New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice :-)

[chriscraft254]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

I would get the name and number of the previous owner that your buddy bought the boat from and see what kind of info he can give you on what was done to the boat. I'm assuming your buddy hadn't done anything to it.

Drilling two holes in the transom will show you nothing, drilling a couple dozen might. Also the area you drill is important. That being said, I know this forum is all about rebuilding everything, we love projects, but there is plenty of saturated transoms still on the waterdoing there job. But then again, some are not.

The cost of restoring this boat including the transom and floor will not break the bank and will give you piece of mind if you plan on keeping her for a long time.

If you feel comfortable with the way it is, more power to ya and I wish you the best of luck with her. It is and could be a cool looking boat.

 

[xjdriver]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

A compression test will give you a pretty good idea on the engines condition, then check spark and mabey clean the carbs and your good to go.

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

the boat is so small and so simple I am really just not that worried about it. if anything was even remotely "soft" I would have walked away. If I had found anything "suspect" I would have drilled more. I am satisfied it is safe enough for the type of conditions and power plant it has.

its not like I am going to go cruising at 40mph towing a skier. I expect a max speed or around 20mph. if the boat turns out to be promising and seems like a vessel I will keep instead of using a couple years and selling I will do a "full" upgrade. I would never think of restoring the transom. either I am getting rid of it in a few years and it only needs to last that long OR I will remove 100% of any structural wood and replace with composites. I am already considering a honeycomb carbon/kevlar weave composite to simply eliminate wood from the transom all together. Would only cost about $400 to do and would be well worth it if I intend to keep the boat long term. I am just sick and stinking tired of dealing with structural wood. its not the COST its the LABOR that aggravates me.

for now. it more than satisfies my concerns for safety and structural integrity.

I may redo the floor sooner (that would be a rather large project probably next winter) rather than later simply because its ugly. even though it will be covered by carpet "I" know its still their and it irkes me. cosmetically not structurally.

Neither of the past two owners knows "jack" about the boat or boats in general and no clue who the owner before them is.

Neither one of them did anything to the boat at all. used it a few times sold it to last guy it sat for the last year. the only "good" thing was they left the plug out of the boat and it was tipped up enough that no water ever "sat" in the boat and it miraculously appears to have never gotten "clogged up" so it just drained.

I think I got lucky. going to fix my 20' 140hp larson (spun the hub) sell it in spring for I hope $500 with trailer and pretty much break even monetarily and end up with a nicer if smaller working boat. THAT one needs a new floor (soft) though the transom is solid.

yep. got my compression tester ready just have to arrange the time to try and swap that starter. I still hope to put it in the water before winter sets in just to make sure "I want this" before moving irreversibly forward. First get it run. Then run it on the water see how it behaves how it feels and performs.

then. decide what I want to do with it. First purchase if all goes well would be a bimini top. I can't take the sun

 

[xjdriver]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

Ohhh i forgot about the old water pump!

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

it was suggested I just replace the impeller so unless it turns out to be in great shape I probably will I understand they are pretty cheap.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

I wouldn't trust a previous owners work as far as I could throw that boat, motor, and trailer. We've all seen their shenannigans on here and their work is half arsed at the very best.

If you wait long enough, transoms will tell you when they need to be replaced... like these did:



The 2 fiberglass boats in those pics just barley made it back to the dock, with only 2" of foam in your boat you may not be that lucky because with that amount of foam your boat isn't even going to float this well:

Instead, you'll get to be a submarine captain.

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

yeah those transoms are clearly rotten. it should never have gone out in water in that condition.

Floatation is not really a concern. I already took some measurements I won't have any problem adding the needed 10 cubic feet of floatation to the stern and bow to give me buoyancy even in a full submarine incident. (There is almost NO foam at all in the boat except in the center which MIGHT be 2 cubic feet total if that. (estimate wet mass 600 pounds)

its also pretty clear what DESTROYED that second boat (did you note the lower unit dug into the sand? that transom would have failed even if it was brand new.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

Uhhmmm, you could tow a truck with a chain hooked to the lower unit of an outboard if the transom was good, and do no damage. The sand did would not have broken a sound transom. It prolly would have broken the aluminum housing first.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

Yeah, that's just damp sand in pic #2 and it wouldn't have hurt the transom a bit if it had been solid and sound. I'm sure the motor and back of the boat would've danced around some as the skeg pushed into the sand and kicked back out, probably enough for the driver to notice something was wrong.

The guy in boat pic #3 tried to tell us his transom was good and it got torn up because he shifted from reverse to forward too quickly and gave it too much gas :laugh:

We've seen quite a few transom failures on this forum and I wish I'd kept a pic from all of them. We've also seen a quite a few "My Boat Sunk" threads too, and I'm sure those are a lot more distressing and scarrier than a transom failure that you make it back to the dock with.

Most of us here know that there's a lot of rotten boats out there on the water and they just looking for a place to be an accident/failure. That why we try to warn and caution the new members that may not realize their boat may not be seaworthy. Some people listen and some don't, all we can do is try to warn them.

 

[Alwhite00]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

It looks like it was sitting bow down and full of leaves Hopefully you are correct in your investigation for rot. good luck.

LK

 

[phillyg]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

Something you guys might be able to help me with.

First is there anyway to look up any history on this boat.? not "this one" specifically but this model in general. ie 1971 larsons.

also what in the world went here

notice the 8 (6 very visible) holes as if something was "mounted" in the middle here.

what went their?

I think the holes were where a faux blower was installed so it would look cool while being trailered down the road.

 

[Watermann]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

Hey nice old glasser, not the run of the mill gel coat job either. I think she has some good things going for her.

The 40 year old Johnny being the big hurdle here I have some suggestions and they don't cost a ton of cash. After checking and seeing if all 3 cylinders are showing good compression. Carb kits and good cleaning, replace all fuel hoses under the cowl and rebuild kit for fuel pump. The starter, don't put anything on it that doesn't fit like OEM.

Drain the lower unit oil and see if it is contaminated with water. replace the washers for the drain plugs. I would replace the prop and drive shaft seals anyway if it were me, they're cheap insurance. Don't just replace the water pump impeller, get the whole kit. Replace the thermostat and pop off grommet. Once running on the muffs decarb with seafoam and then replace the spark plugs.

All of the above suggestions could make your precious time on the water spent having fun rather than being frustrated or using a paddle to get back to the launch.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

The two most expensive parts to bringing a boat back from the grave are the outboard and the floors/stringers/transom(glass work). The add on stuff that you have shared with us usually comes after this assessment of these very expensive items above. I see 4 nice holes in the transom low, and that would suggest you may have some rot if they are leaking. I see lots of other spots on your transom where water could get in. As already suggested, you should consider really checking your transom for rot. The way it was stored really suggest's you may need to replace it, that's a big but doable job. The next big one is getting that outboard running, to ensure you don't need to replace it. That might change your mind if it's toast. I would be very shocked if that boat didn't have lots of rot, based on the pictures you have shared and it's age. I like the lines on your boat, I love the solid single glass windshield too. Should be a nice project , keep posting pictures of your progress.

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

So far everything I have purchased was either required to even move it OR can be migrated to my other larson that also needs the same things. as noted I don't want to put "exclusive" dollars into this boat till I hear it run.

Grrrr took apart those plates on the back (insanely easy and MISSING a few bolts!! Grrr I hate lazy scumbag PO's who don't know what they are doing. So I am going to have to go over the motor with a fine toothed comb to see if anything ELSE is missing.

And double whammy the starter will NOT work. not even close. GRRRRR

that little one was the one I had trouble getting too. once I removed the VERY easy to remove no worries backing plates by the carbs. I was over worried about that one

the one I thought was the one higher up is not and that bolt is stripped so going to have to inspect that see if its stripped or just wrong bolt.

the empty space for the starter

both starters

the third bolt does not line up and neither do the front two. Grrr $40 poof. I might see if I can get mine rebuilt.

Original starter

Max image count reached see next post

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

New wrong starter

The carpet I got for $25 !! ($40 a yard was best price I could find! this is over 3 yards!)

SO suggestion on cheapest source for the starter and HOW do I confirm its the correct starter?

Watermann.

How do I go about acquiring all of those things? do I just walk into a local marina and ask? online? how do I locate the right parts?

 

[greenbush future]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

Have your existing starter rebuilt, new will be so expensive. I take everything to my local rebuild shop and usually am out the door for under $50.

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

how do I find one ie what do I search for? I think I know a place that rebuilds automotive alternators. same type or thing?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

What's the model # of the motor

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

how do I determine that?

 

[nerys]

Re: New project boat. God I hope its not a money pit cause its really nice

WOW I got a great deal tonight I am SO STOKED !!!

Met a guy about a seat on craigslist and it was pure HONEY!

Brand Spanking new (and I already ripped it GRRRRRRR) still has the tag on it even
Looks it too. aluminum and get this the best part. the base is PLASTIC !!! no wood !! yippee

Blue. Cheap. Plastic. what more can I ask !! so perfect. as I was sliding it into the boat in the dark I did not notice the expose SCREW sticking out of the inside of the gunnel. GRRRR small tear. I have a vinyl repair kit. Just got to get a matching blue patch for it. GRRR so mad but so happy. its SO PERFECT small two seats plastic and it lays down with support legs that fold out. The only way this could be more perfect is to be a brighter blue and be free otherwise its as perfect as it gets.

$50. SO freaking happy with this. this is the kind of thing I will keep from boat to boat for sure

while I was their he said he has a bunch of other stuff too cheap if I need anything let him know. When he pointed at the next item I bought I asked how much (expecting a lot) and he said $20 !! WOW

this seat?

GONE I will put that in the blue boat to sell it

THIS is my new helm chair AND he is including the pedestal mount that I will pick up wednesday.

SO freaking happy

SO comfy and nice looking.

I met him at his work a big marina storage site (got a slick 360' panoramic while I was there. Neat looking)

he used to repair boats etc.. and BONUS I popped my starter problem question and he told me where they get their starters rebuilt. Dave's starters in pleasantville nj SO I will be hunting them down and calling them tomorrow and hopefully dropping off a starter on wednesday when i come back down to work again on the way back from grabbing the pedestal for the seat. I am hoping me might have a matching seat so i can put in two but I am super happy with the one. I did not expect to get such a NICE seat so cheap.

He also said he thinks he can get me some scraps of teak cheap so I can spiff up the interior a bit and rid myself of the little bits of vinyl here and there.

He is going to see if he has any of the flush mount cleats.

Very very happy.