txarmydude
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2010
- Messages
- 119
Greetings to all! I am new to the forum and will be around with plenty of questions. Here's my story:
I'm in the Army, call Houston TX home, and am stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. I just bought my first boat, a 1977 Cobalt 18 ft ski boat with a Mercruiser 888. I only paid $500 for the thing trailer included, and it is in pretty rough shape. So far, I have refinished all wood components, identified all fiberglass work that will need to be done, sanded the portion I intend to paint, rewired and installed new trailer lights, and come up with a game plan for getting this thing on the water by spring. All in all, this boat was a steal at $500 and I couldn't pass it up. The hull is good, the engine is not seized and the trailer is now legal. It needs new tires, but is otherwise in excellent condition.
The things that need to be done:
New trailer tires, repair fiberglass gouges and sand them, do some minor vinyl repair in the front, paint the portion that I intend to paint (only a stripe), get the motor running (needs a starter, new valvetrain, cam -- I may just buy a rebuilt long block and not mess with the valvetrain), the outdrive is good but no up down on the trim, and paint the boat name after I'm done. The seats are pretty rough and I think I will just paint the lower portion of the seats and use those shower cap type seat covers as opposed to dropping 500-600 for a set of new seats.
I have been taking pictures before and after and I will post them online as I go. The main reason I joined this forum is because I know next to nothing about boat motors. I have had classic cars but never a boat. I will definitely have lots of questions for y'all!
I'm in the Army, call Houston TX home, and am stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. I just bought my first boat, a 1977 Cobalt 18 ft ski boat with a Mercruiser 888. I only paid $500 for the thing trailer included, and it is in pretty rough shape. So far, I have refinished all wood components, identified all fiberglass work that will need to be done, sanded the portion I intend to paint, rewired and installed new trailer lights, and come up with a game plan for getting this thing on the water by spring. All in all, this boat was a steal at $500 and I couldn't pass it up. The hull is good, the engine is not seized and the trailer is now legal. It needs new tires, but is otherwise in excellent condition.
The things that need to be done:
New trailer tires, repair fiberglass gouges and sand them, do some minor vinyl repair in the front, paint the portion that I intend to paint (only a stripe), get the motor running (needs a starter, new valvetrain, cam -- I may just buy a rebuilt long block and not mess with the valvetrain), the outdrive is good but no up down on the trim, and paint the boat name after I'm done. The seats are pretty rough and I think I will just paint the lower portion of the seats and use those shower cap type seat covers as opposed to dropping 500-600 for a set of new seats.
I have been taking pictures before and after and I will post them online as I go. The main reason I joined this forum is because I know next to nothing about boat motors. I have had classic cars but never a boat. I will definitely have lots of questions for y'all!
