KorpalDiem
Member
After owning several beater cars over the previous two years I decided it was time to purchase a decent rig. I ended up with a 2001 F150 which I justified to the wife by telling her it would be used to pull, haul, and tow whatever home improvement and landscaping equipment we needed for the homestead. However, the entire time we were going through the purchase all I could imagine was pulling a boat to hit whatever lake, pond or puddle thats producing the most slabs or housing the most birds. After fruitlessly searching on craigslist for a boat, the father-in-law told me he had to do some spring cleaning. The spring cleaning happened to be his entire property and on the lot was this 1974 14' Montgomery Ward Sea King and a 9.9 Johnson Sea Horse! Overall the boat was in decent condition considering it was sitting out in the Wisconsin elements for 3 to 4 years.
Here is my original assessment of the entire rig:
Boat: rotted transom boards, chipped paint, wobbly seat, broken gunwall supports
Trailer: rusty, burnt up bearings, sketchy tires, shotty wiring, dry rotted rollers, rotted bunks
Outboard: good to after
Overall: Labor of Love
The father-in-law and I instantly started to work on getting the trailer road worthy by purchasing new tires/rims, bearings, races, and seals. After getting that squared away at his shop I took the King home to start prepping for paint. That's where I came across this wonderful site. Great information, friendly advice and some spectacular ideas for modifications! After putting in some research I determined I would remove as much paint as possible with a sander and wire brush attachment for the drill but leave any areas with good adhesion as the boat will be getting a good amount of abuse fishing and duck hunting the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. The past couple of days I have not been able to do any more work because Wisconsin is relapsing to winter again and I need some good temps/humidity to finish priming! Anyways, here is the rig and my progress so far. Let me know what you think...
Here is my original assessment of the entire rig:
Boat: rotted transom boards, chipped paint, wobbly seat, broken gunwall supports
Trailer: rusty, burnt up bearings, sketchy tires, shotty wiring, dry rotted rollers, rotted bunks
Outboard: good to after
Overall: Labor of Love
The father-in-law and I instantly started to work on getting the trailer road worthy by purchasing new tires/rims, bearings, races, and seals. After getting that squared away at his shop I took the King home to start prepping for paint. That's where I came across this wonderful site. Great information, friendly advice and some spectacular ideas for modifications! After putting in some research I determined I would remove as much paint as possible with a sander and wire brush attachment for the drill but leave any areas with good adhesion as the boat will be getting a good amount of abuse fishing and duck hunting the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. The past couple of days I have not been able to do any more work because Wisconsin is relapsing to winter again and I need some good temps/humidity to finish priming! Anyways, here is the rig and my progress so far. Let me know what you think...