Tinman2111
Member
Upon relocating to Utah, I quickly discovered one has no need for a Cabo 47, so I downsized, to a 1978 beat to crap 14 foot Mirro Craft, powered with a 1978 Evinrude 25hp 2-stroke. I figured I'd give it a makeover and use it to explore the awesome lakes throughout southern Utah and the Dixie National Forest. I had to drive several hours to Arizona to get the boat, but after all said and done, it was worth the trip. Here she is when I brought her home to Utah:
![20220320_115032.jpg 20220320_115032.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93920-8dfbf63be8313d0d37964dbccd3be441.jpg)
![20220320_115045.jpg 20220320_115045.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93921-144ec228d55cffe68e5f8d55e885c5a4.jpg)
First thing was to assess and see if she leaked, ran okay on the water etc... Took her to a local lake to run her, found she needed a carb rebuild, but didn't leak a drop. Transom was in poor shape, so decided to rebuild it.
![Transom.jpg Transom.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93922-eca114702f744c5d92b990b5c8feef5e.jpg)
Removed wood and used as a template to build a new one. I sealed it with a few coats of epoxy resin and painted it grey.
![New Transom.jpg New Transom.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93923-3aa03de63ce88028cd1491b40da8c9b0.jpg)
Next up, remove seats, power wash, and get her ready to strip and paint. Removing all the old paint was no easy task. I tried sanding, scraping and of course chemical paint remover. Ultimately, the paint remover worked best. Applied with chip brush and then scraped with various sized putty knives. I also found that a bucket of hot water and a rag really worked well at removing the old paint.
![Boat Strip.jpg Boat Strip.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93924-512ffcab9d6327722b808f1824ea69ac.jpg)
![Boat Strip 2.jpg Boat Strip 2.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93925-c9c72479f414482677d1e03fa372b260.jpg)
![Boat Strip 3.jpg Boat Strip 3.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93926-8ffc4627e988cc410fe20a67857988ad.jpg)
Before I could prime and paint, I chose to apply Gator Glide. It's definitely not cheap, but I thought it was a good choice. You have to apply a base before you can apply the "glide". It is rolled on so it takes some time.
![Gator base.jpg Gator base.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93928-4ce8ce4cc3465799862b998c8461b92e.jpg)
![Gator Glide.jpg Gator Glide.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93927-daf0eae28d111897d26a7c63a3bacc71.jpg)
That's all for now, but much more coming. I will share the entire build, and it's likely I may have gone a bit overboard... Next up, the boat gets primed and painted....Stay tuned!
![20220320_115032.jpg 20220320_115032.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93920-8dfbf63be8313d0d37964dbccd3be441.jpg)
![20220320_115045.jpg 20220320_115045.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93921-144ec228d55cffe68e5f8d55e885c5a4.jpg)
First thing was to assess and see if she leaked, ran okay on the water etc... Took her to a local lake to run her, found she needed a carb rebuild, but didn't leak a drop. Transom was in poor shape, so decided to rebuild it.
![Transom.jpg Transom.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93922-eca114702f744c5d92b990b5c8feef5e.jpg)
Removed wood and used as a template to build a new one. I sealed it with a few coats of epoxy resin and painted it grey.
![New Transom.jpg New Transom.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93923-3aa03de63ce88028cd1491b40da8c9b0.jpg)
Next up, remove seats, power wash, and get her ready to strip and paint. Removing all the old paint was no easy task. I tried sanding, scraping and of course chemical paint remover. Ultimately, the paint remover worked best. Applied with chip brush and then scraped with various sized putty knives. I also found that a bucket of hot water and a rag really worked well at removing the old paint.
![Boat Strip.jpg Boat Strip.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93924-512ffcab9d6327722b808f1824ea69ac.jpg)
![Boat Strip 2.jpg Boat Strip 2.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93925-c9c72479f414482677d1e03fa372b260.jpg)
![Boat Strip 3.jpg Boat Strip 3.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93926-8ffc4627e988cc410fe20a67857988ad.jpg)
Before I could prime and paint, I chose to apply Gator Glide. It's definitely not cheap, but I thought it was a good choice. You have to apply a base before you can apply the "glide". It is rolled on so it takes some time.
![Gator base.jpg Gator base.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93928-4ce8ce4cc3465799862b998c8461b92e.jpg)
![Gator Glide.jpg Gator Glide.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/tinboats/data/attachments/93/93927-daf0eae28d111897d26a7c63a3bacc71.jpg)
That's all for now, but much more coming. I will share the entire build, and it's likely I may have gone a bit overboard... Next up, the boat gets primed and painted....Stay tuned!