Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

My Maxum windsheild looks something like yours, mine has solid side panels and a angle at the back end of the panel. When I had it on the boat I was happy with it. Well made and solid.

The owner of the windshield said that it was saved from a 18ft. 1985 Sea Arrow and that it polishes great

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

I went and picked up the windshield and it looks great. Its gonna polish up nicely but the plastics on it are pretty old and brittle so I'm replacing them i.e. side vent and middle window latch. Also the windshield supports. The actual tube on them measures 8 inches but when i looked to get new ones the smallest size is 11 inches. Am i suppose to take in account the ends all the way extended to get the 11 inches or do i need to try and find 8 inch supports? Keep in mind i am just measuring the aluminum tubes if i tilt the black swivel pieces on the end to extend at their steepest angle i get 11 inches.......


I was just searching around the iboats store and the windshield foot brace is that just the plastic part that goes on the supports?

 

[bouttime007]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Wow, I have the exact same boat as you Piece, except mine is a 1983. I havent been able to find many of the same style and size. I will look forward to your restore, as I will be diving into mine again after the snow is gone up here.

Nice boats they are, great for two full size people and gear. Nice shallow draft and stable too.

You will love the boat once you get her in the water

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Wow, I have the exact same boat as you Piece, except mine is a 1983. I havent been able to find many of the same style and size. I will look forward to your restore, as I will be diving into mine again after the snow is gone up here.

Nice boats they are, great for two full size people and gear. Nice shallow draft and stable too.

You will love the boat once you get her in the water

When I first started looking for info for the boat it was difficult, even contacted Lowe and I posted what they told me at the beginning of this thread. When i finally started the overhaul on her and ripped the carpet out is when I found out for certain what the boat model was; SS155 was written on the floor in marker. I hoping it will be a good lil boat when i get done with her.

I finally had time to get back out there and finish a little more work. I'm still in the removal process of old parts. There have been so many mods to this boat over the years that i swear everyday I'm finding more add ons that have to be removed. Started to take apart the wiring too. Hopefully sometime this week or next weekend I will be able to start sanding off that old carpet adhesive... its everywhere. Also I'm gonna haul her to the local rhino liner dealer and see what type of prep work needs to be done to get the inside of her lined. Hopefully that will knock off some of the cost... Anyone ever had their boat spray lined? Expensive? Pros? Cons? really don't want to mess with carpet again

 

[bouttime007]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Yeah Lowe doesnt have any info on our SeaNymphs, they are pre-buyout models so its really tough to find any info on our rigs.

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

OK I'm back... sorry had to put the project on hold for a while... grad school started to take over my life but anyways. I have decided to go ahead and take the engine into the shop just to get checked out and maintained since it has been sitting for 5 years ish. I would do it myself but time is becoming an issue and i'm some what comfortable with engines and that's car engines not boat.

Since I haven't had a lot of time to work on her i have had plenty of time to do some thinking. I decided to go ahead and replace the floor completely and check out the foam. I was pretty confident that it was dry but it has rained the passed 13 days straight and i checked on it today and even being covered there is water in the boat. So might as well pull it out and replace it while I'm here. I was gonna patch the floor and line it but might as well replace it while i can and have it apart.

Now i do have a question. What is the best way to remove the factory rivets in the floor? If anyone can help me out I'd appreciate it. Looking forward to diving back into the project.

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Got the call today from the shop. The motor is up and running and in great condition. Compression checked out just fine, carbs are rebuilt, new impeller, and the bill was better than expected. Can't wait to get her back and to start in on her. I have looked around for ways to remove the rivets and there seems to be debate on the best way to remove them. These are just the rivets holding the wooden floor in the boat. I planned on stripping all that out and just anchoring the new floor with SS screws. Would it be best for me just to take a chisel and break them or grind them down or drill them out (still not sure what that entails)

Any info anyone can throw my way would be appreciated!

The questions will be flying shortly once i start the main restore so please PLEASE help me out... Thanks guys!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

First you need to get your priorities straight, grad school over working on a boat???

Kidding of coarse, good luck with the school.

As to the rivets I would drill them and then pry up the floor, if you chisel them it could bend the rivet stem and make it harder to get the wood out, I think mine had screws, like normal steel screws that rusted, I did have to cut those off.

There are also a couple rivets through the hull that will need to be drilled so you can get the console out as well as some other things, our boats are just different enough that I am not sure what you will run into.

These can be replaced with bolts and some 3m 5200, they are well above the water line, I did mine 2 years ago and haven't had any problems.

When I redid mine it took one morning to strip it to the hull, pulling the foam is a drag, even wet it is hard to get out.

I ended up using a big butcher knife to cut it up and pull it out, pulled almost 400lbs out.

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Thanks 5150, I'll prob attack them that way. When you say drill them I should take a drill bit about the same size as the rivit or a little smaller and drill about 2/3 down and then just pry the floor up? If i'm understanding the info i have read about them throughout the site that is.

I was thinking about the consoles just yesterday cuz i remember seeing the rivits through the hull. Replacing with bolts and sealing them is a smart move since they are above the waterline.

What did you replace your foam with? Did you mix new foam or did you go with the construction foam pieces that some people have used?

Thanks for the help again i really appreciate it!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

I replaced my foam with 2 bilge pumps, a 500 and 1100.

I river fish and trailer my boat so I am never more than 100-200' from shore, I did wire the 1100 to an alarm so if it fires I get a peircing alarm to let me know I have a problem.

I got round head stainless bolts from work and used them ,working for a boat company is a real drag what with anything you could need for a boat right there.

I will keep watching this thread and help when I can.

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Thanks for the help again... Ya i bet working for a boat company is a real drag especially when you trying to put one back together customizing it to your every need... Man i can't imagine your pain!

I trailer my boat as well but I'll be using it mostly on lakes so i am going to replace the foam. A lot of people have used that foam from like home depot and had success. I'm gonna head in that direction instead of mixing and pouring my own.

I'm out of town at the moment but i will keep this thread updated with pictures as soon as the work begins. Any info or suggestions you want to throw my way is more than welcome!

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Ok guys here we go... finally an update. Now that things have began to settle down I have been able to put in a lot of hours on the boat. Finally the deconstruction is complete. Basically she is nothing but a hull. The center consoles, the floor, and the outboard have all been removed. The engine has had a thorough overhaul and all that nasty custom wiring has been removed. I mean some of the wiring consisted of an outdoor extension cord that had been cut and spliced into. One of my friend's dad is an electrician and has agreed to help me wire the boat for a 30 pack of Busch light... Welcome to Arkansas . So when it comes time that area is covered.

Removing the rivets that held in the original floor was a pain that I never want to experience again... wait I'm gonna change that already... Removing the foam was... well to put it nicely it sucked. The foam was all dry and as light as can be except for 2 pieces that were kinda wet but no where near waterlogged. When I removed the foam I left it whole so I could squeeze it back into place and reuse it when time came to put her all back together. The pieces that looked nasty were thrown away and will be replaced.

I have another friend that is an airbrush artist and has agreed to paint the boat for just the cost of materials. He stopped by yesterday to look at the boat and to pick up a sketch of what I'm looking to do. I figure by the end of next week we'll have an estimate and hopefully can start painting.

Here are some pics of the work thus far. I know how we all love to see how the progress is goin so enjoy!

Feel free to let me know what you think! If you have any questions just ask and feel free to make any comments/suggestions! Thanks

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Here are some more pics of the floor, the original model # on the original floor, and the empty hull of the boat. Enjoy!

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

The process is slow but it's starting to come together. Since I have been busy with school I decided to give the trailer the once over. I'm really happy with the way it came out. I spent countless hours sanding, scraping, and using a wire brush. After I finished the prep I hit it with a coat of rust primer by Rust-o-leum and their gloss black and finished with their hammered copper for the rims. Not sure if I like the wheels but it looks good for now.

I replaced all the wood and bunks on the trailer and re-carpeted them with black indoor/outdoor carpet from Lowes. All the bumpers and rollers on the boat were also replace with Stoltz polyurethane ones. The bumpers really don't match the wheels so again the wheels will prob have to change but i'm tired of sanding so it can stay the way it is for a little while.

I was finishing the carpeting on the bunks today and still need to mount the winch which will be finished tomorrow and I will post a completed picture but for now here is the progress of this part of the project.

Let me know what you think please... not getting too many comments... love to hear peoples opinions... good or bad... New ideas are things i strive for... Thanx!

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Here are some more of the trailer!

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

And the last batch! Enjoy

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Looks great. I just finished redoing a rusty old trailer myself so I KNOW what a pain that job is. Best part is, if you keep up with any small rust spots that appear in the future you won't have to do it again.

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Alright I lied these will be the last batch of the trailer pictures. Consider this part of the project complete!

 

[Piece715]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

I know this thread has been on hold for a while but I am hoping to be back up and running soon. Talked with the guy that is airbrushing my boat today and we are starting the paint this weekend! Can't wait its only been 4 months in the making. As soon as we start I will post pics of the progress.

For the time being I have a question about power trim and tilt. Would it be worth adding to my motor? Will I see any benefit being a 50hp? Any information that anyone could give would be appreciated.

Like I stated eariler holidays are past and the weather is warming up! My goal is to have the boat on the lake this summer! Ill post pics as soon as i get them. Throw me some ideas or comments love to hear them!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Restoring 1986 Sea Nymph SS155 (pics)

Piece, just read thru the thread for the first time, great job so far

My dad bought a 1986 20' Sea Nymph Fish-N-Ski new in 1986 and we LOVED that boat. Same layout just bigger. Came with a 90hp Johnson and was great for skiing, cruising and fishing the Great Lakes.

Does your have a livewell under the helm seat box? Ours did, just curious.

I've now acquired a 16' Starcraft project rig that is almost identical to your boat. My stringers are lengthwise rather than across is a major disparity though.

Trim/tilt will help greatly with the performance of the Evinrude. Mine came with a CMC bracket w/ hydraulic TNT and I love it. They are pricey, but you can get one that mounts on your OB cheaper I believe.

Ezmobee may be able to help clarify that for you, he knows his johnnyrudes well.

Check out my resto thread if you want some mediocre ideas, I may be customizing it a bit for storage, and adding a few other non-factory features if I can afford to

The starcraft restos on iboats are a great resource for projects like this.

Good luck with the rest of the project, look forward to seeing her on the water