotation foam, deck, bilge pump, clearing the windshield and trailer maintenance. That alone will be over a grand

The paint, strap and rub rail are fine. Plus, spending $400+ on that means you have to skip the important items

Yup. It’s actually scary when I add up the costs to mine. I had $3,500 into it when all was said and done running the old big twin 40.. I think I may have $10k into my little 14’ boat with the DF25A. It’s a little crazy actually.. but doing it a little at a time adds up

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

I gotta say. Mine doesn’t touch the paint, and I disagree. Over the gunnels is safer in general and that is why most modern trailers have hooks to attach a strap in such manor. Actually to be honest. When I brought my boat home on the old rickety trailer that it came with. It had transom straps. The winch as I found out on the way home was busted and wouldn’t lock. The straps were not holding the boat from rolling off the trailer. I cought it before the boat dumped off. Cranked it back tight and tied the bow eye to the winch stand tightly with more than one rope and that is the last time that trailer was ever towed. And I don’t store the boat with the strap tight.

You just said they were broken, though. So it's not a very fair comparison.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

With only $1 BOAT unit in the budget.

I would focus on the engine, transom, flotation foam, deck, bilge pump, clearing the windshield and trailer maintenance. That alone will be over a grand

The paint, strap and rub rail are fine. Plus, spending $400+ on that means you have to skip the important items

Replacement of wheel hubs, wheel bearings and adding bearing buddies to trailer $60

Bilge pump was included and works. Free

Windshield replacement, already quoted and ready to send from fridley to Duluth. $210

Not sure about paint, but I'm probably gonna sand all the bad parts of the current paint and use Rust-Oleum topside paint since it's cheaper and advertised to work on already painted surfaces. And I have an infinite supply of abrasives and tools at my disposal. So maybe $250 in paint and materials.

 

[matt167]

You just said they were broken, though. So it's not a very fair comparison.

The straps were not broken. The winch was. If it were an over the gunnel strap, it wouldn’t have moved. Think about how they work and you will understand what I mean

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

The straps were not broken. The winch was. If it were an over the gunnel strap, it wouldn’t have moved. Think about how they work and you will understand what I mean

I don't think supposed to rely on the winch for security anyway, though. Much like a car jack, they aren't meant to bear loads. We've always used a chain to lock the front to the trailer with the boat my parents have.

And I did take the funnel strap off, sure enough just like you said, the vinyl trim did go back into shape, but there is still the problem of it deformed it a bit along with the aluminum rail

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

With only $1 BOAT unit in the budget.

I would focus on the engine, transom, flotation foam, deck, bilge pump, clearing the windshield and trailer maintenance. That alone will be over a grand

The paint, strap and rub rail are fine. Plus, spending $400+ on that means you have to skip the important items

Just installed a cable steering kit for $20 too, got it at another man's Treasure (pawn store that popularly gets motorsports parts for some reason) bought some pipe standoff bracket and allthread to affix the cable to the transom too. With any luck I'll stay well under $1 boat unit ... Hopefully.

 

[racerone]

That looks rather silly.----That motor is ready to accept that steering cable right through the tilt tube.-----Much neater that way.

 

[matt167]

I don't think supposed to rely on the winch for security anyway, though. Much like a car jack, they aren't meant to bear loads. We've always used a chain to lock the front to the trailer with the boat my parents have.

And I did take the funnel strap off, sure enough just like you said, the vinyl trim did go back into shape, but there is still the problem of it deformed it a bit along with the aluminum rail

The chain safety is a good idea.

I don't think supposed to rely on the winch for security anyway, though. Much like a car jack, they aren't meant to bear loads. We've always used a chain to lock the front to the trailer with the boat my parents have.

And I did take the funnel strap off, sure enough just like you said, the vinyl trim did go back into shape, but there is still the problem of it deformed it a bit along with the aluminum rail

yeah a bow safety chain is a good idea. It would catch it. But in the event the winch stand failed, the transom straps will not catch it. An over the gunnel strap would prevent it from moving. At least until it was discovered

 

[matt167]

Just installed a cable steering kit for $20 too, got it at another man's Treasure (pawn store that popularly gets motorsports parts for some reason) bought some pipe standoff bracket and allthread to affix the cable to the transom too. With any luck I'll stay well under $1 boat unit ... Hopefully.

That’s hooked up wrong. It goes through the tilt tube on the motor. That setup is for a motor that didn’t have a tilt tube

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

That’s hooked up wrong. It goes through the tilt tube on the motor. That setup is for a motor that didn’t have a tilt tube

It's a foot short I know but I get 30⁰ of steering out of it and that's all I really need for now. Still looking for a ssc52xx 13' cable from Morse/teleflex/domestic or an offbrand equivalent. I already fabricated the steering connector for when I eventually get the correct length. But the goal right now is to get it to a comfortable point within budget before the ice-out date. And then do the small expensive upgrades over a longer period of time.

I still have budget left for a new floor and flooring, the old one is rotted there the old aftermarket seats were Mounted. As well as a speedometer and a cheapo boat cover. Possibly a cheap Rust-Oleum topside paint job but maybe I'll save that for the summer.

What I want to do in the future is hydrolic steering, put side panels in the interior as well as cabinets in the bow. Remake the dash. Add trim plates, add rollers to the trailer, add cabin lighting and a removable cabin enclosure.

Right now I'm settling for good enough, though.

 

[racerone]

There is a proper " engineered " kit available to hook up the steering.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

There is a proper " engineered " kit available to hook up the steering.

Do you mean the dometic seastar kits and the OMC 35 horse steering bar connector? Or is there something made specifically for this boat? Either way, both are something I want to look at in the future as upgrades after my "budget to the water" part.

 

[racerone]

I believe ---SEASTAR ----Has a kit that mounts on the transom and also one that mounts in the splashwell side if there is room.

 

[airshot]

Curious here, no mention of the 1972 transom wood...probably not very solid...would hate to see that motor take a swim from a bad transom !! In case you didn't know...they don't float, not for even a second !!

 

[matt167]

You don’t need hydraulic steering for 35hp. I hooked up my Suzuki to the cable/drum steering system that it came with. It has been re cabled in the past and is in good condition. It actually turns too sharp. Have to be careful

But you can put your steering cable through the tilt tube and neaten it up

Also keep in mind weight with all your upgrades. The boat only has a 900 lbs capacity. That’s fuel, people and gear

 

[matt167]

Curious here, no mention of the 1972 transom wood...probably not very solid...would hate to see that motor take a swim from a bad transom !! In case you didn't know...they don't float, not for even a second !!

On the holiday 14 the transom is visible from the splash well.

 

[Dylan Beaudry]

Curious here, no mention of the 1972 transom wood...probably not very solid...would hate to see that motor take a swim from a bad transom !! In case you didn't know...they don't float, not for even a second !!

It is very solid, it's one of the first things we were looking at on the boat, deciding whether it needed to be replaced or not. But it's 2.5" thick and ROCK hard, no sign of bug corruption or rot either, paint doesn't take well to it so probably treated too. I'm surprised it's not rated for over 40 horse. The transom, even at it's current age could probably tough out a 100 horse, but he mounting points are just a dozen large screws so that's likely the limiting factor.

My guess is they needed it beefed up in the 70s Because it's around when outboard technology was getting popular with 4 strokes. So having a beefy transom would be beneficial for a 40 horse four stroke that weighs just as much as a 75 horse 2 stroke.

Just a guess though, been researching a ton about boats the last week on my free time since I'm new to it too so most of what I know is recent.