New Guy with new old boat and motor

[icepounder]

First I'd like to say hi and thanks. I'm new here but have been a lurker for a while.
Last summer I decided I wanted a small car top jon boat but funds were extremely tight. I found one in poor shape but the price was right .. free. It's a 1965 Montgomery Ward Sea King.
I cleaned it down and welded, repainted, installed all new SS hardware, new transom wood,, side rod holders and new under seat flotation foam.
I also started on custom oar lock mounts and a custom wheel kit. (unfortunately it's so old nothing would match up to it)

Here's a few pictures :

First got it home.

Almost done.

Using it.

I also picked up an old 3 hp Eska. The compression was good .. 95. I replaced the spark plug, cleaned the tank, replaced the fuel line and added an in-line fuel filter. I worked on the ignition and got it to run but only by playing with the choke constantly.
I'll be replacing the points, condenser, coil and I'll also be rebuilding the carb once it gets warm enough in the garage.

Motor on sawhorse.

Next year I can say the boat's 50, the motor is 40 and both made in the USA !! :USA1:

 

[Jim]

:WELCOME:

Thanks for joining! :beer:

Great little boat!

Keep us updated on the progress of the outboard.

 

[icepounder]

Will do and thank you.



I know the points were worn and out of adjustment. The coil had a heat crack at its base. Here's a picture after I cleaned and adjusted the points last fall.

 

[Jake11]

sweet little boat! I just picked up a little ten footer the other day myself and found a 3hp yammy to put on it after a transom rebuild. most of the 10 footer posts on here had me worried about how low it would sit in the water (i'm a bigger guy, prob 215# now) but i think your boat is the about the same height and from the pic it doesnt look it sits all that low in the water.

that paint job turned out great how much of a pain was all the prep work? did you use any special chemicals or just sand paper and elbow grease?

 

[icepounder]

Sorry for the late reply .. busy with the " honey do " list and yard work.

I removed the seats as the hardware was original and rusted. I replaced with SS hardware and while the seats were out the under seat foam.
As far as paint I was tight on funds so I went a cheaper route. I scrubbed with a 3M pad and simple green. I pressure washed it. I did my welding repairs at this time. I washed it down again. I wiped it down with alcohol.
I then primed using a small, smooth roller with Rustoleum Aluminum Latex Primer. I let it sit over night and then I used exterior latex paint using a smooth roller again. I applied 2 thin, smooth coats of the paint waiting overnight between coats.
I allowed it to dry for 3-4 weeks before using the boat .. that's how long it takes most exterior latex to cure. If I had the funds I definitely would have gone with the oil based marine paints.

I'm about 190 lbs and it sits plenty high. I carry a series 27 battery, electric motor and fishing gear with no problems. It's a great 1 man boat and I can also take my 9 yo daughter out. I doubt it would be good for two adults. If I get a chance I'll post a picture later with me standing in it and you can really see the water line.

 

[icepounder]

I figured I better post it now or I'll forget. #-o

You can see the waterline and it's no problem at all.

 

[jigngrub]

Just an FYI, the next time you paint aluminum use self etching zinc chromate primer. It'll last a lot longer.

That's a sweet little "puddle jumper" tinny and you can take it where the bigger boats can't go and catch those "virgin" fish.

 

[icepounder]

jigngrub » 19 May 2014, 18:37[/url]"]Just an FYI, the next time you paint aluminum use self etching zinc chromate primer. It'll last a lot longer.

I agree 100 % . If I was to do it again I would definitely do it with that and marine paint.
I was doing it on the cheap and so far it's held up well. The only spots losing paint is on the bottom from beaching it.
Also I corrected what I previously wrote .. it should have read Rustoleum Aluminum Latex Primer.

 

[icepounder]

Well I've been busy in general with yard work, house work, etc.. Plus I've been working on a fixer upper pop up camper.
I haven't got to the motor yet or the wheel kit I started. I did manage to finish making and installing the custom oar lock mounts. I made them out of aluminum rectangle stock cut at an angle and I welded aluminum flat stock over the top section for more strength. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet but hopefully I can next weekend.
It's too dark outside for pictures but I'll try to post some tomorrow morning. :wink:

 

[icepounder]

I just took pictures of the custom mounts I made for the oar locks.

You can see the angle on the gunnel and nothing would be able to mount to it.

Hopefully this helps others out and maybe gives them some ideas.

 

[richg99]

Very nice. Everything looks top notch.

Maybe I missed it...how long and wide (at the deck level) is your boat?

richg99

 

[icepounder]

Rich it's just a little 10 footer. At it's widest point it's about 43 1/2 inches.
It may be small but it works out just fine for me. It's easy for one man to car top. It weighs in at about 55 lbs.
Also it easily handles myself and my 10 yo daughter when she goes out with me.

You can see some of the boat in the video I posted under Fishing Reports. It's on page 2 near the bottom and the post is First fishing video.

 

[richg99]

I have a 2.2 HP Mercury that I picked up at a garage sale. I will only have my kayak with me back in Houston. Marrying the motor with a light weight Jon would give me more range.

Thanks.

 

[bobberboy]

The oar locks are very clever and well done. Are the rod holders your design or commercial ones? Nice job on everything.

 

[icepounder]

I have a 2.2 HP Mercury that I picked up at a garage sale. I will only have my kayak with me back in Houston. Marrying the motor with a light weight Jon would give me more range.

Thanks.

You're welcome Rich.

Are the rod holders your design or commercial ones? Nice job on everything.

Sorry for the late reply. The rod holders are commercially bought. I think I purchased them on e-bay from a place in Florida.
I believe they were $5.00 each plus shipping .. about $15.00 for both. What I like is they have an offset which bolted up perfectly where I wanted them.
I see many guys mount their rods vertically at the rear of their boats. I wanted mine horizontally mounted inside the boat for protection. Many times I have gone close to the shoreline and a rod mounted vertically would easily catch on lower branches of trees, etc.. By having the rod holders where I mounted them the rods are protected, rigged and easily reached. :wink:

 

[icepounder]

Well it's been a while and the safe ice is gone. I'm back to working on the jon boat.
I got a really good deal on a Suzuki 2.5 HP 4 stroke and I couldn't pass it up. I'm still going to get the Eska running but I can leave that on hold for now.
I'm finishing the motor stand this weekend. I hate leaning the motors in the corner. Plus it's not good for them.
Hopefully next week I can continue on my custom wheel assembly for the jon boat. I'll post pictures when I can.

 

[icepounder]

I finished the stand last weekend and here's a picture .. it's nothing fancy. I have the electric and my 2.5 hp on it.
I'm cleaning the garage and having it on wheels makes it easy to move around.

 

[bean210]

removable bench seats, that's a nice feature. you can really configure your boat for whatever your doing that day

 

[Abraham]

This is one of my favorite threads on here. You have a great little boat with a ton of potential. Almost makes me want to start sanding on my 10 footer, almost :mrgreen: Looking forward to your build.

 

[icepounder]

I took the boat out yesterday to test the 2.5 outboard and get some fishing in. The first thing I noticed was under throttle I was really low in the back and very high in the front. I already had the motor adjusted all the way forward. I was definitely losing a lot of momentum due to this. I got on my knees against the forward seat and tried throttling with a little more weight forward and it was better but I needed more weight forward. My arm would not extend any further to reach the tiller arm. I just ordered the Helmsmate tiller extension with u-joint and it extends from 37" to 51". I should have it at the end of the week and I can see how the boat and motor performs sitting on the forward seat .. it should be drastically better.
On a good note the oar mounts worked flawlessly. I was rowing into shallow areas and there was no flex/movement to the mounts at all .. they were solid. I still haven't finished the wheel kit but hopefully I will soon.