Want to get on back on water

mitchp · Dec 25, 2010

I have spent a good many years around and on the water. I spent 10 years in the Navy as well as surfing in CA and HI. Its hard to accept being called a cadet on this site.Oh well

I want to get a small powerboat possibley a fixer upper. How do i start my search? I have a Glasstron CV16 ss but i feel this restoration project is over my head and would be labor/cost beyond me. Please advise. I served in the brown water navy. If i could afford to restore/operate one of these old PBRs that would be awesome. Imagine that!

dozerII · Dec 26, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

Welcome to the forum, you will find lots of friendly and informative people here. As far as a boat, I guess it depends on what you want to do with it, and how much restoration work you have in mind. I myself am kind of biased and will only look at old Starcraft aluminum boats. There are lots of them around they were built well and eazy to restore. They made many different models, there is usually one to fit anybodies needs. Check out the starcraft section in the brand specifec section at the bottom of the page for some ideas. If you like what you see just do a search on craigs list and you will find lots of great deals.
Glen

GLENN M · Dec 26, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

sorry for my ignorance,what is the'brown water navy'

bonz_d · Dec 26, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

Woulds have to agree that if the budget and skills are limited then aluminum is the way to go. Glass can get exspensive to repair.

There are many fine manufacturers ot there such as; Alumacraft, Lund, Smokercraft, Starcraft, Sylvan, Mirrocraft, Crestliner. All well built hulls. Craigslist seems to be the most used search vehicle.

Stachi · Dec 26, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

GLENN M said:
sorry for my ignorance,what is the'brown water navy'

it is a name for the river boat forces in Viet Nam....as in the movie Apocalypse Now....

jayhanig · Dec 26, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

GLENN M said:
sorry for my ignorance,what is the'brown water navy'

I don't know if they still use the terminology but during the Vietnam War, the "bluewater Navy" sailed the seas and the "brownwater Navy" sailed the rivers.

Think of "Apocalypse Now". That was the brownwater Navy. During the Vietnam War, they were in the thick of it.

mitchp · Dec 26, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

GLENN M said:
sorry for my ignorance,what is the'brown water navy'

The brown water Navy is a branch or unit that does river patrol. Used effectivley on the rivers in Viet Nam. The boat of choice for these units was a 31 foot fiberglass vessel called a PBR (patrol boat river) Men who served in these units were offten refered to as River Rats. The boat was equiped with twin 50 caliber machine guns on the foredeck in a rotating turret. A single machine gun in the rear, along with a mortor. Powered by two desiel engines and moved the boat useing water jets. Very fast, and could operate in very shallow water. Goggle up PBR and you can most likely view a pic and get some history. Mitch

ezmobee · Dec 27, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

mitchp said:
I want to get a small powerboat possibly a fixer upper. How do i start my search? I have a Glasstron CV16 ss but i feel this restoration project is over my head and would be labor/cost beyond me.

dellsboater · Dec 27, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

Another thing to concider is the type of water you want to boat in. Having owned several shallow hulled boats like your CV16, I am at the age where I do not want to get beat up all the time and bought a 21 footwer with a deeper v hull to provide a smoother ride. On my lake its nothing to see 1-2 foot waves on the weekend, and the shallow hulled boats while faster, will beat you up unless its early morning or late night.

Also consider length of hull. I was told go at least with a 20 footer to give better handling and ride.

Deep V alum in the 19-20 foot range would handle most conditions in an inland lake or river just fine....

444 · Dec 28, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

You say your cvx16ss is too much of a project for you. I'm assuming it needs fiberglass and/or transom and/or floor and/or stringer repairs. If that is too much for you, then I highly suggest you steer away from fiberglass fixer upper boats. Either stick with an aluminum hull fixer upper or find a good, solid and finished fiberglass hull boat. Because if you find a fiberglass hull boat that looks like it only needs a little structural work, I guarantee you will find more once you start tearing into it.

mitchp · Dec 28, 2010

Re: Want to get on back on water

444 said:
You say your cvx16ss is too much of a project for you. I'm assuming it needs fiberglass and/or transom and/or floor and/or stringer repairs. If that is too much for you, then I highly suggest you steer away from fiberglass fixer upper boats. Either stick with an aluminum hull fixer upper or find a good, solid and finished fiberglass hull boat. Because if you find a fiberglass hull boat that looks like it only needs a little structural work, I guarantee you will find more once you start tearing into it.

Hull/transom are in good shape. Floor was rotten and i have cut it out. Keel wood is questinable. Boat needs all new guages and i believe a fair amount of wireing work as well as a rack and pinion steering cable installed. This to me looks as hard as building a ship in a bottle. It seems like the factory steering cable was installed before the deck was mated to the hull. The boat has a volvo 4 cyl. 130 hp engine with two carburaters. Have never heard the engine run, and have been told if it was not properly winterized I could be in for engine repairs. I am a motorcycle mechanic so i have decent mechanical skills. Do you feel from what ive described here, that i could return this vessel to its former glory? Ive been told this style boat was used in the 007 movie Live and Let Die. I was also given crappy paperwork from an Ahole seller. Thoughts on this project? I dont want to spend 5 years on a restoration, and dont know how long it would take me to get her back on the water. Considering getting a running boat to play with now while i would be restoring this classic. Thanks in advance Mitch.

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