97 SeaArk 1872 Build

[erictetterton]

Well... after having just about every size tinboat out there, I have finally found a SeaArk superjon. Its an old NC wildlife boat that was auctioned off at a surplus sale. They used it to shuttle fourwheelers across the sound to the outer banks. its seen a lot of use but its still a good boat. SeaArk makes a great boat. It has a bunch of corrosion on the transom that im concerned about. I want to stop it and do a permanent fix. I have already sanded it down really good. I am thinking about painting the holes with self etching primer and putting fiberglass resin inside the holes, then priming and painting with rustoleum bottom paint from lowes. (Any suggestions to stopping this corrosion would be greatly appreciated).

Here's some pics of the boat the day i got it. I have since sold the 115 johnson... I want something a little newer and less hp.


Heres Pictures of some of the worst corrosion spots. From the water line stains in the stern of the boat, it appears that this boat sat with the plug in and water was halfway up the transom... leading to this corrosion problem

 

[erictetterton]

Yea and those bunks are probably treated lumber... IDIOTS #-o

 

[erictetterton]

I am taking the side console out and putting the center console back in.


Ripped the floor up to see what was under there. There was a lot of zinc screws, broken supports, and sand from the sound and well as sea grass. This thing will definitely have to have some welding done.

 

[Pembroke36]

Two steering wheels, you are already setup for twin outboards. :LOL2:

 

[Natedog57]

That looks like a great project.

Probably not what you'd like to hear, but I vote to cut/replace the transom. By the time you clean/reweld every little pin hole you could probably just replace it. Any kind of patch job (5200/fiberglass) will just be temporary, and the old girl deserves better than that.

You should have a heck of a rig once she's up and running, good luck

 

[juggernot]

I saw that boat on CL the other day. It will be a fine boat when you're done fixin it up and plenty of room for customizing and adding accesories to make it perfect for your uses.

 

[erictetterton]

I'm hoping I can get it right. There are some bad corroded spots underneath the boat from where it say for years on treated lumber. It's going to have to have new aluminum plates patched over it. I got a quote today for $600+. There are a ton of cracked welds and ribs. This boat has took a beating

 

[tonka329]

I would LOVE to find a boat this size! I'll be watching

 

[erictetterton]

Well I got the boat back from the welder today. He did a lot of work on this boat. Here's what he did about the corroded areas.







He used 3/16" aluminum plate to cover all the corroded areas. He made me a trolling motor bracket also. I filled the boat with water and there's still 10 small (pin hole) leaks around the edges of some of the welded plates on the bottom. I am thinking about putting 5200 on the spots and priming and painting. Any objection to that plan?

 

[erictetterton]

 

[87tpita]

Awesome pick up ..... 5200 or gluvit or metal-all from the inside for those pin holes..... I wouldn't even consider a swivel seat up front..... bolt a leather recliner up there...you've got the room .lol. good luck with the project.

 

[Jeeper]

5200 will work great nice find by the way

 

[Natedog57]

I'd use a bottom coat like Steelflex before 5200.

I was very impressed with Steelflex, very thick product and finished off pretty slick. I will use it on every riveted boat I have in the future. I applied it to a welded hull mostly as a protective barrier, it seemed like paint would always wear off the runners/edges below the waterline.

I have no personal experience with Gluvit, but have used Wearlon Wetlander Superslick which was very slick, but very thin and didn't stop up leaky rivets for very long.

If your leaks are below the waterline I'd be a little concerned with the 5200 peeling up over time, just from the water passing across it at speed.

 

[erictetterton]

Well I found a motor at a decent price and it came with a boat lol. It's a 95 model Johnson 130 and it runs great. Definitely a freshwater motor. It's very clean under the cowl. Check out the high jacker jack plate on the back. This thing is going to fly on the ark. It also came with a newer model minn kota edge 55. Only paying 1000 for the boat and motor I think it was a decent buy. After I strip the boat of the motor and jack plate, I'll sell the minna kota and boat and get some money back.

 

[erictetterton]

 

[erictetterton]

I started painting the boat today. I treated the boat with ospho then painted with rustoleum rusty metal primer

 

[erictetterton]

Stripping out the javelin and putting new leaf springs, hardware and bunks

 

[smackdaddy53]

Weld what you can and do it right or you will regret it

 

[erictetterton]

 

[erictetterton]

Getting the beast back on the trailer