16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

[tylerpowell1997]

This is my first thread on here so sorry if Im putting this in the wrong forum. Anyways I have recently purchased a 16 foot 1967 Larson All American as a project to keep me busy for a while. I paid 200 bucks for the boat, trailer, and a 55hp outboard that turns over but wont stay running. Im not sure if the transom and stringers are rotted or not, going to investigate in a little bit. Also, im 17 and have a fair amount of experience with fiberglass, painting and restoring work in general but im not to sure if i have enough experience to replace stringers and transom. Other than that i was wondering how much money i should be prepared to spend on this project?(ball park) Being that I repaint the topside, replace transom, stringers and foam, paint and re-carpet interior, install a rear bench seat and upholster, and revamp misc. stuff like rub rail and trim pieces all myself. My dad has agreed to get the motor running and hook up all the controls for me so im mostly fixing all cosmetic stuff. Another thing, How much are these types of boats selling for fully restored? And lastly Im going to be shopping around for best prices so i can keep the cost as low as possible so where do you guys recommend buying supplies for this kind of stuff? all feedback appreciated

 

[groom1234]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

Hi Tyler,
You and I might want to post to each other as I bought a '64 LAA and am doing the same thing as you. Our boats even have the same color scheme, though it looks like I have the advantage in condition as mine is mostly pristine on the outside. If your floor is "soft" you will Most Likely have to replace the floor and the transom. Look up a thread here posted by friscoboater. He has a very complete set of videos on this type of project. You can also find him on Utube.

You will find many resources here, and a lot of friendly people. I have already received invaluable help.

What I have learned so far: There is a running convo about resins in the forum. I have decided to go with polyester for cost reasons. My local repair guy here in CA convinced me. Maybe not as strong, but do the job right and the boat will last. Your choice, but I'm on a budget also. I have decided to split the deck from the hull for access to the transom. Some people have cut the splash well off the deck, but then one must repair the gelcoat. The removal process is fairly simple and from my view the biggest problem is where to store it. Be sure to adequately support the hull whatever you decide to do. With the floor out and the deck off, the hull can deform causing problems later.

You will need to remove the transom caps, rub rail caps, aluminum trim on transom (drill out the pop rivets, and it comes right off), rub rail and vinyl. Be careful, work slowly and save EVERYTHING. Then carefully separate the two pieces using a thin blade. I have found that a vibrating saw (Fein Tool or equal; I got a battery model by Rigid at Home Cheapo for $90) to be a very useful tool! I am going to get one with a cord so I don't have to charge batteries. Also, I have decided to buy a Festool Rotex 90 DX sander/grinder with a HEPA dust extraction system. That combo is about $900, but I think worth it as everyone who has commented on the process complains about the dust! You have FG experience so you must know what I refer to. Also, they are very quiet and essentially vibration free and carry a three year warr. They are virtually dust free and, you can get pads and abrasives from 24 grit to about 1200 plus sheepskin, etc to do the polishing.

It is suggested to make a template of the floor before removal using cardboard, 30# building paper, sheet foam insulation, or the like.
Good luck, I'll race you to the finish. You can reach me at: click an icon by my name and choose send private message,
Best Wishes,
Jules

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

Welcome to iBoats!

Unfortunately boats are not like cars. These old beauties are not worth much even when restored to Like New condition you'll be lucky to break even on your investment. Most of us restore them for the LOVE of it not as a money making venture. She appears to be in excellent condition and Larson's are some of the best built vintage boats around. There's a good chance she has an all fiberglass substructure so you may not need to replace it. Have you inspected the floor/deck? Are there any soft spots? The transom is the rear of the boat where the motor hangs off of. If you raise the motor up and then bounce up and down on the leg of the motor the transom should NOT flex or move at all. If it does NOT then you are in Luck It may be in good shape too. My boat is very similar to yours and it did NOT require anything but cosmetics. I still invested almost $1,500 before she was finished. I too "shopped around" cuz I'm Cheap!!! Keep us posted and let us know if we can help with anything. The links posted below in my signature will be of interest to you for your boat.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

You can reach me at:{email redacted} if you want to start an offline conversation.

I wouldn't post your email address or phone # in the open forum. Besides the forum prohibits it anyway. A mod may redact your post for you, but you can use the edit function to do it yourself.

Use the PM, private message, system if you'd like to exchange addresses or phone #'s. Many of us have. Just right click a user's name on the right side of the forum pages. From the drop down list/menu, choose Private Message.

Else you & WOG have given him lots of good info.

You can't spend too much $ on protective gear. Easily an extra couple hundred up front & new filters as needed for a GOOD respirator. A dust mask will not suffice for grinding or mixing resin.

 

[tylerpowell1997]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoration

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoration

ok so i checked the floor for any soft spots and didn't feel anything that would give. THANK GOD! but just to make sure i pulled out the existing carpet since I'm going to replace it anyways and checked out the floor for any dark or wet spots. luckily no signs of any rot underneath the floor. Should I dig deeper and pull up a piece of the plywood floor up to check so i know for sure? or is that just unnecessary extra work? As for the transom i really pushed and pulled on the motor and didn't see any flex, had my dad do the same for good measure(since I'm about 130 lbs and not that strong haha) and still didn't see any flex in the transom. Sounds like i might have lucked out and found myself a pretty sound boat, couldn't be more relieved i was really dreading having to rip the floor out and replace the stringers and that transom. thanks for all the feedback, sounds like im at the place for this project! First thing tomorrow I'm taking off the windshield, rub rail, seats, pretty much all of the extras. hopefully i can take the motor off as well and start sanding, fixing and filling some imperfections, and start prepping for paint! will upload pix on progress tomorrow

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

I really don't doubt it. As I said Larsons are very well built and that boat does not have the look of one that's been left out in the elements and been abused. My Lonestar was a "Barn Find" and was rock solid as well. I'm betting you can compound and polish the Gelcoat back to a showroom shine as well. She's gunna be a BEAUT!!!!! Careful with the sanding. I'd use more compoud and polish!!!!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

Take great care off the white rubrail vinyl insert. That alone can be expensive.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

This B true ^^^^ Use a Hair Dryer or heat gun to make it good and flexible to aid in it's removal.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

I have a similar boat, a year newer. mine needed the whole works though. I have a resto thread with pics of whats under the floor if you want to check it out. I hope you enjoy it, i love mine, it gets looks on the river

 

[old islander]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

That's a real sharp looking boat. Careful with that windshield, they can be very brittle at that age. If you have any fogging or oxidation on the windshield, I have had some luck with those plastic headlight restoration kits. Saved the windshield in my 77 islander with it and it looks really good. Good luck!!

 

[groom1234]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

That's true abt the vinyl and a hair dryer is what I plan to use for removal. I saw a reference here to Tyco Marine (Tyco Marine-Home) and they have the materials. I'm hoping my budget will allow me to replace the vinyl as I think the black will look sharp, but I am using all care in case I need to reinstall the existing. Don't know how much they want for a roll, but at least it's available. Be very careful with the aluminum as that's a different matter. Also, don't know where you live but one poster said his RR was stolen by recycle thieves, so keep it secure.
J

 

[groom1234]

Re: 16ft 1967 Larson All American Restoratoin

Also, I checked the condition of my transom by doing the following: using a 1/4 in wood bit, drill several holes into the wood from inside under the splash well at deck level and as low as you can get in the bilge well, at about 5 or 6 locations. Don't go too deep, you will see white fiberglass residue as the hole starts, and then wood saw dust, about 1/2 in or less. If it's dry you are good. If wet and soggy, well......... Fill the holes with peanut butter or 3M 5200, etc. My transom didn't flex either, but I got wet wood in one hole and as I have begun to uncover the edge where transom meets deck, I found that the wood appears to be dry rotted and is de-laminating from the hull. I' m actually happy to see the de-lamination since I hope to get it out in one piece to use for template.
Good Luck
J