YJs 1236 Semi V Mod

[Y_J]

Ok. Gonna go ahead and get this thread started.
I recently purchased and old beat up 12' (actually 11' 5") tin boat and a Gamefisher 3.5 HP OB. The motor tried to start but would soon choke out and the boat its self has been pretty abused and I think some of that abuse came from a semi small tree falling on it. No trailer as yet but I'm looking on CL and eBay. Here are a few pics of what I had acquired. BTW I got them knowing it was a project boat for only $150.00











Thought I had a couple pics of the motor in there but that will have to come tomorrow or so. The motor wasn't working but after giving the carb a cleaning she started up kind of rough at first but as the fresh fuel flowed thru it got better. One problem I need to address is that the idle jet doesn't seem to do anything at all so I think I need to pull that out and try to clean it up. It also needs a new float bowl gasket as it leaks just a touch.

I've been trying to use some boards and C-clamps to straighten out some of the dents on the boat and need to repair the splits in 3 or 4 places on the gunnels and top center of the aluminum on the transom. The boards and C-clamps aren't doing much of any good.

I want to add a relatively low deck up on the bow to the back of the front bench, probably level with the bench but that will only be for hatch to store the anchor, PFDs, ropes, etc. I'm also going to put a flat floor in but add some of the pink foam under that.

So there ya'll have it. That's what I have to work with. I live on a VA disability pension right now but eventually want a longer wider tin boat and a larger motor.
I have absolutely no idea what make or year the boat it but I know it's old. No HIN anywhere on it but there is a 5 digit serial number stamped on the inside upper right (looking aft) of the transom. So I'm told, by the DNR that I need to start the registration process and have a hull inspection, so in July that's going to get done.

What ever thoughts, ideas, or input ya'll might have, I'm all ears. I need all the help I can get as this will be my first ever project on a boat.

 

[fool4fish1226]

Do a leak test and then address the leaks if any. I then would put that motor on and go fishing to see how you like it mod from there. Good luck!!!!! :beer:

 

[Y_J]

fool4fish1226 » 17 Jun 2014, 06:23[/url]"]Do a leak test and then address the leaks if any. I then would put that motor on and go fishing to see how you like it mod from there. Good luck!!!!! :beer:

Already a done deal. It's not registered just yet. Got to wait till the 1st to get the $$ for it. A friend of mine and I put it in the back of my truck and went to a small lake and put her in, put on the motor and took a cruse once around the lake (it's about 2 miles long and half a mile wide. LOL one thing for sure, with that 3.5 hp motor it sure ain't gonna win no races. We could find not one single leak. Packed her back up and came home. But you can bet, once that registration is in, IT BE FISHIN' TIME!

 

[Y_J]

Here is a small update from last nights post. Adding a couple pics of the OB and one of the sanding I've been doing on the bench seats, so far.

Gamefisher 3.5 HP - z20D35956 by Herb Dunn (YosemiteJunkie), on Flickr

Gamefisher 3.5 HP - z20D35957 by Herb Dunn (YosemiteJunkie), on Flickr

Tin Boat Sanding - z20D35960 by Herb Dunn (YosemiteJunkie), on Flickr

So, I took off the old junk wood from the transom and will be putting on New Aluminum Diamond Plate on the outside and new marine wood on the inside. After that it should be stout enough to handle what ever OB upgrade I put on there (within reason). Was thinking of a 9.9 HP and a transom mount TM.

I've also started sanding on the bench seats but that is slow going since for the time being all I've got is a small orbital sander. I'll be getting a disk sander along with brass wire brush for it in August. That should make things go a bit faster. Then I'll be able to prime and paint, both, the inside and outside. I do know the inside will be a lighter color plus I'll be adding a wood slat floor to make it flat.

I welcome any input, comments, critiques, or ideas.

 

[bobby_r67]

I have an 80's Myers 14 footer. Looking forward to see your progress.

 

[Y_J]

Thank you, Bobby. I know for right now it's kind of a slow going cause the $$ just isn't there for supplies and tools. But come Aug. it's on, unless I'm fishing

 

[Y_J]

Is anyone aware of any "aftermarket" Gunnel tracks that are not abusive to the eyes? The past couple of days I have done extensive internet searches and just not coming up with anything that I like. But then there really isn't that much out there that I've been able to find.
Today I kind of started contemplating the idea of fashioning my own but not to sure just how well that might work out. But got a couple ideas floating around in my head.
Any ideas or thought or your wisdom is surely welcome

 

[Y_J]

Got a couple of tool type questions for ya'll. I'm getting ready to purchase and Angle Grinder and a Riveter. Based on your experience for working on these tin boats, what size do ya'll recommend to double duty as a grinder and polisher? I looked at some at Harbor Freight today and I'm not to thrilled with what I saw. All they had as far as any power tools goes were of "Chicago Electric" brand and I've never even heard of that brand name. But they did have sizes from 4" up to about 8".

Question 2: I wanted to get a Riveter but not to sure about just what to get. I've never used one before so that is new territory to me. Do the hand riveters work ok or should I be looking for a powered model? I'll need to go thru at least 1/2" of wood (and washer), the transom aluminum, and 1/8" diamond plate aluminum. Should I put the diamond plate outside the transom and wood inside? or visa versa? And what type of rivets should I be using?

Looking for your experience here and any ideas you might have. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

[shu2kill]

suscribed since i have one very similar to that one....

 

[Y_J]

shu2kill » July 9th, 2014, 11:11 pm[/url]"]suscribed since i have one very similar to that one....

Great. You don't happen to know what make of boat it is would ya? I've been trying to figure this one out ever since I got it.

 

[shu2kill]

Y_J » 10 Jul 2014, 23:54[/url]"]

shu2kill » July 9th, 2014, 11:11 pm[/url]"]suscribed since i have one very similar to that one....

Great. You don't happen to know what make of boat it is would ya? I've been trying to figure this one out ever since I got it.

sorry, i cant help you on that. according to my dad, this boat was purchased by my granddad when he (my father) was about 10 years old... my dad is now 53, so, the boat is about 45 years old...

 

[shu2kill]

you can see pictures of mine here:

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=35110

 

[Y_J]

shu2kill » July 14th, 2014, 10:18 pm[/url]"]you can see pictures of mine here:

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=35110

Pretty darn close but not the same. Mine has rounded gunwales and gets slightly narrower towards the stern.

 

[Y_J]

Ok.. Small update here.
A few days ago I made a trip to Harbor Freight, and picked up a 4 1/2" angle grinder, some cut-off wheels that where on sale, and a SS 4 1/2" SS brush for paint removal. Been working on that the last couple of days. Then today I picked up an 1800 PSI Pressure washer to make sure all is CLEAN. Next up will be the Hull inspection slated to this Sat. the 26th of July to acquire an HID # and more info on the boat itself.

The past few nights I've spent several hours researching to figure out just what kind of boat this is. Make, Model, etc.
Last night I came to the conclusion that it was a Sears Gamefisher. 11' 5" fishing utility boat. Based on photo comparisons, focusing on the actual length, and the length of the splash guard, # of bench seats, and the transom bracing style and the fact that there is no drain plug in the transom.

So far I've got the gunnels sanded down to bare aluminum and most of the bench seats done. (working on the insides.) then I'll spray a couple coats of Self etching primer on the inside and start grinding on the outside. Along with that the plan is to use marine plywood and put in a flat floor with insulation foam from Home Depot under that. A small deck up on the bow, with a hatch door for storage of the TM battery, anchor, and life jackets, and ropes. I'm thinking to take that the height of 3 or 4 inches below the top of the gunnels. All for storage area.

I was planing on putting a bilge pump back by the transom and yesterday started thinking of maybe a PVC tube thru the transom brace and thru the transom and put a drain plug in that. What are the thoughts on that from ya'll???
Shall I put that in the center or maybe off to the side of the transom bracing (no tube required)? Or, I could put one on each side of the bracing.

Also, I'm thinking of a tachometer that can clamp onto the spark plug wire of the OB Motor. (at least for the time being). Any ideas as to what kind and where I can find one like that?

In the next few days I'll add some update photos to give you an idea of the progress.
As always, thanks for any input and thoughts you can add here. I greatly appreciate any help I can get. This is my first rebuild but trying my my best to learn from ya'll.

 

[Timtactical]

I would install a drain plug, but I wouldn't plug the bilge pump. You want that to run out above the water level normally out the side of the boat.

 

[Y_J]

Timtactical » July 24th, 2014, 12:52 am[/url]"]I would install a drain plug, but I wouldn't plug the bilge pump. You want that to run out above the water level normally out the side of the boat.

Yep. When I was out grinding paint off today, on the transom, I got to thinking I could put two drain plugs in. One on each side of the Transom brace (about 18" long). sound logical to me anyway.

 

[SumDumGuy]

tach....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hour-Meter-Tachometer-Tach-Digital-LCD-YAMAHA-ATV-Motorcycle-Generator-Outboard-/121317487021?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item1c3f15f1ad

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hour-Meter-Tach-Tachometer-Boat-Outboard-Mercury-Yamaha-/400230297847?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d2f95b0f7&vxp=mtr

 

[Y_J]

SumDumGuy » July 26th, 2014, 2:25 am[/url]"]tach....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hour-Meter-Tachometer-Tach-Digital-LCD-YAMAHA-ATV-Motorcycle-Generator-Outboard-/121317487021?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item1c3f15f1ad

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hour-Meter-Tach-Tachometer-Boat-Outboard-Mercury-Yamaha-/400230297847?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d2f95b0f7&vxp=mtr

Right on.. these are exactly what I was wanting to get.. Really appreciate it.. Thank...

 

[Y_J]

Ok.. how about some what of an update. As mentioned somewhere above, I've been sanding/grinding on the boat to strip the paint that's on it.
Today (July 26) I had the inspection on the boat and got the all clear for use and finish of registration. The Ranger said that I could use the boat immediately. Woot yeah. I can finally get this puppy in the water. So, my buddy and I headed home to pick up the OB, PFDs, paddle, etc. and headed to the Chattahoochee River, bout 15 miles from home. Wasn't doing any fishing as yet. Just cruising and enjoying being on the water. OB is a Gamefisher 3.5 HP OB and the boat is a 12 ft Semi-V and I believe it to be an OLD Sears at that. We first headed upstream as I still didn't trust the motor to do it's job, figuring that if it stopped doing it's job, it's a lot easier to float back down stream than visa versa. Went up a couple miles or so, (quite some time with only 3.5 horses helpin us out). Ran up to a weir that I didn't want to chance going over so turned around headed back down stream. We had passed an OLD bridge that went straight into trees on both sides of the river and pulled up to the mid-river pilon and tied off for about an hour, rest, take some photos, give my dog a break (he's an old chocolate deer head taco dog and will be 14 come august 3rd). Even took a swim while we were there. We then headed on down stream and as we got closer to the boat ramp we decided that the motor thus far has been doing pretty good so we decided to go on down stream for a bit. About a mile or so we come up on another weir. OK time to turn around and head back to the ramp. Heading upstream, we got about 200 yrds or so and the motor decided to sputter out and die. Tried real quick to get it going again to no avail. Told my buddy to grab the paddle and try to get us over to the shore while i kept trying to get the motor going. Got over there and tied off on an old log. Pulled the fuel line off the carb and opened the petcock back up and fuel was flowing freely. Pulled the spark plug and it was dry with no build up on it. Only thing left I could think of at the time was the float bowl but didn't have a wrench to fit that bolt. Tried adjusting a jet valve or two and no go.
So we sat there trying to figure out what we were going to do now. We could see some clearing down stream on the other side of the river and eventually decided that my buddy would latch the keys to my truck to his PFD, swim across the river, and go for help. Buddy, (my dog) and I stayed at the boat and waited to see Jerry (my buddy) on the little road across the river with my truck. Figuring that when he got there then I would untie the boat, float downstream with the motor raised out of the water, and I would paddle my AZZZ off trying to reach the far shore on our way down. Now it get's interesting. After an hour or so my back was hurting pretty bad and I started trying to stretch it side to side. I stretched to far to the starboard side and the boat flipped over upside down from the weight change. Buddy and I both went under, He swam into some bushes right there and promptly got lost, I started trying to get the boat back upright, realising what all got lost in the mishap. For starters, My Canon 20D DSLR with a 18-135 mm lens, MY buddies zip lock bag with his wallet, cell phone, and keys, both bags of my sunflower seeds, my zip lock bag with my wallet and cellphone filled up with water but managed to stay close by. I spent the next hour or so trying to empty the boat of water by splashing it out by hand. An hour or so later I had enough water out that maybe I could get higher up on shore and get in the boat and position myself on the center bench to try to balance out the weight. Still haven't found Buddy. I tried to get back into the boat and flipped it again. Back to bailing by hand again. Getting real tired. after another hour, no sign of Jerry, my friend, or Buddy, my dog, all my smokes got wet, my lighters floated away, No soda pop left. Next thing I know the fire dept. boat showed up. The got ahold of my boat, had me untie from the log I was tied onto, had me try to find Buddy, he was under all the brush sitting up on a log out of the water saying, "all these years I've lived just so you could bring me out here in this boat and try to bump me off". I managed to get him pulled out and start making our way to the fire dept. boat and tripped myself up on an underwater log, and buddy and I both went under, again. Finally got him up on the fire dept. boat, I moved to the back of their boat where they had a foot stop, got me up on the boat, the managed to pull my boat up where they could get the water out of it, tied it off to the back of theirs, and headed up stream. Buddy was relieved to be back on a dry surface again, and I was tuckered out. When we got back to the launch ramp, I was like, Oh S--t. Two fire truck, 6 sheriffs cars each from two different counties. and a bunch of ticked off people cause they had the boat ramp closed until they got me and buddy back in.
Thus makes the first day my boat was legally allowed on the water.
Hint: A 3.5 HP motor is NO MATCH for the Chattahoochee River. A Semi-V boat is NO MATCH for the Chattahoochee River. And My friend, Jerry swears he'll never go boating again on the Chattahoochee River.

 

[ccm]

Glad you made it out OK, things could have always been worse. I ended up in a similar but not so bad situation the first time I took my boat out. My 2hp mariner flooded due to a stuck carb float. I ended up stuck 2.5 miles up a winding non flowing creek. I had to paddle back, I didn't have a regular paddle either, it was home made from a push broom handle & a broiling pan. It was windy so every time I went around a bend the boat spun 360, it took me 4 hours to get back home but what was worse was having to go past a large crown of crappie fisherman on the way back to the ramp.