New here... working on a project boat

[byounghusband]

I am new here. I recently bought a 14' Jonboat with a 20 hp Johnson Seahorse outboard on it as well as a 50lb thrust Minkota trolling motor mounted on the transom.
It had sat out in the yard of the Tackle shop I work at part time waiting for something to happen. I picked up the boat/motor/trolling motor/trailer package for $650.....

It was in kinda rough weathered shape when I got it.

I have since removed the seats and all of the wood from benches seats and front. I am replacing the wood with 7-ply Baltic Birch plywood that I used a wood sealer called CPES from https://www.rotdoctor.com/ and then I bought good Marine paint from Sherman Williams and painter all of it with two coats. I will take pics later of the new wood installed in the boat.


Here is all of the wood from the boat and the new stuff drilled ready for sealer and paint:

The guy I bought the boat from was NOT an electrician and should NEVER be one!! SCARY!!!

All of this has been pulled and I have run new 8ga wire for the Trolling motor. I am setting it up to be mounted on either the transom or the bow since I have mounted the transducer for my Humminbird 797 C2SI fish finder on it. I fish for Crappie, Catfish and Sand Bass/ Hybrids here in the North Texas area.

The center bench seat is/was a live well. They guy who had this boat filled the live well drain hole with epoxy resin and used it as dry storage. I drilled it out so I can actually use it and I found out why he did that... I found a plug in the well and put it in the hole, and grabbed a hose and filled the well with about an 1" of water/ Not only did the plug not seal the hole (easy fix), but the well leaks water inside the boat (not so easy fix). Now I have a dilemma.... Try to seal the well and replace the plug? or seal it up like he did and use it for dry storage. :?: :?:
Now I know two things... #1 - why he sealed the hole and #2, why he had a bilge pump in the basket of stuff that came with the boat. I tested it and it works great!!!!

He also covered almost the entire hull with epoxy resin. I guess he had some extra from filling the live well drain hole. :roll: Some of it is chipped and it adds a bit of weight to the boat. I might try to clean it up a bit, but wonder if it will float if I remove a lot of it....

I would also like to add some flooring to this as well. I don't really want a raised casting deck, just flooring with outdoor carpet or non skid paint (carpet might stink after a while when we get a lot of catfish slime on it)

Lots of ideas running through my mind, but I really want to get her on the water too!! I welcome your ideas and advise as well.

Thanks!!

 

[fender66]

Is "he" still around to ask why he did some of that stuff? Might save you some time. Looks like it's going to be a great boat though. Congrats!

 

[wcbond4]

I cant believe you got that for 600 bucks! Great find!

 

[byounghusband]

Yeah he is, but he doesn't answer the phone much.....

Is "he" still around to ask why he did some of that stuff? Might save you some time. Looks like it's going to be a great boat though. Congrats!

I talked him down from $750

I cant believe you got that for 600 bucks! Great find!

 

[Auzivision]

Looks like a sweet deal. =D>

Just FYI... I'm not 100% certain, but am pretty sure that Johnson is a 1973 based on the cowling decals. Mine has the idenctical color scheme layout.

Have fun!

 

[byounghusband]

Yup, you are right on the money.

I couldn't get it to run, so I took it to a local Marine shop and they did the following:
New Water Pump
New Points and Condenser
Carb Rebuild
New Pull Rope
Cleaned Up and lubed

$473 out the door.

AS soon as I get the Live well squared away, on the water she goes.

Looks like a sweet deal. =D>

Just FYI... I'm not 100% certain, but am pretty sure that Johnson is a 1973 based on the cowling decals. Mine has the idenctical color scheme layout.

Have fun!

 

[VT-Bass13]

looks like a nice project, i am interested in how you end up wiring the boat up if you dont mind taking some pics of how you do it cuz that is my next thing that i need to do

 

[PSG-1]

I am new here. I recently bought a 14' Jonboat with a 20 hp Johnson Seahorse outboard on it as well as a 50lb thrust Minkota trolling motor mounted on the transom.
It had sat out in the yard of the Tackle shop I work at part time waiting for something to happen. I picked up the boat/motor/trolling motor/trailer package for $650.....

It was in kinda rough weathered shape when I got it.

It's a little dirty, but definitely not the worst I've ever seen. People bring boats to me sometimes that really should be destined for the scrap yard, but I make them work. Heck, my jetboat was a 50 dollar boat that was destined for the scrap yard because the hull was eat up with corrosion. If you had seen that boat when I bought it, you'd swear it would never float again, much less be running 40+ MPH through 4 inches of water and being able to whip 180 degree spins!

I have since removed the seats and all of the wood from benches seats and front. I am replacing the wood with 7-ply Baltic Birch plywood that I used a wood sealer called CPES from https://www.rotdoctor.com/ and then I bought good Marine paint from Sherman Williams and painter all of it with two coats. I will take pics later of the new wood installed in the boat.


Here is all of the wood from the boat and the new stuff drilled ready for sealer and paint:

The guy I bought the boat from was NOT an electrician and should NEVER be one!! SCARY!!!

Holy hell! :shock: Now THAT is scary! Definitely not wired to ABYC standards. That looks like a fire hazard just waiting to happen.

All of this has been pulled and I have run new 8ga wire for the Trolling motor. I am setting it up to be mounted on either the transom or the bow since I have mounted the transducer for my Humminbird 797 C2SI fish finder on it. I fish for Crappie, Catfish and Sand Bass/ Hybrids here in the North Texas area.

The center bench seat is/was a live well. They guy who had this boat filled the live well drain hole with epoxy resin and used it as dry storage. I drilled it out so I can actually use it and I found out why he did that... I found a plug in the well and put it in the hole, and grabbed a hose and filled the well with about an 1" of water/ Not only did the plug not seal the hole (easy fix), but the well leaks water inside the boat (not so easy fix). Now I have a dilemma.... Try to seal the well and replace the plug? or seal it up like he did and use it for dry storage. :?: :?:

Most likely, the leak is around a seam someplace inside of that bench seat/box, and probably within 6 inches of the bottom, as this is where the weight of the water would be when it's in use, and that's where the stress is on the seams.

If it were me, I'd put a plug in it, and slowly fill with water, while trying to find the location of the leak. Then drain it, dry it out really good, and either weld, or put 5200 on the leak. That is, if you want a livewell. If not, then plug it back up and use it for dry storage. I would recommend replacing the plug with one of the proper size, and if you're going to use it for dry storage, it's probably best to go ahead and have that hole welded up, so there's no chance of the plug being knocked out when dragging gear out of the box, and water soaking all your gear.

Now I know two things... #1 - why he sealed the hole and #2, why he had a bilge pump in the basket of stuff that came with the boat. I tested it and it works great!!!!

He also covered almost the entire hull with epoxy resin. I guess he had some extra from filling the live well drain hole. :roll: Some of it is chipped and it adds a bit of weight to the boat. I might try to clean it up a bit, but wonder if it will float if I remove a lot of it....

If it's properly adhering for the most part, I'd leave it alone, and maybe try to patch the bad spots. But if it's flaking everywhere, you might want to go ahead and remove all of that, then do a leak test on the boat to pinpoint any sources of leaks, such as around rivets, or along seams.....and repair those leaks by either welding, or re-coating the entire bottom of the boat with a good coating (the guys on here can tell you which is best)

I would also like to add some flooring to this as well. I don't really want a raised casting deck, just flooring with outdoor carpet or non skid paint (carpet might stink after a while when we get a lot of catfish slime on it)

Get some styrofoam board or cardboard to use as a template, then decide whether you want to use plywood, or aluminum for the flooring.

In order to have any rigidity with plywood, you're going to have to use AT LEAST 5/8" thickness.

For aluminum, you can get away with 1/16" thickness, IF you do it properly, such as putting foam board between each set of ribs, that is the thickness of the height of the ribs, this will prevent the aluminum from buckling.

As far as what to cover it with, I'd go with a good 2-part epoxy, and maybe a non-skid additive.

 

[jigngrub]

The guy I bought the boat from was NOT an electrician and should NEVER be one!! SCARY!!!

Looks like that transom wood is pretty shot in this pic, you should consider replacing it too while you're at it.

There isn't enough floatation foam in that boat, from what I can see only the back bench contains foam. You should consider adding the sheet foam before you lay your plywood floors. You should put every place you can.

Marine vinyl is a good boat deck/floor covering, looks good and fish slime cleans off easily.
https://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1%7C10918%7C311409&id=311410

Seal your transom wood and floor plywood just like you're sealing the the other plywood and it'll last a long time.