Recent content by mbchilton

I used a short awl and a flat head screw driver to lift up the ribs and clear the lumber lines. It’s not as good as I’d like, but the water does drain to the stern. Next will be installing a bilge pump with through hull fitting. Oh yeah, found an old bee hive when I took off one of the bench seats.

Ok, I did a forum search and figured out the limber holes. I think it has a small hole under the rib now. Not much. I’ll run some water through tomorrow and play around with it a bit more. It does already have a small deck on the bow, where I eventually plan to mount a foot controlled trolling...

Thanks for the help Dale! I’m a visual learner, so I’m not sure I completely understand your instructions. I don’t suppose you have any pictures, or could point me to another thread on this forum? The boat does have a drain in the stern. My dad got his first boat when I was about my daughter’s...

Does anyone have advice on how to better drain this boat? The interior ribs block the flow of water, and it just sits in the middle instead of going to the stern where I had planned to install an auto bilge pump. Is the dark material over the rivets and ribs someone's prior attempt to seal the...

I bought my first boat last month! It’s a 1971 Balko 14’ v bottom. It came with a stern mount trolling motor and a decent little sonar. There’s a small deck at the bow build on a wood frame. I added a 1968 6hp Johnson tiller that runs very well. I removed the rod holders that were mounted...