1954 12' Lifetime Aluminum Boat build

[jpfieber]

I've got the metal of the transom cleaned up pretty well, but I'm a little concerned about the drain. It appears to be a cast iron fitting that's somehow stuck in there. It has remnants of threads on both the inside and outside. It's rusted, and I suspect will eventually cause problems, so now would be the time to replace it with a proper piece. The outer diameter is 1". I haven't looked around for options yet, I would think that brass would be the best material, but not sure if there would be a reaction between that and the aluminum. Anyone else replaced their drain?

One thing I'm thinking is that i want it as low as possible to the floor, don't want to much water left that can't drain out.

 

[Johnny]

yep, that appears to be an iron pipe . . . but, it works.
You can find find this brass floor drain on Amazon or your big box marine stores for about $7


and my comments are like all of the above !! a beautiful old boat !! I have never ever seen
that style before. Great work so far, just take small bites and it will be fun.
I think your paint scheme of polished aluminum and green to match the motor will be awesome.

GOOD JOB !!

 

[jpfieber]

So I looked around at options for my drain, and decided that if a pipe fitting was working before, why not try it again? I got a stainless steel version of the same. I added two lock nuts, to reinforce the whole thing, and used some 3M 5200 on the threads and around the hole in the transom. Had to grind down the threads on the inside of the fitting so the plug would fit better, and have less chance of a leak. Seems good, I'll know for sure next time I stick it in the water!

I'm hoping to be able to resuse the 5200, so I wrapped it air tight in plastic and put it in the fridge. I hope it works!

 

[jpfieber]

Working in the basement, be very careful of stripping and painting fumes.

Glad you reminded me of that issue. I'm getting ready to start priming and wanted to have some ventilation. I had a spare dust collector laying around (gathering dust, bazinga!) that seemed perfect for the job. Took the motor and impeller off, hung it from the ceiling and ran a duct out the wall to vent under my deck. Works great, moves a lot of air!

 

[bassboy1]

That's a neat old boat, and I really like the look of that engine, even if it is a Mercury.

Couple points I want to bring up after reading the thread.

First, if your wire brushes aren't stainless, go ahead and pick a set of those up. Carbon steel wire brushes can actually contaminate the metal slightly, embedding tiny flecks of carbon, which can rust. It's highly recommended to only use stainless wire brushes on aluminum.

Secondly, you made the better choice going stainless on your drain plug instead of brass. While stainless and aluminum aren't perfect together, they get along reasonably well in a freshwater environment - brass and aluminum are much farther apart on the galvanic scale, and are generally considered incompatible.

 

[VinTin]

That's a neat old boat, and I really like the look of that engine, even if it is a Mercury.

Couple points I want to bring up after reading the thread.

First, if your wire brushes aren't stainless, go ahead and pick a set of those up. Carbon steel wire brushes can actually contaminate the metal slightly, embedding tiny flecks of carbon, which can rust. It's highly recommended to only use stainless wire brushes on aluminum.

Secondly, you made the better choice going stainless on your drain plug instead of brass. While stainless and aluminum aren't perfect together, they get along reasonably well in a freshwater environment - brass and aluminum are much farther apart on the galvanic scale, and are generally considered incompatible.

Absolutely!

Brass and aluminum are a recipe for a hole in the bottom of the boat. I've seen it many times and have a couple of examples sitting in my yard.

 

[ScouterJames]

Reynolds owned and operated the press that stamped out that hull in one piece. It was then sold by other companies.

Makes sense, I hope I can find others like it, would be cool to see what others have done to theirs.

Try contacting the company? Looks like they're still around - maybe have some info or brochures in their old archives.... Looks like the same company - says they made boats briefly.....

https://www.hellotrade.com/dickmann-manufacturing-company/profile.html

 

[jpfieber]

Try contacting the company? Looks like they're still around - maybe have some info or brochures in their old archives.... Looks like the same company - says they made boats briefly.....

I suspected that company was related, but didn't see the whole story, thanks, I'll have to do some investigating!

 

[VinTin]

Makes sense, I hope I can find others like it, would be cool to see what others have done to theirs.

The few I've seen have been in the hands of people who are interested in preserving or restoring them to original condition.

 

[UncleTork]

I have a couple questions for you on your plug as i need to put one in my boat.

What size pipe fitting is it?
Where did you find it in stainless steel?
Is your plug just a standard boat drain plug?

Thank you

 

[jpfieber]

What size pipe fitting is it?
Where did you find it in stainless steel?
Is your plug just a standard boat drain plug?

I ordered the parts from McMaster-Carr, a great place to get just about anything you need. Here are the parts I used:
#4452K675 Type 316 Stainless Steel Threaded Pipe Fitting, 3/4 Pipe Size, Locknut, 150 PSI 2@$6.62
#4452K171 Type 316 Stainless Steel Threaded Pipe Fitting, 3/4 Male X 1/2 Female, Hex Reducing Bushing, 150 PSI 1@$6.16
#9191T38 Quick-Snap Expansion Plug with Stainless Steel Handle, for 13/16 Pipe Size, Stainless Steel 1@$11.85

I put 3M 5200 around the opening in the boat, and on the outer threads of the bushing. I've ground down the inside of the bushing so it's smooth (removed the threads) and the plug is still a little tight, so I'll have to grind out a little more. Instead of the 13/16" plug, you might want to try the next size down, 3/4".

 

[UncleTork]

Sounds good, thank you for your help.

 

[CMOS]

What size pipe fitting is it?
Where did you find it in stainless steel?
Is your plug just a standard boat drain plug?

I ordered the parts from McMaster-Carr, a great place to get just about anything you need. Here are the parts I used:
#4452K675 Type 316 Stainless Steel Threaded Pipe Fitting, 3/4 Pipe Size, Locknut, 150 PSI 2@$6.62
#4452K171 Type 316 Stainless Steel Threaded Pipe Fitting, 3/4 Male X 1/2 Female, Hex Reducing Bushing, 150 PSI 1@$6.16
#9191T38 Quick-Snap Expansion Plug with Stainless Steel Handle, for 13/16 Pipe Size, Stainless Steel 1@$11.85

I put 3M 5200 around the opening in the boat, and on the outer threads of the bushing. I've ground down the inside of the bushing so it's smooth (removed the threads) and the plug is still a little tight, so I'll have to grind out a little more. Instead of the 13/16" plug, you might want to try the next size down, 3/4".

How did you grind the threads off the inside of the fitting???

CMOS

 

[jpfieber]

How did you grind the threads off the inside of the fitting???

I used an aggressive round file, and I found a small bit from a mill I had laying around that I put into a drill. Takes a long time as the metal is pretty hard, and I still have a little to go. There's probably a better way, but this is the way I'm doing it...

 

[g0nef1sshn]

I see a lot of people shrink wrap and refrigerate their 5200. All I ever did was plug the tip with a unused rivet and re poke the hole when needed. never had a major issue doing that. even after a month or more on the shelf.

 

[jpfieber]

Try contacting the company? Looks like they're still around - maybe have some info or brochures in their old archives.... Looks like the same company - says they made boats briefly.....

Thanks to the lead that James gave me, I contacted the company and was initially told that they didn't have any info on the boat, and that the original owner had retired 5 years ago. Then this morning, my inbox lit up with 10 emails of pictures that the previous owner sent them for me. You have to read the newspaper article in the first photo, just awesome stuff. Even a picture of them making the boat in the factory. I'm hoping I can talk more with the previous owner, it's really intriguing learning about this 60+ year old boat!

 

[Fire1386]

The pics and story are an awesome find on the story of your boat....

 

[Bigwrench]

That is an amazing discovery ! I love old history and trivia stuff ! Thanks for sharing the info !

 

[VinTin]

Try contacting the company? Looks like they're still around - maybe have some info or brochures in their old archives.... Looks like the same company - says they made boats briefly.....

Thanks to the lead that James gave me, I contacted the company and was initially told that they didn't have any info on the boat, and that the original owner had retired 5 years ago. Then this morning, my inbox lit up with 10 emails of pictures that the previous owner sent them for me. You have to read the newspaper article in the first photo, just awesome stuff. Even a picture of them making the boat in the factory. I'm hoping I can talk more with the previous owner, it's really intriguing learning about this 60+ year old boat!


View attachment 8

If you notice the photos don't include the huge press that stamped out the one piece hull. It looks like they are adding the finishing touches there in the shop on hulls they most likely received already made from Reynolds. It seems unlikely that a small company would have an identical mold. It's been reported that these are very tough hulls.

Here's a Reynolds ad from 1947 and a few photos of a 1949 Reynolds boat.

 

[jpfieber]

If you notice the photos don't include the huge press that stamped out the one piece hull. It looks like they are adding the finishing touches there in the shop on hulls they most likely received already made from Reynolds. It seems unlikely that a small company would have an identical mold. It's been reported that these are very tough hulls.

Here's a Reynolds ad from 1947 and a few photos of a 1949 Reynolds boat.

Thanks VinTin, it's been mentioned before, but with your pics, it's now obvious to me that the hull is the same (and the rest looks VERY similar as well). Very cool, I'm getting a better understanding of the history of this thing, and it's fun and interesting! If anyone else has pictures or info about Reynolds hulls from this time frame, please share!