First Restoration Project / Mid 1980's Alumacraft

[Ihateclevernames]

So, where to begin........

Last year I purchased my first boat and got somewhat burned by the previous owner. I am pretty sure the guy did a quick flip on it by adding some bells and whistles, along with some krylon and called it good. Aside from the Motor shooting craps on me due to thermostat issues, the boat has turned out to be nothing but problems. Luckily, I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it so at the end of the day...........if I can get things back in order, I will be somewhat happy.

The upside is that I did come across a new motor and have a mechanic doing a tune up on it as we speak. It isn't exactly the same as the one that blew, but pretty close. Still part of the same OMC family, so it will give me options. I will be out the electric start until I can figure out what needs to be rewired, but thats the least of my worries.

So, lets start with the hull.

From the get go, this boat was HEAVY. Quite the PITA to move around the driveway and manipulate. After stripping off the plywood decks that the previous owner had on there, I uncovered the disaster that was more than likely 17 cans of spray foam and 15 gallons of water trapped underneath the bow between what was absorbed in the foam and what was pooled up.

See Below.

I removed all of the foam and water and began cleaning it up as I am sure there needs to be some sort of foam in the bow, it most certainly won't consist of rotting wood and water logged spray foam.

Anyone have any insight on what type of foam should be underneath the factory deck? (which appears to have been removed and replaced with construction grade plywood).

Moving on to the transom area and rear portion.

I removed part of the rear seat area as well. This will allow me to replace the transom, which is rotted and not suitable for use long term. The portions of the seats that had to be removed had foam underneath them, however it appeared to be factory and wasn't in the worst shape. I had to drill out the rivets in order to remove them in several areas, which I didn't like...........however replacing the transom is necessary, so I will have to re-rivet them and use some 5200 epoxy or something like that during the installation process.

As you can see below, I have several other rivets that need to be removed as well in order to get the transom wood out. and replace it.

I am assuming that I will need several different sizes of rivets (closed end) in order to put everything back together, but I will worry about that later.

Right now the priorities are cleaning off the JB weld and bondo mess over a few damaged areas and see if someone can repair it with a TIG welder, and replacing the transom board.

This will be an enduring project as would like to take my time with this and do it right versus having to do things over and over again.

Any input on what size plywood to use as the transom board? 1 board? 2 boards? I will have a 35HP Evinrude on there, with a jack plate that raises the motor up about 4 inches and acts as an attachment point for the motor.

Thanks for any input in advance guys, hopefully this is something that I can at least salvage in order to get back out on the water before the end of the year!

Andy

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

The plywood used is up to you, your budget, and local availability. In general construction ply wood is fine for use so long as it has exterior glue used in it's construction. The downfall is what you are seeing from a poor or no job of sealing.

For the transom make the new one one piece side to side/top to bottom, laminating however many layers of plywood to get the required thickness. (usually two layers of 3/4") Then make sure you take the extra step the PO didn't and seal it with anywhere from WOG's oldtimers recipe to epoxy coating.

For your mobility issues the waterlogging doesn't help but could also be an issue with poor trailer setup. (Cross that bridge once the boat is done)

If you are removing structural rivets it's usually recommended to go back with solid rivets.

You mention JB weld and bondo - Bondo is bad practice on a boat but many have made very good repairs of unwanted screw holes with JB so depending on what your problems are with the PO's repairs that maybe as simple as just cleaning up a sloppy application.

For now I'd recommend doing some reading of some of the StarCraft restos and you will see the many options for the repairs you want to do.

Keep posting pics and asking questions, I for one will be following along to see how it comes out.

 

[Woodonglass]

What's the Length and Beam width of your boat? How deep are the gunwales? She appears to be a flat bottom John Boat style, correct??? Unless she's a 16 footer a 35hp motor is gunna be a bit oversized IMHO!!! Pics of the entire boat both Inside and out will help us help you. Boats of this style don't usually have plywood decks due to instability issues. Therefore they don't have flotation foam either. The use of JB weld for patching minor screw holes etc IS a fairly common practice and works very well on aluminum boats. Ext. Grade ply wood that's sealed well and then maintained properly can/will last a very long time. Epoxy IS the KING for Aluminum boats but there's a price to pay as well. Keep posting pics and asking questions. There's a LOT of experts here on the forum just waiting to be of help to you!!!

 

[Ihateclevernames]

The plywood used is up to you, your budget, and local availability. In general construction ply wood is fine for use so long as it has exterior glue used in it's construction. The downfall is what you are seeing from a poor or no job of sealing.

For the transom make the new one one piece side to side/top to bottom, laminating however many layers of plywood to get the required thickness. (usually two layers of 3/4") Then make sure you take the extra step the PO didn't and seal it with anywhere from WOG's oldtimers recipe to epoxy coating.

For your mobility issues the waterlogging doesn't help but could also be an issue with poor trailer setup. (Cross that bridge once the boat is done)

If you are removing structural rivets it's usually recommended to go back with solid rivets.

You mention JB weld and bondo - Bondo is bad practice on a boat but many have made very good repairs of unwanted screw holes with JB so depending on what your problems are with the PO's repairs that maybe as simple as just cleaning up a sloppy application.

For now I'd recommend doing some reading of some of the StarCraft restos and you will see the many options for the repairs you want to do.

Keep posting pics and asking questions, I for one will be following along to see how it comes out.

Thanks for all of the information! I knew this was the place to go for some good feedback and answers.

Yeah, the trailer is garbage. I am guessing that I need to get that dialed in........once this thing floats again. It appears that the PO covered up alot of problems with his krylon job and shame on me for not catching them. Being that it was my first boat, I really made alot of mistakes in terms of not paying attention to.........well...........everything.

The first two major issues at hand are the transom and the solid rivets. I will look around for an example of hot to epoxy coat the transom wood and then pull the rest of the solid rivets out and remove the old transom board.

Would it be good to drop this thing off with the welder prior to replacing the transom and locking it in?

As for the size, it is a 15.5' boat. Not sure why the PO put all of that spray foam in the bow, or removed the aluminum deck for that matter. Who knows, it could have been any number of people over the last 30 years.

I guess another question is do I need to be concerned with putting some foam in there again? If not, I would totally like to explore using that for storage of some sort.

The boat is kind of a modified V hull.

Thanks for the info, hope to talk more soon!

 

[64osby]

Personally I would want some flotation foam in my boat. It would help keep it off the bottom of the lake if something were to go really wrong.

A few sheets of closed cell foam from a big box store would cost less then $100 and solve the problem. My .05.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Add your storage and fill in around it with sheet foam, Win win

 

[fishin98]

Sounds like you got a pretty good project on your hands. Looks like the boat came with a factory floor. You can E-Mail Alumacraft to get the particulars on the boat, as I did with my 1988 Lunker redo. There are a vast amount of people here that will help you with this rebuild. Please post more pictures of you boat and trailer. This is the wood I used to replace the floor on my Alumacraft...got it at Lowes, sanded on one side, also now is the time to complete re wire the boat, this my set up.

 

[Ihateclevernames]

Add your storage and fill in around it with sheet foam, Win win

I see, so I don't have to get something specific for a boat? I can use the foam insulation (closed cell obviously) and basically glue it together to make "chunks" of foam.......if you will, that will fit into the places in which I need to add foam?

Any thoughts on the deck and storage for the front? Anyone have a reliable source for prefabricated storage boxes that can be dropped into a wooden deck or something like that? It would be nice to have something prefabricated, that could hold maybe a few batteries and some other odds and ends.

As for the Solid rivets on the boat itself, anyone have a link to a good makeup on riveting with solid rivets, something like 1/4" in size.

Thanks again!

 

[Ihateclevernames]

Anyone have a line on a reasonable TIG welder in the middle TN area?

I am having some trouble finding someone that is confident enough to work on patching some holes.

 

[fishin98]

I suggest that you keep searching for a metal fabrication shop that specializes working with aluminum. They could do the welding you want and do the resetting of the rivets.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

As for the Solid rivets on the boat itself, anyone have a link to a good makeup on riveting with solid rivets, something like 1/4" in size.

Good makeup?

Installing - Search YouTube many good videos about working with solid rivets
Where to buy? - Google for prices or search here on iboats for recommendations.

I know not much help but it's the best I got.

 

[Watermann]

I see, so I don't have to get something specific for a boat? I can use the foam insulation (closed cell obviously) and basically glue it together to make "chunks" of foam.......if you will, that will fit into the places in which I need to add foam?

Any thoughts on the deck and storage for the front? Anyone have a reliable source for prefabricated storage boxes that can be dropped into a wooden deck or something like that? It would be nice to have something prefabricated, that could hold maybe a few batteries and some other odds and ends.

As for the Solid rivets on the boat itself, anyone have a link to a good makeup on riveting with solid rivets, something like 1/4" in size.

Thanks again!

3/16" brazier head is the standard size solid rivet, length depends on AL ga and how many layers and you'll want 2117t alloy for structural parts like ribs.

Just a few things needed to be able to set, buck and seal up solid rivets.

Air Hammer............................ 3/16" brazier head rivet set ......................... Rivet bucking bar and an air compressor.

3M 5200 is used to make sure there's a 100% seal on the replacement solid rivets.

 

[Ihateclevernames]

Seems like these solid rivets might end up being a real PITA.

Maybe I will keep an eye out for a shop that can do the riveting and welding after I get the transom replaced. That is the first priority as it is the most crucial.