Just brought her home...(Updated Pics 7/01))

Last week I finished my 12ft fiberglass v bottom. It turned out pretty well considering my budget. After finding this site, I really wished I had a 14 ft aluminum boat. Lo and behold, a guy I sing with gave me a 14ft Vhull Aluminum YES FREE!!!!!. In needs a little work, but its not in too bad of shape. I stay on the road a ton, and I love doing this when I get home.
Please, if someone can figure out who made this boat by looking at it, that would be great!
I will try and post pics daily.....I think I have the next 8 days off, so I will be working my tail off.

The boat is 14ft long, 54in at its widest point, 48in at its narrowest (in the back)



A little bit of rot going on!

Yuck!! BONDO!!!! NOOOOoooooooo!!!

Aahhhh! Some more Goop to remove!

Nice boat, im sure you will have fun getting it right! Price wasn't too bad either, did he give you the trailer as well?

3weight said:

Nice boat, im sure you will have fun getting it right! Price wasn't too bad either, did he give you the trailer as well?

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yeah, he just wanted it gone

The aluminum bow cap(?) looks very much like the one on Ron's 1976 Richline 14-foot boat.



Drop down a few lines and you will find the modifications Ron is doing to his boat.

Old Bill said:

The aluminum bow cap(?) looks very much like the one on Ron's 1976 Richline 14-foot boat.

Drop down a few lines and you will find the modifications Ron is doing to his boat.

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Good eyes Bill! That bow cap does look the same. I bet its close to the same year as Rons.

So, I have not got a lot done today......I had to cut grass. But I did wash it out and take the bondo pieces off.
The paint is so old and so shotty that I'm pretty sure I can just pressure wash it right off!!(some of the paint was coming off just with the normal hose)
So, Im off tonight to get supplies like carpet, glue, wood. Im going to look at the price of Aluminum angle and decide if I want to go that route.
Ive already got the primer and paint . So, off to Lowes and Home Depot!

Cool man! Free boats are the best!

3weight said:

Nice boat, im sure you will have fun getting it right! Price wasn't too bad either, did he give you the trailer as well?

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you can not beat that price good find.

Cool deal! 8)

you definately want to use aluminum angle for framing. never rots, never rusts, never replace it. its expensive, but buy it only once. ive just gotten the framing done on my project. you can see my progress under :my 14 ft starcraft:

Ive been stripping the paint for about 2 hours so far today.......and let me tell you it SUCKS! This boat has been beat to heck!!!!!!
Below is my progress. I ran into a small problem and I really need some advise. The 2nd picture is what was underneath all of that bondo in the back corner. Its really disfigured. I guess I need to bang it back as close to the original shape as I can get and then use the aluminum repair stuff I got from Bass Pro.
Any suggestions?

anyone????? [-o<

evattman said:

anyone????? [-o<

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Its been fairly dead around here today! They must all be out fishing or something

That looks like some very labor-intensive work! As far as the damaged area, do you know if it leaks anywhere in that area? Since you have all the bondo stuf off, I would recommend doing some type of leak test on the boat. Put it on the trailer, put the plug in, and put a little water in the boat. See if it leaks anywhere. If you try to hammer/beat the dents back into place you may end-up causing a leak/damaging the welded portion. Good progress so far!

Patience my good man. There will be some help forthcoming

Waterwings said:

That looks like some very labor-intensive work! As far as the damaged area, do you know if it leaks anywhere in that area? Since you have all the bondo stuf off, I would recommend doing some type of leak test on the boat. Put it on the trailer, put the plug in, and put a little water in the boat. See if it leaks anywhere. If you try to hammer/beat the dents back into place you may end-up causing a leak/damaging the welded portion. Good progress so far!

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That whole seam is split........about 6-7 inches long....so, theres no doubt that it will leak. Basically, the previous owner beat that corner in, fiberglassed and bondoed. I guess it did work for over 10 years. I have been out in this boat alot about 4 years ago......never leaked a drop.

But , now that I have busted all the bondo up, I may have to take it somewhere and get it welded back. Im not sure any over the counter stuff is going to work. I really want to do it right.

Here is another pic with it pulled apart a little. Nasty!!

Free is great, and yes I would take it and get it welded.

Im not sure the year but my 76 richline doesnt have the braces from the benches to sides like yours.
But If I rember right Old Bills boat I think has the braces like yours??

My boat has a tag riveted on the inside back left corner of the transom
That has captviy and make

Scratch her back see what you got, shes looks kinda ruff.See what you are getting into Id make sure it wasnt gona leak first.

have fun
Ron

My 1957 Richline has two braces to the bench seats. It doesn't have a data plate. I've been told that starting around 1964 all boats manifactured in the USA had to have data plates attached to the boat's transom.

If this was my boat I would take it to a good welder and get an estimate on how much it would cost to have the transom/hull welded.

To my sorrow, I learned a few years ago that sometimes a "free" boat can turn out to be a very expensive and time consuming project! I got caught up in the moment and spent a great deal of money "fixing up" an old boat...and when I was finished I still had a very ugly old boat that sold for about half what I had invested!



If the welding cost is too much...you might want to start thinking how beautiful Bonda can be! :roll: :roll:

Good luck,

Really the only terribly rough part is that back part. Before I took off the paint, I put it in the water and it did not leak. (That was before I took off all of the bondo.) All the rivets are tight, and the body just some minor dings here and there. That back left part is ugly though. I'll take it in the morning to a welder. Hopefully I can find one close that can weld aluminum.

Anyone else ever had to get their boat welded? Im wondering about the cost?