Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire So I was given a boat (Pics added, I think)

I'd suggest replacing the floor with 1/2" marine grade plywood and then cover it with marine vinyl decking material. The decking material is glued in placwe with contact cement and you must use stainless staple to secure it on the backside. A coat of contact cement on the uncovered plywood will waterproof it.

That's what I did with my boat and held up extremely well for the ten years I owned it. This pic was taken right before I sold it.



I also stripped and painted the interior aluminium. I used a vinyl etching wash primer and an industrial epoxy paint. I replaced all the flotation with 2" thick styrofoam cut to fit, wrapped with shipping tape to form blocks, and then sealed in plastic garbage bags.

This is very true. The chemicals in PT wood are corrosive to all but a few metals and Al isn't one of them. It's like having to use galvanized hardware on PT decks and fences.

Use high grade plywood and thoroughly coat it with something like TotalBoat Penetrating Epoxy, 2 coats. It'll turn water better than anything else you can use. I recently got a quart of TotalBoat from Amazon for about $42. That would be plenty for your job, maybe more than enough. It goes a long ways.

metal stringers, metal floor unless someone added some plywood over the stringers, normally.

I would have no problem repairing the boat, looks good. The engine? I do similar work on engines. Be prepared to be frustrated, Price a new carb for the heck of it. Another problem with 2 cycle engines is crankcase leaks, They will never run right with leaking seals or dried sealant.

I may have to side with Rock Chuck on camp trailers costing more to put in working order than your free boat. My 1993 camp trailer is taking on water - two skylights and both are leaking... Ask me how I spent my morning; I am now at the point where the old skylights could be removed as soon as the special-order new ones arrive.

Nice looking boat, hopefully the transom is still good. Take it out and run the hell out of it; if it breaks, it needed replacing... Replacing the water pump was a good first step. Enjoy!

FWIW, I'd spend the time and effort to rebuild a welded aluminium boat in a heartbeat. One major issue that would be a deal killer is electrolysis in the hull which probably isn't an issue if the boat has never been in the salt. As long the motor has good even compression and there isn't chunks of gears in the lower unit you'll be good to go. You should be able to get it running right without having to resort to rebuilding the carbs. Use spray carb cleaner in every orifice and if your carbs have a welch plugs on the front, remove them, clean the orifices,and install new welch plugs. This can work and it's a lot easier than removing the carbs and rebuilding them. The gaskets in the carbs typically don't cause problems. They're made of rubber and last a long time.

Thanks

You will need to cut and weld aluminum but you need to get that old transom completely out and replaced. Other than that,it's a snap to fix that boat up. personally,I would keep the plywood decking to a minimum to reduce weight. I bought an old aluminum 16' like that in my younger years and replaced the transom and built new decks. I had trouble with my motor for years .It would run perfect until I got 2 miles from the dock. After about 4 years of costly motor repairs and trouble,I went and bought a new 4 stroke tiller steer Honda 25hp. That motor cost me $3K back then and it was money well spent. I fished the next 15 years with that Honda 4 stroke with never a single issue. I sold that boat when I bought a bigger one but it's still running as far as I know.

Liquid RV Roof. Expensive but the best roof you can put on an RV. Worked great on mine. LIQUID RV ROOF
Let me know if you want more info.

That's the part that will probably take the longest. It's not hard, just tedious. Seal up the hole you make for the motor and locators you might use, with a 3M silicone or something similar and you'll be fine.

One thing I'll add based on experience. Wherever there was wood installed in the interior replace it. The plywood and especially the floor is part of the structure of the boat. It's what ties things together and eliminating it will cause the boat to flex and eventually start forming cracks in the welds. Check all the welds for cracks and have them repaired before you put it back together. I used wide head rivets to attach all the plywood in my boat. It was the only practical way to fasten the floor to the ribs other than screws which aren't as secure in thin aluminium.

I can't tell from the pics but the transom my not need to be replaced. Strip the paint, sand it down, and see if the wood is still sound and not rotten. If it's so-so consider adding a 1/4" aluminum plate to the inside to reinforce it.

Good luck on your project.

Yeah there is, a free horse.

Ah. I see the pictures now. Looks like a pretty good score to me. Unless it sat for a long time full of water, I bet you don't have any transom issues. Check the trailer bearings and put some new tires on the trailer before you tow it very far. Then have fun with it.

Jerry

Nothing wrong with rebuilding an old boat, especially one you got for free.I have rebuilt boats and sold them in spring for a good profit.Some of the guys here would bitch if given a new boat.Huntz

Polyurethane caulk is much better than silicone. It's tougher and adheres better. It's also paintable if the need should arise some time. I used to be a roofer. I've fixed many leaks where silicone failed.Problem is, once silicone has been used, you can't use anything else later. Nothing will stick where silicone has been.

True that ^
Silicone caulk is one of the most misused sealents. For some reason your average handyman thinks it is the best choice, when actually there are very few applications where it should be used.

I know most have suggested marine plywood for decking on this boat. I have not been able to locate Marine plywood within 200 mile of my house. I can get Aluminum 60 miles away. Do you think smooth 3/16 or 1/4 3003-H14 aluminum would work?

I got a good deal 10 years ago on a 1989 Grumman with a Johnson 9.9hp. The decking was rotted out so bad it was growing mushrooms!

I pulled all my panels and used them as templates.

When I did mine, I used 1/2" regular plywood and severely soaked it in Thompson's Water Seal (3-4 coats). Every cut edge got the same treatment, too.

Then, I stretched exterior-grade carpet (Home Depot) over it and secured it with stainless staples.

If you're interested, I have photos. I'll post a couple when I'm not on the tablet...

However, my boat gets very lightly used, is kept covered all the other times and is only used in fresh water...so, my solution may not be as durable as some of the other suggestions.

Good luck.

Aqualung

I've had two Johnson / Evinrudes from this era, a '83 and a '90. Neither engine was set up with ethanol compatible fuel lines. So when ethanol fuel is used in them the fuel lines begin to deteriorate from the inside out. There is an easy test for this, clip one of the zip ties holding a fuel line on under the engine cowling and pull the line off its fitting. Let the remaining gas inside the line dribble out on your finger. If you see a black residue on your finger, you've just confirmed your fuel lines are rotting from the inside out. This fuel line residue is also likely what's causing your engine idle problem. The solution is to replace every single fuel line on the engine as well as the fuel line running from the gas tank to the engine with ethanol compatible fuel lines. And when I say every fuel line, I mean each an every one under the engine cowling, including those tiny little ones that are so hard to deal with. From there a carb rebuild should get the engine running right again, unless of course there are other problems with the engine.

Drain the carb bowls and shoot carb cleaner up in there and drain.

Run 93 octaine pure no ethanol and screw seafoam.

Replace all the decks as you see fit and go fish.

This is my 1988 Yamaha/Allweld and as others have said.....boats cost a guy some $$$ now and then