New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

figures they'd be different. now i can't help ya....
well, at least we know that between 70 and 75 aristocraft used different suppliers for various parts. at the minimum, cleats and bow lights.
bummer the cleats were used for tie downs. really did mangle them. i've been using the back lifting eyes. will say that the hooks on my tie down straps have started to gouge my glass where the hook rests on the boat inadvertently during towing. guess all i can say is at least i don't think they'll pull out. speaking of which. the lifting eyes are different too. so far i've seen perko and attwood parts used on my 75. best help i can give now.

I'm sad to say the crazing and cracking on the deck are most likely not repairable

i agree, that's too bad. at least i don't think it'll effect how the boat operates, strickly cosmetic. hope ya have success filling them if ya decide to do that. i've got a few cracks like that too and just overlook them.....
if ya decide to replace yer clear center window panel. i think scott has what ya need. or i ended up getting plexiglass 2111, coke bottle green (the right part number obtained from aristocraft) (not easy to obtain) from my local glass dealer. i tried twice to get it from aristocraft and the darn ups man broke both panels in shipment... grrrr. i was unhappy, scott was unhappy. that center panel can be replaced w/o removal of the windshield too. i believe it was silicon that held the side rails onto the windshield part. (only one side guide rail needs be removed to get the center panel out) don't know what held the top rail to the center panel originally. but marinetex flexset worked for glueing that back on the new panel. don't use silicon on the top center rail. i tried it and it didn't last one trip.

looks like yer steering wheel is the same as mine. yer horn is (was) the same as mine too. i thought mine was an aftermarket afterthought though, via placment. so i did replace mine with a different era appropriate horn. located it starboard side, about in front of the side of the windshield. looks much better on mine, imho. rub rail looks like mine too.

wish i had a place for a flag on my bow light, cool...

looks like ya've got a keeper there to me nehoc. she looks hopeful for seeing the water again soon. have fun working on her... what'd ya do to it mechanicly? i done mostly drive repairs on mine, + a manifold and riser...

these boats seem to be pretty durable too. i was abusing mine this summer. not because i wanted too though. check out my stupid human trick... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=277316
that was one wild night and following day. good thing i had my back canvas. kept dry and out of the high winds real nicely.... two weeks later, ya could still see where i'd been blowen onto and beached at in the sand.....

hows yer carpet? when i get some bread together, i'd like to replace mine. wondering if yers needs it too and mostly, what yer gonna use if it does require replacement. my lime green is nla and i've not found anything so far that looks even close to proper.....

keep us updated on your progress.... inquireing minds would like to know....

 

[Nehoc]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Well, mechanically, we've replaced the throttle cables, control to engine shifter cables, engine to outdrive shifter cables, rebuilt/repainted the carb, replaced the ignition, starter, alternator, baffles, bilge pump, and prop, and have had the outdrive completely rebuilt from top to bottom.

The next mechanical thing I'm tackling is cleaning up the electrical. I'll be installing an isolator and switch, and running a single line up to a distribution panel at the helm connected to the deep cycle battery, and then run a cranking battery connected directly to the starter for engine use only. The switch will only be used in the off chance that the cranking battery runs dry, but because the cranking battery will only be connected to the isolator and the starter, it shouldn't ever be a problem.

The boat runs great and I have been taking it out up to when I put it in for this last shifter cable replacement. Everything else that needs to be done is 100% cosmetic at this point.

The carpet definitely needs to be replaced. It's actually the second batch of carpet that was added about 10 years ago. I'm going to replace the carpet with a sand/brown colored carpet that will match as close as possible the seats and top. I'm also going to buy enough material to cover the faux wood trim on the gunwales. That way I won't have to worry about the torn up wood contact paper and it will be easier to clean off. After that, I'll need to focus on reupholstering the seats. I've decided to use the existing seat hardware, and I've already started pulling apart the frames on the loungers to repair/reinforce the hinges and frame.

I think the last thing that I'll tackle on this bad boy will be getting the hull repainted. I was thinking of getting it reglassed, but the cost is really prohibitive. But, a good paintjob at one of the many shipyards around my house shouldn't be too expensive. I'll just have to make sure I prep the hull really well, filling any scratches and cracks and sanding down any rough spots from the really lousy repairs that were done by the prior owners.

One things for sure, I've got a spare time killer this winter.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

looks like we got the same boat.... i mean, were in the same boat...

bet those remote cables from the helm weren't to much fun to pull. i've not had that pleasure, yet. though, i too ran a new wire up to the helm and hooked it up to a 6 gang fuse block. wasn't that much fun getting through the conduit leading from under the gunnel to into the engine compartment with a 8 gage wire i think i used for my fuses. let alone a cable....

for comparison, things i've replaced or modified...

stern nav. light
horn replaced and mounted in old cb antenna hole in deck
installed 12v outlet in dash for a handheld spotlight or gps
R&Red 8track to cd player + R&Red speakers and wire
R&Red cb to vhf radio + 8' antenna in new port side location.
center window panel because of a crack
repaired snap strap to hold window shut...
fixed bilge pump
new aluminum 19P flo-torque II prop, wot, 4300rpm
installed 6 gang fuse block under helm
blower
resealed cap to boat, front half

manifold and riser in 1st week of ownership.
driveshaft bellows
lower shift cable and bellows
ujoints
drive gear yoke, ft seal, ft. brgs. reshimed
gimble brg. + alignment
shift shaft in upper,
shift shaft lever
shift shaft seal, w/ new style
carb rebuild. didn't paint it
water hose from bellhousing to transom shield
new batt. this year
impeller and housing, impellers gonna be changed yearly
bottom seal in upper

we've both been ontoit i'd say....

what baffels do you refer to?

yer gonna like the isolator. i've only got one batt. but i got 2 in my van. i run a deep cycle on it too, it powers 110v inverter in my case. but the isolators work great.

sounds like ya got yer carpet under control. at least yer color will be easier to match than my lime green. the carpet on the gunnels is gonna look good. i've seen a couple posted up by aristocraft. very nice indeed. only thing that i've seen color wise that is close for me is hydroturf i think. wrong texture though. i like the carpet under my feet, feels good. my carpet was fair before start of this season. i'm a smoker, seems i got carried away on one of my overnighters and snuffed one out on the carpet in the dark. what a bum feeling i had the next morning over that stupid mistake. now i'm gonna have to pay. only saving grace was the carpet wasn't that great to start with. but it didn't have burn holes in it...

my upholstery is fair, serviceable so far. many more years of hard use and i'll need to replace too. does aristocraft have yer gold on hand still? my greens, nla...

yer paint job sounds like the ticket for you. i'll bet re gelcoating would be cost prohibitive. paint will look just as good. probably get away with covering up a few sins in doing that. sweet.... i've got a few chips out of my hull in a place or two, on a couple of strakes, i should probably fill them in, but havn't yet. and i roughed up the starboard side of my gelcoat on my keel pretty good in my beaching maneuver in the high winds. be nice to try and smooth that out a bit. probably won't on that either though. sounds like ya got a garge to work in, i'm envious.. i work on a gravel driveway... winter ain't the time for be to be ontoit.

take lots of pics for us to see while your putting your spare time to a great use....

mine seems to run like a top too. didn't miss a beat once this year. even when i was abusing it.. ran it in several rains, many days with pretty good winds, just treated me so kindly. i hope next season treats me as well... love these aristocrafts..... sounds like yer ontoit too....

got a pic of yer dash? see what the difference is between 70 and 75.... i think the 75 dash is too cool.... sportscar like i think the ad says on the aristocraft website....

 

[aristocraft]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Hey bud, replied to your email earlier today. Glad to see the pictures of it on here now.

Hey Ziggy, I replied to an old thread you had regarding using silicon for the windows (which is what we have used forever, still are using, and still will use) when you replaced your panel. But You may have missed my response, i will copy and paste it below to give you some insight into what went wrong with yours.

"Hey Ziggy, Hate to bring up an old thread, but felt it needed some explanation. Silicon works GREAT with Plexiglas. It was used from the factory starting in the sixties, and is still used today. Hence how if you look at the bottom of your front windshield it has a bead of silicon all the way around it. Now, we buy GE Silicon II or fast-dry clear and it works great. about 6 months ago, we too got a batch of the tubes that took almost a week to set!!!! we fortunately found out the next day that it was still wet, and returned the whole batch. Typical results are different from yours, and it sounds like you were just in time for buying one of the tubes from the "Someone forgot to push a button" days at GE. Just thought I would clarify this as silicon does work great..... if you get a good tube. We prefer To buy from lowes, the sell one that is a white tube with a green label in clear, that dries in a few hours. Hope this helps in the future!

Yes the cleats were different changed around 73.
The bow light shown was an earlier model that we cast, but later changed to a produced light so that we did not have to deal with USCG testing. we left that up to perko/attwood ect.

Also look at the seat stitching, a dead giveaway of an earlier model 19.

as far as the deck cracking. only way would be to grind, glass, paint..

Feel free to contact me directly with for anymore help.

Happy Halloween

Scott

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

we too got a batch of the tubes that took almost a week to set!!!!

yep, that's pretty much what happened to me. thanks for bringing up your old reply. somehow i think i did miss it. when i was using the silicon, i inadvertently spilled a splooge on my work area, a week later it was still wet. just a little splooge too. it took me forever to get the original plexiglass out of the top rail and clean it. it was glued in good. then to get hose by the ge silicon. i was bummed. ge must have been hip to the error too. i got my 13 dollars back from ge for the 2 tubes i'd bought and they put up zero resistance in refunding my dollars. small consolation for the hours it took me to reclean all the new wet silicon back out of top rail and start over. + the time i spent researching what i could use to glue the rail to the plexiglass with as i didn't want to reuse a product that just hosed me good (wish i'd have seen your reply for at the time, i wasn't convinced it was a bad batch). i did get an education in glues and plexiglass though. not much sticks to plexiglass it seems. let alone trying to glue dissimilar materials together. no one new what to tell me to use. in the end. i got it cleaned up, i emery clothed the rail and rough sanded the new plexiglass with pretty deep scratches, then used marinetex flexset. so far, so good... in the future, i will consider using silicon again. i found it odd that the oem would recommend something that didn't work. how could i argue with the oem. shear bad luck on my end getting a bad batch... that whole project got me, you too scott. aristocraft ate the shipping + the cost of the panels, twice, for the negligence of ups breaking both panels. i was refunded my dollars for the panels. (outstanding support from the oem i will add)..... my little window project was doomed from the start. good thing that in the end. all worked out. and it sure wasn't for lack of trying..... side note. the flexset has worked good. but man, is that stuff pricey. spent almost as much for the flexset as i did the panel.... i did enjoy the nice, not cracked, coke bottle green plexiglass all summer though.... have a great day folks....

 

[aristocraft]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

HAHA. You know Ziggy, sometimes it just seems the world is out to get you on certain projects, and your window was one of them!!

I know the feeling. We use silicon on many facets, and it never set up. like you even after a week it was still goo... Since then we have actually not used the GE silicon again. It was a pain for us. Now we only use the quick dry from Lowes. believe its called polyseal. Funny thing is we have used the GE silicon II for YEARS..... and the one bad batch turned us off from the indefinatly. That was just to much trouble to maybe have to deal with again. but we had a good 10 year or so run with that particular brand.

As far as the shipping goes. We have not shipped via UPS in 8 months now. We only ship fedex. And guess what. Not one problem......

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Just got one myself and I will certainly be needing a few things.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Just got one myself and I will certainly be needing a few things

way to go dbkerley. congratulations.
now that you've got us drooling about your new boat. tell us all about it. you know, what color? what engine package? what your plans are for fixing her up? pics? start a new thread with all the details....

if ya got a mercruiser, go to the i/o fourm and read the adults only sticky at the top of the page too. much info in that sticky.... even service manual info if it's mercruiser...

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Brown on the bottom. No hardtop or anything at this point. Everything else seems good. I need to make some new seat boards, fix the fuel gauge, bilge pump and blower.

Mercruiser straight 6 w/ mercruiser? outdrive and a bronze prop.

I really want to find some info on getting the hardware needed to connect into the convertible rails.

I don't do well with pics. I take them and they stay on the phone 4ever.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Mercruiser straight 6 w/ mercruiser?

cool. you'll find many folks includeing me that love the L6 engine. real nice package for the nineteen too. mine gets right up and goes pretty good. if 42mph @ 4300rpm is going pretty good. and i think it is. least it feels pretty fast.
what year ya got? you probably have a 1 drive like most of the mercurisers in that era. it is black, right? you can id it by serial number. if a mercruiser, it'll be stamped on the mercruiser sticker or also under the sticker on the drive. go to the adults only and read #9. get #1 or 2 more than likely. it'll have all the relevant info on your engine and drive. assuming it's a mercruiser. those files are large too. so give them time to download. saw this in my local craigslist the other day. i think it's #2. http://omaha.craigslist.org/boa/1108590119.html i already have it so don't need it. be sure it's the one you need prior to getting it of course..

man, sure wish we could see some pics. a bronze prop ay? cool. i've not seen one on a mercruiser. though my dad's ol tower of power merc 900 o/b had a 2 blade bronze on it. it was cool. i'm running a 19P aluminim that i'm happy with. would be cool to see a brown boat too. i've not seen that color i don't think. the colored hulls seem to be more rare from what i've seen.

call scott up at aristocraft on the blower. they are unusuall compared to any blower motor i've seen in a boat. and he's got them to the best of my knowledge too. i'd ask him about the slides for the convertable top too. he's proably gonna be in the know as to what you need.

just a fyi. photobucket.com works pretty good for uploading your pics to the web.

don't sound like ya need much to get her on the water cool.

fwiw. i've seen a couple ads on the web for some cheaper ol nineteens. i think one is $350 and says it comes w/ a hardtop... i just google aristocraft nineteen and have been coming up with that ad for a year or better if your wanting a hardtop...

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

The year it seems is coming into debate. The previous owner said it was a '74. After doing some reading on here, I see that the carpeted sides didn't come around until '79 or '79. Mine has carpeted sides.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

ya should be able to determine pretty easy what year it is, if it was produced after 1972. a hull identification number (hin) was required after 72. on my 75, it's molded into the fiberglass right above the drive. like this...

note, the last two digits are 75 indicating a 1975 built boat...
agreed. the carpet on the sides was later. my 75 has contact paper that looks like wood. carpet was later than 75 i think. scott @ aristocraft will probalby be able to tell you about your boat too i'd guess...

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Iwill be looking more this afternoon and probably trying to take some pictures. I picked up a cover, new bilge pump, fuel sending unit, anchor and several other items last night at BassPro.

My wife went too. So, she got some clothes to get even for buying more boat parts.

I've got alot to do in the electrical department. That is where I'll be focused for right now.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

and probably trying to take some pictures

sweet, us (at least this) nineteen owners love to see pics of others nineteens.. did ya see that blue one that aristocraft posted up... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=275852 man, that ones a beauty....

I picked up a cover, new bilge pump, fuel sending unit, anchor and several other items

cool, now yer having fun....

wife went too. So, she got some clothes to get even for buying more boat parts.

that's cool too. my girlfriend likes to buy accessory's too. she's always coming home with something that we can use while boating. her last item was two little battery powered miniature lights to use while were camping on board. of course she buys personal stuff for her too. that stuff. i don't know about. mostly don't want to know about that stuff either...

I've got a lot to do in the electrical department

let me know if i can take any pics for ya if that'd help. also, don't forget to get your service manual. it has wiring diagrams in it that might be most helpful...
man, i've got the itch to get out real bad, but the darn weather ain't been up to snuff yet... soon i hope...

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Might you know what the hole between the hulls is? It is under and forward of the starter but behind the battery. It looks as though it may have been some type of drain or a mounting point for the bilge pump.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

it's where your blower intake hose goes.
my 75 has a squirrel cage type blower motor. only one hose goes from it. the other end into the hole in the liner. since our bilges are unique in design, and since our engines actually bolt up to the sole of the boat. i guess aristocraft figured the fuel vapors would sink between the outer hull and the liner. that's the only thing i can figure anyways. this is how mine is...

where the blower bolts up to, is the exhust side i guess. i assume it goes directly to the outside. i can only feel my blower out the rear port vent on the deck....

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Great, I really appreciate that piece of information. My blower has been converted to a more modern design. However, it just sucks the air from the top of the hull area. It moves enough air to use it like a hair dryer back there.

BTW, the boat is a '74. TL31575M74C. Got the bilge pump changed and the sending unit for the fuel gauge. Gauge stil isn't working. But, headway is being made. The cover I got wasn't quite wide enough.

 

[ziggy]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

My blower has been converted to a more modern design. However, it just sucks the air from the top of the hull area.

yep, them squirrel cage blowers are hard to come by. except. on the aristocraft web site it is one of the parts listed as available for our rigs. $60 is says.. i've already replaced mine and am considering getting another as a spare if all goes well when i get around to summerizing and see if everything works.

no letter 'A' in front of the TL on your hin? atlanta boat works. i'd agree, a 74. interesting that ya got capet on the sides though. i woulda thought that was later like you had said earlier.

sounds like your getting right onto some repairs. i'm just beside myself for not being able to get out and get onto mine... i'm still winterized. i did go get my batt. load tested yesterday though. 1 step for me in the right direction. it passed.

bummer about the cover. i measured mine a few times prior to ordering. having the hardtop was killin me for finding something wide enough... ended up at overtons as they had a 110" wide i think it was for a 21' boat... just hangs a little long in the ft. and covers my winch. came out perfect on the sides..

you do need s/m #2 like me. the link for the paper one is #2 i think. or download it. i got it both ways... in that s/m on pp 3D-1 is the test for the fuel gage.
if you want me to write the procedure out here, i can. just let me know. other than that, it's in the book..

sure sounds like your having fun. wish i was.... surely the weather will break here in NE. pretty soon though... i hope..

 

[gotchacovered]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Congratulations to dbkerley on your purchase! Just wanted to let you know there is currently a hardtop on ebay if you have not seen it. It says must be picked up in Tennessee I believe. That could be tough. Good luck on your new boat.

 

[dbkerley]

Re: New AristoCraft 19 Owner Checking In

Picked up another fuel gauge (same exact one) from an old Glastron in the junkyard over the weekend. Had a great time and looked at some really cool old boats the guy has.

He has a Johnson Seahorse and some type of Volvo/Penta boat with an I/O that is totally transom mounted. It has a factory hood scoop over the engine that looks like it belongs on a funny car and old chrome running down the sides like a '57 chevy. He probably had 100 hulls down there.

Everything in the boat is fixed now and I am starting on the trailer this afternoon. It has one working light at this point.

I thought about naming her Singer because she runs like one.