Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

[chuck in WA]

Hi gents, just wanted to post up a couple of pictures of my new project. Some background first: I've been looking for a good fishing/crabbing boat for the Puget Sound. I wanted something that had ample cockpit space for manuvering poles, traps, fish, gear, etc., a cabin to get out of the weather so I wouldn't be restricted to fair weather days, big enough to be seaworthy on the Puget Sound but small enough to trailer, single engine and preferably straight shaft inboard to keep the maintenance costs down. I didn't want to spend a ton of $$ since it's a second boat for me and the wife has no interest in fishing. Then, Criagslist provided me with the boat pictured below! It's a 1980 Penn Yan sportfisher. It met all of my requirements, and I thought the "tunnel drive" was incredibly cool since it would allow me to get into shallower waters at lower tides, (it only draws 14" according to the manufacturer data). The downside? It's quite a basket case! I wasn't looking for the prettiest boat around, but I had hoped to find something with the ability to at least float and run at the time of purchase. In the end though, I fell in love with the design, it's exactly what I was looking for, and I figured it was a worthy project.

The previous owner, who bought it as a project and changed his mind, said it had been sitting on the trailer with the plug in it for awhile and flooded with rainwater. Sure enough, the engine oil and transmission fluid look like milkshake. The starter is missing. Lots of rust on the engine exterior and electrical connections. The interior needs to be gutted. The hull needs to be scraped/sanded to get rid of marine life leftovers. Thankfully the hull looks solid, except for a spot about 8" long at the base of the stem which is worn though the fiberglass to the plywood from a few too many rocky beach landings thoughout it's life. Hopefully this will be all the hull damage that I find as I get into it. As long as the hull is solid I think I'm willing to dive in.

My skills? Not many I'm afraid. I've used fiberglass and resin once before on a kayak I built. I have a decent shop of tools and am looking forward to rebuilding and customizing the cabin. I have almost no engine or electrical experience, save for occasionally changing the exhaust manifold and riser on my Sea Ray runabout.

Here she is:

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

chuck in WA,
Cool looking boat.
The good news is that you have come to the right place. The folks on here are great and will help you all the way.
I know that at least one other person is doing a resto on a Penn Yan. Use the search function and do some reading.
Welcome and have fun.
Bob

 

[erikpn]

Re: Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

The bad news is that on a 30 year old boat that's been flooded in rain with the plug in.. hole to the plywood worn in from the outside... There's realistically less than a 1% chance that the rest of the hull is ok. The stringers and deck are going to be gone. The engine is also bad shape...

On a boat this size and without much experience, I'd expect to spend around 5 to 10 thousand dollars and a year or so of work to transform the boat into the vision you've molded. It will be quite a project, but it can be done.

 

[chuck in WA]

Re: Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

Thanks for the replies gents. Yup, the more I dig the more I realize I'm in for a big project. Hopefully I'll be able to see it through. Once I determine the condition of the reminder of the hull/stringers, I'm just going to take it one step at a time. Thankfully, I don't really have a set timeline.

 

[NickyBFWB]

Re: Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

So now it is my time to hit you up and see how your project is going. She looks like a beautiful boat and if you have the time and energy I can see it coming out being the vessel of your dreams.

Time to support each other on the fixing up of our boats. Good luck to you sir.


Nick

 

[jonesg]

Re: Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

PennYan is a great boat, not the typical recreational aqua vehicle.
Sadly most end up like this one.
I agree its gonna be upwards of $10K to repower , replace transom, stringers and deck, thats before you get to play interior designer.
That engine is shot from the description.

Upside, its a REAL boat, not a water toy sold to the general public. I hope you stick with it.

 

[chuck in WA]

Re: Oh boy, I'm in for it now - new project by a newbie.

Not much progress to report, really, as I've been out of town for the last few weeks. I removed the old rudder and tossed it (the attached picture shows why), and was lucky enough to be able to source a replacement from someone parting out a 1979 that's in real nice shape. I'll worry about the installation after the bottom work/paint. While I haven't pulled the engine yet, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's destined for the great junkyard in the sky. My clue came when I sucked almost 2 GALLONS of water out through the dipstick tube!! Once I get the engine pulled, I'll be able to investigate the condition of the stringers and then determine how motivated I really am. Unfortunately I won't be able to do any work on the boat until June, but I hope to get some solid progress this summer.