New here with first project

[hondaracin338]

Hey whats up guys? New to this forum as well to boats. was browsing craigslist yesterday and stumbled upon an ad for a free boat. First thought was..ah its prolly a pos.. it looked good from the outside so i said screw it..lemme drive over and take a look. well this led to that and i ended up haulin her home. its a 1962 larson 17 footer. heres a few pics..tell me what u guys think, and if im getting in over my head..












like i said..i have limited knowledge when it comes to boats. I know the wood needs replacing, the stringers seem solid and intact, transom in rock solid, hulls in great shape. To me, it just looks like it needs wood/fiberglass work, paint, and other little odds and ends. What do you guys think?

[hoytedow]

We welcome you to the forum hondaracin338. What are your carpentry skills?

[cthippo]

Welcome aboard, honda!

Assuming the hull itself is in good shape then replacing the decks shouldn't be too bad. Fundamentally, there isn't much to a boat like this. I would seal the stringers with epoxy and then put down marine plywood for the floor and seal that with epoxy. I would also consider filling the space between the hull and floor with 2 part expanding foam, but that's up to you.

[hondaracin338]

yeah me and my dad are pretty good with carpendry. Just like i said..boats are new to me..i dont even get my boating safty card till next week..haha. I like the idea of the expanding foam..it makes sense to me. Im gona go look around tomorrow for some good marine board and tackle the flooring and other wood parts. Ok..so as far as paint goes for the fiberglass..ive looked around the forum and still am clueless...i want the best bang for the buck..i dont wana do a quick spray paint rush job..but i dont wana spend thousands on a professional paint job lol. What would be the best in-between paint job a can do myself? im pretty handy with a sprayer and air compressor? Thanks for all the help guys!!

[hoytedow]

Make sure the expanding foam is well sealed after. It will soak up water and make the boat heavier, ultimately defeating its purpose. Look for closed-cell foam. PU foam is open-cell.

[JLIMA]

A few questions about how you want to use it after its finished (to help you with paint choice) is it going to be kept in the water all season or do you plan on trailering and keeping her on land when not in use?

[cthippo]

I found this stuff and while I haven't tried it, it seems like the right answer for filling void spaces...

http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

[Madcat]

This remind me a lot of my first boat project. It was a 1968 Glastron I think and looked very similar to your craft. I cut my floor up 3" from the sides with a small skilsaw. I adjusted it so the blade was only cutting about 1" down and made sure to keep my lines all 3" from the sides.

Make sure you check the stringers all the way through. If you find any rot I would replace them now rather than waiting. I don't recommend using the PU expanding foam under the floorboards, it really creates a mess if it's not done properly - and it rarely is.

Don't be afraid to replace anything you think is suspect at all. IMHO there is no going to far when it's structural or safety related. Keep reading up on paints, I recommend looking for previous projects and reading through the questions and the answers they were given when asking the same question. It's one of those things that you will read a ton of info and not truly understand any of it. Just keep reading and doing research it will eventually "click".

Nothing is more important than patience when refurbishing a boat, so take your time. It's really worth pouring in the extra elbow grease and research to do a good job. After spending about 500 hours rebuilding a boat it makes those, "Hey man, nice boat!" compliments all the sweeter.