restoring 1960 cabin cruiser boat kit

[kapnD]

I’d be concerned about the spaces under the floor that you cannot see.
Cut some access hatches in the floor, located where they will be of some use and have a look around, or even drill some holes to insert a borescope.
Closed spaces create conditions that can promote rot.

 

[rocco611]

here are some more pics of the transom the outer sheet of the transom is plywood a bit over an inch thick. the inside is a lot of wood braces bolted and screwed together, the stringers are plywood about an inch wide there is a three inch hole in the left side, I can see in there with a flash light, there is another stringer about 12" away from the hole, everything inside appears to be well sealed with resin . lots of plumbing and brackets in the engine bay. two solid brass heat exchangers one for oil the other for coolant. both are put together with flanges very heavy. probably 60 lbs the two of them

 

[Mr Efficiency]

Any idea what this thing weighs ? I'd say the 115 will be enough even if a heavyweight, with that flat bottom, and you can always use a finer pitch prop anyway. It certainly looks reasonably well preserved, but nothing like being there on the spot to judge. Needless to say, removal of ironmongery that was part of the inboard installation, would seem sensible.

 

[rocco611]

I have no Idea what it weighs, tows very easily behind my 1/2 truck , was easy enough to stop without the trailer brakes hooked up. then again there is no engine or outdrive in the boat. after I evaluate the outboard I may grind or drill through the fiberglass in a few spots that would be likely to have rot and check the condition of the plywood . bottom of the transom, stringer and floor, not actually drill through the wood just drill to the surface and scratch into it with an awl. rotten boats I have encountered in the past were easy to spot this way. then again I am always open to suggestions.If the 115 merc doesnt turn out to be good, I am also considering a 140 mercruiser sterndrive 4 cylinder, should be easy enough to find from an older boat.

 

[fallguy]

A one inch thick transom is insufficient for the bracketing.

You also can't just extend an engine stringer for the bracket.

Too hard to tell what you have with the pics.

 

[fallguy]

The fact the boat is light is not really a plus for ob bracketing.

 

[Mr Efficiency]

The fact the boat is light is not really a plus for ob bracketing.

Why do you say that ?

 

[rocco611]

A one inch thick transom is insufficient for the bracketing.

You also can't just extend an engine stringer for the bracket.

Too hard to tell what you have with the pics.

Inside of the transom are 1x6 boards running horizontally across the width of the transom they are bolted in place,may be bonded to the plywood, cant really tell, they are coated with resin but not glassed.

 

[fallguy]

Why do you say that ?

If the transom and stringers are light and he wants to ob convert; he might have to beef them up is all.

Again, I would be inclined to contact a bracket manufacturer to find out their specs for the substrates.

I doubt very much a 1" thick transom with some 1x6s added is sufficient.

I am gonna go on a limb and say the bracket folks will want a 2" thick transom glassed both sides. They will design to avoid the transom falling off at sea.

A friend of mine knew of four lost to a transom failure. It can happen to improper design or disrepair.

 

[Mr Efficiency]

The "tower of power" is not a brute in the class of big modern outboards, it won't need the boat to be beefed up to withstand a nuclear detonation.

 

[fallguy]

The "tower of power" is not a brute in the class of big modern outboards, it won't need the boat to be beefed up to withstand a nuclear detonation.

A bracket manufacturer would be the best source of hull specs for their bracket.

 

[rocco611]

I contacted a bracket manufacturer and sent some pictures , he said the transom would need significant reinforcement to to support the stress of outboard conversion and even with that done, the stringers appear to be too light and would likely be a problem as well . his recommendation would be to repower it with a sterndrive . I checked out the the mercury outboard, pulled the plugs, plugs all looked good. oiled the cylinders. it had been in storage for over 20 years. the wiring and fuel lines are in poor condition, it is stuck in forward drive gear, lower unit oil is clean no water intrusion or metal shavings, fuel pumps shows some external corrosion. compression is 90 psi for all cylinders. it does have spark. will likely need a fuel pump, carb kits, wiring replaced , water pump impeller and some work on the lower unit shift mechanism. I am wondering what this outboard is worth if I wanted to sell it. I would have to spend quite bit of time and a few hundred dollars in parts to get it in running condition.

 

[Mr Efficiency]

I'd say they did not want to wear any blow-back if their bracket was later loaded up with another, bigger outboard and there was structural failure. Your outboard being an old 2 stroke, is basically worth very little. The gearbox might be OK, just turn the flywheel slightly, while you attempt to move the gearshift. If you could find a sterndrive ( a small one around 120-130 HP) you might have more scope to use the boat where the two stroke outboard is banned.

 

[fallguy]

Nonrunning ob is $2-300 here. Running is probably up to local market(see facebook or craigslist), but I'd be surprised at more than $1500. You can usually find fmv on whole boat deals.

Trust the bracket guy; the transom isn't thick enough. The forces are different on the sterndrive; think hull intersection vs top of transom..lots of support bottom v top....even a simple tow eye is located near intersecting hull and not the middle of the transom..

 

[Mr Efficiency]

It is too difficult to judge what the situation is, unless an experienced hand AND on the spot. The bracket guy could not judge any better, unless right there, naturally he would err on the side of caution. Given the age of it, the entire boat needs a thorough audit.