58 Richline, resto mod

[OutrageGIS]

Boat had holes where old cleats had been pulled through fore deck rail. Made patch panels from diamond plate with new cleats mounted on poly spacers. Made one for each side, will mount ss screws and 5200 after paint. Wired up battery gauge and selector switch.

 

[OutrageGIS]

Back in the game!. Haven't posted for 3 months but work has continued on the Richline. The wooden cap across the bow at the front bulkhead was rotted oak. It is seen below in its original condition:

 

[OutrageGIS]

Stripped paint under and adjacent to wood

 

[OutrageGIS]

New rosewood cap rough cut and fit for 6" SS bolts, go through deck foam and into square aluminum tubing brace in bulkhead

 

[OutrageGIS]

Took a day to wire wheel, bed liner and rewire the tilt trailer. Painted fenders to match hull final color

 

[OutrageGIS]

Finished shaping the bow cap and side rails, finished in teak oil. Installed w/SS bolts

 

[OutrageGIS]

PAINT DAY! I used tractor supply IH cream for the deck and interior, and MF gray for the hull, all surfaces were wire wheeled to remove most paint and sanded before etch priming. Shot the whole boat in a barn with a 35 dollar walmart paint gun (better than I expected!). The trick is to use their hardening catalyst (isocyanate) nasty stuff but it brings the shine!

 

[OutrageGIS]

Decided to leave the front of the center console in original "patina" olive drab green, stripped rest to bare aluminum

 

[OutrageGIS]

Carpet from Lowes, $.68 per square foot exterior grade. Found some of the cheap "plastic" fake wood molding that nicely matches the rosewood up front, made nice contrasting trim for carpet

 

[OutrageGIS]

Picked up a used trolling motor on CL, mounted across bow to deploy on right side of boat. Made landing block from poly board and left over treated lumber wrapped in vinyl. Will add a hold down strap

 

[OutrageGIS]

Made a landing block for the bimini frame from shaped poly board and rubber light pole mount from Walmart. The poly boards line it up and the pole mounts hold it down .

 

[OutrageGIS]

Some more pics of interior

 

[OutrageGIS]

And then there is the motor... Boat came with an unproven 1968 Mercury 350 35 HP electric start. PO stated that it "Ran great, used to start it every week then one day wouldn't start. Mechanic said something about the electrical system..."

So, ended up redoing all wiring, internal and external harnesses as well as rebuilding the check valve (fuel pump), carb, all tank plumbing and fabbing all new internal fuel lines. Then to lube cables and re set adjustments, disassemble and lube control box. The manual was indispensable for this. Seems to run pretty good after getting the idle dialed in.

Nobody made a repop of the decal set but I found a Company on ebay who made a set for the 1968 20hp. After contacting them they said they could do a set for the 35. The company, DecalFX, is located in canada but I got my decals within a week. Highly Recommended https://www.ebay.com/itm/161447694760?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

The original "Phantom Black" is glossy and I prefer the look of a matte finish, so I used a matte black for automotive trim. I used it on a car resto 4 years ago and is still holding up great even in the weather. We will see how well it holds up to the environment. I am happy with the results.

 

[OutrageGIS]

Got her wet for the first time today. Did great, motor pushes her nicely. Trolling motor controls well. Need to practice loading and unloading a bit more but overall great first run

 

[Y_J]

Woot.... Congrats on the getting wet.. As long as you had fun, that's what counts.

 

[OutrageGIS]

Thanks, Y J, I was starting to think I wouldn't get it finished before freeze time! Now for some fall fishing!

 

[OutrageGIS]

Took her out for another river spin today after adjusting the throttle cable for more top end. Also raised the angle of the outboard 1 pinhole. Noticed some slop in the magneto advance actuator on the throttle linkage, upon disassembly the actuator is missing two plastic bushings. The slop from the missing bushings is preventing the spark advance from returning to zero at idle. This explains the rough idle I noticed while loading today, though it ran great at high rpm for an hour and a half straight. The bushings are no longer available, but I found a used set on ebay. Needs more pull still to get full throttle, I will wait until I have replaced the bushings before I adjust it any more. Today I GPS'd 15 mph upstream and 18 downstream. I should cruise comfortably at 20 mph when adjusted correctly.

 

[Kismet]

Outrageis? I REALLY like the boat you made!


=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>​

 

[OutrageGIS]

Thanks Kismit! Turned out pretty good just didn't plan on it taking all summer. When I got the boat I thought I would just fix the motor and be fishing in June! I blame this great site for giving me an overload of inspiration and ideas.

Got the throttle linkage parts in today, probably won't be warm enough for another water test until next week, but they look pretty good for 46 year old plastic bushings. Otherwise the motor seems real straight.

 

[OutrageGIS]

Had time to run back down to the river after replacing bushings. Better, smoother response to throttle, but still needs a little more pull on the cable, hopefully the last adjustment