1760 polar kraft rebuild

[fish2keel]

Hey guys,

Well I finally upgraded from my 1648 to a new( to me) boat. Its older than my last boat but it is larger and I got it for a steal. It is a 1984 1760 polar kraft with a 1984 evinrude 70 hp motor. The motor honestly doesn't look like it was ever used. It still shocks me.

I purchased it from a man on the other side of the state from me for a song. He was in need of some money and I was in need of a larger boat. I have not gotten around to working on the boat to much since I have been pretty sick. I am finally starting to order things though.

First things first is the inside of the boat. It is one dirty boat. The gentleman I purchased it from got it about a year ago and left it in the back yard. He got it from a worker who had it originally and just never really used it he said. I started to clean out the boat today and try to see in my head what I wanted it to look like.

The plan at this time is to make an open boat with either a center or side console. The main thing I'm going to be doing with the boat is fishing and also hunting out of it.

Im going to be using another forum members idea and use a truck box for a console. I think they look great! I got a new throttle box from work, since I work at a boat shop.

Right now there is some wood in the boat. Some of the floor and the bow has wood. I will be replacing all of this with FRP or fiberglass reinforced plastic. I have been doing a lot of research on flooring material that wasn't wood. Aluminum is always a first choice but it is expensive. Then I came across this FRP stuff and it looks great. Plus its 30 dollars for a 4x8 sheet here in Daytona. Can't beat that.

Now I do need some help though. The first thing is I need a new wiring harness for my motor. It is a 1984 evinrude 70hp with serial number E70tlcrd. Where can I go about finding one? I checked ebay but with over 200+ harnesses I was a little over whelmed.

Second I am looking at a newer steering system. My boss keeps trying to get me to get a baystar hydraulic kit which they are nice, but they are so expensive. The kits cost as much as the whole boat at this point. I was looking at these tele flex rotary steering kits as well. I just put one on a fiberglass scout flats boat last week. It was nice I thought. Any thoughts on these?

Always open to opinions on what the boat should have inside or look like guys!

Ill have pictures up soon!

 

[fish2keel]

 

[fish2keel]

 

[juggernot]

NICE.........I dig the trim tabs.

 

[fish2keel]

Thanks! The trim tabs came with the boat. They are benit trim tabs and fairly new. Should be interesting

 

[fish2keel]

Just ordered a new water pump kit, fuel lines, gaskets and carbs. Still looking for the right wiring harness.

Plan for this week is to rip out the current wooden console, flooring, front deck and all wiring in the boat. I will then take the engine off so I can start applying aircraft stripper to the boat and get this horrible paint off.

For paint I was looking at using Hunter Specialities marsh grass(tan) paint. Ive used it before and it wasn't to bad when finished. Any thoughts?

Still trying to figure out what kind of foam to put in the floor if any.

 

[fish2keel]

Heres a better picture of the boat before I started working on it. The floor under that aluminum bracing is full of waterlogged foam. That console is framed in solid steel. It was so heavy! Also the wood on the bow is pressure treated and steel was used to mount it to the bow. We will see pictures of that problem soon

 

[fish2keel]

Here is the pressure treated wood and the steel holding it down on the bow.

If you have small children or heart problems look away. Its an ugly sight!!

 

[fish2keel]

Heres the new jack that I put on the boat today since the other one collapsed on me.

 

[smackdaddy53]

If you use FRP how thick will it be? I can't see using anything less than 3/8" thick if it is FRP with the bracing I see in the pictures. Aluminum is not that expensive when you weigh the benefits. I got my 4'x12'x1/8" sheets for $180 each.

 

[fish2keel]

Today was a huge day. I took the wood and all steel out of the boat. Between the steel and the pressure treated wood, the bow is pretty shot. Its been cut up and has so many problems Ive decided to try to put a new front of the boat.

I also started taking out the aluminum structure on the floor. The waterlogged foam was pretty heavy. Probably took out 100 pounds of foam I would think.

I have stripped all wiring out of the boat as well including the trailer. I did find put out the motor needs a starter.

Tomorrow list is as followed....
1. remove all other aluminum flooring and waterlogged foam
2. clean all of the leaves and stuff out
3. Remove battery out of hatch
4. Remove foam out of rear bench to be replaced
5. Order starter for motor

This week I will also be stripping all the paint off the boat, both inside and out.

I am still trying to decide on paint. I was thinking of doing duck hunter tan on the outside but I may leave it polish aluminum like the jet guys do. Opinions?

 

[fish2keel]

smackdaddy53 » 5 minutes ago[/url]"]If you use FRP how thick will it be? I can't see using anything less than 3/8" thick if it is FRP with the bracing I see in the pictures. Aluminum is not that expensive when you weigh the benefits. I got my 4'x12'x1/8" sheets for $180 each.

I have since changed my choices on FRP. I am not going to use FRP and right now may not put in a floor. Walking around the boat isn't so bad right now, so I am going to go without a floor at the moment. I want this boat as light as possible.

 

[fish2keel]

Well guys I have been putting in a few hours a day working on the boat. When I'm not working on other peoples boat I am working on mine.

Today I got the whole boat stripped of dirt and foam. The back bench seat was stripped of its foam as well. I will be making the bench more structural sound and filling it back with foam.

I began stripped the boat of paint in the inside...or so I thought. I used aircraft stripper and it barely put a dent in taking the paint off. This paint is tough. It is going to take me way to long to do the whole boat inside and out. I am now looking for a media blaster locally to do the boat. If all else fails I may just use one of the industrial pressure washers that using sand as well near my shop to do it myself.

Some big things are coming to the boat soon. I am beginning to talk to dawson about it. You guys will want to see this. Not sure if tin boats has come across it yet.

Ill post some pictures of the progress today although its not much

 

[fish2keel]

Sorry for not posting sooner guys! My father was put into the hospital this passed week. He had to have majority of his stomach removed. He is doing better now but is in lots of pain from the ordeal.

Back to the boat. I have taken some more pictures of the boat but haven't had a chance to upload them just yet.

Not to much progress was made this passed week with the hospital trip. I was able to start cleaning the engine up though. A lot of the engine is stripped down to metal. I will start painting it this week I hope. I have a few designs Im going to try on this one. Y'all should like it.

I have been talking back and forth with dawson on doing my welding to my boat. He is going to help me with a huge part of the build in the coming weeks. It is going to make this pretty great in my eyes.

Im going to start moving pretty fast since school has ended. This weeks list is as follows...
-Finish motor and prime for paint
-Finish cutting the corrosive aluminum off bow of boat
-Sand blast the entire boat to metal
-Remove transom wood to be replaced
-Put boat under new trailer

Its not as big of a list as most of y'all have but it should get me started. I finally have the layout of the boat that I am satisfied with, at least for now. I will try to put up a rendering later to see yalls thoughts

 

[smackdaddy53]

Lets see some pics!

 

[fish2keel]

Smackdaddy,

What would y'all like to see? Ill be happy to take pictures of anything

Last night I drilled out all the rivets on the transom. While doing so I saw a piece of the transom that looked funny. I tapped it a few times and it made a different sound then the rest of the transom. Took the paint back and the last owner filled in a huge spot with fiberglass.

Looks like she's getting a new transom! The list just keeps adding up.

I bought a huge sheet of 5052 .90 aluminum though today and will be buying another sheet in the coming week to take to Dawson. Im having him do the welding on the boat. He does great work and I need a break from life for a weekend so I'm going to travel up to Georgia in the coming weeks.

Im going tomorrow or thursday and picking up a sandblaster that my friends has at his boat shop. Mine doesn't have a sandblaster sadly. Going to sand blast the boat this weekend for sure! Im considering not painting the boat at all at this point. Those jet guys have some nice boats showing off the aluminum.

 

[fish2keel]

I had been fighting with extending the deck but not wanting to cover a fuel tank or anything up front all the way.

Went over to another forum I frequent and saw this boat being built and it fit the image in my head perfectly.

So with replacing the front bow area I will leave it inclosed so I can have a storage box. Then extending the deck 6 inches or so I will add just a top plate. I can then put my fuel tank or what ever under the plate while also having added top deck space to stand.

 

[fish2keel]

Here is how the boat sits at the moment.

So where the deck is right now it will be replaced but the same length. Although I am going to have it flush with the gunnels.

Then I will have a top plate 6 inches extending the deck without it folding over completely



These are the seats I am going to go with. They are perfect for what I am after

 

[smackdaddy53]

Looks great! You won't regret going with aluminum for sure.

 

[fish2keel]

Thanks Smackdaddy. Your builds are always good to follow as well