The Sea King Chronicles

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

CBGale2

Active member
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
Messages
33
Reaction score
0
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
First of all... Hello everyone!! Im new in TinBoat town. I just picked up a unknown year Seaking aluminum boat, its a 15', came with a 18hp 1957 Johnson Seahorse with only about 30hrs on it, and a 97 Shorelander trailer. Picked up the whole package for $375!!! Godbless Craigslist \:D/

I have been reading through all of the upgrades and coversions on here, and I must say I am inspired.... so I thought I would post my project and share. Here are a couple of pictures, I will get some good ones so I have some decent before pictures. The rig has been sitting since 97, so its begging for attention. I started tearing into it earlier today, tore out the rotten wood benches, displaced a colony of carpenter ants in one bench. I hate bugs!, unless they're bait.
 

Attachments

  • SeaKing1.jpg
    SeaKing1.jpg
    6.6 KB · Views: 10,255
  • SeaKing2.jpg
    SeaKing2.jpg
    6.7 KB · Views: 10,256
Alright I took some good 'before' pictures today, wish I would have got one before I tore out the rotted benches, but oh well.











Started on my first real modification today, I like to jump in with both feet :shock: . One thing I didnt like about the boat is so much space is wasted with the covered section up front.... so of course the solution is to get the jigsaw out. There was about 13 inches I could open it up forward before messing with the floatation box that is mounted inside there. I carefully cut the trim piece out, took that and set it on top 13 inches forward and used it to trace the new opening and started cutting, worked out perfect, now I can take that trim piece and reattach it in the new opening and tie the space on the sides together with some aluminum angle. Took the old wood cross support off and traced the shape out for a new one. Now I should have enough room for 3 pedestal seats.

 
Project #1 Completed :D

Opening up some more of the covered front section to make more room.

Ready to be put back together:


Finished Product:



Aluminum piece to tie it back together:


On to the next project, replacing the transom wood..... More carpenter ants in there I found :evil: .... last piece of wood left though.
 
I thought I should leave that floatation alone. There were some in metal boxes under the benches that I removed, but they were pretty much rusted out anyways, when I do the floor Im going to put some more under floor to replace what I removed. I dont want all my hard work sitting at the bottom of the lake #-o .
 
Argh! #-o I started removing the old paint today. I dont think this is going to be any fun. Any pointers? So far I tried a small hand orbital sander with a medium grit disk, a sanding wheel that resembles some sort of sponge, and a wire cup brush in the drill. So far the wire cup brush is most effective, but dusty. Im pretty certian I will have lead poising by the time this is done from the dust. :sick:
 
CBGale2 said:
Argh! #-o I started removing the old paint today. I dont think this is going to be any fun. Any pointers? So far I tried a small hand orbital sander with a medium grit disk, a sanding wheel that resembles some sort of sponge, and a wire cup brush in the drill. So far the wire cup brush is most effective, but dusty. Im pretty certian I will have lead poising by the time this is done from the dust. :sick:

Not sure this will work for you or if it's effective for others - but by using a heat gun I was able to effectively take off roll on bed liner very, very easily.
 
Heres my next question, after Im done sanding all the old paint off, can I take a sealant and do all the seams before I paint it, or should I do it after its painted? My concern is that the sealant will come loose, taking the paint with it, if I seal first?
 
i sealed mine and painted over. onces its sanded and wiped down with acetone the sealer should stick fine.

mite want to get you a cheap-o dust mask. when the asbestose and led get in your lungs they stay there untill you die
 
Well Im still taking paint off ](*,) , should have it ready by first ice. :roll: I hate doing this part of the project, I want to be cutting wood, laying carpet and mounting seats.

Ive got a question, can I do much damage to the aluminum with my wire wheel on my drill? And no, Im not trying to burn a hole through it. Im keeping it on the move constantly, but I swear the dust looks a little shinny. Im taking it down to the bare metal because there are atleast two layers of paint on the boat, the bottom layer is not in good shape so painting over it wont last very long. I think on the top half of the boat Im going to try and strip the paint off, I thought of doing the whole boat that way but I see in the seams an old caulk of some type, I didnt want to eat that away with the stripper. Im hoping to be painting on Saturday, supposed to be nice and warm.... 65 deg. Its a Michigan heat wave. \:D/
 
Alright, havent given any updates in awhile, figured pictures of me changing wire wheels in my drill werent very exciting.

Old paint removal progress picture:





So after about 8 wire wheels and an unfortunate accident involving one of the wire bristles that flew off getting stuck between my shirts.... which resulted in a pierced nipple when I leaned over the boat. :shock: Here it is with all the paint removed:






First coat of self etching primer:





And finally, the paint. Went with a white topside marine paint, brand was Aqua Bould or something, its Boaters World brand, got it for $17 a can since they are going out of business. This was my first attempt at painting a boat, did the roll and tip method [-o< . I was suprised by how good it turned out. Its not like a mirror finish but its pretty smooth and you can see a reflection in it, so Im happy. Going to be painting brighter blue on the top edge of the boat yet.


 
I see all but the first one, and if that's the shot of the pierced nipple, I can live without it. :lol:

Boat is looking good!
 

Latest posts

Top