1981, 18' Springbok (Alcan Jumbo) restoration

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speo

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Last year I purchased my first Aluminum boat and it came without any plates. If you know anything about the specifications of this boat, please let me know (max HP, max Capacity...etc): 1981, 18' Springbok (Alcan Jumbo).

I already installed a new 15" transom and the plan is to get it on the water with a small outboard I have, as soon as possible and see if it is a good fit for me, wife and 2 kids. If we are happy with it, I will build a new 20" transom, a casting deck, and maybe a small steering console and for sure a bigger outboard (maybe a 40 hp?).

Few things I have to do:
- will fill up the benches with pink or blue foam from Home Depot
- use 1/2 inch marine plywood for the benches and casting platform
- installl bilge pump
- build a bow cap

I would really appreciate any advice.
 

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Speo, can't answer your questions or advise, but love the supersize rig. Very good choice IMO. It certainly looks like the beginnings of a great project. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Good luck and keep us posted.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk
 
I have a similar boat but a 1984. Here are the specifications provided to me by Princecraft which is the heir company of Springbok Alcan.

Length: 18' 1"
Beam: 81"
Max Depth: 39"
Transom Height: 20"
Approx Weight: 438lb
Max HP: 40hp (The Canadian specification is 50, I dont know why).
Max Capacity: 2050lb

This boat is a beast. I use mine with a 50hp Honda and it handles 4 people, gas and stock for a week of Moose hunting easily.
My hunting cabin is 40kms from the boat launch site ( a mere sand and rocks beach), thus I need to transport at least 35 imp. gal.
of gas. Here is a photo of my setting

[

By the way there should already be some foam in the benches.
 
Thank you for your answers guys.

Pierre, you have a very very nice setup there. The measurements you mentioned fits exactly to my boat.

Does yours have three benches inside, like mine? How thick is the plywood in the benches?

Did it came with windshield, or did you install it? If there is any chance you could post or email me some pictures of the interior, I would really appreciate it.

Warmer weather is coming, so I will start working on it soon.

Thanks again guys.
 
Finally, spring is here, so I started to work on the boat.
I bought a sheet of 5/8 Okume Marine plywood BS 1088, Minwax Polyurethane, Mineral Spirits, boiled linseed oil and Seaway vinyl flooring.

Today I was able to cut four benches, sand the edges, test them in position, then apply a coat of OTR. I even temporarily cover one bench with vinyl just to see how it looks like.
 

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Sorry for the dealy, I've been away for a while. My interior layout is the same as yours, but the benches covers are made of aluminium. I put a Moeller permanent fuel tank in the last one and built two storage boxes, one along the gunwales on the starboard side and one in the next to last bench.

I bought the boat used and the windshield was already there. It was not factory installed but rather added later and I have no idea at what cost.
 
PierreEmond said:
Sorry for the dealy, I've been away for a while. My interior layout is the same as yours, but the benches covers are made of aluminium. I put a Moeller permanent fuel tank in the last one and built two storage boxes, one along the gunwales on the starboard side and one in the next to last bench.

I bought the boat used and the windshield was already there. It was not factory installed but rather added later and I have no idea at what cost.

Thank you, Pierre.

How much foam was in the benches? are they supposed to be 100% full with foam?
 
No the benches where not full. They contained some sort of styrofoam while the two back benches parallel to the gunwales contain pour in foam. I replaced the foam that I took out to make room for the tank by blue foam pieces that I put underneath the deck that I built between the benches.
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
I'd put in as much foam as I can.

I agree with putting as much as possible, I am not taking safety lightly, but if the factory filled up only 75% because they knew it is enough, I would rather fill the remaining 25% with a battery or live well, and still have peace of mind (if I knew it was empty anyway).

I will use this boat with my wife and two kids, so I want it to be as safe as possible, but also make it comfortable without sacrificing safety.
 
PierreEmond said:
No the benches where not full. They contained some sort of styrofoam while the two back benches parallel to the gunwales contain pour in foam. I replaced the foam that I took out to make room for the tank by blue foam pieces that I put underneath the deck that I built between the benches.

In my boat, it looks like each bench was split in 3 and the previous owner gave me only 2 pieces of styrofoam for each bench - the port and starboard ones, for each bench. I am wondering, did one of the previous owners removed the center pieces, or maybe each bench was empty in the middle from the factory?

I will post tomorrow a picture with the foam in the right place. My foam is white, not closed cell, and some doesn't seem to trustworthy. When I got it, last year, it was heavy, full of water, but it dried out now.

The plan is to buy the blue foam boards this week and start cutting :) I want to install new foam, I will not keep any of the old white foam.
 
I believe a 4'x8'x2" pink or blue foam insulating panel will float 360 pounds.
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
I believe a 4'x8'x2" pink or blue foam insulating panel will float 360 pounds.

Yes, that number sounds about right. I will take some measurements tomorrow and do some math to see how much foam can I fit in the benches.
 
Here is the foam that I can't trust, so I will replace all of it.

Based on my measurements, the rear bench (3rd counting from the bow towards the aft) can hold about 5 cubic foot of foam.

The first and second benches are not as wide as the 3rd, but they are deeper, so probably those can also hold about 5 cubic ft each.

The rear port and starboard benches can hold about 2 cubic ft each, as well.

That makes a total of about 19 cubic foot of foam or about 4 boards of 4' x 8' x 2".

If each cubic ft of foam can hold about 60 lb of weight, that means, if I fill up all my benches, I will have 19 x 60 = 1140lb boat and cargo weight (in the air) that will not sink in case it gets swamped.

If the boat gets swamped, part of the cargo, motor, passengers will became partially submerged, and will be pushed up by the water with a force equal with the weight of the amount of water displaced, so the actual weight of the swamped boat and cargo can be higher than 1140 and still not sink.

I hope my math is correct :)
 

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In my case the foam in the two rearmost benches was not separated in three parts and the foam was in one block, but then these benches had never been opened.

Do you intend to build some sort of deck?
 
No deck for now, just the benches and test it with my wife and kind. If we like it, then yes, I will build a fishing deck that will cover the first bench and all the space to the bow.
 
Some progress this weekend: I installed the bilge drain kit, all foam was cut and installed and all benches are in place. I estimate so far I installed a little bit over 20 cubic ft of foam. I will leave the rear left bench empty for storage (the plywood is hinged as a lid to the side of the boat).

Next steps are to bolt the benches to the frame, then build the little bow platform for the trolling motor and then the braces from the gunnels to the benches. After that I can take it for a ride
 

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I found a motor for my boat, but I am afraid it is too heavy. I found a 1999 Yamaha 50HP T50TLRX that is 234lb dry weight.
The specs of my boat are: Centre Line: 18'1", Beam: 6'9", Maximum Depth: 39", Transom Height: 20", Weight: 450lb, Max HP capacity: 55HP, Max Load capacity: 2050 lb

Is this ​T50TLRX at 234lb too heavy?

https://www.nadaguides.com/Boats/1999/Yamaha/T50TLRX/20016603/Outboard-Motors
 
I cannot really answer the question as to whether the motor is too heavy. I my case I have a 50hp Honda and a 15hp honda kicker for safety. The 50hp weights 203lb whereas the 15hp weights 104. My transom seems to support this without any flexing or deformation whatsoever. Keep in mind that the gross weight capacity is 2000lb.
 

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