First Boat..where to start?

[dstroud1987]

hey guys,

I'm brand new to boating and my girlfriend and I just bought a used boat off of someone online so we could fix it up to use this summer.
We only paid 450$ for the boat and trailer and he said it was running last time it was in the water 2 years ago.
All i know is that its a late 60's or early 70's leaven bros marinerboat with a 40 hp johnson. I just wanted to know if there was a way to restore some of the shine because it pretty faded and i would prefer not to have to repaint it. I also just thought i see if anyone could give me some tips on what to look for to make sure this thing is water ready for this summer. I have basically 0 knowledge on boaats at this point, and im eager to learn. any ways, let me know what you think, and any help would be appreciated.
thank you

 

[oops!]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

hi.....welcome to iboats !


well,,,,you are in the right spot to get your questions answered....

the first thing is to look in the outboard motor section....
i think its in the adults only.....a thread called how to wake up a sleeping outboard.

now, after the beast comes alive....(if you dont have a motor, you dont have a boat)
we can start checking for three major things.....

1. no holes in the boat.
2. soft spots in the floor
3. a solid transom.

after we get all these things satisfied.......we can go on to the fun stuff like making sure the lights are working, and the boat is properly outfitted for safety....
then your stereo can go in and all the opther little toys you want to put in the boat !

cheers
oops

 

[tpenfield]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

hey guys,

I'm brand new to boating and my girlfriend and I just bought a used boat off of someone online so we could fix it up to use this summer.
We only paid 450$ for the boat and trailer and he said it was running last time it was in the water 2 years ago.
All i know is that its a late 60's or early 70's leaven bros marinerboat with a 40 hp johnson. I just wanted to know if there was a way to restore some of the shine because it pretty faded and i would prefer not to have to repaint it. I also just thought i see if anyone could give me some tips on what to look for to make sure this thing is water ready for this summer. I have basically 0 knowledge on boats at this point, and im eager to learn. any ways, let me know what you think, and any help would be appreciated.
thank you

Welcome to iBoats, you'll get lots of advice here. . .

Post a few pictures of the boat, etc. so that we can get a visual.

As far as the shine without re-finishing . . . check out Poliglow ( www.poliglow-int.com )

As far as you and the Admiral - Power Squadron or Coast Guard Auxiliary boating course would be good for you.

As far as the engine - get some fogging oil and spray it into the cylinders via the spark plug holes and also down the carb. Then try to turn it over without the spark plugs just to make sure things spin freely. On an engine that has been sitting for a while, I usually like to run a fairly high concentration of carburetor cleaner in the fuel for the first few gallons. Alternatively, you may have to clean the carb, as fuel sitting there for a couple of years, basically turns into caramel (but it does not taste quite as good).

PFD's would be good to have.

The boating course will tell you a lot about what you need on the boat and how you can avoid injury to yourself and others. Just keep this in mind - boating is dangerous as well as enjoyable.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Welcome to iboats Get some pics of your ride up. Some of us here dont read to good and like the purty pictures. I have been told that Murphys oil soap, Vaseline and a few other items will make them shine if put on while hot. I just would not do this if you plan to paint in the near future.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Welcome to Iboats.

I would like to second the comment on going through a boating safety course.

$450.00 for the Boat..Trailer..and a supposedly working 40 HP Johnson ? I guess its possible..

First thing I would do is remove Anything/Everything that is not securely bolted down from the boat.

Wash the inside of the boat with scrubby bubbles, a deck brush and a hose.

Now..start peeking and poking anywhere you can reach or see. You can use an ice pic ..prod/tap/poke around ( basically do your own survey of the boat ).

Look for anything that does not 'look right' .. post pics .

Right now..forget about the shine. We can get into the " compounds/buffers/waxes/wetsanding/vaseline etc " later on. ( Its kinda fun going on the lake for the first time with your new beater boat to test it out..then on the next go around its all nice and purdy ) .

YD.

 

[dstroud1987]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

hey guys, thanks for the help so far. I have been trying to get some pics on here for a while now and i think i figured it out.

I cleaned the boat up a bit and gave it a good look over and couldnt find any scratches and hole. I am assuming I am going to find some problems once i dig deeper because i dindt pay much for it.

One of the pics it looks nice and shiny because it outside and wet.. in reality it looks pretty faded.

anyways, let me know what you guys think.. and any advise it appreciated. I am going to take some more pics of the motor and the rest of the boat later on.. i will post them as soon as i can.

 

[dstroud1987]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

here are some more pics. dont know why the darn things are upside down.. hopefully you can rotate them.

 

[R Socey]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Welcome: thats a sexy looking boat! You will get all the advise you need here.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Wow, had me worried for a minute, I thought your boat was upside down. LOL
You should be able to bring the color back with some sanding and polishing. Just how much sanding can't be sure. Has the boat been painted or is it faded gel coat? I would suggest you follow the advise in the earlier post first to make sure you have a usable boat before you worry about the finish.
Once again welcome to iboats and have fun.

Bob

 

[dstroud1987]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Thanks for the advise guys.. its appreciated.
I plan on puting the motor in a bucket of water this weekend to see if she'll fire up. This might sounds funny.. but ive never started a boat motor before so im a little nervous. Someone recomended a thread called "waking up a sleeping motor" but i couldnt seem to find it.
Anyways, as far as i know the motor ran great last time he has in the water 2 years ago.. and if it doesnt run he gave me a second 40hp johnson for parts.. so hopefully ill have what i need to get a running motor.

He said that he re did the floor in it 3 years ago.. but the boat has been outside uncovered for 2 years.. im still thawing out frozen leaves to vaccume out lol.. when i walk on the floor it seems pretty good.. doesnt feel week or anything.. would you recomend that i go ahead and rip up the carpet anyway to make sure all the wood is free from rot?

let me know what you guys think.

Dave

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Nice buy !

Even if it was a full resto job its a good buy. It would not take much to bring that back ( If needed ).

I would let it thaw out .. dry up .. then start kinda just inspecting it.

Peel up a little carpet here and there..take an ice pic and just start prodding and poking around.

Try to get to the inside of the transom for inspection. Look around the splash well for any obvious damage.

I know your new to this kinda of thing, but just use your better judgement when inspecting. Post up some pics of any worry spots you find.

YD.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

Thanks for the advise guys.. its appreciated.
I plan on puting the motor in a bucket of water this weekend to see if she'll fire up. This might sounds funny.. but ive never started a boat motor before so im a little nervous. Someone recomended a thread called "waking up a sleeping motor" but i couldnt seem to find it.
Anyways, as far as i know the motor ran great last time he has in the water 2 years ago.. and if it doesnt run he gave me a second 40hp johnson for parts.. so hopefully ill have what i need to get a running motor.

He said that he re did the floor in it 3 years ago.. but the boat has been outside uncovered for 2 years.. im still thawing out frozen leaves to vaccume out lol.. when i walk on the floor it seems pretty good.. doesnt feel week or anything.. would you recomend that i go ahead and rip up the carpet anyway to make sure all the wood is free from rot?

let me know what you guys think.

Dave

Here's the link for Awakening a sleeping outboard.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086

Here's one for Cold Starting.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=225510

Here's one for building an Outboard Stand in case you need to remove the Motor
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=266008

Here's the link for the iBoats Evinrude/Johnson Motor Forum. You can get all the help you need here for any motor issues you might have.
http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24

 

[dstroud1987]

Re: First Boat..where to start?

hey guys.. just giving an update.

I dont get much time during the week to work on the boat.. but i figured i would start the tear down prossess today to see if the floors were rotted out. So far i just removed the seats and noticed that the platforms they sit on were like mush. I am going to start ripping out the carpet tomorrow to get a good look (my girlfriend and I dont like the carpet anyway lol).

Now after romoving the seat i thought i would be able to get an idea on how the transom was ( i am a little worried about it at this point) but i am not really to sure how i would test it to see if its damaged. It looks fine to the eye on both sides.. but i know that doesnt tell us much about the wood inside.

If anyone here could point me into a direction of how to check it out.. i would be very greatfull.

anyways, thanks for looking.. and any ideas/advise you have is appreciated.

and one again.. sorry for the darn photos getting turned around.. not too sure what im doing wrong. hopefully you can still get an idea on what im talking about from them.