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Old 08-30-10, 12:11 PM   #1
dave0943
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Default Making a older bass boat/ like new/ well almost.

I've owned quite a few different boats over the years. Some have been Aluminum, fiberglass, etc. I had a chance a few years ago to pick up a older 80's MonArk 15' 6" bass boat that included a 65 horse Johnson and trailer. I paid 800.00 for it. The over all structure was good with only a few chips here and there in the keel area. The lights, bilge pump,live well pump, and all wiring had to be replaced. The motor was in the shop and it is a work horse!. I finally got some time to work on it this year. I replaced all the wiring, pumps, lights. I just fixed the chips on the keel with marine tec putty. I added a new Minn Kota foot controled trolling motor and Garmin color fish finder. Next week end if I can get the time will start preparing to paint the boat with epoxy paint.
I fish many miles of the Menominee river. This is a great fishery with almost any species you can think of from Salmon down at the lower Menominee to Sturgeon and Musky up on the northern part of the river.
Small and Largemouth bass, perch and Walleye are in all areas of the river.
This river has many rocks and can be really evil on a boat bottom. I have been considering a Keel guard. A buddy told me to use herculiner truck bed liner on the keel instead. I did some research on it, and it looks like a good idea. Easy to put on and pretty durable. I'm gonna give it a shot. Has anybody else used it?
When I have this all done, I'll post some pictures of my ALMOST NEW, work in progress.
Dave
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Old 08-30-10, 06:10 PM   #2
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Look forward to seeing your pics.
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Old 08-30-10, 10:25 PM   #3
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PLEASE POST PICS AND DETAILS OF WHAT OYU HAVE DONE. i too own an older rig "97 rajun cajun 205 with a 200 johnson venom. i NEED ot rewire the entire thing and do the things oyu have done. i want to repaint it as well. but all in due time. the wireing is what is needed the most right now. would love ot read what you have done. lie.did oyu make the wireing harness or buy one? things like that. thanks man. looking forward to the pics.
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Old 08-31-10, 03:23 PM   #4
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PLEASE POST PICS AND DETAILS OF WHAT OYU HAVE DONE. i too own an older rig "97 rajun cajun 205 with a 200 johnson venom. i NEED ot rewire the entire thing and do the things oyu have done. i want to repaint it as well. but all in due time. the wireing is what is needed the most right now. would love ot read what you have done. lie.did oyu make the wireing harness or buy one? things like that. thanks man. looking forward to the pics.
I'm hoping to get to the garage this weekend. I'll try to take as good of pics as I can. The wiring takes quite a bit of patience. I've seen a few friends take some older boats and make them look pretty sweet. I just hate to spend big bucks for a newer boat, when I've got a pretty nice older one. I can picture in my head what I think it will look like. Now the hard part, doing it. Will keep you posted. By the way there are some pretty good multi season epoxy paints out there. I'll let you know which one I go with and send before and after pics.
Dave
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Old 08-31-10, 06:57 PM   #5
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thanks pal. looking forward to it.
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Old 09-01-10, 01:51 AM   #6
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Yep...looking forward to pictures. If you have the time, patience, skill and sometimes MONEY, restoring an old boat can be really rewarding.
In my case, I/we found an older boat in decent shape and with some modest upgrades and decent care and maintenance plan to keep it 'like new' for a very long time!

Enchanted with the water, I've toyed with the idea of finding a project cabin cruiser or small yacht sitting in a dry dock somewhere that has refit potential...my trouble would be finding the extra time, patience and MONEY - hehe (but imagine spending the whole weekend on the water ...or even a whole week in a floating, fishing camper~)
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Old 09-01-10, 05:38 AM   #7
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watch out for teh herculiner... have used it in applications before and 6 months later ended up going to have it redone by a professional... even after following the directions perfectly. It just chunks off much more so than a good spray on job at a body shop...
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Old 09-02-10, 01:00 PM   #8
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watch out for teh herculiner... have used it in applications before and 6 months later ended up going to have it redone by a professional... even after following the directions perfectly. It just chunks off much more so than a good spray on job at a body shop...
Thanks for the heads up. I've done quite a bit of research on it and have heard that from other sources as well. Many have said that making SURE that the area being treated is cleaned really good with a acetone type fluid. Any type of wax, grease will hinder the coating. Also putting it on in a warmer temp helps. I guess for me , trying to save money on the project , is important. A bout with cancer has kind of kept the budget on the project down. I also took out the old carpet and plan on putting a coat of the stuff on the floor before putting new carpet down. I've got pin holes in the floor that absorb water after it gets a little rain in the boat. The holes are very tiny and don't soak up very much. Putting the Herculiner down will fix that and give the floor a level field to attach carpet. I will probably have a grand into it after its done, which includes, trolling motor, wiring, paint, herculiner, carpet. The boat should be awesome for less than 2K. At least I hope so. I've priced new boats and was floored at the cost!!
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Old 09-02-10, 01:11 PM   #9
dave0943
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Originally Posted by Abbeysdad View Post
Yep...looking forward to pictures. If you have the time, patience, skill and sometimes MONEY, restoring an old boat can be really rewarding.
In my case, I/we found an older boat in decent shape and with some modest upgrades and decent care and maintenance plan to keep it 'like new' for a very long time!

Enchanted with the water, I've toyed with the idea of finding a project cabin cruiser or small yacht sitting in a dry dock somewhere that has refit potential...my trouble would be finding the extra time, patience and MONEY - hehe (but imagine spending the whole weekend on the water ...or even a whole week in a floating, fishing camper~)
That would be awesome to do a big boat project. You are right about having the time! It seems when I do get the time, the weather doesn't help me out. Putty, paint, and Herculiner need the right conditions. I want to get work done this weekend but have heard it may rain, of course.
My son has been hinting about looking for a older bass boat at the right price. I do enjoy working on them. A guy could probably make a good business out of buying cheap bass boats with potential, fixing them up and selling them. HMMM.
Dave
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Old 09-02-10, 04:25 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by dave0943 View Post
That would be awesome to do a big boat project. You are right about having the time! It seems when I do get the time, the weather doesn't help me out. Putty, paint, and Herculiner need the right conditions. I want to get work done this weekend but have heard it may rain, of course.
My son has been hinting about looking for a older bass boat at the right price. I do enjoy working on them. A guy could probably make a good business out of buying cheap bass boats with potential, fixing them up and selling them. HMMM.
Dave
It would be cool....But then I was doing some reading (so much valuable info on the web) and found this article about restoring/refitting boats:
http://www.docksidereports.com/funda...ation_proj.htm
It kindof put a bit of a damper on the dream unless you have extra money on hand or coming in (even doing the work mostly yourself, materials and some sub-contracting adds up) to even consider such a venture (and right now, I really don't - I mean, I'm doing "okay", just don't really have a few thousand to throw around on a purchase and refit for a cabin cruiser or small yacht). Oh well, right now I'll be happy with what I have, keep her in real good shape and get her in the water as much as possible for some serious fishing
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Old 09-08-10, 12:26 PM   #11
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Didn't get to work on the boat as planned this weekend. Rain and a Honey do list stomped on my plans. Hope to finish next week and post pics.
Dave
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