1973 Reinell Retore

[Fender929]

Hello All, So I was told I should start a resto thread so here it goes. My father in law gave me his old Reinell open bow with a Johnson 65 hp powershift 2. He said the engine ran the last time they had it out but like I said that was over 15 years ago. I was planning to buy an already running boat but he just gave it to me for free and it is sentimental to my wife so needless to say I didn't really get a choice, but I don't mind, I think it will be a really cool boat when it is finished. The upholstery is rotted away along with the carpet and the seats are gone as well. I plan to mainly use this boat for fishing so it will be nice to set it up the way I want. I ordered new seats from Wally World and I plan to get started today with ripping out all the remaining interior. I've some of you talking about having to replace the foam, stringers and decking because of it being water logged. How do you test for that? I have posted some pictures up so you guys can take a look and let me know what you think.

Things to do:
Repair glass damage on Hull
Replace trailer rollers
Tune up engine and attempt to start lol
New upholstery
New Carpet (Thinking maybe Rhino Lining it)
Bimini Top
New Seats
New paint Job

I'm sure there will be alot more once I start Digging into it. This is my first boat so this will be a learning experience. I'm pretty mechanically inclined so I think I will be okay. I will just be picking all of your brains so I Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

[dOb]

Re: 1973 Reinell Retore

Cool boat. You'll definitely want to check for any structural damage first. You can begin by looking for any soft spots on the deck. I have a '74 reinell, and if yours is like mine, you can check the transom from inside the boat. On the inside they only sprayed a thin layer of fiberglass. If you can't feel any soft spots or peel away the glass with your fingers, then you can tap around with a hammer to see if it feels solid. You'll know if it's not.

 

[Fender929]

Re: 1973 Reinell Retore

Thanks dOb, Yeah I took your advice and check the integrity of the transom and ripped the thin layer of fiberglass off and drilled a couple holes and water started running out and peeled down further and it is rotted to the core. I can dig it out with my finger. Great! So I then drilled some holes in the deck where the stringers run and it is saturated with water. So apparently I have a long road ahead lol. On a better note I got the engine fired up and it seems to run like a champ and it is really clean. No leaks that I can see. I posted some pics. I will up date you on my progress and any tips that you or anyone else cares to share feel free. I will probably start cutting out the deck this weekend and ripping out the saturated foam. I'm still a little confused on cutting out the transom so I will reading up on your thread again. I need to get this done! Got some fish to catch!

 

[dOb]

Re: 1973 Reinell Retore

Better to find it now than later. You won't find much about my transom on my restore thread. I did the transom before I realized what I was in for. You may notice that I had cut the splashwell off to gain access, but you won't need to do that since you already know that you doing the deck, foam and stringers. You can just pop the cap off in one piece and store it away while you work on the hull.
If you haven't already, you should check out Oops! Hull Extension thread. It has a ton of information, and it's indexed.

 

[Fender929]

Re: 1973 Reinell Retore

Better to find it now than later. You won't find much about my transom on my restore thread. I did the transom before I realized what I was in for. You may notice that I had cut the splashwell off to gain access, but you won't need to do that since you already know that you doing the deck, foam and stringers. You can just pop the cap off in one piece and store it away while you work on the hull.
If you haven't already, you should check out Oops! Hull Extension thread. It has a ton of information, and it's indexed.

I agree, I would sure hate to fix everything as is and find out later I have to tear it all out again. One question I have is do you have to pull the cap off to replace the stringers and Transom? I can kinda see where you cut the splash well off. from looking at your pics it looks like the only way to get it out. I will be starting this weekend cutting out the deck. Also what should I focus on first the transom or the stringers? I will post pics of my progress this weekend. I'm chopping at the bit right now to start working on it! Interested to see what it looks like under there. lol

 

[dOb]

Re: 1973 Reinell Retore

Yeah, I cut the splashwell off because I thought I ONLY had to replace the transom. I was wrong. Looking back, I would have just pull the cap off in one piece. That would have saved me the trouble of rejoining it later.

I guess pulling the cap isn't absolutely necessary, but almost. If you're going for the total gut job, and rebuilding stringers, transom and deck, then you will need to grind out all of the old glass. And you might be pretty cramped with the cap on.

Now, having said that, I believe there was a '73 restore on here last year taht had a rub rail that was one solid piece. On my '74, the rub rail has a rubber strip that I could remove, and then remove the screws and rivets. If yours is solid, then you may need to find out how it's attached in order to remove before you can remove the cap.

Also, if you plan to do the transom, stringers, foam and deck, then the transom should be first. If yours is like mine, then the stringers will join the transom.

Good luck. Post some pictures of what you find.