Extreme restorations/repairs? (1959 Texas Maid Tahiti)

[Erica Hollinshead Stead]

Hi, I am new here, and wondering if anyone has done really extreme restorations. I have been looking through the forums but haven't yet been able to find anything quite like the level of project mine is - I think that I perhaps just don't know the right words to search for. So if anyone could give me hints on search terms or even point me to some old threads I would be grateful.
The level of "extreme" I'm looking for.. my dad had a 1959 Texas Maid Tahiti. He was supposed to scrap it, have it hauled off, etc many times but apparently never could go through with it. He moved it to two different houses after the last time he had it on the water, and one time even less to me when I came home from college, saying he had got rid of it but actually it was just hidden behind a stand of cane pole growing there.. so it must have meant something to him, and I want to fix it regardless of whether it makes any sense to. But he really didn't take care of it, he didn't have a shed or anything to put it in, its sitting in the yard, no cover, filled with beer cans. I think it was last on the water in 1989. The interior is totally mush. It still fills up with water if drain hole gets clogged, but not sure how much that's due to hull integrity and how much that's because the rotted interior acts as a sponge.. most of the threads I've seen with older rough boats are boats that at least sat in a barn or similar.

So anyway, it's rough. How bad can a boat like this be and still get resurrected? What would I search for to dig out threads on extreme boat makeovers?

 

[LDUBS]

If mushy, it sounds like you need to pull everything that is removable (floors, seat boxes if applicable). There is going to be a lot of elbow grease involved. Keep any pieces that might be used as a template for the replacements. Clean it up. Look for corrosion and cracks. You might need to replace the transom wood.

I think it can be pretty bad and still get restored. But my definition of "pretty bad" means the hull isn't toast.

As far as resources here on TinBoat, you may not find a complete rebuild for your exact boat. Instead, search things like decks/flooring, transom replacement, corrosion, painting, etc, etc.

Welcome to TB.net and I hope you share your progress. I think including pics of any issues you encounter will help folks respond.

 

[mbullen]

I would suggest that your journey isn't extreme at all. In fact, it sounds textbook.
In the vintage aluminum world, the vast majority of restorations begin with finding and excavating a forgotten gem just as you have described.
(Texas Maid is a really desirable brand in the vintage world, btw. Neat history overlapping the Lone Star universe. I have a '57 Osprey myself.)
Inevitably, the next steps are almost always to gut the vessel to the bare hull anyway. It's always preferable to start from the ground up, inside out.
It's how you find and address leaky rivets; coat, paint, scrub, or polish the infrastructure; and insure that the rest of the build is fresh and solid.
Make sure to think about templates and measurements during the deconstruction and record every step along the way for the rest of us to enjoy.

 

[thill]

Post a few pictures, and the experience of many will be there to help you decide whether it's worth it, and the best way to go, IF you happen to see this.

 

[jlake1958]

Hi, I am new here, and wondering if anyone has done really extreme restorations. I have been looking through the forums but haven't yet been able to find anything quite like the level of project mine is - I think that I perhaps just don't know the right words to search for. So if anyone could give me hints on search terms or even point me to some old threads I would be grateful.
The level of "extreme" I'm looking for.. my dad had a 1959 Texas Maid Tahiti. He was supposed to scrap it, have it hauled off, etc many times but apparently never could go through with it. He moved it to two different houses after the last time he had it on the water, and one time even less to me when I came home from college, saying he had got rid of it but actually it was just hidden behind a stand of cane pole growing there.. so it must have meant something to him, and I want to fix it regardless of whether it makes any sense to. But he really didn't take care of it, he didn't have a shed or anything to put it in, its sitting in the yard, no cover, filled with beer cans. I think it was last on the water in 1989. The interior is totally mush. It still fills up with water if drain hole gets clogged, but not sure how much that's due to hull integrity and how much that's because the rotted interior acts as a sponge.. most of the threads I've seen with older rough boats are boats that at least sat in a barn or similar.

So anyway, it's rough. How bad can a boat like this be and still get resurrected? What would I search for to dig out threads on extreme boat makeovers?

Just my .02 cents but boats are all very different and are constructed in similar but different ways. It sounds like your dad's boat was aluminum so that is possibly a good start. This forum, the Lund Transom Replacement page, and the University of YouTube will help. Do you have mechanical skills and experience with a wide variety of hand tools?
Have you closely examined the hull for pin holes or worse? That is the first step. I would put just enough water in the boat to test the stern area(lift the trailer coupling as high in the air as it will go while the boat is on the trailer. PROP A 2X6 under the trailer tongue to hold the boat with the bow as high as you can get it. BE SAFE and chock the wheels good. Now use a garden hose and fill the back end with about 9" of water. Get under the boat and look for dripping rivets. Circle with a sharpie every rivet that leaks.Now repeat with the bow of the boat. You wont have to add quite as much water for the bow...just get the tongue about 5" below parallel to the ground. Add water, inspect, circle bad rivets with sharpie. Now you have identified most (if not all leaks. The leaking rivets can frequently simply be "re-bucked" (tightened) to eliminate the leaks. This requires access to an air compressor, a rivet gun, rivets, and a bucking block ( you hold the bucking block against the "inside" of the rivet and the rivet gun drives the outside head of the rivet through the hole which flattens and spreads the inside of the rivet creating the strong bond. Caution: the rivets I am referring to are SOLID rivets...these are very different than Pop Rivets (also known as blind rivets). Solid rivets are structural, pop rivets ARE NOT.
Once all this is done, you can then build it out as you learn each step.
I have never built a boat of any kind but I have built 4 trucks and cars so have some history in taking things apart and changing, adding, modifying things and am lucky enough to have a 2000sf heated shop to work in.