Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

[Canada_Jim]

My name is Jim, and my sickness began in September of this year. I just fell in love with the lines of this boat, and had to buy it. It has been swamped in a storm and abandoned, I got it for cheap. The owner described it getting swamped to the gunnels, and bailing it out in about 6hrs. From there he parked it and basically did nothing to it. I've cleared out the fliuds and replaced filters, replaced the fuel pump which did not work at all, and it fires right up and purr's. The F&R drives engage, and trim is functional by trailer switch only. The hull is a '93, 21ft Reinell Sunliner, the motor markings suggest that the engine is a 2008 5.0l the leg I hope someone can help me identify if I have a gen1 or gen2 alpha here.

Lots of work to do to get it to where I want it to be, including some minor fibreglass repair, electrical restoration and audio outfitting, engine optimization, upolstery restoration ETC. I'll start by posting some of the pics from the ad that I responded to and we'll go from there, because you know I'm gonna need all of your help and suport here, I've done some reading and you guys seem like a really great group...........but, I have to type in little bits, you know? Anyway be welcome to comment.............

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Welcome to the iboats dry dock

Great looking boat!

 

[Trooper82]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

I like those lines too!

Welcome to iboats...

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

You are definitely in the right place my friend, and by the way welcome. Any answers you need will be found here. There is a wealth of information available here from the guys be it engines to electronics.

Oh jeeez, I just noticed you are from one of our mod's neck of the woods, Oops. He is the go to guy in B.C.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

I like those lines too!

I really like the white topsides over blue hull particularly on that long sleek profile.

 

[Jimmy H.]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Hey nice boat. Saw it for sale earlier with the "caught in a windstorm" ad on Castanet. If I didn't already find something I would have been all over that one for the price the po was asking. Great find, see you on the lake next summer.
James

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

I'd give that boat a good body cavity search before getting too carried away with the cosmetic details.

Decking, foam, stringers, and transom... especially since it was swamped and left for dead.

 

[Canada_Jim]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

I like those lines too!

Welcome to iboats...

I really like the white topsides over blue hull particularly on that long sleek profile.

I knew it would appeal to more people than just myself, thanks for the validation..................I can't wait to cut out the oxidation on that gelcoat, then we're gonna have something.

Also thanks for all the welcoming comments, I knew this was the right place for me after a couple of hours of reading.

Hey nice boat. Saw it for sale earlier with the "caught in a windstorm" ad on Castanet. If I didn't already find something I would have been all over that one for the price the po was asking. Great find, see you on the lake next summer.
James

Yes that's the one, lets just say I got it for less than the asking price. I felt that the trailer, and stainless prop would be value enough to offset the price paid, very little risk.

I'd give that boat a good body cavity search before getting too carried away with the cosmetic details.

Obviously I have given it a preliminary once over, and found that there is one softspot in the deck, under the operator chair location. I think an aluminum plate attached to the pedestal to widen the attachment points will be the answer for it. Also in the motor well the forward vertical plywood board is starting to delaminate, and would be a bugger to cut out and replace. I would have to pull the motor to get enough clearance to do it. I am considering vacuum bagging some resin into it then top capping it with aluminum "J" channel.
Jigngrub, is there a tried and true method of assessing hull and transom condition under the deck that I'm missing? One or two of the chines have the gelcoat broken out, but it appears that it is a manufacturing defect, not rolled corectly and air was trapped. I plan to just duraglass this area then lay on some sanding gel.

Anyway, I will keep eveyone posted on the progress, because I enjoy reading about everyone elses
projects here. Thanks again....................................

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

The soft spots in the deck are troublesome. If you plan on restoring the boat well, and want to keep her long term,then I'd recommend at the very least to remove a 3 foot, full width section of the deck so you could make her solid and at the same time inspect the substructure by taking core samples of the stringers and bulkheads. If all is well you could beef up the underside of the deck for the seating and reinstall the cut out section in just a couple of days work. If you find problems below, now is the time to address them before all the cosmetic work is done.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Obviously I have given it a preliminary once over, and found that there is one softspot in the deck, under the operator chair location. I think an aluminum plate attached to the pedestal to widen the attachment points will be the answer for it. Also in the motor well the forward vertical plywood board is starting to delaminate, and would be a bugger to cut out and replace. I would have to pull the motor to get enough clearance to do it. I am considering vacuum bagging some resin into it then top capping it with aluminum "J" channel.
Jigngrub, is there a tried and true method of assessing hull and transom condition under the deck that I'm missing? One or two of the chines have the gelcoat broken out, but it appears that it is a manufacturing defect, no rolled corectly and air was trapped. I plan to just duraglass this area then lay on some sanding gel.

Take a look at this thread:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=579280&highlight=railcar

He just had one small soft spot on his deck too... look what he found, I suspect your boat is the same.

 

[Seasonally.boating.jon]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

That is a very sharp boat! I would sink a couple of grand in it for sure. I think the swim platform adds alot of the "sleekness" to it. Looks like the consoles cleaned up well.

Have fun.

 

[Canada_Jim]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

All sound advise, thanks for this.....................

I'll just say that I have helped friends do a couple of deck and foam jobs, one complete resto of a 50's mohogany cutty, and a 44' houseboat resto. I am not afraid of any hull work required to make this a safe pleasure craft for my friends and family, and have the carpentry/glassing skills to make it happen.
I do want to temporarily fasten a plate to the deck to carry a seat, because I want to shake this boat out first to make sure that the drive system is not going to give me grief. I am way less adept at engine and lower unit work, and want to verify that I'm working on something that is going to run problem free for a while.
I'll keep you guys posted in the ealy spring, of where I'm at.

 

[Canada_Jim]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Ok, I havent been here in a while but have been able to take advantage of the unseasonably mild conditions, to get some work done to the boat.
Electrically, I have been able to restore all systems except for the nav. lights right now. In doing so I found some interesting things, such as; the cord out of the bilge pump had to much slack under the engine compartment. The cord was able to bounce up into the engine pully, and had been cut. The ground wire in the cable was totally cut except for 3or 4 strands of wire. This cause the pump to run for a few seconds only, then it would quit. I bet this condition contributed to the previous owners swamping.
I pumped 92l of water out of the fuel tank, flushed it a few times, and replaced the siezed electrical fuel pump. I changed the motor oil, which showed no evidence of water contamination, and the hydrolic fluids which did show evidence of contamination. The motor fired right up and runs like a dream.
Right now the steering still feels stiff, and I have been dilligent in changing the hydrolic oil in the system, so I believe it needs a steering cable.
I have now had the opertunity to do some cut polishing to the boat and the results are dramatic. Please see picture attached to this text box. I have been using the Mcguires 3 step system, however the picture is taken after the first step.......what a difference.
Anyway, the weather has taken a turn that has sucked my motivation to carry on right now, so I've moved the boat to its winter storage location. More to come in the early spring..............................,

 

[dozerII]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Hey Jim Welcome to the wonderful world of Iboats. You will find a ton of help on this site and a bunch of great guys. I also really like the lines of the boat too bad its fiberglass, (just me I'm a little biased) looking forward to watching your progress.
PS what part of BC do they call Lake country?

 

[Canada_Jim]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Dozer, I like wood boats also...........................District of Lake Country info here; The Okanagan Way.

 

[73Chrysler105]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Jim looks great after some elbow grease. Glad it appears the motor is fine. I agree the cut wire is most likely the cause to the inability to pump out the water. The big question is how did all that water get in the first place? That is what I would be wanting to find out.

 

[Canada_Jim]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

Chris, I have an insight to this swamping also. This boat is a bowrider (open bow design), it comes from the factory with a tented bow tonneau cover which is an important saftey component of the vessel. In my region on hot summer days strong convective air-currents sometimes collaborate to cause very strong afternoon wind conditions that blindside many boaters. You can litterally see a wind line of chop approaching on the water, typically from the south. If this condition overtakes you whilst operating a open bow type of boat, you had best have that tented cover on, to prevent the water from entering the vessel via breaking over the bow. This is how this boat got swamped, and is a condition that happens hundreds of times a season in my region.
I remember twenty years ago when I was Captain of a comercial houseboat, a new rental operator began operating beside my slip at a local marina. His fleet consisted of seven brand new Campion 185 bowrider's, all with 4.3l I/O's. This operator felt he could get an edge up on the competion by securing half of what others were requiring for a dammage deposit, 250.00 at the time. One day I saw the conditions occuring that preceed this type of wind event, and brought my group in. We tied up 1/2 hr prior to the wind event, as it began the operator approched us to see if we've seen any of his boats earlier that day. We had in fact seen a number of his boats earlier, all south of our location. That afternoon, one by one his fleet of boats all began to arrive under tow, swamped to the gunnels with the tourist type rental operators and there families various shades of pasty white, trembling with fear. All recanting there own version of a familiar tale, of waves crashing water over the bow, frantically bailing with everything possible, not realizing that the boat would still float, if full. Everything not secured would be and was lost, and what was suposed to be a pleasurable outing, turned into an afternoon of real terror for those people.
So 5 of 7 boats came back swamped to the gunnels that day, with 3 operated by individuals who did not realize the an engine of this nature cannot run while fully immersed in water. The long and the short of this story is that this condition caused the rental business to collapse in one afternoon, unfortunately taking the mans house and vehicle with it.

 

[73Chrysler105]

Re: Newby first boat, as a restoration project.

WOW definitely not something we are used to seeing around here in Texas. The delaminating is definitely a cause for concern though as is the soft spot. Do you happen to know how long it stayed swamped? That plays big on saturation of the water into areas that it is not supposed to be. If you have foam under the floor it could be soaked with water and weigh the boat down as well.