89 Smokercraft Challenger 16

I sold my boat in Portland OR in 2007 before moving to upstate NY with the intention of replacing it immediately...then reality, work, job, mortgage, etc kicked in and I was not able to do so until this year. I was on a budget of around $3500 and looking for a pretty specific style. I wanted split windshield, dual console, pedestal seats, 15-17 ft, livewell, 40-70hp. And I found it a couple of weeks ago. Then I found this site! Great timing. The plan is to use the boat this season as is and then begin a rehab this winter to get it a little more how I want it. Last winter I put a 60k BTU heater in my well insulated garage so I should be all set.

The Boat: 89 Smokercraft 16CR0 76" Beam 16.3 ft length. The smokercraft rep told me this is a Challenger, but it doesn't match with the challenger layout I saw. The guy I bought it from is the 2nd owner and has owned it for over 20 years. I paid $2300 for boat/motors/trailer



Engine 1: 1976 Evinrude 70hp 3 cylinder a bit bigger than I wanted, but too big...nah
Engine 2: 1975 Johnson 9.9 trolling, bonus!
Both engines are steered via the console and have separate controls.




Features:
2 seats in front of consoles in need of repair. The are also the tops to the livewell and storage.
Small livewell in front of port console. not functioning. PO believes there is a crack in the hose somewhere.
custom canvas Bimini top that attaches to windshield and has snap down side curtains. Bonus! keeps girlfriend out of the sun and me fishing in the rain.
split windshield with hinged center.
2 pedestal seats, pedestals of mixed origin.
1 cannon minimag downrigger. it was mounted on a 2x6 that spanned the transom area. It has been removed as unsightly.
storage in front of starboard console. severe lack of storage in current configuration.
A really rugged galvanized EZ Loader trailer. It should last for years.


I will get up some pics and then talk about what I want to do in following posts. I just wanted to get this rolling. I have some questions brewing that will help me during my planning stages. You guys are amazing, I have been really impressed with some of the projects here. I hope simply not to embarrass myself.

Forgot to mention, the floor is totally mushy in several spots. The plan for this season is just to plank over it.

Great find, Should be a great project - Be sure to keep us updated with lots of pictures

It's legal! In NY this is no small feat. The trailer passed inspection today. Tomorrow, putting in a quick and ugly floor repair, painted waferboard, because its what I have, gonna tear it out this winter anyway. I will also be adding 4 rod holders and a new 100ft anchor line. I will take her out for a quick run around tomorrow, and then I will have her out all day Saturday and Sunday for striper fishing on the Hudson. I have an open seat on Saturday if anyone is in the Albany area. Never launched a boat by myself before, hopefully I don't make an *** out of myself. Any guess how fast she is gonna move with that 70?

I know this isn't really a project thread yet, but may as well keep a log

My "new" boat is porposing like crazy. I think it is compacting my spine. I do not have power trim and the engine is trimmed in the second to last hole. If I back it all the way down the engine will be pointing downward due to the negative angle of the transom. (sorry if I don't know the lingo yet, just trying to explain best I can).

It does fine at 1/3 throttle, but any thing after that it starts bow slapping like crazy. Once I reach WOT it levels out a bit.

So I figure I could overcome this if I had power trim but I dont know if that is available or affordable for this old of an engine or should I just yank the 9.9 off? I kind of like the security of it but I don't really do that much trolling. I would be way better served by a bow mount troller. Pics attached.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Let the 70 all the way down then run it again and see what happens.

Will do (let the engine all the way down). Taking her out on Friday for Stripers. Im also looking at a CMC pt-130 for when I do the restore. I will need to take a better look at the transom first.

A question that has been burning. What is the best way to mount a raised front deck? as it stands I have no hangers at all and the ribs don't come that far up. Since my livewell and storage area are in front of the consoles, I wanted to extend the deck at their height all the way to the bow, but I am not sure the best way to accomplish this. I figure I either weld, rivet, or screw some kind of hanger brackets into the hull. Is there a best way?

klaypigeon said:

Will do (let the engine all the way down). Taking her out on Friday for Stripers. Im also looking at a CMC pt-130 for when I do the restore. I will need to take a better look at the transom first.

A question that has been burning. What is the best way to mount a raised front deck? as it stands I have no hangers at all and the ribs don't come that far up. Since my livewell and storage area are in front of the consoles, I wanted to extend the deck at their height all the way to the bow, but I am not sure the best way to accomplish this. I figure I either weld, rivet, or screw some kind of hanger brackets into the hull. Is there a best way?

Click to expand...

I have an 89 just like this except mine has the original raised front deck. What smoker did was they took an aluminum angle and radiused it to match the bow and then riveted in place. Then there is another heavier angle that goes port to starboard across in front on the consoles. I can get pics, my floors are out as they were pretty mushy right where the lower deck and front raised deck met, if your still interested since this is a little older post.

Restoration has begun! I hope I have enough time to complete by striper season which begins in late April. I spent a couple days doing the tear down. This seems to me to be the easy part. The whole thing seems put together with rivets which scares me a little. I have not done any rivetting before and I am concerned about getting it back together. The consoles were a little bothersome as their construction isn't nearly as solid as I would have liked. They are built modular and then use a piece of 1/2" wood in the front. I found the leak in the live well hose and the hose will have to be replaced regardless as it is too brittle for use. I also discovered a toolbox under the floor! See pic. Apparently this model has a ski locker and floor storage that a previous owner boarded over...with the tool box.

I got the steering cable disconnected, the gas tank pulled, consoles out, seats out, livewell and storage box removed, collapsed front "platform" removed, dashboard disconnected, carpet removed, and the controls for the 9.9 removed as I will not be keeping this motor.

How do I remove the steering wheel from the dashboard? I got the wheel itself off, but there is a cog that I cannot get off. It seems like it may be pressure fit. Does this require a steering wheel puller thingy?

Here are a few pics from day 1 of the tear down.

Does this forum timeout really quickly? I had to add the images one at a time or it would ask me to login again. Is that some setting I can adjust?

Nah you can't adjust it, type everything in notepad along with the links and then when you're ready to post it, copy and paste it over to the forum text box. Also what was inside the tool box?

Previous owner must have been thinking where the heck did i leave my tool box lol

Someone should tell the admin to fix it. It is annoying as hell.
The toolbox had 5 rusted black tools, pliers screw driver some wire etc and was 1/4 full of water. I was hoping for treasure but alas...

Can someone recommend a cheap epoxy I can use for sealing the lumber for the floor and seat boards? It will not be structural so much as just a good sealant. If I can avoid west marine or the other premiums that I would use for boat building I would be pleased. Seems like there should be something out there.

i seal all my wood with fiberglass resin. about $30 a gallon at lowes. just make sure you get extra hardening catalyst

JoshKeller said:

i seal all my wood with fiberglass resin. about $30 a gallon at lowes. just make sure you get extra hardening catalyst

Click to expand...

Good idea, I forget the reason people are using the epoxy for building is structural. I really just need a tight sealant.

I have been at the point where I was not seeing much progress; grinding out rivets, scraping glue etc. But, got my tax return so I was able to start purchasing some stuff for the restoration. I got the plywood, fiberglass resin, rivets, rivet "gun", etc. The more I took the boat apart, the more bothered I was by the construction. Especially the consoles. All the rivets were through the carpeting so I had to take them out, then the console just collapses into a bunch of sheet metal. They are going to be a real pain to rebuild.

The flooring is 1/2" and I wish it was 3/4" but I didn't feel confident enough in my abilities to make everything fit in right if I changed it. The center of the floor where the ski locker is seems to wide a spread to span 1/2" and the space isn't really very useful for anything but skis so I think I will need to build some supports in there and cover it up.

I got the plywood cut and a first layer of fiberglass resin applied. Wow, its like trying to spread honey. Can I thin it down with Acetone for following coats? My buddy cut new console boards for me but I dont have pics yet. I ordered a livewell time to replace the on/off switch that was there. Striper season is here and my boat is in dry dock sigh.

Striper Season and I am still in dry dock. The "Mighty" Hudson vs. Me in canoe...

I have made some progress. I got both consoles installed. I got the rub-rail housing and rub-rail all riveted back on. RIVETS! I think I am up to 300 now. The boat had all this styrofoam flotation foam hidden behind body panels and it was rotting and crumbling so I wrapped it all in 4mil black plastic before re-installing it. It actually gives a much nicer finish. Today I installed the rear cavity trim and the side trim that the inner walls will eventually fasten to...once I get over my fear of vinyl and get to wrapping the walls...whatever, I am just happy to be done gluing carpet. I replaced a rear cap rail with 3/4" pressure treated lumber and wrapped it. A few pics below of the progress.

Looking real good!