rucaradio
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
- Messages
- 184
Hello Restoration Forum!
I'm not new to iBoats, but am new to this particular forum (I've spent the past few months over at the I/O section due to mechanical problems).. I've begun a project, and figured I'd chart my experiences here in the restoration forums.
Back in August, I picked up a Raven 195cc from a local front yard for around $1800. From the outside appearance (other than some faded gelcoat) everything seemed golden. When I got it home, I couldn't get it started. I finally isolated the problem to the points system, and got it dialed out perfectly. Compression in all 4 cylinders is between 155 and 165 psi, the engine runs great. I changed the intermediate shaft bearing, u-joints, and bellows, and got the beast out on the lake 3 times before the end of the season. It ran great, except I couldn't get it up on plain and wondered why..
Well, the floor had soft spots, so I decided to dig into it. After cutting the chopped glass around the sides, I was able to get the floor up. No big surprise here - the deck was completely rotted. So bad, in fact, that the laminate plys of wood were paper thin and a complete (almost compost) rotted mess. As I dug into the cuddy, I found the decking even worse than the rest of the boat. The flotation foam in the bow and stern was SOAKED, so I'm currently in the process of getting all of it out. Thank God for garden tools and an electric chainsaw.. I can only imagine how much weight that soaked foam added.
The stringers and transom seem to be in surprisingly good shape, though a few "frames" and a stringer or two in the cuddy need to be replaced. As for the interior, all of the seats are in great condition (and in my basement with the rest of the boat parts, lol), the doghouse needs new wood, and the side panels need replaced. I'm not too worried about upholstery, as my mother used to be in the boat cover/upholstery business and has the knowledge and sewing machines required to do the work, I've just gotta buy the vinyl.
I've spent HOURS on iBoats, reading up on other people's projects and looking at pictures. I've also grabbed Runabout Renovation by Jim Anderson from Amazon.com. I'm feeling pretty confident, but since I've never delt with fiberglass before and this is my first restoration project, any advice would be appreciated.
I'm looking to replace the floor and make it as solid (and the boat as light) as possible. I want to retool the cuddy a bit too to make it a little more comfortable (maybe add a flat panel TV and DVD system).
I figure I'll have about $4000 to $5000 total in her when I'm done, but she'll be solid and nice (which is waaaay cheaper than the new Larson's I saw at my local marina for $29,000). I know I'll have quite a few man-hours involved in this project, but it's really a labor of love and doesn't need to be done until May 2009 when the next season begins.
I've done my research on this particular brand of boat, and there isn't much online as the company only existed for around 2 years and was run by shady characters. Also not many restorations of I/O's seem to have been posted on this site.
Thanks for reading, and I'll post updates (and pics) as the work continues!
-rucaradio
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa94/rucaradio/Boat%20Pics
/IMG_9370.jpg
I'm not new to iBoats, but am new to this particular forum (I've spent the past few months over at the I/O section due to mechanical problems).. I've begun a project, and figured I'd chart my experiences here in the restoration forums.
Back in August, I picked up a Raven 195cc from a local front yard for around $1800. From the outside appearance (other than some faded gelcoat) everything seemed golden. When I got it home, I couldn't get it started. I finally isolated the problem to the points system, and got it dialed out perfectly. Compression in all 4 cylinders is between 155 and 165 psi, the engine runs great. I changed the intermediate shaft bearing, u-joints, and bellows, and got the beast out on the lake 3 times before the end of the season. It ran great, except I couldn't get it up on plain and wondered why..
Well, the floor had soft spots, so I decided to dig into it. After cutting the chopped glass around the sides, I was able to get the floor up. No big surprise here - the deck was completely rotted. So bad, in fact, that the laminate plys of wood were paper thin and a complete (almost compost) rotted mess. As I dug into the cuddy, I found the decking even worse than the rest of the boat. The flotation foam in the bow and stern was SOAKED, so I'm currently in the process of getting all of it out. Thank God for garden tools and an electric chainsaw.. I can only imagine how much weight that soaked foam added.
The stringers and transom seem to be in surprisingly good shape, though a few "frames" and a stringer or two in the cuddy need to be replaced. As for the interior, all of the seats are in great condition (and in my basement with the rest of the boat parts, lol), the doghouse needs new wood, and the side panels need replaced. I'm not too worried about upholstery, as my mother used to be in the boat cover/upholstery business and has the knowledge and sewing machines required to do the work, I've just gotta buy the vinyl.
I've spent HOURS on iBoats, reading up on other people's projects and looking at pictures. I've also grabbed Runabout Renovation by Jim Anderson from Amazon.com. I'm feeling pretty confident, but since I've never delt with fiberglass before and this is my first restoration project, any advice would be appreciated.
I'm looking to replace the floor and make it as solid (and the boat as light) as possible. I want to retool the cuddy a bit too to make it a little more comfortable (maybe add a flat panel TV and DVD system).
I figure I'll have about $4000 to $5000 total in her when I'm done, but she'll be solid and nice (which is waaaay cheaper than the new Larson's I saw at my local marina for $29,000). I know I'll have quite a few man-hours involved in this project, but it's really a labor of love and doesn't need to be done until May 2009 when the next season begins.
I've done my research on this particular brand of boat, and there isn't much online as the company only existed for around 2 years and was run by shady characters. Also not many restorations of I/O's seem to have been posted on this site.
Thanks for reading, and I'll post updates (and pics) as the work continues!
-rucaradio
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa94/rucaradio/Boat%20Pics
/IMG_9370.jpg
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