1967 Larson Volero - Father/Son Project

[Jswimmer]

I recently bought a 1967 Larson Volero that I am restoring with my 16 year old son. We are def newbies with limited knowledge. I have read through many of the posts on this site to gain info. It has definitively been helpful but also made me realize what we don't know and how much work we have to do. A bit intimidated for sure but want to make this work for the father/son experience. I will try to document our progress on here and would love any advice we can get. Thanks

 

[zool]

Welcome to iboats forum Jswimmer :welcome:

You'll find plenty of help and encouragement here in the resto section. A few more posts and you can show us a pic of what ya got! If I had a son to help me, I'd be able to do more "supervising" which is what i like to do

 

[Jswimmer]

Thank you Zool. We bought the boat thinking it.would be a.pretty easy restore but after stripping it down a bit, inspecting and reading other.posts I realize we are going to have to replace the transom for sure and probably the stringers/floor. I will post some pics soon of what the boat was like when we got it and the work we have done so far.

 

[sphelps]

Father son project is a cool thing ! This stuff really isn't that hard to do .. Just takes a little time and effort .. There is really nothing on your boat that you can't fix with just a little guidance here and there ..
Welcome aboard !!!

 

[Drb007]

Jswimmer, time for some pictures of your project!!

Take a look at my father/daughter Larson project...bet it'll answer a lot of your questions.
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...l-repair/10070427-larson-lapline-all-american

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm requesting to come aboard.
F&S projects are the BEST!!! Look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Jswimmer]

Drb007 - thank.. yours is one of the threads I have read through. Gorgeous boat you have. Pics forthcoming.

SPhelps - thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Jswimmer]

Woodonglass... glad to have you watchiing...Been following your posts closely and hope to pick your brain in the future.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Getting the family involved is awesome. My girls helped in several stages of my Chap restoration. Very rewarding.

 

[Jswimmer]

No Title

Some pics.of the day we brought her home...

 

[Jswimmer]

No Title

 

[Jswimmer]

Previous owner.did a quick "reatoration" Layed plywood (u sealed) over the original floor, installed cheap doldunf seats and cheap carpet and gave it a 30 foot paint job. We have started stripping off all the old... removed the seats, carpet, sideboard, aluminum side rails, gauges,, internal fuel tank, etc. Overall the boat seems solid but will need new transom. Guessing the floor and stringers need replaced as well. As much as I wish I could ignore doing the dloor/stringers i logically know with a 50 yr old boat they are probably shot.

 

[Jswimmer]

No Title

 

[Jswimmer]

No Title

 

[NetMatrix]

Jswimmer great to have you here at iboats. There is a lot of help that you?ll be able to find and this forum is full of great boat owners that want to help new people restore their boats. You do have a nice project on your hands and look forward to reading more on the progression of this restore. It?s also great that your son is going to be helping you out with this restoration. I got my son helping me on 2 boats I?m working on right now. There is a lot for the youngins to learn as well as us adults.

 

[Drb007]

You're going to have to pull up SOME floor to redo the transom...might as well get a good look at what's under there. I was very happy to find that my Larson had very substantial all fiberglass stringers! Maybe you could get lucky too? If they are all fiberglass, it really is just a matter of glassing in a new floor. Can't wait to see what you find hiding...

 

[JASinIL2006]

Nice looking boat. You're already into the demo work, so good for you and your daughter. I hope you find good news under the floor.

Love seeing the old Larsons get restored!

 

[Jswimmer]

Thank you everyone for the welcomes. So here are the positives I have been able to asses so far...

ALl the chrome fixtures are in really great shape for a 50 year old boat - not 10s but I would say 8 to 8.5.

The hull of the boat seems very solid.. no cracks etc. Previous owner painted the exterior of the boat but didn't use any hardener in the paint and I don't think he even used primer so the paint will come off quite easily. We tested removing the paint on one side with a pressure washer and were able to remove about 95% that way.

The 18 gallon internal fuel tank is in great shape. No rust on the interior and only minimal rust on the exterior. It was.dirty and greasy as can be but we were able.to clean it up and will be repainting it. It had about 5 gallons of paint in the tank when we got it. The gas has since been removed.

The aluminum side rails and hand rails are dirty and slightly scuffed but overall are in good shape. I used running compound on one small piece and was able to make it very shiny just by hand polishing. We will be able to buff the railings and use again when we put back together.

The trailer is in great shape... it is Tee Nee trailer so that is kind of cool. It will need repainting but overall is in great condition. Tires look new (including the spare) with lots of tread and no dry rot.

I believe the trailer and 80 HP Johnson motor are original to when the boat was first purchased. My nostalgic side kind of.likes that.

The original glass windshield and framing are all intact and appear to be in good shape. The frame should shine up nicely.

All in all some really positive things about the boat. Got it all for $425 So I feel good about that. I will need to remind myself of all these positives when some of the negatives kick my behind haha.

 

[sphelps]

Even with whatever negatives you may encounter splash day will erase most all of that !! Nice boat and a good start !

 

[Jswimmer]

Okay.. so the previous owner put in a plywood floor which He screwed into the original floor. It also appears he used some kind of flooring adhesive to make it really stick to the original floor. Some of the screws will come right out... others just spin when I try to remove them. Because of the adhesive the floors will not.come out even when I get all the screws removed.

I think I am going to have to set a circular saw to a little less than the dept of the plywood and make a bunch of cuts. Then use a prybar to remove the plywood in pieces. Any other ideas/suggestions on the spinning screws and the "new" plywood floor?

Thanks.. Jeff