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Are any of you boaters?

I haven't had the pleasure of a deep V, but give me the opportunity and I guarantee I will fall out. One of the few talents I can freely brag about.

:lol:
 
My old bomber style after I put the 40hp on it. Geez...I notice my garage was much less cluttered back then.

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It'd run just as fast as new boats - and maybe a tad faster as 2 stroke motors weigh less. I'd guess if the motor was in good shape it'd hit 30 mph with one person - and that's pretty fast on the water.

Trivia tidbit: The horsepower rating on old motors was done differently than now. In the past, it was horsepower at the motor driveshaft. For newer motors it is horsepower at the propeller. So an OLD 40 hp 2 stroke equals a modern 30 hp. The lost power thru down to the lower and then 90 degree turn to the prop costs from 20% to 25% horsepower. However, torque lose isn't quite as large.

The old Merc on the back of that boat would make more torque than the 1985 Evinrude on this boat, though that Merc looks more like it is a 1970s model. Back then, Merc was the hot motor to have and the killer motor was the 90 hp - growing to 125 hp Mercury "Tower of Power" - an inline straight 6 cylinder. Mercury motors in the 60s and into the 70s had beautiful motor covers with a lot of chrome and design to it.
 
OK, this is what I started with last weekend:

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Grungy motor. Before starting this project, it was conditioned on the unlikely event the motor ran. It fired right up with good compression and - more important - both cylinders have identical compression. So the project was a go. (But if I had seen the condition of the bottom after stripping off the paint I would have opted out. However, I'm already too time and parts purchasing to quit.
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First the hull was stripped of all wiring, steering, everything else and the motor removed.. Then hung it upside down in our warehouse:

This is after about 10 hours of stripping (chemically) and sanding off the layer of black paint and getting into the red paint.
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This is another 5 hours of work - about 90% done. Blue is the original gel coat.
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Shot from the rear = bottom up - not stripped. It has a 15 inch transom (giving a clue how feather weight this is. Stripped down around 200 pounds - for a 12.5 foot boat with a 6 foot beam. The fiberglass is uncomfortably thin to keep weight down - and old fiberglass gets somewhat brittle, so will be adding bracing to the bottom from the inside. They could run about 60 mph on a mere 55 horsepower. A modern 15 foot Sea Doo 150 speedster needs 250 horsepower to go 60 mph - but weighs 1500 pounds dry weight - compared to under 500 lbs dry for this boat - plus the Sea Doo has to carry a lot more fuel weight.
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The old trailer is for a 17 foot flat bottom Jon boat it was on. The bottom center keel sat on one of the metal braces, so that had to be raised - and the front cranking post too high, so had to restructure that. I don't care what a trailer looks like so it's ready to use.

To not layer the whole warehouse in sanding dust I put up a 16 X12 tent - cutting open the front - to be able work on it outside, but also keeping it dry, I flipped it back over and put it on the trailer in the tent. I put a small dehydrator in the cockpit with a tarp over the top to try to dry out the rotted wood under the fiberglass floor before removing the floor and wood - a real challenge. The floor has to come out, bracing added, rotted wood replaced and a new composite fiberglass/wood floor installed. This will be the worst of it - having to crawl up under the front bow - very tight with a foot of clearance.

Hoping to have it done by the end of the year.
 
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Spend a lot of time in a boat. Not boating, fishing; now and then catching. A boat is a tool, that and a truck to pull it and a yeti full of silver bullets. It's an addiction.
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I generally only care about function, but the Mrs cares about appearance. Probably 80% of the work to be done will be to met her standards. I would have just thrown on another coat of paint, dropped a couple sheets of plywood for the floor, kept the dirty old cheap seats and considered it good enough. Instead, basically everything is being redone and some design upgrading so it looks super clean and nearly fully restored as a resto-mod.

The 40, 50 and 60hp Evinrude/Johnsons of that era were the identical motor other than carbs and intake. Everything else is identical. I've rounded up 2 sets of 60 hp carb and the 60 hp airbox, plus ordered a racing set of reeds for the motor. This would take it to 60 mph, but that'd be insane in this boat. So I'll prop it down to about 50ish mph for much better control in hard seas, to almost immediate get up on plane, or if the boat is swamped so the motor could still build up some rpms. I always opt for more torque in propellers, not top speed.
 
Spend a lot of time in a boat. Not boating, fishing; now and then catching. A boat is a tool, that and a truck to pull it and a yeti full of silver bullets. It's an addiction.
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The North Central Natural Gulf Coast of Florida is a fisherman's dream come true - fresh water, in the shallow islands brackish water and offshore. Probably over 1/3rd of the population here are older people who retired here from the N.E. (Ohio, Penn, etc) for the fishing. Many people travel from Europe - mostly Germany - to come here too. This is considered the birthing grounds for the massive Gulf of Mexico with hundreds of square miles of sea grass beds, shallow water estuaries and hundreds of mangrove "islands" - all ideal birth nurseries. But it also is a low population area so by no means is over fished. Overall this is a natural paradise of incredibly divert wildlife.
 
Went shark fishing in a small boat last week, but picking depths to limit the max size to 5 or 6 feet most likely - but also trying to avoid the catfish that are everywhere - fresh and saltwater. Didn't want to catch a 10 foot bull shark or hammerhead in a narrow 12 foot Jon boat! Caught a lot of 4 footers - hammerheads. Using a lightweight rod and line and they'll fight you and you can't just muscle them in - but have to work them first to wear it down or you'll break your line. Catch-and-release of course. Shark fishing is as easy fishing as it gets because the shark like to hit and run - setting the hook themselves. First, you have to catch the bait fish. Catching little fish can be more difficult than big ones.
 
The North Central Natural Gulf Coast of Florida is a fisherman's dream come true - fresh water, in the shallow islands brackish water and offshore. Probably over 1/3rd of the population here are older people who retired here from the N.E. (Ohio, Penn, etc) for the fishing. Many people travel from Europe - mostly Germany - to come here too. This is considered the birthing grounds for the massive Gulf of Mexico with hundreds of square miles of sea grass beds, shallow water estuaries and hundreds of mangrove "islands" - all ideal birth nurseries. But it also is a low population area so by no means is over fished. Overall this is a natural paradise of incredibly divert wildlife.
I live in the NE. My boat spends the winter in Florida. I fly down to check on her every few weeks. Makes the winter tolerable.

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My first was a Larson All American, with a little Mercruiser Chevy II motor and an Alpha stern drive.
 
My first was a Larson All American, with a little Mercruiser Chevy II motor and an Alpha stern drive.

That's how my Rinker bowrider was powered. Marine version of that GM 4 cylinder and an Alpha I drive. Mine was 120hp but some later ones were a little more. Not a super fast boat. Topped out around 32 mph if I recall right. Could pull 2 skiers or a tube and not use a lot of gas doing it though.

This was my first, picture taken around 76-77.

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It'd run just as fast as new boats - and maybe a tad faster as 2 stroke motors weigh less. I'd guess if the motor was in good shape it'd hit 30 mph with one person - and that's pretty fast on the water.

Trivia tidbit: The horsepower rating on old motors was done differently than now. In the past, it was horsepower at the motor driveshaft. For newer motors it is horsepower at the propeller. So an OLD 40 hp 2 stroke equals a modern 30 hp. The lost power thru down to the lower and then 90 degree turn to the prop costs from 20% to 25% horsepower. However, torque lose isn't quite as large.

The old Merc on the back of that boat would make more torque than the 1985 Evinrude on this boat, though that Merc looks more like it is a 1970s model. Back then, Merc was the hot motor to have and the killer motor was the 90 hp - growing to 125 hp Mercury "Tower of Power" - an inline straight 6 cylinder. Mercury motors in the 60s and into the 70s had beautiful motor covers with a lot of chrome and design to it.

You're correct about how the motors were rated. When I repowered my one johnboat from the '70s Johnson 25hp to the 1998 Nissan 25hp it made a big difference.

Fabuglas were a pretty well made boat and they were heavy. With that 40 Mercury (yes a '70s era motor) it could get on plane but probably could only reach about 25 mph. I never really messed with it enough to get into experimenting with props. Was a pretty good motor and super easy to work on. 2 cylinders but only one carburetor.

I misspoke earlier- the motor that came on that boat was a 65 horse Merc, not an 85. I don't know what the boat would have really run like with it because as I said, I blew it up first time out. It leaned out on a cylinder and burned a hole in a piston.

Those 70's Mercs had some interchangeability. I traded some things for that 40 but it didn't have power trim. The 65 did and I wanted to retain it. I was able to swap just the powerhead over to the lower part of the 65 and thus keep the power trim.
 
Spend a lot of time in a boat. Not boating, fishing; now and then catching. A boat is a tool, that and a truck to pull it and a yeti full of silver bullets. It's an addiction.
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Yeah but they're great tools.

(I tried to post a pic out the back of my Tracker on the Kaskaskia River but it came out upside down.)
 
I have a deep v fishing boat but have been playing around with this Hobie kayak for fishing. I built the stabilizers out of lobster pot floats and PVC that install with pins. The seat I also built as the original seat did that not suit me. Too low for fishing I also added a fish finder and transducer and anchor system. As you can see a paddle is not needed. I took it to Maine on vacation this summer. Had a blast casting for largemouth and smallmouth bass at night. Very stealthy.


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I still get out on my 13' Ocean Kayak Prowler when the Puppy Drum are in the grass beds at the inlet. Late summer I'll use it to go after salt water Speckles.

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That's how my Rinker bowrider was powered. Marine version of that GM 4 cylinder and an Alpha I drive. Mine was 120hp but some later ones were a little more. Not a super fast boat. Topped out around 32 mph if I recall right. Could pull 2 skiers or a tube and not use a lot of gas doing it though.

This was my first, picture taken around 76-77.

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Old boats such as that and what I am working on are slowing gaining collector's value. So are old running 2 stroke motors. A hull is a hull for runabouts and there is a beauty in their simplicity.
 
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I have a deep v fishing boat but have been playing around with this Hobie kayak for fishing. I built the stabilizers out of lobster pot floats and PVC that install with pins. The seat I also built as the original seat did that not suit me. Too low for fishing I also added a fish finder and transducer and anchor system. As you can see a paddle is not needed. I took it to Maine on vacation this summer. Had a blast casting for largemouth and smallmouth bass at night. Very stealthy.


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Like the modification of the side floats. Very clever. :thumbs:
 
Old boats such as that and what I am working on are slowing gaining collector's value. So are old running 2 stroke motors. A hull is a hull for runabouts and there is a beauty in their simplicity.

That one wasn't terribly fast. A little over 30 mph if I remember correctly. A friend of mine had a Checkmate roughly the same size and style but with a 135 Evinrude and it would hit 55+. My Larson was a very pretty boat that old picture doesn't do justice. Had that deep metalflake gel coat that was so popular then and still is on some bass boats. Girls like to spend time in it, which mattered a lot to me at 18. :)
 
A few years ago I looked those over at a fishing and boating show. Very cool and the stabilizers are a nice idea.

But after a couple of hours in it my back needs a rest but I am going on 62.

I took it for a test ride in one of my ponds going as fast as I could with the pedals. Did a sharp turn and nearly flipped it without the stabilizers.
 
But after a couple of hours in it my back needs a rest but I am going on 62.

I took it for a test ride in one of my ponds going as fast as I could with the pedals. Did a sharp turn and nearly flipped it without the stabilizers.

Yeah, I'll be 62 in a few weeks. I was fishing less often for the past couple years, and I came to the idea that my Tracker was just too uncomfortable to sit in for extended periods and that was subconsciously influencing the time I was spending on the water. I replaced it with a larger, deep V boat in hopes it would light the fishing fire again. So far, it is WAY more comfortable.
 
If to do this boat redo again, I wouldn't. Everything about the hull is a disaster - the hull is all there is.

The wood floor and framework is all encapsulated in fiberglass and is rotted of course. While there is an acceptable easy way to patch over it, to do this boat perfect;u would require splitting the top from the bottom - and then carefully removing all that wood and fiberglass in the sole/floor and support framing. Using modern materials rather than wood would save about 50 lbs - at least a 25% reduction in weight. Patching it will probably add 30 pounds. But maybe 1 in 10 people who split a fiberglass on a boat restoration every finish it.

Removing all the many layers of paint chemically is messy and only partially works since a very mild paint remover has to be used on fiberglass. While just sanding probably wouldn't take more time, I'll save as much of my patience for sanding after removing most of the paint chemically when sanding well for paint prep matters.

The other challenge is many people have worked on this boat - and not competently. It is a mix of rivets (easy to remove) and small nuts and screws - not stainless steel - and most are impossible to get to on the back side. I may have to leave in the old snap bases. They're all good, but that will really be a challenge for painting in an appearance important area. I'll just have to work with what I got.
 
If to do this boat redo again, I wouldn't. Everything about the hull is a disaster - the hull is all there is.

The wood floor and framework is all encapsulated in fiberglass and is rotted of course. While there is an acceptable easy way to patch over it, to do this boat perfect;u would require splitting the top from the bottom - and then carefully removing all that wood and fiberglass in the sole/floor and support framing. Using modern materials rather than wood would save about 50 lbs - at least a 25% reduction in weight. Patching it will probably add 30 pounds. But maybe 1 in 10 people who split a fiberglass on a boat restoration every finish it.

Removing all the many layers of paint chemically is messy and only partially works since a very mild paint remover has to be used on fiberglass. While just sanding probably wouldn't take more time, I'll save as much of my patience for sanding after removing most of the paint chemically when sanding well for paint prep matters.

The other challenge is many people have worked on this boat - and not competently. It is a mix of rivets (easy to remove) and small nuts and screws - not stainless steel - and most are impossible to get to on the back side. I may have to leave in the old snap bases. They're all good, but that will really be a challenge for painting in an appearance important area. I'll just have to work with what I got.

I can certainly sympathize with starting a project and not finishing it. I've done it more than I care to think about. I wouldn't even begin to take on a project that big though.
 
We live up an estuary/canal leading to the Gulf of Mexico, with rivers everywhere around here. I have a lot of boats and have had a lot more. I've probably given away at least 10 - all running - for free to get rid of them over the last few years - ranging from 4 personal watercraft (jet bike/boats), two 40+ foot twin diesel cabin cruisers (one a fishing style hull), a 32 foot twin 454 big block Sea Ray speedster, a 32 foot twin 6 cylinder inboards cruiser, a 9 foot little boat with a 5 hp outboard on a trailer with center steering station, and a picklefork trimaran drag boat hull (that I can think of off the top of my head.) All but the 2 big cruisers included the trailer.

I still have a 52 twin turbo cat 1980s diesel Cigarette, my Bass Tracker and am restoring a 1960s 12 foot "Ski Bird" 2 seat little race boat (turning out to be it far worse condition so it is a total strip down to the bare hull, removing half a century of multiple different color paint, and repairing all the hull and floor damage. If any of you are into boating I'll put up pics thru the restoration. I had forgotten I had bought it along the road for a few hundred dollars on the trailer with an old Evinrude and then just parked it in the weeds (becoming invisibly overgrown.) I like how it looks and thought it would be an easy quick clean up - not a total strip down to a completely empty bare hull with virtually nothing reusable.

Surprisingly, the motor runs perfect - though looks like hell. Most people would have considered this a scrape/junk hull. But it is quite unique and rare. When done, it will weigh a total of under 500 pounds running a 2 cylinder 2 stroke 60 hp outboard, which will give it a terrifying top speed of around 60 mph. In a 40 footer on smooth water that isn't that extreme. In a 12 foot 500 pound boat with you inches off the water it is. I figure it a 2 month project - if lucky.

My best boat has been the cheapest. My 17 foot bass tracker. I stripped it totally about 4 years ago. Put in an aluminum floor, a new 30 hp outboard, rewired it all, new seats and buffed out the hull to a mirror finish (that lasted about 3 months). That boat always gets me home - and I've been trapped with a boat full of people many miles offshore out in the Gulf in water so rough there were no other boats out - even the big 30+ footers had headed in. But we were on an island way, way out there and didn't notice the wind really kicking up.

Quite an exciting challenge struggling against the wind and tide with 4 foot white caps coming in at a 45 degree angle - in a boat that has less than 2 feet freeboard in the front - and less than a foot in the rear. No problem. I actually enjoyed the challenge, but I was driving and the others seemed a mix between being miserable and terrified. LOL

Probably going to add a 4th boat for personal boats. Probably have a couple more boats laying around somewhere.

So... are any of you boaters?

We have a pontoon 23’ with 90 hp Honda.
Unfortunately we have a short summer. The boat doesn’t do well on ice.
 
We have a pontoon 23’ with 90 hp Honda.
Unfortunately we have a short summer. The boat doesn’t do well on ice.

I wish I had bought my latest boat last spring so I could have had all summer to enjoy it.

To add insult to injury, one attraction of this boat was its little 9.9 kicker motor. There is a local power plant cooling lake that has historically been regarded as one of the best fisheries in the state. With the power plant running it was also fishable year round. I used to fish there a lot, but not for the past 9 years because that lake has a horsepower limit and my Tracker was over that limit. So when I got my latest boat I thought, "Great! I'll be able to fish there this winter again."

Well, they closed the power plant a few weeks ago.
 
I wish I had bought my latest boat last spring so I could have had all summer to enjoy it.

To add insult to injury, one attraction of this boat was its little 9.9 kicker motor. There is a local power plant cooling lake that has historically been regarded as one of the best fisheries in the state. With the power plant running it was also fishable year round. I used to fish there a lot, but not for the past 9 years because that lake has a horsepower limit and my Tracker was over that limit. So when I got my latest boat I thought, "Great! I'll be able to fish there this winter again."

Well, they closed the power plant a few weeks ago.

There is a shutdown nuclear power plant, 4 coal burning power plants and a new huge natural gas power plant - all used the cooling towers. This already is THE birthing ground for the Gulf of Mexico with hundreds of square miles of shallow sea grass beds and hundreds of mangrove islands (which aren't islands, just mangroves sticking out of the water as ideal as a natural fish hatchery. The warm exhausted water (some of it) adds to this.
 
Top of hull covered in plastic wrap over chemical stripper - now into gallon 3. This will not eliminate sanding, but will greatly reduce it. There are 3 layers of paint. The oldest is what appears a skillful spraying of a primer and then dark red paint. Then a very heavy coat of yellow paint. The yellow paint is bubbling up nicely, but the red is stubborn - possibly lacquer. Only a mild chemical stripper can be used on fiberglass (gelcoat). This does soften the gelcoat surface, but it dried back hard.

The challenge in the sole/floor and stringers. The fella who worked at the boat company I know said the stringers have to be addressed by pirating on good wood to the sides or the boat could break in half and definitely would crack - particularly for how boats can take a pounding on less than flat water around her. This all can be done - but it all takes time and there is a limit to how much time I put into a project before I give it up and go on to something else - giving the project away.

I hope this doesn't go that way, but it could. If I could find a suitable good small sport hull to put the outboard on, I'd switch hulls and drop this one back in the weeds - using the motor, steering, new seats, trailer etc for the other hull. I do put a $$ value on my time so I will draw a line on projects. If they become too time consuming I'll let it go. It isn't about money. It is about time.
 
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