This is my first boat, and my third watercraft (used to have a pair of old JetSki's).
This is going to be a restoration project and this boat definitely needs some work.
Hull: 1974 Arrow Glass
The outer hull looks intact with no cracks and floats without taking on a ton of water. I tested the boat out on the water after I got the engine running and over a 30 minute time period of sitting stranded out on the water the boat only had a small amount of water in the hull to drain when I pulled it out of the water. Most of the water was from me reversing it back to the dock and some water splashing into the boat (going a bit too fast with the reverse to get her back in).
The floor seems fairly solid but I do feel what I think may be a few soft spots. Towards the back of the boat I see visible large cracks in the fiberglass floor. I also see a fairly large crack between and around the lower motor mount bolts on the inside. Outside around the motor mounting bracket looks to be intact with no visible cracks.
The transom does appear to be rotted as the motor is causing the rear of the boat to bow out a small bit. Lifting the motor by hand I do see flex in the fiberglass and can visually see some of the transom that has pulled away from the top cap.
The seats are attached back to back and screwed down (partially) to the floor of the boat. A few small tears in the seat cushions but otherwise in fairly good shape.
More pictures of the boat to come once I get home and can take some pictures of the outside and inside.
Motor: 1967 Evinrude SportFour (Heavy Duty Gearcase) Battery Style Ignition
When I bought the boat the motor would crank but would not fire. Both gas cans were full of fuel that was atleast 4 years old based on the time the boat was last taken out on the water. I drained the fuel from one tank and put in fresh fuel and oil. The motor was not showing spark at any of the plugs but was showing a weak spark from the ignition coil. I cleaned up the distributor and replaced all of the spark plug wires (made my own wires from materials I ordered online). I bought a automotive ignition coil and ran a new 12v wire from the key to the ignition coil as the resistance wire was exposed at multiple points and the new coil I purchased had a internal style resistor. After a good cleaning and re-wire I was able to get the motor to start and run (so long as I keep tweaking the throttle).
At this point I decided to see how she handled on the water and took the boat to a local smaller lake. The motor started fine after a few turns of the key and I decided to release from the dock and then found that the motor would not go into forward gear. I was able to get it to go into reverse with some coaxing and was able to pull the boat back to the dock after floating a small distance away.
I then took the boat home and started to tear into the gearcase I drained the gear oil and it came out milky brown. Once I had the gearcase separated apart I found what I think was causing my no-forward gear issue (pictures included). I found the dog clutch was good and worn on the forward side and the forward gear had some wear as well which was likely causing the dog clutch to slip out. I also found a missing tooth on the driveshaft gear. Also looking at the gearcase lower cover it seems there was some damage that was welded (pictures to come of that).
I ordered new gears and clutch online along with all new gaskets and a water pump rebuild kit for good measure. Those are all on the way now and should be here the end of the week.
With the amount I paid $100 (boat motor and trailer) and a now running motor with minimal effort and planned repairs to the gearcase is the boat worth tossing some DIY repairs at (transom and inside floor repairs). I have always been a DIY'er and can be handy at times with repairs with enough online guidance (photos / videos) to go off from. I will post more pictures of the boat this evening once I get home and can take more pictures of the inside and the cracks around the floor and motor mounts on the inside.
This is going to be a restoration project and this boat definitely needs some work.
Hull: 1974 Arrow Glass
The outer hull looks intact with no cracks and floats without taking on a ton of water. I tested the boat out on the water after I got the engine running and over a 30 minute time period of sitting stranded out on the water the boat only had a small amount of water in the hull to drain when I pulled it out of the water. Most of the water was from me reversing it back to the dock and some water splashing into the boat (going a bit too fast with the reverse to get her back in).
The floor seems fairly solid but I do feel what I think may be a few soft spots. Towards the back of the boat I see visible large cracks in the fiberglass floor. I also see a fairly large crack between and around the lower motor mount bolts on the inside. Outside around the motor mounting bracket looks to be intact with no visible cracks.
The transom does appear to be rotted as the motor is causing the rear of the boat to bow out a small bit. Lifting the motor by hand I do see flex in the fiberglass and can visually see some of the transom that has pulled away from the top cap.
The seats are attached back to back and screwed down (partially) to the floor of the boat. A few small tears in the seat cushions but otherwise in fairly good shape.
More pictures of the boat to come once I get home and can take some pictures of the outside and inside.
Motor: 1967 Evinrude SportFour (Heavy Duty Gearcase) Battery Style Ignition
When I bought the boat the motor would crank but would not fire. Both gas cans were full of fuel that was atleast 4 years old based on the time the boat was last taken out on the water. I drained the fuel from one tank and put in fresh fuel and oil. The motor was not showing spark at any of the plugs but was showing a weak spark from the ignition coil. I cleaned up the distributor and replaced all of the spark plug wires (made my own wires from materials I ordered online). I bought a automotive ignition coil and ran a new 12v wire from the key to the ignition coil as the resistance wire was exposed at multiple points and the new coil I purchased had a internal style resistor. After a good cleaning and re-wire I was able to get the motor to start and run (so long as I keep tweaking the throttle).
At this point I decided to see how she handled on the water and took the boat to a local smaller lake. The motor started fine after a few turns of the key and I decided to release from the dock and then found that the motor would not go into forward gear. I was able to get it to go into reverse with some coaxing and was able to pull the boat back to the dock after floating a small distance away.
I then took the boat home and started to tear into the gearcase I drained the gear oil and it came out milky brown. Once I had the gearcase separated apart I found what I think was causing my no-forward gear issue (pictures included). I found the dog clutch was good and worn on the forward side and the forward gear had some wear as well which was likely causing the dog clutch to slip out. I also found a missing tooth on the driveshaft gear. Also looking at the gearcase lower cover it seems there was some damage that was welded (pictures to come of that).
I ordered new gears and clutch online along with all new gaskets and a water pump rebuild kit for good measure. Those are all on the way now and should be here the end of the week.
With the amount I paid $100 (boat motor and trailer) and a now running motor with minimal effort and planned repairs to the gearcase is the boat worth tossing some DIY repairs at (transom and inside floor repairs). I have always been a DIY'er and can be handy at times with repairs with enough online guidance (photos / videos) to go off from. I will post more pictures of the boat this evening once I get home and can take more pictures of the inside and the cracks around the floor and motor mounts on the inside.
