Unique small boat restore

Hi,

I recently purchased this boat on Craig’s list for $100 because I was looking for a project and I thought the lines were unique.





This is what it looked like the night it was delivered.

I have started to remove some of the rotted transom and decking.





The guy I bought it from found it sunken in a lake near by. I started looking at the hand etched information plate and and realized it was built by a local company and the serial number is 001. So I called the company and talked to the owner. He said he and his father built it off a mold they made and it was the only one they ever built and his dad used it for years.

I am looking for some suggestions for deck layout and hull reinforcement. It’s 15’ 4” long and 4’ 9” at the transom which is the widest point. I’m mostly going to use it for fishing on local lakes and cruising around some times. Also it’s rated for 40hp according to the tag.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

I repaired a boat almost exactly like this a few years ago.

It was a Herters.

The transom needs a core. I think you would really like the results of adding a layer of corelite board to the back. Any idea the horsepower planned?

The Herters I redid had wood gunwhales and wood splashrails for reinforcements. We rebuilt them using African mahogany and a steam box. It was a big effort, but the final product was really nice. I don't have any pictures.

For the deck; the Herters had aluminum deck. The aluminum was pretty easy and was simple bolted to the boat from underneath. You could use some 316ss carriage bolts through the gunwhales and into the deck. Iirc, the deck overlaps the outside of the hull and the outwhale went right over it to the bow. The inwhale stopped at the ally deck.

The boat looked pretty nice when we finished. It was all paint; never had gelcoat.

It also had aluminum corners on the transom. Iirc, those also we applied prior to the rubrail.

Finding a piece of African Mahogany for the rubrails and milling it down is no small task. My friend who owns the boat had an old dusty chunk of mahogany available and we milled all the parts from it.

The splashrails were in pretty good condition and we repainted them.

The seats got covered in white pine and varnished.

 

The ally deck had some crown to it as well. They must have cast it because the angles were in it to match the hull sides.

You might opt for something else.

If I were you, I'd incorporate some cedar strip into the project. You could also laminate cedar rubrails or ash even and avoid the steam box.

For a 40hp motor, I'd probably build up the transom better; not sire what it was, but it wasn't floppy glass.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have a 35hp that I am planning on using for now but plan to build the transom up as strong as possible so I can upgrade to a 40hp later down the road. I was thinking two inches of plywood core would be enough. Any thoughts on that would be helpful. As far as the wood gunwals. That’s what was on the boat when I got it. I would like to do something different that made it look more like a standard boat that has a inner and outer shell. If that makes sense. I don’t know all of the proper terms.

 

You will want to build up two layers of 3/4" ply to 1.5" plus one or two layers of 1708 glass to the hull and over the top. If you go two inches of plywood; you will have to cut the tabs off the outboard motor to fit.

The gunwhales/rubrails on that design ARE structurally required.

There is not enough strength developed by the hull alone.

 

I was afraid that I would have put the wood gunwales back on. That’s going to be tricky.

 

I see another structural bulkhead missing about 3-4' back from the bow.

 

1.5" is enough, you don't want to be cutting tabs off the motor.

I think you're meaning a wider gunnel, maybe 4-6". You need supports, which could come off the seats. Supports could also be stuck to the sides of the hull and double as horizontal (storage) rod holders or for paddles/oars. The wider top gives an area for vertical rod holders used when fishing.

To replace what was there, you'd get 4 wood strips longer than whats needed. You'd start at the transom and proceed forward, alternating from one side to the other. Two clamps would secure a foot or two of gunnels in the right position, you'd then screw or bolt that together, move the clamps to the other side and repeat, alternating sides so the hull doesn't become lopsided. The loose ends would run wild. Lay a stick across the hull up by the bow, rest the gunnel strips on top and pull the ends together with ropes. As you get closer to the bow, you can leave the ropes on but abandon the stick support. Eventually you can see where the gunnels need to be cut off, you do that and then clamp and bolt/screw until done. When done, sand the gunnels and hull all smooth across the top with a belt sander and varnish or paint. Put an end cap either inside and flush or across the top
of the gunnels. You could also put a cap across the top of the length of the gunnels that would cover the exposed hull edges. Countersink bolts or screws so stuff won't catch on the inside or stick out and scratch another boat when you come up alongside. If you put spacer blocks between the hull and the inside gunnel , that will leave a series of slots all around that work well for tying up or hanging fenders or fish stringers etc.

It looks like there was a third seat forward and it looks like a casting deck might have been installed on top of that. Finding that too high and wobbly, the deck was ripped out and the seat hacked out for easier access forward for fishing etc. That's all just a guess. A small deck forward like that also gives storage space for an anchor with a rope all hopelessly entangled and a place to put life jackets so they can get all wet and moldy.