2002 Polar Kraft 165 SC "RESURRECTION"

[Skipjack]

Hey everyone i'm going to post the rebuild of a boat i've been working on over the past year. It's almost done but I will post pics here and there so it will seem like real time. More suspense that way Hope the pics help someone as i've gained lost of info from this site so glad to contribute.

I bought the boat in Nov 2015 from a guy that got it from a widow, it sat out uncovered for most of its life with little use. The motor has i'm guessing maybe 3-4 tanks of gas thru it, basically brand new and the hull is solid as a rock and all welded. All metal and poly board zero wood to deal with (YES). These era Polar Krafts are amazingly well made. I have been rehabbing and modifying boats with my dad and by myself for a number of years. It all started with a old 16ft Starcraft fish-n-ski "hull" dad picked up in the early 90's. Mom was real impressed when he brought it home a basicaly bare hull and trailer. Fast forward about 6 months and we were fishing and skiing with a "new" boat built the way he wanted! These always cost more to fix up right, take more time and I should know better now but I don't! Over the years I have learned a couple things on boats and now I only use the best components, parts ect. Too many man hours to cheap out on the small stuff. I always end up selling these so I do it right the first time and be done with it feeling good that i'm not hosing someone. Lots of junk out there especially down here in the South and when i'm done with them usually the first guy that sees it buys it.

So here we go transforming this POS into a better than new boat!

The day I got it... Like I said sat outside

What a beauty!

A close up of the carpet and other junk. The seat bases are coming out and I will replace them with pedestals as the waste too much space and are junk IMO.

This gives you a good idea of what i'm up against

Up next is demo time!!

 

[badbill]

Congrats great platform to start with!


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[gatorglenn]

Congratulations! Iam looking forward the rebuilding


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[Skipjack]

It's demo time! The carpet was so deteriorated that it just pulled apart. The Alabama summers really took it's toll on the carpet!

Time to make a mess

Got the rod locker out

Pulled out the stupid seat bases, they won't be used again.

The dreaded foam is exposed in the rear!. Don't worry it's not water logged I checked

Thats all for now guys!

 

[Skipjack]

More work...

Getting the console out was quite the task. Not much room to work and a couple hidden screws drove me crazy!

With all the big stuff out of the way time to pull up the carpet. It pulled up off of the aluminum floor really easy. Thank god this boat doesn't have any wood!!!

The carpet was wrapped around the edges so I had to pull the entire floor out to get it off. I was planning on gutting the boat anyway so one more job done.

 

[gatorglenn]

Good work. It is a lot of work but it will be worth it in the end.


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[Skipjack]

The carpet peeled off the floor like a big sticker! All the carpet is out and time to lay out the floor and figure out where to position the seat pedestal bases.

Got the floor laid out and holes cut for the seat pedestal bases I will be installing.

Carpet laid out and getting ready to glue it down! I went with 20oz grey carpet, big upgrade from the OEM that was probably 14-16oz.

Bases cut out and I added some center closed cell foam to make the floor more rigid. Underneath it is a channel that will let water flow thru so nothing gets pooled up. Surprisingly the foam was completely dry despite the boat sitting outside for some time.

Like I said before this boat it rock solid, the welds are perfect underneath the carpet and decking and way overbuilt!

 

[gatorglenn]

I'm really surprised that phone isn't saturated. Being as there's actually no channel for the water to flow out to the back of the boat. I would pull up a section in the back just to see if the bottom of the foam is not saturated. But personally I would take a center section out all the way up. I do like the aluminum floor though.


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[Skipjack]

I checked all the foam and it's all good. I think what saved the foam is the aluminum floor acting like a shield and most likely the plug was out and the boat was bow up letting the water drain right out and not pool up. Under the foam in the center is a channel for the water to drain. I really think because it has no wood that it dried out fast and the foam never had a chance to absorb water.

 

[gatorglenn]

More then likely the channel at the bottom saved it. Where the foam gets in trouble is at the bottom of the hull, where the foam is tight to the hull. Wood or metal on top won't affect it. Yes front high, plug out and a escape route all it needs.


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[Skipjack]

Got the bases located and drilled out for the seats.
front

rear

Now time to get it ready for carpet!

All the little pieces layed out and prepped. The black parts are poly board and the carpet was glued on and stapled on the back.

 

[Skipjack]

Got the floor carpeted, took a while to get it centered and looking good.

Sides all done and good so far.

Floor laid down. I used scotch tape to locate the ribs so I know where to screw it down (fancy I know).

Spring is around the corner and I need to get this project in gear!

 

[Skipjack]

Installing the bases

More carpet work!

Ready to Install the newly painted hatch and screw down the top bow deck

Are we done yet???

 

[Skipjack]

Had some more time to work on it this weekend. Got all the big stuff carpeted, not hard work but time consuming and tedious putsy work. I like to do a good job so it takes me twice as long as it should but looks professional when its done. Then my OCD kicked in so I tore apart the control box due to the rubber grommet not fitting in correctly. That was a big mistake, i've torn them apart and knew it was not a good idea the whole time... But 2 hrs later its all back together and ready to go.

 

[Skipjack]

More work... Slowly but surely it's getting done.

Since the boat didn't have any interior light or a radio (every boat should have the bare necessities ) I decided now was the time to pop in a couple speakers and some LED lights.

Got the location laid out on the rod locker for the speaker and the jig saw ready to cut.

Presto it fits!

Next up was the LED light location. This seems easy but location matters as you really do not want direct lighting but rather indirect while navigating or fishing at night. It's at the front side of the locker so it will shine towards the bow and is 2 ft forward of the helm.

Presto it fits I'm on a roll!

All carpeted and looking good!

Thats all for now but more coming soon.

 

[Skipjack]

The gauge panel and other bits were badly faded carbon fiber print so I decided to wrap them in 3M "carbon fiber" to make it look like what it originally had.

Before

After

Pretty easy and just needed a hair dryer to stretch out the vinyl and get it to look right.

Next up - Outboard removal for the "Tuff Coat" application on the gunwale caps...

 

[gatorglenn]

Really want to see the tuff coat. Tell all , likes and dislikes thanks


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[Skipjack]

Here is the Tuff Coat process and why I choose it. I've done a couple boats with this product and have outstanding results. If you follow the directions to the letter and don't cheap out or cut corners it's a fantastic coating. It applies easy with a texture sprayer that you would use for drywall. You can roll it or use a brush but spraying is the fastest and best way for uniform application. You use water to clean it up but it dries fast so if you find a spot you have some overspray that cured good luck getting it off. I put it on the high wear areas to create a non slip surface and also to cover up all the imperfections you find on a used boat. The more you apply the rubberier it will get so it's not like the super rock hard bedliner coating. Also you can change the texture with the distance you shoot it and also the air pressure setting. I bought it from Bass Pro but you can find it a most marine supply outlets and they make it in a bunch of colors. Perfect for boats.

Got it all sanded, and masking off getting ready for the primer.

All primed up ready for application. The Tuff Coat primer is like a rust red so I'll definitely know if I missed a spot!!

Had some nice weather down here in Alabama so it was time to spray it on.I hit the tops of the rails and the inside gunwales from the top to where the carpet starts also did the splash well. Turned out pretty nice, I should of sprayed the whole boat and not messed with the carpet but then again it's not a commercial fishing boat.

A close-up of what it looks like. You notice it's pretty rough as I shot it from about 30" to get the rough texture. If you shoot it at about 12-18" its smoother and that's what I did on the inside of the gunwales.

 

[gatorglenn]

Ok Iam sold, looks awesome! This is what I'll use on the top of my boat thanks


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[dirty dave]

How does the tuff coat do with the heat? I have a aluminum diamond plate floor, and want something that will stay cool-ish.

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