Hi all. I'd been looking for a boat for about a year and finally found this gem... a 1965 Grumman 19' Sportboat. It was last in service as a crabbing boat in Maryland. I paid $650 for it with the 80 HP Merc 800 on the back. Power is another story... max HP is 100 though. Grumman probably made less than 100 of these boats.
Here are a few basic pics:
This old girl will become my Lake Erie fishing boat, so my conversion project will focus on fishing functionality primarily. I'd also like to be able to pull the kids in a tube, so some comfort is desirable. I'm not looking to "restore" this boat. I want to sort of modernize it.
I'll re-paint the hull... but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort to remove the old paint first. There is white over blue on the sides which didn't work out very well (cracking and pealing).
So far, the plan for the inside is to pull out all the old wood, using some pieces as templates for replacement wood possibly. I'll leave all the aluminum in tact to avoid any loss of structural integrity. I'd like to build in some storage and see potential for side storage and floor storage, as well as storage under the front deck. From the pics you can see that the boat has a clever fold up seat arrangement in the back, which doubles as storage underneath, near the transom. I'm thinking I'll custom make some upholstery for the back seats and use it as is.
For the floor. I also would like to add some flotation foam under the flooring if possible, and am considering a built in gas tank.
I'm also considering enhancing the front deck as a fishing platform. The deck is very solid, with i-beam support underneath.
I'd also like to build a back deck with a cutout for motor clearance. The stern area where water can splash in and drain back out (term for that?) is quite large and I'd like to make that space a bit more usable for fishing... actually, I could probably install a livewell back there somehow, especially if I put in a built in gas tank.
As for the structural integrity of the boat, it appears rock solid. My plan is to dock this boat, so I'll be looking into the best approach to painting the hull.
Here are a few basic pics:
This old girl will become my Lake Erie fishing boat, so my conversion project will focus on fishing functionality primarily. I'd also like to be able to pull the kids in a tube, so some comfort is desirable. I'm not looking to "restore" this boat. I want to sort of modernize it.
I'll re-paint the hull... but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort to remove the old paint first. There is white over blue on the sides which didn't work out very well (cracking and pealing).
So far, the plan for the inside is to pull out all the old wood, using some pieces as templates for replacement wood possibly. I'll leave all the aluminum in tact to avoid any loss of structural integrity. I'd like to build in some storage and see potential for side storage and floor storage, as well as storage under the front deck. From the pics you can see that the boat has a clever fold up seat arrangement in the back, which doubles as storage underneath, near the transom. I'm thinking I'll custom make some upholstery for the back seats and use it as is.
For the floor. I also would like to add some flotation foam under the flooring if possible, and am considering a built in gas tank.
I'm also considering enhancing the front deck as a fishing platform. The deck is very solid, with i-beam support underneath.
I'd also like to build a back deck with a cutout for motor clearance. The stern area where water can splash in and drain back out (term for that?) is quite large and I'd like to make that space a bit more usable for fishing... actually, I could probably install a livewell back there somehow, especially if I put in a built in gas tank.
As for the structural integrity of the boat, it appears rock solid. My plan is to dock this boat, so I'll be looking into the best approach to painting the hull.