New Project - Looking for Ideas

[tsnipes]

I was given a boat by my father-in-law and I am getting ready to start the work on it. He has put down new floors, but the transom still has to be done. He says he re-did the stringers that were rotten when he did the floor, but I will probably at least cut them out to see what is underneath the. There is a spot on the hull that concerns me and I think it would be better patched from the inside.

The boat is currently still in Florida because the trailer spun a bearing while I was moving the boat to my sister's from my father-in-law's so I have to repair the axle before pulling it home to Georgia.

Since I have basically a clean slate to begin with, I would like to turn the boat into the ultimate fishing and cruising boat. There seems to be tons of areas that are wasted space and I would like to make better use of some of it. I would appreciate any ideas or information that anyone may have as to what they did on their boat project or wish that they had done.

The boat title says it is a 1970 Thompson 18 footer, but I think it is really a few years newer than that. Another poster here has (or had) almost the same exact boat but said his was either a 74 or 76 model. The original HIN has been removed and the boat is registered with a Coast Guard HIN, so I will likely never know what it really is.

Anyway, please feel free to offer your advice or suggestions and I will post pics as I progress. I have atteched a few that I took right after I got the boat to my sister's.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Well 1970 boats did not have the new HIN and many just had a manufacturer serial number. Don't worry about that as long as you can register it.

Great idea to peek under the decking just to see what is there. The transom may be best repaired using nidabond or seacast so you will not have to uncap the hull........ read and you will understand.

The wheel bearing may have trashed the axle stub so....... many people have just bit the bullet and replaced the entire axle.

So what kind of fishing boat are you planning? Maybe a casting/fishing deck up front? We have seen many unique and useful ideas here.

You have done the right thing and added photos

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Nice project. Based on nothing other than the paint scheme on the hood on your motor, I believe the motor to be a 1973. If it is, that's a good thing because it would mean you dodged the electric shift bullet. I had a '73 Johnson 85 and it was a great motor with good parts availability. Good luck with your project.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Bob,

You are correct, when the bearing failed the entire wheel/hub assembly came completely off of the trailer (took me about 30 minutes to find it). When the spindle hit the road, it wore it down pretty good and bent it. I have a different axle on it now so that my brother-in-law can move it around if he needs to, but it is too small to try to pull any distance. My next trip down, I will take the parts to cut out the damaged spindle and weld in a new one along with a new hub. I will check the other side out and do both, if necessary. Funny thing is, my brother-in-law and I were talking about the hubs on the trailer before I went to pick it up. Whenever I got to my father-in-law's house, he had moved the boat out from under his storage area and over to his shop. He is normally careful about making sure everything is checked out, so I made the mistake of assuming he had checked the grease in the bearings. He followed me for several miles and said that it looked like it was pulling fine.

So, my free boat cost me $75 before I even got it to my sister's house ($35 in fuel to top off my brother-in-law's truck, $20 to a guy who stopped and helped me find a trailer and $20 to a complete stranger who loaned me his trailer to load the entire rig on and get it the rest of the way to my sister's house).

I spent another $90 on the axle that is on it now, but I can get that back when I take it off of the trailer.

The repairs to the original axle will be about $150.

Anyway, as for the type of boat I would like to end up with, I would like to have some in-floor storage (possibly a live well), rod holders under the gunwale on each side, a removable fishing deck for the bow (I am thinking of something that I can fold and store under the deck when just cruising). I plan to put either a jump seat in each corner of the stern area with a cooler/storage between them or putting a bench seat all the way across the stern with dry storage underneath.

The boat will be used mostly in-shore in the Gulf of Mexico with some river and lake usage.

I have read a lot of the restoration threads on here and there is a ton of valuable information but I am sure I will have plenty of questions along the way as this is my first boat ownership experience and definitely my first restoration.

I would like to get everything planned out before beginning the actual work and have the boat be just what I want and need when it is done and I would like to have it look as professional as possible. This is a stretch considering my level of inexperience, but it is what I am shooting for.

Thanks for your input and I am looking forward to hearing a lot more great ideas/suggestions from other members.

Tim

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

A brand new 3500 lb axle with all new bearings and hubs is less than $150 at Tractor Supply (of Northern Tool, etc). Seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Thanks for the reply, ez. I think the motor is 74, if I remember correctly. The cowling is from a 115 horse motor but the motor is actually an 85 horse. My father-in-law had the boat registered last in 2006 and I remember taking it out in the river and the boat planed well with a full load of people (probably overloaded).

I think my brother-in-law was as excited as I was about the new project. He is always outside messing around with something and is the type who can fix anything. After the axle issue, it was right at dark before I got the boat to their house and he was all over it checking things out on it. We sat outside and drank a few beers and talked about getting it in the water.

The next morning I woke up around 7:30 or so and I heard some noise outside so I got up and looked out the window to see him up in the boat messing around. I got dressed and went outside and he already had the battery and gas tank from his john boat hooked up to the motor and had the hose on it. I had to get something out of my car and before I could get over to the boat, he had hit the key.

Even after sitting up for 5 years, the motor fired on about the 5th try. It was running in less than 10tries. It purrs like a kitten. I figured I would have to pull the carbs and clean them before it would run, but got lucky on that. The water pump even seems to be pumping well, but I will replace the impeller just to be safe before running it much.

He has been starting it regularly to keep it going, so other than cosmetics and the impeller, the motor is good to go.

Tim

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Ez, I will check Tractor Supply for the new axle. I have looked there and I think all of their's are round. The original one on the trailer was made of a heavy duty square tubing. That is why I was going to repair it.

A round one would not be a big deal, it would just require different mounting hardware. I was planning to replace that before re-attaching the original anyway.

Tim

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

It's super easy. Even I can do it!

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2711.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2712.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2713.jpg

I think new U-bolts and mounting plate was about all I needed to buy.

My old axle wasn't damaged but had weird old spindles on it that were near impossible to find bearings and seals for. I swapped the whole thing out as it wasn't worth the trouble trying to track down the maintenance parts for that old rusty thing.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Nice looking rig, lots of potential there. I've seen several like that made into nice fishing rigs with the casting deck up front as mentioned earlier. Your cost so far is no biggy, you got it for free. Even if the transon is gone you're still good. Does the rude run good, that could set you back some bucks if it needs anything major? Year model is certainly in the early to mid 70's. Lots of that style cowling still on the water.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Hey Cad, thanks for the reply. See posts 3 and 6 regarding the motor. I think I got lucky on it.

I will probably repair the cracks in the cowling that is on it and get the correct decals for it if I can find them anywhere.

Tim

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

get the correct decals for it if I can find them anywhere.

These (I did my Johnson with decals from that same seller) http://cgi.ebay.com/Evinrude-Outboa...614?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5641a3aae6

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Thanks again, ez. I checked out that link and it looks pretty good. I hope the seller is still around when I get to the motor cosmetics. For now, I just want to get it ready to splash in the Spring.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

That seller has been around for years so I don't think they're going anywhere.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Thanks again, ez. Does anyone else have any ideas/suggestions for things I can do to make this boat fully functional as a fishing rig and a family cruiser? Things that you did on your similar project or wished you had done after you finished it?

I would like to have this planned out before I tear into it so I end up with a finished product that looks nice and is just what I want in a boat.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Check out the modifications done to this boat http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=292511 specifically the bow area. Pretty sweet.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Thanks for pointing me to that thread, ez. I haven't gotten all the way through it yet but what I have read is awesome. I would be stoked if mine looked half that good when I finish it.

Tim

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Hello, again, everyone. After numerous life changes, including a relocation back to Florida, I think I am finally ready to get back to this project. I built a stand for the engine using the plans found in the sticky in the Completed Restorations forum so I have somewhere for the engine to sit while I work on the hull. As mentioned already, I need to pull the deck up and repair a crack in the hull, re-do the stringers and deck, and repair the transom.

The first thing that I have done is remove the rubrail on the stern to see what I am looking at there. I read a completed thread by Greg Mrozinski on his 77 Crusie Boat restoration and would like to be able to do my transom repairs the same way that he did his, without completely removing the cap. He cut out the splash well and then cut a small section of the cap to gain access to the transom. The only thing is, my stern area and splash well are quite a bit bigger then the one in his boat.

I am attaching some pics of the stern area of the boat so that you guys can see what I am working with. As you can see from the pics of the transom areas taken from the inside, the previous owner of the boat had a rather crude idea of how to repair the transom. His repair consisted of a 2x6 or 2x8 slid underneath with the top two bolts that hold the outboard on going through it. The bottom two bolts just go through the old, original, very rotted transom. The steering cable bracket bolts also go through the original transom and were reinforced on the outside with a metal plate and 4 bolts (see starboard side of the engine).

If anyone can give me any guidance as to where and how to cut the splashwell/cap in order to gain access to the transom, I would greatly appreciate it. I am ready to start tearing into it, but I do not want to do more damage that will be difficult to repair later on.

Thanks again to all of you who replied to the post when I posted it last year. Let's hope that I can actually begin making some progress now. I am sure I will need all of the guidance and advice that I can get along the way.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Here are some of the pics of what I am looking at. Hard to believe I actually went in the river on this boat before my father-in-law gave it to me. Scary!!!!

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

A few more pics.

 

[tsnipes]

Re: New Project - Looking for Ideas

Any ideas as to how to attack this transom repair? Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks.