New Member with 79 Sylvan rebuild

[BillG]

Hello Everyone,
I am a new member to this site and would like to thank everyone for the all the information and ideas that they post.
I have been reading and studying the information I've found here for almost two years. The information I gatherd led me to the purchase of a 1979 Sylvan Sportster 18' open bow with a 125 hp Force outboard (1986) and a Karavan roller trailer (1992). I found this set up on Craigslist in March 2011 and have been working on it since then.

I decided to become a member of this site to share my experiences with the rebuild I am working on. I have learned very much and it's only fair that I share. The pictures are what I purchased in March.

 

[Bhockins]

Great project boat! She's an ugly duckling now but perfect for a re-do. Good luck!

 

[BillG]

When I got this boat my wife was not as pleased as I would have hoped. we have a seasonal camp site near Lewes, DE and after ten years decided we needed a boat. The plan was a small pontoon, so much for plans.
As you can see from the pictures it needed cleaned out and some repairs done. After the cleaning things became more clear. I knew the transom had a bow and needed replaced. What I did not know was as I removed the parts that needed to be out of my way for the transom repair I would be running into more problems. These problems would lead me to strip the boat.

 

[BillG]

I did not expect to find about a hundred busted rivets on port and starboard gunnels. transom bracket needed to be reworked. stringers needed to be attached, they just fell over when I removed the floor. I removed the floor because when I bought the boat I was told the floor was replaced. I asked about the floatation foam and was told it did not have any, that the air space under the floor was enough. That was not what I wanted to hear. The floor had been screwed down with drywall screws. what a pain it was removing them. I ended up finding alot of non stainless or aluminum fasteners during the strip down. Some styrofoam was under the floor but, not much and it was soaked thru and needed removed.

I replaced the transom, reworked the transom bracket, attached the stringers, added some swimming pool noodels and pink foam insulation. I patched and painted the floor boards with exterior porch paint. I have read all kinds of posts about sealing wood in a boat and figured I already had some paint and it holds up good on the porch so why not. besides I'm going to cover it with carpet. I also keep a cover on the boat. I also repaired all the busted rivets.

I have many pictures to post. keep checking back.

 

[Bhockins]

Smart to have stripped it to the hull.

What material did you use for the transom?

And are the floorboards made of plywood and then covered in porch paint?

 

[sixgun86]

You must have gotten a deal on some noodles. Did the cashier by chance ask you why you needed so many??

 

[LonLB]

Lookin good.

FWIW I think your reasoning for the paint on the decking is sound. Considering how long deck wood can last, entirely exposed.

I think there is something to be said for wood that can dry out if it gets wet, vs attempting to completely seal it, then it gets wet, and can't dry.

Dry and/or indoor storage is important though in either case. Exposed to the elements is a sure way to cause an interior like my boat had....I shoveled it out, with a snow shovel.

 

[BillG]

The transom and the floor are exterior grade plywood. I can't remember the grade off hand but, I picked a good quality with the most layers I could find at Lowes. The wood has three coats of the porch paint on it. Every peice of wood in the boat was painted.
As for the noodles, I got them at the dollar store. Everyone else wants two and three dollars for the same thing. I can't remember how many I used? fifty something? The girl at the checkout was curious so I explained to her what I was using them for. I give all credit to posts like this because that is how I got the idea.

 

[Bhockins]

Looks great. Nice job!

 

[BillG]

Thanks to all who read and compliment. I have spent many hours and dollars on this project so far. It is by no means perfect. I cut some corners here and there because of time and money. I am using the lounge seats that came with the boat because they are fairly new. Not the color I had in mind but they will work for now. I relocated the glove box to the front of the boat. That was the only design change I made. I used the antenna and windshield supports from a 72 Silverline tri-hull that I took on as a first project. The best thing that happened to that boat was the saw.
The interior color is a dark grey out of a spray can. The exterior is white and dark blue Rustoleum marine paint which I thinned according to the directions and brushed on. It is a good paint from what I can tell. I picked it up at ACE hardware. The colors are limited. Red, Green, White and Blue is all they had at the store I was at.
I am not done with the boat. I have a few things to button up on the boat and then I need to tackle the motor and trailer. I will tell you that I do not know if the motor runs. I was told by the seller that it did. I can turn the flywheel by hand. I picked up a parts motor for $200, what a great deal. I used almost the whole clamp unit and the tilt/trim so I could hang the motor back on the boat. The tilt/trim on my motor did not work and I had to cut the clamp bolts to get the motor off the boat. I use Ebay and Craigslist alot so I was very pleased when I found this. Here are the rest of my pictures for now.

 

[fool4fish1226]

That turned out amazing. I think it was very wise to strip it down completely. I had the same problem with my project "A Little Snookered" the more you dig the more things you find that need to be repaired.

Again great work enjoy your new ride

 

[rudycard72]

Awsesome build, one of my personal favorites for sure. I want one.

 

[JBooth]

Great job! it looks brand new!

 

[BillG]

Thank you all. It is turning out pretty good. I could not afford to buy a new boat but, I could over time rebuild one. I think I am close to the $3000.00 mark. I don't think that's to bad considering that I looked at a very similar new boat at Bass Pro and it was about $17,000.00. I think it's good to recycle. I did the same thing with a 1983 Kawasaki 550 LTD.

I still need to finish and install the fuel tank. I need to find four rubrail end caps for the lower rubrails. I have pinstripe that i'm putting above and below the blue stripe. It is silver, white and blue. I have another lower unit that I plan on putting on the motor. I plan on going over the whole thing before installing. The skeg is not busted off this one. I need to replace one of the coil packs and the plugs. I could go on but, i'm sure everyone gets the idea. I will do to the motor what I have done to the boat. Before I do anything I will check the compression. I do have one good thing going for me in the motor catagory. A relative is an outboard motor mechanic with about 40 yrs. experience. A couple cases could go a long way.

My biggest problem at the moment is winter. It gets dark to quick and I don't like the cold. I look out in the back yard at my boat with her cover on and wish I could do something. not gonna happen. it will be a couple more months. In the mean time I can yap away on this post.

 

[BillG]

Looking at all these threads really has me wanting to work on the boat. I have so many things that I want to and could be doing to it. It's just to cold out.
I have a question. My trailer is a roller bed. I am almost certain that i'm going to have to replace most of the wheels and hardware. That being said, what would be the better option?
1, Replace all rollers and hardware
2, Replace with bunks

Should I add guide rails to my trailer? Has anyone ever used a power winch on their trailer? I have a new one, but am wondering if I should just stay with the hand winch?

 

[LonLB]

A roller trailer is easier to unload. Personally I've never had a problem unloading bunk trailers.

I would imagine a roller trailer is very frustrating when loading the boat back on the trailer.


FWIW roller trailers, I have heard, can do damage to the hull over time because the weight is distributed over small areas, A bunk trailer distributes it over a larger area.

I would use the trailer/boat combo to get an idea about the guide on bunks. Some don't need it at all, and I've seen others where it has helped.

 

[PitFishin']

thats a great looking boat! if mine turns out half as nice as that ill be pleased. im having a hard time wrapping my head around the foam under the floor. added floatation everyones calling it. i dont wanna sound dumb because i know foam floats and i understand the idea behind it, but does it really help? i mean the boat displaces the water it needs to to float without it right? so how is it any different that just haveing a bunch of life jackets laying on the floor of your boat? other than being in the way i dont see how it could help make it float better. someone help me out please. :?

 

[BillG]

The biggest reason is to keep the boat from sinking if it gets swamped or you puncture the hull. What you do not see in my rebuild is the styrofoam that lines the walls and rails. All this should keep the boat from dropping to the bottom of whatever body of water you might be on.

 

[PitFishin']

makes perfect sense now! thanks Bill

 

[BillG]

Does anyone know where I might be able to find end caps that will fit my lower rub rails? I need four. I seen some plastic ones on line but don't know if they would work and don't want to waste money finding out. Any info would be a great help.