Saving a 26' Carolina Custom from the trees!

[xjrockrawler]

I just got her home yesterday! took a few pics and i'm going to be just cleaning it out and pressure washing the next few days. She has the cuddy up front with a Bravo 1 mercruiser 7.4 The boat has been sitting at least 5 or 6 years in distress.. The engine is going to need rebuilt as i imagined.... I'M putting it on here because even though i'm very familiar with automotive engines and everything else...... this will be my first boat build and mercruiser rebuild. I'll be rebuilding the engine myself... as long as the block and all checks out when i remove it. I had a thought about putting a bracket on it and putting a couple 200's out there...... But that is not in the budget. I can't find any other boats like this online..... if you guys see any pics. please let me know.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Intersting one, whats in the cuddy? Id almost rather open that all the way up if i was gonna do it.

 

[xjrockrawler]

The cuddy is a typical setup with finished lowered area and it use to have carpet on top and back walls. porta potty setup in the front middle is factory with a flip door. It's a 1988 year model boat... i'm researching the hull numbers now. It crossed my mind about possibility cutting out the front cuddy...But i'm not sure about it yet! Please if anyone sees any links to someone converting a front cuddy... I'd be interested to see them.

 

[xjrockrawler]

well the vin decoded great ONSLOW BAY BOATWORKS built this beauty! They build some nice stuff... wow




The HIN or CIN you have entered meets the Current-Format HIN format. It might also be a type that contains the country code and thus the boat comes from USA or Other . The serial number of the HIN is 25111 and is set by the boat builder. This boat or vessel has a Certification Date of (7) and a Model Year of 1988 with month of build (November) based on the formatting of your hull_identification_number (HIN) .​

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The manufacturer identification code (MIC) of your craft identification number (CIN or HIN) is WHJ. This MIC (WHJ) stands for the company name Onslow Bay Boatworks & Marine which is currently In Business. This boat manufacturer has other company names (WHJ sometimes goes by these name(s) Carolina Coast Mrn Inc, Tk Services, , or .​

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This company (Onslow Bay Boatworks & Marine) is owned by Brad Knight and is located at 175 SLOOP POINT LOOP ROAD in HAMPSTEAD state of NC. It manufactured this vessel and placed you HIN or CIN on the hull. The Parent Company for this boat maker is (). Onslow Bay Boatworks & Marine has started making boats, yachts and other watercraft as of 1/18/1985 12:00:00 AM.​

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[g0nef1sshn]

The cuddy is a typical setup with finished lowered area and it use to have carpet on top and back walls. porta potty setup in the front middle is factory with a flip door. It's a 1988 year model boat... i'm researching the hull numbers now. It crossed my mind about possibility cutting out the front cuddy...But i'm not sure about it yet! Please if anyone sees any links to someone converting a front cuddy... I'd be interested to see them.

go with what your use will be for. I say i would open it up because Ive commercial fished with my friend and he had a 25ft goldline that was open. It was nice for that. If your gonna use it for family cruises, fishing, sandbar type stuff then the cuddy will come in handy. And now that I think of it, it was probably in the design to have it there as strength for the entire bow area.

Im no expert though, the more experienced will chime in later. Still a Nice find for some fixing up!

 

[mattsmall1972]

That is a seriously nice boat - Onslow Bay Boats are top quality. I hope you don't have to do too much to it.

 

[xjrockrawler]

No Title

The build quality looks really good. I new when i saw the boat it was worth saving!! I'm going to keep it as it is.... meaning not chopping the cuddy. I have 2 kids under 7 and i'm sure it will come in handy. As i dive into it i'm going to see where i can fit a live well and flush in tackle box hatches. From what i can tell so far... it will be getting the engine done, all new cables and wiring for sure. I'm one of those people that love doing wiring.... so I can't just leave the 25 years of spaghetti in there.

 

[mattsmall1972]

I'd love to see bigger pictures. Any chance you could upload them to photobucket instead? You can just paste the link into a picture tag and it will be big and beautiful..

 

[hadaveha]

Man I love that boat, great find

 

[xjrockrawler]

Uploaded to Photobucket! I also posted photos to Onslow Bay Boats.... and i Believe Brad the owner replied with saying his dad actually built this boat. Put a picture of that in the slideshow!

 

[carribbean soul]

WOW! why cant i get lucky like that?

 

[ChapBoater]

Cool boat! Tagging along on this one, can't wait to watch!