restoring an old boat

[cgard272]

First off, thank you to everyone here, I've been reading for a while but now it is time to get my hands dirty. I traded an old Jon boat for a 15' chaparral trihull that the previous owner was tired of working on so now it is my project. I am looking for suggestions on a few things... Should I stick with the original style astro turf style flooring or would you suggest an upgrade. If so, to what? Also, the bow seats are missing and I don't know what should be there. The PO just put stadium seats over the open storage areas instead of actual boat seats. I'm going to replace the broken lounge seats with new lounge seats unless someone has a better idea. The hull of this boat is in very good condition to be a mid 70's model and I would like to do the boat justice.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: restoring an old boat

Hopefully you have the registration of boat and trailer transferred into your name. Pictures would help-- what shape is the carpet in? How is it attached to what type of floor material?

 

[pckeen]

Re: restoring an old boat

Try nautolex for the flooring.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: restoring an old boat

Pics always help us to help you. Best way to post em is to open a Free Photobucket account, upload the pics to the Library and then use the IMG Code to Copy and paste your pics back to your iBoats thread. Does she have a working motor? With out power she's not worth much. A Good working motor can run $1,000 or more. To do a decent restoration will cost another $1,000 or more. Just so you'll have an idea what to budget for a fiberglass boat restoration.

 

[eavega]

Re: restoring an old boat

That hull wouldn't happen to be avocado green, would it? I dumped a mid-70's Chapparal 15' tri-hull a couple of years ago. deck and transom was completely rotted out, and not worth the restore.

What kind of motor does it have on it? If the mechanical aspects of the boat are good (steering, running motor, control, etc) my suggestion to you would be to strip off all the usable bits and trash the hull. Go find yourself something in servicable condition that will match well to the motor you have and transfer all the mechanicals to the new hull. It will get you on the water this season as opposed to some time next year.

Barring that, if the deck and transom are in good shape, I would suggest that you DON'T put the astro-turf carpeting back in there, as that will trap moisture. My solution was to get high-quality porch paint with a traction additive from the local big-box store, and do the floor with that. I was two seasons of fishing and summer tubing with that floor, and it still looked new. Infinitely easier to clean than carpeting. Since the boat was used for fishing, I really wanted to put something in that could be hosed down and wouldn't trap pieces of bait, guts, blood, etc.

As to the seats, best solution is to build your own. Fairly easy to cut and upholster. If you do so, use properly sealed marine plywood and UV-resistant vinyl. If you need the hinges, you can probably find them online, or you may be close enough for a day trip to Lanier Marine Liquidators. They have a boat graveyard that they will allow you to come and pick parts. You will have tons of old tri-hulls to choose from to get those bow seat hinges.

Good luck.

 

[cgard272]

Re: restoring an old boat

It is not avacado, it is white with a brown stripe around it. It has a working 40hp force motor on it now that needs tune up but it runs and the PO had bought an identical motor to have spare parts, it also runs but needs to be tuned. I planned on upgrading to a 60hp Johnson regardless. All controls work. The carpet in it right now is clean, however,whomever put it in was clueless and put it in with what I'm guessing to be a cheap spray glue because it comes up easily and has very little residue. As for the trailer and boat transfer, yes, I did all the paperwork to put it in my name. As far as the seats go, I don't mind building my own, but they would be square bottoms on a hinge with a square padded back affixed to the boat itself. Would that look appropriate? I'm just trying to keep the boat looking original because the people who have owned this boat over the years have put a fair amount of time into it judging by the condition of the hull. Like I said, it is very solid with only minor chips in the gelcoat from floating debris. I will get pictures posted as soon as I get some down time to take them and make a photobucket account.

 

[cgard272]

Re: restoring an old boat

Almost forgot. Could I use the marine hinges from the broken lounge seats currently in the boat for the new front seats or would you suggest just getting new hinges?