1972 Cherokee V Boat Rebuild

[RatherBFishin]

Hey guys. I just got my first boat since I was 6 years old!! :mrgreen: It's a 1972 Cherokee 15' V Hull. I'm planning on stripping the entire boat of everything, paint and all, then Steelflex and repaint. I also want to reframe and re-deck to include a casting deck, livewell, and plenty of cooler space. :twisted: This is my first major rebuild so any advice would really be appreciated. I'll keep the pics coming as I make progress. Here are a few of the boat the day that I got it.

 

[countryboy210]

This Will Be A Neat Project To Watch Come To Life.
Subscribed.

 

[RatherBFishin]

Thanks country boy. Weather lately hasnt allowed me to get much done but I did manage to strip the boat down to the skeleton. It was full of water and had some seriously old flotation. Luckily there is some framing for the floor already in there so that's one less thing I have to mess with. Now I'm just waiting for some help to get my 40hp Johnson off the boat and on to the engine mount so I can flip the boat and start grinding off some paint. Here's a few more pics of the progress.

 

[edge540]

Thats a great project to start with!

 

[mmf]

I had an old Cherokee a couple of years back I was going to re-work and ended up selling it. I wish I had kept the Mercury now! Your Cherokee will will be a good build, good luck and enjoy it!

 

[RatherBFishin]

Thanks mmf, that was a good looking Cherokee. I'm really looking forward to all the hard work, believe it or not. I've seen some of the finished products on this site and I cant wait to see how mine will finally turn out. I've changed the plans at least three times since I got the boat. Only time will tell I guess. A buddy of mine came over today and helped me get the engine off and flip the boat. Here's the most recent pics. Next step is stripping the paint down to bare aluminum and Steelflexing then prime/paint. One question, if I strip the paint to bare aluminum, do I have to worry about the hull rusting before I get around to Steelflexing and painting?

 

[mmf]

It will not rust but bare aluminum will start to oxidize immediately, zinc chromate primer will fix that if you plan to paint.

 

[RatherBFishin]

So should I prime it as I go? I wont be able to grind the paint off the entire boat in one day.

 

[RatherBFishin]

After fighting the rain for the last week I finally got the boat stripped of all of the exterior paint(oh how fun that was!!). Now I'm just waiting on my Steelflex to arrive and then I'll start the painting process. This thing looks so different without the seven year old paint job. I cant wait to see how this Steelflex turns out. I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about the finish. Here's a pic of her all stripped down.

 

[mmf]

So should I prime it as I go? I wont be able to grind the paint off the entire boat in one day.

Yes, and you need the zinc chromate primer for ANY coating to stick to the hull good, if you don't it will start to peel later as the aluminum oxide lets loose.

 

[RatherBFishin]

Its been a while since my last post. Since then I've managed to SteelFlex the bottom and prime and paint the topside. I used Rustoleum Topside Marine Paint (Bright Red!!). It turned out great. Two coats of SteelFlex and three coats of topside paint later and she looks like a whole new boat. I also refurbished the trailer. I sanded down the entire thing and repainted, cut new bunks and recarpeted, and put a new light setup on. Unfortunately I didnt get any pics of the trailer. Here's a few of her with the SteelFlex and painted. Next up I'm grinding down the inside and painting it to match the SteelFlex. Then on to decking. I'll be using aluminum angle to frame and carpeted plywood for the decks. I'm looking to have a raised front deck and rear deck with a lower floor in the middle. Any suggestions are always welcome

 

[fool4fish1226]

Nice paint job keep up the good work

 

[mmf]

Looking Good!

 

[RatherBFishin]

Thanks guys. It's amazing what a simple paint job will do for the looks of the boat. Fool4fish, after looking over your build I think I'm gonna give grizzly grip a shot. Its actually cheaper than carpet and seems like it would last A LOT longer. Was it easy to apply?

 

[fool4fish1226]

The grizzly grip was not too bad to work with. I am a mess when it comes to painting and got it all over my hands etc. I would recommend wearing rubber gloves when working with it because it is very difficult get off of your skin. Other then that I am very happy with the results and the company ships quickly.

 

[RatherBFishin]

Thanks f4f. Ill be sure to post some pics of how it turns out.

 

[Ride_Klein]

Nice project. I'm sure that will be a very rigid boat with all the substructure under the floor.

 

[bguy]

Thanks guys. It's amazing what a simple paint job will do for the looks of the boat. Fool4fish, after looking over your build I think I'm gonna give grizzly grip a shot. Its actually cheaper than carpet and seems like it would last A LOT longer. Was it easy to apply?

im curious on painting my jon. i just finished a couple of allum. welds and im thinking of floating it this sunday to check for leaks before painting. what did yo use for red and creme colors. im not taking it down to the metal. any suggestions?

 

[RatherBFishin]

I used Rustoleum Topside Marine Paint. They sell it at Lowes or Home Depot. Its only $12 a quart and I put three coats on her and still have plenty left for touch ups from the 1 quart. It turned out really well. I was a little worried being that it was so cheap but I couldnt be happier with the results. The bottom is coated with steelflex. Its a 2 part epoxy. Its great stuff. It seals all leaks, rivets etc. It comes in a lot of different colors too if they grey isnt your thing.

 

[RatherBFishin]

So after quite a long break because of school and work I'm back in action. I got the front deck framing done and the front deck is all cut out and being sealed. And after A LOT of troubleshooting I finally got the old 1960 Johnson to crank. Over the next week I plan on replacing the coils, condensers, plugs, wires along with rebuilding the carb and the fuel pump. The rear deck framing and deck itself should be done by then as well. Lots of pics to come!!!