Project Bass Boat (Updated 3/23)

Pelhament · 03-11-2009, 04:33 PM

My grandpa horse traded for this boat a while back. His health has kept him from using it, so he thought he would give it to someone who would actually use it and not sell it to make a quick buck. That person ended up being me.

Its a 1977 15' VIP Bass boat with a 85HP Johnson on it. The boat is in pretty bad condition asthetics wise, but he promised me that it floats and runs. Here is what it looked like when I picked it up this weekend with a light sweeping...

I stripped of the compartment covers took out what was left of the seats and tore up the carpet today.

I got a little more cleaning to do then I am going get some carpet and cut a couple pieces of plywood to cover the non-compartment walking areas.

I'll try to keep this updated with my progress.

Highmark · 03-11-2009, 05:30 PM

Boy there is alot of work ahead of you there. Have fun. should be a nice bass boat when you get it done.

That's what I call sweat equity.

HM

BassinFever · 03-11-2009, 07:56 PM

That hull configuration was used by at least four boat manufactures from the late 70's to the early 80's. Ranger, Skeeter, Cajun, Venture and a couple others! Very fishable and stable, not overly fast though. Windsheilds are still available from different suppliers. You will have the pride of doing it yourself when done.!

fishkisser · 03-11-2009, 08:46 PM

Oh boy, project boat time ...

It will be a great platform when you are done ...

Pyrojake · 03-11-2009, 09:56 PM

Do you know how long it's been outside?

Pelhament · 03-11-2009, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyrojake

Do you know how long it's been outside?

Over the winter (at least), however most of the water seemed to be soaked into the carpet and wood platforms. I haven't found any soft spots in the fiberglass. Everything seems super sturdy, which I was relieved about. My buddy owns a body shop so I am going to have him do a once over on the fiberglass before we go ahead and refinish it to be extra safe.

An hour after these pictures were taken everything seem to be dried up. The leaves, wood and carpet were keeping everything moist.

Pyrojake · 03-11-2009, 09:58 PM

A little Lemon Joy and it will shine like new.

woodsy188 · 03-12-2009, 08:09 AM

3M makes a Fiberglass Restorer that is great to remove the oxidation. I refurbished a ski boat a while back (took it all the way down to the hull & engine.), so I can appriciate the work you are going to do!

Pelhament · 03-12-2009, 09:37 PM

Thanks Woodsy. I am going to grab a bottle and see how it works... If that doesn't work I may just have my buddy paint it. Probably won't last very long but at least it will look nice while it lasts.

Today I started taking out all the bolts that the wood for the seats just fell off of. They are super rusted out, so it looks like I am going to have to take a cutter to them. Scraped all the carpet off the fiberglass compartment covers and they still look to be in great shape. One of the compartment covers looked to have cracked along the edges that the hinges were on at some point, but they seemed to coat it with enough epoxy to keep it in one piece. They did a good job because it seems strong enough to hold my weight.

Found out the engine is a 1979 Model, so I ordered a repair manual for it today. Going to do a oil change and overall flush and then take the prop off throw her in a garbage can full of water and see if she fires.

woodsy188 · 03-13-2009, 06:28 AM

When it comes time to buy carpet, if you want actual "marine carpet," the best/easiest place I found to purchase is Bentley's in Milwaukie. Its not cheep, but I've been happy with the durability.

Carhartt · 03-14-2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pelhament

Thanks Woodsy. I am going to grab a bottle and see how it works... If that doesn't work I may just have my buddy paint it. Probably won't last very long but at least it will look nice while it lasts.

Today I started taking out all the bolts that the wood for the seats just fell off of. They are super rusted out, so it looks like I am going to have to take a cutter to them. Scraped all the carpet off the fiberglass compartment covers and they still look to be in great shape. One of the compartment covers looked to have cracked along the edges that the hinges were on at some point, but they seemed to coat it with enough epoxy to keep it in one piece. They did a good job because it seems strong enough to hold my weight.

Found out the engine is a 1979 Model, so I ordered a repair manual for it today. Going to do a oil change and overall flush and then take the prop off throw her in a garbage can full of water and see if she fires.

If you have time post some progress pictures, sounds like you have a good foundation. Clean it up and keep horse tradin like your grandfather did, you be surprised what you can turn that into.

Pelhament · 03-15-2009, 06:34 PM

Well this weekend's weather had me spending some time in the garage with the dog and the boat. I got a lot done! Got everything pulled off of it, including the wiring... My grandpa said he never worked on this thing, but now I am wondering. It had his all the signs that he messed with the wiring. Bare wires wrapped around the bolts and tightened down and things spliced and connected in weird ways. If it wasn't him then the guy who had it before him did electrical work just like him. I marked all the wires and am going to go through and redo a bunch of the connections.

Ordered the 3M Marine Restorer that Woodsy recommended and will hopefully get the fiberglass looking tip top next. Then I will rewire it and reinstall everything. Then I will carpet it and we will be fishing!!!!

Here's a few pictures of the progress.

woodsy188 · 03-16-2009, 05:24 AM

Nice Progress!
Sometimes after using the 3m restore product, I'll give it a coat of wax to really bring out the shine. I keep meaning to go through my picture archives so I can show you my results.

Smj · 03-16-2009, 08:29 AM

That's so cool! I want to see a picture of the pile of stuff you took out of too though. Wiring, guages, wheel, etc...

Smj

Pelhament · 03-16-2009, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smj

That's so cool! I want to see a picture of the pile of stuff you took out of too though. Wiring, guages, wheel, etc...

Smj

I'll get a pic tonight. All the wiring is still attached to the motor, I just pulled it out so I could clean it up better. I have 3 piles right now, the wiring, all the compartment covers and wood that I am going to use for templates to cut out new wood pieces, and all the other stuff I took out (gas tanks, batteries, guages, etc.). The two garbage bags of leaves, dirt and glue shavings as well as the old carpet, broken bolts and other junk are already in the trash though, so no pics of them.

Smj · 03-16-2009, 09:36 AM

Yeah funny....I got views of leaves and other assorted yard debris in my backyard, I know what that stuff looks like! I really love the veiw of that nicely striped boat, smoooth. That's the easy part! My somewhat sick curiosity wants to see what you have to sort through to put it all back together. As I'm saying to myself, "Self... better he than me!!"

Looking forward to seeing forward progress.

Edit:Looking back at the first pics again, your garage was a little too neat and organized I believe. You REALLY needed a project just like this. LOL

Smj

BassinFever · 03-17-2009, 01:00 PM

That looks really great!

A word for the wise and as an old Body man I can say it with authority!

I can tell by the pictures that the outer layer of clear Gel coat is gone! You have little else to do now but paint it. If you put other things on it, it will make it that much harder to refinish. You have all the hard work done now and if you do it right at this point you will not have to tear it all apart later to do it right. It would be a shame at this point not to go ahead and spend the money to make the boat look like new again. Any urethane basecoat clearcoat system will make it look great but I recommend Imron as it is the closest thing to Gel Coat as you can get!

Before you even sand it you need to wipe the heck out of it with Laquer thinner, (Do it outside with lots of ventilation and rubber gloves). Really soak it down. This will pull all the old wax and oils out of the pourous gel coat before you start sanding. You do not want to grind all that into the gel coat before you get started.

Pelhament · 03-17-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassinFever

That looks really great!

A word for the wise and as an old Body man I can say it with authority!

I can tell by the pictures that the outer layer of clear Gel coat is gone! You have little else to do now but paint it. If you put other things on it, it will make it that much harder to refinish. You have all the hard work done now and if you do it right at this point you will not have to tear it all apart later to do it right. It would be a shame at this point not to go ahead and spend the money to make the boat look like new again. Any urethane basecoat clearcoat system will make it look great but I recommend Imron as it is the closest thing to Gel Coat as you can get!

Before you even sand it you need to wipe the heck out of it with Laquer thinner, (Do it outside with lots of ventilation and rubber gloves). Really soak it down. This will pull all the old wax and oils out of the pourous gel coat before you start sanding. You do not want to grind all that into the gel coat before you get started.

Thanks! I'll take it down to my buddy's shop this weekend to see if he sees the same looking at in person. If so, I'll have him spray it and go from there.

Yesterday, I forgot the pile pictures, so here they are.

The compartment covers and wood that I will be using as templates for new wood pieces.

The wiring and a little close up to show my organizational system. The places where these connect are marked as well.

And the other stuff

santiamflyguy · 03-17-2009, 05:13 PM

I am not sure what the Scoop Away has to do with all of this. You bass guys just get stranger and stranger by the year.

Pelhament · 03-17-2009, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by santiamflyguy

I am not sure what the Scoop Away has to do with all of this. You bass guys just get stranger and stranger by the year.

C'mon Scott, you're the one who taught me that fish love the flowery scent of Scoop Away.

fishkisser · 03-18-2009, 05:14 AM

Scoop away makes great chum ...

Highmark · 03-18-2009, 05:29 AM

I'm impressed Great job !!

One thing. On the wall, It looks like you are
using the AC wiring to retain stuff between the wall studs. that's a no no. please find another way to store your stuff.
This is the inspector in me. I would hate to here of you getting electrocuted from this practice.

HM

Highmark · 03-21-2009, 07:29 AM

So what are you going to do to to bring the shine back to the paint.??
Will you repaint it with a clear coat.or ? Or wax on.

HM

Pelhament · 03-23-2009, 06:41 AM

I haven't completely decided yet but I think I am going to have to paint it. I have been looking at fiberglass topside paints and it looks like Interlux and Pettit both have a roll/brush on Polyurethane that I could use to refinish the boat in my garage without having to take it to my buddy to spray. Sounds pretty simple actually.

My Marine restorer showed up this weekend, so I may do a test on a small portion of the boat to see how it comes out. If it becomes a practice in futility I will start prepping it for paint. This blue boat may end up being a nice shiny jet black when all is said and done.

Pelhament · 03-23-2009, 06:02 PM

Well I tried the restorer on a very small portion of the boat (1' x 1') and the only thing I noticed is that the cloth had a ton of glitter on it... So tomorrow I'm ordering paint. I will be washing the boat with a degreaser this week, start sanding and getting some body work done, then I'll prime and paint it. This project just got a bit more expensive and a bit more time intensive, but it will hopefully look great when its finished.

Willie Ketchum · 03-23-2009, 07:34 PM

I really like the project, and I've been considering doing one like it. Are the transom and floor solid? There's another forum specifically about restoring bass boats and its full of transom replacement stories, which kinda makes me wonder what I'd be getting into.........

Pelhament · 03-23-2009, 07:53 PM

Yep, the boat is structurely sound. Thank god, if it wasn't I would throw it away. Its already not worth what I am putting into it... lol

MXRacer105 · 03-24-2009, 12:49 PM

Thanks for posting your progress, this has been an interesting thread to follow.

Here is a link to another forum you might like, it is the "Bassboat Restoration" page from Bass Boat Central.... I am sure you could find some good info in there.

http://bbcboards.zeroforum.com/zeroforum?id=19

Good luck and hopefully we will see you out there sooner than later.