Dyin2fish's 1983 Sea Nymph Bass Attacker

[Dyin2Fish]

It has been several years since the old Starcraft project, so my buddy Dave and I were feeling long overdue for another one. We ran across a deal on this boat, motor and trailer... $200 bucks and just couldn't pass it up! As you can see she looks pretty rough right now, but this boat has a lot of potential. It's 16 feet long and 72" wide at the stern. Two feet longer and a ton wider than the 51 Starcraft we did last time. All the framing is done for us already, so decking will be a breeze. As of today, we have repaired the transom with 2 layers of marine grade plywood and have cut all the decking from exterior grade 3/4 ply. We are soaking all wood pieces in several coats of boiled Linseed oil and turpentine mix. Then we will do a couple coats of linseed oil, spar varnish and turpentine mix. This should take care of the waterproofing. Today I restored the console unit with a nice polish of mothers aluminum and mag cleaner and replaced the old wood with a new piece of mahogany. It turned out so well, we have decided not to paint the boat and just clean and polish the aluminum back to its original shine. Tomorrow we plan on starting the process of fixing a few leaking rivets along the bottom... Should be fun. These are the pics we have so far... Will be uploading more as the project progresses.

 

[meonline06]

Hey Dyin, you got a heck of a deal on that boat! I'm looking forward to keeping up with your build. If this one turns out anywhere near as good as your old build it should be pretty impressive. Can't wait to see more pics.

 

[Dyin2Fish]

It's been awhile since any updates, so here are a few pics showing the progress. We ended up doing 5 coats of varnish on all the boards after several coats of linseed oil. It has taken forever waiting between coats and the weather is getting colder so things have really slowed to a crawl. Oh well, we have all winter right?

 

[JMichael]

I agree, if this one turns out anything like the last project, it will be a head turner. Interesting deal with the spring, does it also help hold the lid down when closed?

 

[Dyin2Fish]

No the spring does nothing to hold it down and that is a concern. Right now going down the highway, that lid starts to lift at about 55 mph. I'm hoping when the bench seat is done it will block the air that gets into that center wind tunnel and help that situation. I've included some images I produced out of an architectural software I use at work called Revit. With this boat project I will be able to plan everything right down to the rivet and screw through the computer model first and decide if I like it, explore different build options, even different paint and carpet options before committing to a design. You can see in some of the cutaway images what we have planned for the cooler under the rear deck and the livewell with pump, aerator, and Flow-Rite V3 valve.

 

[JMichael]

After seeing the way the console polished out, I was wondering if it was stainless or aluminum. If that's aluminum polished to that level that must have really taken some time.

 

[Kochy]

What drafting program did you use to make those sketchups of your boat?

I'm assuming CAD?

 

[JMichael]

I've included some images I produced out of an architectural software I use at work called Revit.

What drafting program did you use to make those sketchups of your boat?

I'm assuming CAD?

 

[bigwave]

Very cool CAD program. Well thought out. =D> =D>

 

[Dyin2Fish]

Thanks jmichael for the comments... it is aluminum, just polished with a power drill and Mother's Powerball. No elbow grease involved! It will take awhile though, even so. Took about 30 minutes on just the console and I plan to do the whole boat. The software is Revit Architecture by Autodesk. It's not really for modeling boats, usually for commercial construction projects.

 

[Bass n flats]

What did you clean the console with before polishing and what polish did you use?

 

[Dyin2Fish]

I didn't pre-clean with anything... Just used mothers aluminum mag wheel polish. It's actually referred to as a cleaner/polisher on the jar.

 

[Dyin2Fish]

It has been a long winter and busy spring trying to finish up the Sea Nymph project and she is 90 percent done at this point, so I thought it was a good time to post some pictures of the progress. We decided to use Bass Cat 24 oz. marine carpet and really glad we did... it turned out nice and plush. We did have to trim the lids and retreat them several times to accommodate the thickness of the carpet. We have had it out several times and she floats well... Nice and stable, the livewell and cooler work great, and it doesn't leak a drop! We still have work to do on the trailer and get some fishing seats purchased and installed, but for the most part it's done and now it's time to fish! I will be updating with final pics once everything is complete and plan to include some pics of the boat actually being used, so stay tuned.

 

[Dyin2Fish]

More pics...

 

[bigwave]

Absolutely kill transformation.....great job man. =D>

 

[Dyin2Fish]

Thanks Big Wave! It's amazing how much a project like this takes it out of you. I won't be doing another anytime soon... but that's what I said last time! I will post some more pics when it is 100% done.

 

[jayare]

That's an awesome job. I actually have the same exact boat. I like what you did with the bench seat.
Looking at it without decking, are the cross members structural or could you take them out? I've been thinking about removing my front and/or rear deck and just putting seats in there.

 

[panFried]

Very nice job Dyn2fish! Boat looks great and I can only hope mine turns out that well. Are you the one with the mad sewing skills on the custom bench? =D>

 

[earl60446]

Yep, great job and you got it for $200. Wow, I got $300 burning a hole in my pocket I'll give ya right now.
:lol:
Tim

 

[Dyin2Fish]

Thanks Jayare. As far as taking out your decks and cross members, I don't think I would unless you plan to only fish small lakes and ponds. The cross members give a lot of support to the sidewalls. There is an angle riveted to the sides just under the plywood that the plywood screws down into to give the boat and sides lateral rigidity. When I had it all broke down without any plywood, the sides were pretty weak. With the decks done and new plywood, it is rock solid again.