New to Boating! Restoration Project! Info on Browning Marine?

Greetings, all! I took my first "real" boat ride this past weekend on a 70's Starcraft ski boat, now I'm hooked! I have an old Browning Marine Mustang that is in need of a restoration, and I know nothing about boat construction! The boat is fiberglass, but has been sitting in the woods for some years now, hence the trees growing up through the floor! What should be my first step in reviving this "gem"? And does anyone have any information on Browning Marine? Who they were, when they went out of business, who bought them out, etc. I haven't been able to find anything on the 'net yet! Thanks in advance for any and all help!

 

Me too, I have a mystery boat as well, my first step was to make a space in the garage, where everything can sit dry, because a wet boat...is a sad one? I dunno, but just bring it in the garage, everything's probably rotten. It's ok though, I'd get the drill and drill a couple small holes on the bottom and tops of the left and right sides of the transom to see if it's rotted, and the bottom near the bilge hole, just in case, my wood came out damp and moldy, so I'm taking it from the top and gonna scrape it all out. Check the floor too by just walking around and looking for weak spots, at best, the fiberglass is all good, and the transom cap, and all it needs is a vacuum, tune-up and some paint n seats! -Matt

 

Well, sounds like a few interesting projects going on here.

There's another thread here somewhere that's following a similar restoration. http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7379 i think. Might want to check it out, along with a few older ones that are lying around.

With no clue as to the size, type, construction or vintage of the boats you speak of, it's hard to give suggestions. Start by taking a big carpenter's awl and sticking it into just about everything you can. Anywhere that it goes in easily is rotten and/or delaminated, and such regions must be replaced.

Trees growing in a hull are a bad sign. So is mould. So is mildew, rot, odd smells, discoloured areas, blisters, areas where the fibreglass flexes when you push it with your thumb. Start by taking a look at your local public library for books on boat repair; everyone has their favourites and I'm sure someone will recommend a few here soon...

Figure on a few months if you're working on it all day; probably a year (maybe more) if you're fitting this in in your spare time. To get it right takes a lot of patience. (And get to know the guy at your local epoxy-n-fibreglass shop, 'cause you'll be down there an awful lot ;-) ).

Enjoy the project!

 

I Also Just Purchased A Browning Boat. Seventeen Foot (bayrunner ??). Did You Find Any Info On The Browning Marine Boats Built. I've Come Up With Nothing Concering Their Boat Models. It Has A 90 Evenrude Engine. It's Been Sitting Out Uncovered For 2 Yrs.
Approx. Date Is Abt. 1989. And The Engine Abt. 1999. Any Info As To Where I Can Find Data On This Browning Boat. Purchased It For $800.00 With Eng. And Trailer. It Is Fiberglass.
Thanx,
Starship (newbie)

 

NADA has Browning Aerocraft listed until 1980.
http://www.nadaguides.com/Values/Va...ype=MR&GCode=MR&wSec=4&wPg=1008&Letter=B&Pg=5
I just happened to have one of their last, a Aerocraft Mach II. I don't know if it was because of financial difficulty or just poor sales that they went under. The craftmansship and materials used (in mine) is pretty poor, imho. BUT, after I redo her she'll make the next owner a nice boat.http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif