1982 project Lund or scrap?

[Tgc1021]

Want some advice on a potential project. Picked up a 1982 Lund 18’ mr pike? I originally bought this boat for the motor on it (1976 mercury 90hp outboard power trim). The boat looks really rough and the trailer is def scrap. I picked this thing up for $250. Anyways once I got it to my shop I was inspecting the boat it’s looks structurally sound. It will need a new transom and floor. The boat has already been gutted by previous owner and the existing floor framing seems solid. After a leak test only found 2 spots that need to be addressed. I’ve owned boats my whole life and have some experience in rebuilds just never with aluminum boats. Let me know what you guys think scrap restore! Thanks for any advice.

 

[Rebelwork]

Looks like you got a good deal. Have you found pictures of its original setup?

 

[Tgc1021]

I’ve found many that are close but if you guys have one I would love to see it. That’s the only bad part of the past owner tearing everything out. I’m just not sure how it was originally together.

 

[MrGiggles]

The pics you provided show that the hull is in nice shape. Have you priced an 18' Lund lately? Fix it! Could have it in tip top shape for a few months worth of payments.

Looks like the aluminum framing is all still there, making new decks and floors will be pretty straight forward. Don't forget about flotation foam either.

As for the Merc, I am not a big fan of them, but if it checks out okay mechanically it may be worth saving. Some parts are getting hard to find, and that most likely falls in the era of Mercury's that have brittle wiring. Check out the power trim before you get too invested in it, you can get hoses and electrical parts, but pretty much everything regarding the pump and cylinders is NLA. That was the primary reason that I got rid of the 84 60hp Merc that I had, I was constantly fighting leaks and stuff in the power trim.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

The world needs more beer cans but that is too nice to scrap.

 

[Tgc1021]

Thanks guys I kind of thought the same thing. I was thinking about that merc 90. I actually bought it for my pontoon. Since I’m going to restore this boat I don’t mind keeping it on if I can get it humming good. Only thing I was wondering is it seems like overkill on an 18 ft aluminum boat. Just feel like most the 18 ft builds I’ve seen everyone has nothing bigger then a 50hp. In my area a working motor with a power trim goes for big money. Thinking about getting it going and then selling for maybe a newer 50 or 70. Let me know what you think. In my area that merc with a working power trim would bring pretty good money.

 

[MrGiggles]

Thanks guys I kind of thought the same thing. I was thinking about that merc 90. I actually bought it for my pontoon. Since I’m going to restore this boat I don’t mind keeping it on if I can get it humming good. Only thing I was wondering is it seems like overkill on an 18 ft aluminum boat. Just feel like most the 18 ft builds I’ve seen everyone has nothing bigger then a 50hp. In my area a working motor with a power trim goes for big money. Thinking about getting it going and then selling for maybe a newer 50 or 70. Let me know what you think. In my area that merc with a working power trim would bring pretty good money.

A 90 is about right for that. Is the capacity plate still legible, I bet it is rated around 100hp. That is a big water style fishing boat, not a stripped utility hull.

If you have any plans to get on large bodies of water, get the bigger motor. A 50 would really struggle with that, a 70 would be marginal. If you're just going to be running in small lakes or rivers, you could probably get by with less.

My 17' Tracker is rated for 90hp. I wouldn't want any less than a 60 on it. 75-115hp is common for 17-18' aluminum boats.

 

[overboard]

If I remember right, those boats are pretty nice. If the hull is in decent shape, it might pay to do some work on it or sell it to someone instead of scrapping it.
I have a 100 Mariner on a 17' Starcraft SFM, I doubt that a 90 would be too big for that boat.

 

[FishinLite]

Here is a 81 that I worked on

https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=441229#p441229

I would say yours is a great project. I am a Lund fan....

 

[Tgc1021]

Yeah that Lund you restored looks great. I can’t wait to get started. One thing that kind of sucks is when the previous owner tore everything out he damaged or cut into most the benches, consol and were the old live well was. So I’m going to have to start from scratch once the transom and floor are done. Seems like everyone is going with plywood that’s resin coated and painted with oil base. Does that sound about right to you guys? Just want a very basic build. Also since the old console is gone thinking about building a small center console maybe. Should be finished with the family pontoon I restored today. I’ll probably have some questions for you guys with experience. First thing I’m taking on will be transom. It actually looked in great shape but think I would feel better just replacing it while I have everything torn apart. Thanks so much for the responses btw. Many other forums you wait 1 or 2 days to get a single response .

 

[FishinLite]

I would start by looking at how Lund built it originally. Lund has a huge archive of brochures and catalogs online.

He re is a link to the '82 brochure:

https://www.lundboats.com/bcom/catalogs-and-brochures.displaypdf.json?pdfName=1982-Lund-Catalog.pdf&pdfPath=L2NvbnRlbnQvZGFtL2x1bmQvdGVjaG5pY2FsL2RvY3VtZW50cy8xOTgyLUx1bmQtQ2F0YWxvZy5wZGY=

 

[Colorado1135]

I'm drooling over that one, you scored an awesome deal!
definitely restore if you can. don't be afraid to customize it either, it's a blank canvas at this point so use that to your advantage. walleye fishermen are always looking for big water boats, especially right now. FWIW I have a 150 on my 19' fisher and don't feel overpowered. unless there is a big demand in your area for a center console you might want to consider a walk through windshield and sell it to someone who fishes bigger water, or keep it yourself. keep us updated, I'm a little jealous!

 

[Tgc1021]

Need some help. Pulled motor off yesterday and also noticed some things since I had more time to finally go over the boat and the pieces that came with it. This is my first aluminum boat so these may be very silly questions. As I was taking the motor off I noticed the corner caps on the back of the transom are missing. Also looks like the previous owner started to remove splash well rivets and got impatient. For some reason there are several spot that look like he cut into it with a grinder. It’s to the point I don’t think it’s salvageable. Other parts that he also cut into grinder with are the side rails(also have holes everywhere prolly from fish rod holders) that are connected to the gun whales and the front bow cap is missing. Not sure if this is the correct terminology so I apologize if not. My question is do I need to have some type of side rails for the structural integrity of the boat or can I just drill out the rivets and leave them off. Also I can’t even find corner caps or a front bow cap for this boat anywhere online. I want to do this the right way but I also don’t have a ton of tools that I can fabricate my own aluminum splash well, side rails and caps. Basically out of all the parts I got None of them are going to be reusable. Any ideas? Sucks cause I got a huge pile of scrap and just assumed i could reuse mode of it. Thanks

 

[Tgc1021]

Black arrows are the side rails I’m talking about, the red arrow is the were the front section was cut in half and is all jagged and dented up from being thrown around. Sorry for the poor picture quality forgot to take some better pictures.

 

[MrGiggles]

An aluminum fabricator could make you some transom caps and fix up some of the bad slices. Probably wouldn't cost a whole lot, few hundred bucks at most. Definitely an expense but no the end of the world.

The gunnels (side rails) need to be structurally sound, and the transom caps need to be there as well.

 

[Tgc1021]

Yeah I figured. Thanks for the info

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Well worth the cost and effort.

 

[rcaircraftnut]

I would build that out in a second. If you decide to scrap it let us know. I know someone else will buy it .