Ryno's 18' polarkraft complete rebuild (slowly but surely)

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Ryno685

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
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Location
JeffCo MO
Hello all......

I am new to the forum and love everything about it. Tons of great information! Very talented group of folks. This is my first boat and first restore/mod, so please feel free to jump in! :)

I bought this boat about a year and a half, maybe two years ago, with plans to turn it into a bass/bowfishing rig. Knew it was gonna be a ton of work, but I love to tinker, so it was worth it.

So here is a little about the boat. Boat is an 18x52 riveted Polarkaraft mid 60's model, motor is a 35 horse evinrude, '83 i believe. Didn't think it was too bad of deal for $750. Only thing I didn't like was hauling it home in the pouring down rain without one light on the trailer working. Needless to say that was the first thing I fixed. Anyhow, this is what she looked like when I first got her home. The previous owner said the damge on the front was from running up under a log on the mississippi, but it looks more like he ran it onto the trailer too hard......I dunno...got it fixed though.
 

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Not long after I bought this, my wife and I ended up moving and didnt have enough room for it at the new place, so the boat got stashed at my dad's place. Also had a baby, so not a whole lot of time for the boat lately. The next set of pictures is what I have done so far. Sorry for not having very many action pictures, worked mostly by myself. Hard to run a sawzall and camera at the same time. :lol: All of these are cell phone pics too, sorry if they turn out bad on the computer.
 

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Let me know what y'all think! looking forward to getting this water ready by may/june. not finished, just be able to use.
 
Okay, got a question for you guys. I've been going over my plans in my head and through a couple drawings and can't figure out what to do about deck supports/bracing. I know I'm going with all aluminum. Just can't decide if I want to weld it all together or pop rivet. The only reason I'm questioning it is, if I decide to change stuff around later it is a lot easier to drill out rivets than cut welds out and grind down. Suggestions?
 
You can use both rivets and welds. On the more load bearing connections you could weld and the others rivet. That thing is a tank. Good luck with the build.
 
Rivet by all means...welding is great, but rivets are cheap and easier to remove then a weld is. That is a nice rig man! Wish I could have come across something like that when I was looking and for that price you stole it. How bout that motor? How does it run? Ya know....that's an awfully small motor for an 18 foot boat....I could take it off your hands for a fair price! Ha ha
Chris
 
I vote weld! Because I like welding. :D


Nice work! glad to see you're saving an old turd, same as many other people on here. That will be great!
 
Hey thanks for the response guys! I'll probably go with weld the more i think about it. At least for the bracing, might just rivet where it all connects to the ribs. Plus the light from the weldor sure is purdy! :lol:


chrispbrown27 said:
Rivet by all means...welding is great, but rivets are cheap and easier to remove then a weld is. That is a nice rig man! Wish I could have come across something like that when I was looking and for that price you stole it. How bout that motor? How does it run? Ya know....that's an awfully small motor for an 18 foot boat....I could take it off your hands for a fair price! Ha ha
Chris

Chris......

Thats what I thought about the price and motor when I first stumbled across it on craigslist. Called the guy on my lunch break, left work two hours early, and came home pulling a boat. Don't think my wife quite knew what to think when she saw me comin down the driveway! :LOL2: gotta love her. Anyway.....on to the motor. It runs at idle pretty decent. I've only had it runnin' with the hose hooked up to the muffs. probably gonna need a tune up, especially after sitting for a year. Yes it is a little on the small side but it's all I have right now. You might get a crack at it down the road, but for now it's finders keepers! :wink:
 
Pweisbrod said:
I vote weld! Because I like welding. :D


Nice work! glad to see you're saving an old turd, same as many other people on here. That will be great!


Thanks bud...I like to weld too. I'm hopin that when I'm done it won't look like the same rig......in a good way.
 
that ford makes that boat look like a super model lol just kiddin. looks like we both got our hands full with our boats check out my build 1972 sears 1231 retro/restore/bass project maybe we can help each other with ideas good luck bro
 
csimmons0885 said:
that ford makes that boat look like a super model lol just kiddin. looks like we both got our hands full with our boats check out my build 1972 sears 1231 retro/restore/bass project maybe we can help each other with ideas good luck bro

Ha ha...I don't lean one way or another on trucks. I've driven all of the big three, but keep getting drawn back to fords......probably cuz dodge and chevy are junk! :LOL2: just kiddin. All joking aside, I'll go check out your project here shortly. Looking forward to any advice, that's what I love about this site! I'll be glad to help anyway I can too.
 
You got that right. Got a little bit done over the weekend,but not anything to right home about. Also found some more junk aluminum that needs replaced, so it's back to the drawing board. Like the title says...slowly but surely. :lol:
 
Well finally a little progess...been super busy lately with work and family. Anywho, enough of the excuses! Squeezed in just over an hour of work in on her today. Got the old rotten transom out that was cobble crafted together with non-stainless bolts and I think about a hundred tubes of silicone...give or take #-o , ha ha. Got a few before and after pics.
 

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Oh! I also threw together a quick motor stand, didn't turn out too bad, serves it's purpose anyway.
 

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Anybody know where I can order some new handles? I have one that is busted, you can see it in the pics above.
 
Looking good man! Your Polar Kraft had the same problems as mine did. I am glad I saw this thread, it gave me a better idea of what to do. Nice!
 
Hey thanks bud! You have a thread on yours? If you do, you should put a link in your signature. Maybe we can help each other out some. I've got a long ways to go on mine still yet. Just hopin' to be able to fish out of her this year! 8)
 
Got your work cut out for you on this one, nothing like reviving a beater! Good work on the bow. Keep with it man keep us posted
 
Thanks man. It's definitely a handful! Work in progress.... With a little less progress:-|. Hopefully gonna get the transom put back together this weekend. Then I will throw a temporary deck in just to be able to fish it. Got a lake trip coming up fast.
 

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