First time boat owner who may have gotten in over his head!!!

[SirDoc]

Hey fellas! I have been reading your forums for quite a while, learning about boats and there common issues. I have never owned a boat (afraid of large bodies of water and boats), but this year I have been pumped about buying one. At first I wanted a pontoon to play and relax on, but my Uncle called me a few weeks ago to ask me if I wanted his 1977 Imperial Princess TriHull. He didnt have time for it like he was hoping and his kids are not interested. So I said yes, It's for free. He did tell me that the floor had a soft spot in it and that is when I started reading the stories of cutting the top off of a boat and having to fiberglass. Now I am not sure I want to get into any of this... I have never done anything like this before, and cannot afford to pay someone to do it.. Should I at least pull the floor up and see what I have or just get rid of the boat ? If i were to pull the floor, can I do it without cutting the cap off ?


Thanks guys,
I will continue digging through your posts and try to get some pictures of the boat up in the next day or two!

 

[Zanderman]

It is like any woman. You can walk away now, or plan on investing in her for years and like a woman she will give you much pleasure and some heartache. I too have a craft in need of restoring the wood.while having experience working with wood I have never undertaken this sort of thing . I have found a lot of valuable info from some of these guys that have done this many times, so I have hope that it will go well. Good luck!

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard SirDoc!

Start out by just taking a close look at things. In fact, if you keep your head about you the boat may be fine just to get on the water a little and overcome a couple of those anxieties you have. At least, if the outboard is running fine, you may have a good outboard to put on another boat, right?

Start with safety. A soft spot in the floor is one thing. Rotten floor, stringers and transom is a next level mess. Take a look at this "topic" (http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...eeding-help-buying-a-boat-a-buyer-s-checklist) and use that to evaluate the boat. Take it to a local marine shop and pay 'em a fee to assess the hull for you. Get a vibe for if it's safe or not. If it's not safe - gut check time: start a restoration (lots of work, and not really all that cheap) or part it out and look for something else.

Check the outboard. A lot of those old imperials were 15 - 16' with Evinrude/Johnson 70HP to 100HP outboards. Those 70HP's in mechanical shift were very stout motors. If nothing else, it may be worthwhile to grab the motor and controls, junk the hull and sell the trailer.

If it's safe - play with it for a year or two and get a better feel for recreational boating. Probably a nice boat to learn on.

 

[Texasmark]

You can put a piece of plywood over a soft spot in the floor. You can have the boat inspected or inspect it yourself. If you can access the stringers, some boats have a cutout right in front of the transom (the flat board across the rear of the boat that the engine sits on) where you can get to them and have a look. At the transom is where you will usually have problems. A probing with a pocket knife can tell you if you have hard wood or mush.

Also you can take the boat out and run it. Get in the rear (stern) and look at the transom and watch the overall boat while running into some 1' give or take waves. The boat should remain as a unit, no one part going one way and the other the other. The floor should remain solid, no pulsating with the waves. The transom should remain rigid as the power is applied. No bowing in the center as power is applied.

If you pass all that then go out and enjoy.

I would.

 

[SirDoc]

Thank you guys for the info and advice! I do not plan on rushing it into the water, but would love to get it in there this year. It is a Johnson 70 with Mechanical shift. I have a new battery and tune up, and It has a new gas tank. There is a cut out I will access and see. There is no board covering it but I will make one. How is the floor held on ? Screws or rivets? Is it glued ?

 

[SirDoc]

Thank you guys for the info and advice! I do not plan on rushing it into the water, but would love to get it in there this year. It is a Johnson 70 with Mechanical shift. I have a new battery and tune up, and It has a new gas tank. There is a cut out I will access and see. There is no board covering it but I will make one. How is the floor held on ? Screws or rivets? Is it glued ?

 

[Texasmark]

General boat construction of the type in which you are interested: Boat starts out with a mold which is like a negative for a photograph. Gell coat goes in first for the appealing outside color, slick finish, and then glass chop or mat or a combination of both depending upon mfgr. with usually Polyester resin applied to stick it all together. Next comes the stringers which are the longitudinal supports that ride on the hull but support the deck (floor). Usually these wood parts, including the transom are covered in resin and most times glass mat or chop with polyester resin to hold it all together. Wood was a preferred material as it was cheap and would tolerate a lot of pressure and flex with it. What comes later, described below is rigid and can provide a harsh ride over what wood stringers could provide......but as a user, I'll take the harshness, actually I have an aluminum boat with no wood in it so I don't have to worry about that.

In the design phase, the glass encapsulation is a great idea, but in reality, years of the environment and usage can open it up exposing the wood to water, waterlogging and rot. As the mfgrs. realized the flaws over the years and wanted market share with satisfied customers, they got rid of the wood and replaced it with plastic. Forrest Woods Ranger Boats, is a perfect example of a company that wanted to offer more for their customers. I had one and loved it.

Want more, ask,

Mark

 

[moosehead]

If you can get a good surveyor to check the stringers and transom, and meet many of the checklisted items referenced above, you may get lucky here.


That said, be prepared to walk away as his kids have, sometimes free is not cheap enough. Good luck and post some photos.

 

[southkogs]

Whatever you do, check that outboard hard. Those 3 cylinder Evinrude/Johnson's are good motors. Take care of 'em just a little bit and they are really hard to kill.

 

[greenbush future]

I would take the boat and the generous relative that offered it out for your first time to learn the boat. Doing otherwise you will end up making some simple mistakes. But the previous owner knows this boat way better than anyone else and his knowledge will help you asses your level of interest, and any work required if you ask lots of questions when you both go out. And don't take the family the first time either, you are there to learn I think. Depending on your boating knowledge you might really enjoy this boat, and the work needed might be quite small, or it could be a pile of junk, or something in between. If he wont take you out in it, that would be a flag to me personally. Maybe snap a bunch of pictures and share them here, there are a bunch of really smart boat people on here. Have fun!!

 

[SirDoc]

Thanks, fellas,. I will post up some photos on here. I am gonna tear into the floor. If i can just replace it and get a year out of it I will. My wife wants a Pontoon boat anyway... If it is junk, I will pull the motor and find a Pontoon boat to rebuild..

 

[Texasmark]

Thanks, fellas,. I will post up some photos on here. I am gonna tear into the floor. If i can just replace it and get a year out of it I will. My wife wants a Pontoon boat anyway... If it is junk, I will pull the motor and find a Pontoon boat to rebuild..

I think HD sells interlocking, treated, 4x8 sheets of waferboard material that will work well for a deck in a restoration job. I think they are 5/8 thick and waferboard of that thickness is tough stuff. Like roofing material around here to span 2' spaced rafters is only 7/16 and you can easily walk on it with minimum deflection.

Mark

 

[tjatech]

I was almost in the exact same shoes about 4 years ago. When I was a sophomore in college, my family was unloading a bunch of old equipment and junk from our farm. The one thing I inherited during the process was a 74 Reinell 18' Tri-Hull with a 115 Johnson on it. Hadn't been run for 10 years and had been left outside uncovered every since. To say it was in rough shape would be an understatement.

At that point I knew NOTHING about boats. I was pretty overwhelmed, but with help from some buddies, I got it started, did some general maintenance (Impeller, lower unit oil and seals) and got it on the Lake. Over the last 4 years I have slowly redone pretty much the entire boat myself, except for the hull (floor, carpet, wiring, engine ignition system, tilt/trim, dash, gauges, lights, Bimini top and the upholstery with a borrowed sewing machine).

Over the last few years, I have started to lose confidence in the transom and stringers, so I will be upgrading fairly soon. But having redone this old boat taught me a TON and was a blast. It was also a great one to learn on because I didn't have to worry too much when I accidently hit the dock too hard, forgot to put the plug in, or left the motor down when I pulled it out of the water.

Point is, if the stringers and transom are in good shape - go for it. You can have a lot of fun and learn a ton with these old boats!

Good Luck!!