Thomadgs's S-14 Build - "Jenny III"

[thomasdgs]

I started on my first tin boat project early this summer. It is a 1981 Lund S-14, with a 1985 Mercury 25XD, and a mystery trailer.
This boat hadn't been in the water since 1996. Time to give it a second life.

TLTR; I was given a boat to fix up (it wasn't sea worthy) and use as I wish by a good friend of mine.

Long Story: I was essentially given the boat, motor, and trailer by a mentor of mine for $1 each in May of 2017. I mentioned to my mentor of about 15 years, Julian, that I was looking for a 12' car topper for the upcoming fishing season. Well, much to my surprise Julian offered to give me his old boat. There were three conditions to taking ownership of the boat; I must do my best to not die while using this boat (we settled on wearing a life jacket whenever the boat was powered by the outboard), I was not allowed to fix up the boat just to sell it, I had to take the boat out of his yard and never bring it back, and I had to take him and his son fishing once I got the boat on the water again. I had no problem agreeing to all these conditions before signing for the boat.

As I mentioned, the boat and motor had not been used since 1996. Thankfully the motor had been stored in the well climate controlled basement for those 20 years, this gave me hope that the motor could be brought back to life. The boat had been stored upside down on the trailer, exposed to the element on the edge of a farmers field (I regret not getting pictures of where I found it). I had no idea what condition the boat would be in, leaks, rotten wood, etc. It appeared the outer transom would need to be replaced at the very least, and I suspected more wood work would be required after 20 years outside. I knew the trailer would need new tires, probably lights, and maybe bunks.

I had a month to think about what I wanted to do with the boat before being able to pick it up (had to finish my university semester before getting distracted by it). I had a lot of ideas floating around my head, but the first step was to get it sea worthy before sinking any money into boat that wouldn't float. I was also very anxious to figure out if I was able to revive the motor. I also had to get on getting my pleasure craft operators card. I had only ever paddled canoes, with basically no motor boat experience.

Here are some pictures of the boat the day I picked it up and towed it home.

More of my story to come.

 

[water bouy]

Nice boat. It may be rated for more hp but that 25 XD is about perfect.

 

[SeaFaring]

I love red boats! Keep us appraised of your progress.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DaleH]

Awesome story and kuddos to your mentor! Pay it forward and maybe some say you'll also pass it on ...

 

[thomasdgs]

This post got a bit wordier than I had planned. I ended up with a few days of bad weather at the cottage (too bad for any hope of fishing), no internet access, and a very limited supply of DVDs. This post is the result of all that free time.



I got the boat and trailer home in one piece, without working trailer lights however. I put two brand new tires and rims on the trailer to get it home because two of the three clearly shot. I stopped along the way to check if the bearings were getting hot, but they seemed to be fine. I did pump some grease into the bearing buddies before hitting the road home. I figured the lights would need some work, but at this point I decided to just replace the whole deal, lights, wires, and plug. I have learned from owning small trailers in the past that I hate messing around with lights every time I hook up a trailer, so a whole new set up was the way go ensure dependability. The trailer also could use a paint job, but the four layers of different coloured paint visible now were good enough to put that low on the priority list. A few of the rollers were cracked and in other wise rough shape, so those were added to list of things to do. Another low priority item that made it on the list was the exterior paint of the boat.



The paint on the exterior of the boat is not original, it was repainted sometime in the early nineties before it was parked for two decades. The paint was redone by an auto body guy, and was apparently as nice as the original paint job, but that was about 25 years ago. The paint was now faded and chalky, with some serious chips, and obvious water marks from years of rain running around the rivets. I don’t mind this faded look, so painting the exterior of the boat is getting put to the bottom of the list, just ahead of painting the trailer. That list continues to grow with this project. For each item checked off the list, one or two more new items are being added, for now anyway. One item that has been high on that list since I first saw the boat was the outer transom wood.



The outer transom was covered in moss and likens, the bottom of it was swollen (it had been the top, taking all the rain and holding moisture), and I figured there was probably moisture (and rot) between the hull and the wood. I decided right away that I was going to pull the old transom off and replace it before even attempting to mount the outboard to the boat. And so began the long and painful process of trying to decide what I was going to replace the transom with. More on that saga later though. Looking at the transom and shape of the top of it especially, I wondered if this was the original transom. The shape of the outer transom wasn’t the only thing that made me wonder if it wasn’t the original.



If the inside of this boat was ever painted, it was before this steel monster was added. The missing paint clearly outlines were the factor transom braces were. I can`t say for sure why this brace was added, it was done by the first owner, and I am the third owner. The second owner does not know anything about this golden gusset. I suspect that this was brace was added to provide additional stiffness to the now taller than factory (I think) transom. Getting rid of the factory braces also made more flat unobstructed floor space behind the third bench for things like a fuel tank. I didn`t notice it at first, but there is something else missing from the inner transom, I`ll get to that later, first more on the interior of this boat.



The outer transom wasn’t the only wood that was looking worse for wear on this craft. The seats looked bad too. The still felt solid, but would need some attention to prevent any unfortunate butt sliver incidents. Since sitting is a pretty essential part of boating, the seats were put pretty high on the list. I would remove the seats to refinish them, holding off on replacing them until I figured out my plans for building the interior of this boat to be more fishable. Yes, there is hope that we’ll get to something more interesting with this build. Casting deck anyone? I was starting to notice a smell coming from the boat after a bit of rain and some hot sun. A smell, and bunch of little black nuggets, kind of shaped like grains of rice, and about the size of the average field mouse’s *******. If you’re not curious what the inside of these benches was going to look like, I can tell you I was, and a bit terrified as more and more mouse poo was finding its was out from under the seats.



See all that black piling up around the bases of the seats? Yea, that’s all mouse poo. A few things other than the mouse poo that has to go is the rusted old seat mount on the middle bench seat, and the bits of carpet glued to the floor in the bow, and the rear of the third bench. Why the back of the seat? The more important question I wanted to answer first was whether or not there was any hope of getting the old mercury outboat running again?



When I picked up the boat I was told that the outboard was a 1983 Mercury 25XD, but I soon found out it was actually an ’85. Not a disappointing mistake at all. This engine is 25 horse power, 2-stroke, 2 cylinder, with a long shaft, and forward/reverse shifting integrated in the tiller handle. As soon as I checked that the engine turned smooth and seeing how mint it looked on the outside, I ordered a carb and fuel pump kit, fuel filter kit, water pump impeller kit, new plugs, and some bottom end oil. That about sums up the work I planned to do to it before trying to start it. I wish I had taken more photos of it in the pristine shape I got it. It has only been a couple of months since I got it, and it isn’t as nice as it was then any more unfortunately. That wound is still to fresh to talk about now though.



Next, I will be starting to take things apart and investigating further. May have some more things to add to my list. Ohh, and I need to find the source of the smell that grew worse by the day. It almost smells like something died in the boat.

 

[thomasdgs]

Hmm, maybe my last post was too wordy... I'll include more pictures and less words from now on.



I opened up the seats, and sure enough the foam was destroyed. The stick I was smelling was from all the mouse pee and poop, and the couple dead that I found in there. This was by far the worst part of this project so far. Even with the foam all removed the boat stunk for a few rains as it sat open.


I got the transom cap and outer transom off. I ended up just breaking most bolts, but had to also grind a few of the heads off when the spike nuts started spinning in the wood. I also had to use a air hammer to get many of the bolts out. Some kind of chemical bond between the steel bolts and aluminum hull. The outer was still sealed to the aluminum quite well (can see how far the water had made it), and the wood still felt quite sturdy.


Looking at the shape of the aluminum transom, and the evidence of a splash well, and the upper drain hole, its clear that the transom has been modified to make it taller. In any case, I intended to keep it as high as it was now. Apparently the inner and outer transom are both not original.


It took a day to get all the work on the motor done. Full water pump kit, carb & fuel pump kit, changed the bottom end oil, new spark plugs and a new fuel filter. I grabbed the wrong size fuel line (replacing all lines in the engine), and needed a new fuel tank, so starting the motor had to wait.

 

[mtntop]

I have a 14' lund too, nice catch
Your trailer looks just like mine which is a Spartan and came with my boat, a 1990
Spartan is out of biz now
Have fun, lunds are well built hulls

 

[thomasdgs]

The next step in getting the transom replaced was to make the new outter transom. I used the old transom as a template (including for locating bolt holes), 3/4" GIS Plywood, and 4 coats of Hellmens Spar Varnish (including brushing inside of holes with a pipe cleaner). I made the mistake of assuming that the holes would be symmetrical, which resulted in me having the less perfect side of the wood facing out (not as I had intended).


I buffed off all the oxidization and old sealant from the hull's transom portion with a wire wheel on an angle grinder.


Also got the rest of the parts (hoses) to get the motor running on the stand, and run beautifully it did. I was really impressed with how well it ran after 21 years of sitting. I was almost relieved of my worries about the motor, but I was anxious now to get it in the water and test it under load.


I stopped by the recycled hardware store, and got lucky with some 6" thick slices of foam. Laminated two of those together and made replacement seat inserts.


I had plans to build a casting deck already at this point, so I just sanded the edges of the first bench seat to prevent slivers. Rows two and three I sanded, filled, sanded again, then put two fresh layers of Spar Varnish. All that was left now before testing was to attached the outter tansom.

 

[thomasdgs]

It is apparent that no one cares about the details, so here is a brief and photo filled update.

I got as far as finishing the front deck, bow plate, and bow box before winter arrived. I have no where to work during cold winter, so project is on hold. In a few months I will pick up where I left off, with plans to remove the middle bench, do flat floor from the rear to front bench, side boxes with rod storage, and a live well tank in the front bench. Also got a new Garmin Striker 5cv on clearance at a local store, so the finder will be getting updated also.

 

[thomasdgs]

The box box has a hatch/door not shown. Designed to be used as anchor storage, with the option to replace the hatch with an inset board for mounting a stereo. The two big hatches go to one large bow storage spot. The long narrow hatch will be for live well access.

 

[water bouy]

Nice.

 

[thomasdgs]

Season two of this build has officially begun.

Today I moved the boat from its winter storage stop, upside down on the trailer (blocked), to the driveway. Took some measurements, time to start planning phase two; center bench removal, flat floor, side storage boxes, rear deck.

 

[thomasdgs]

Here is some idea, using my best MS Paint skills, of what I plan to do with the interio. Please share your feed back on this layout, good or bad. Combining the knowledge and experience of all of us on this forum I am hoping this thing will turn out pretty nice.

 

[schukster]

I really like Lunds. Your plan is similar to my 14' Lund conversion. If you haven't already looked at it click on the link in my signature.

My recommendation is to keep the center seat brace strap to maintain the structual support which appears to be what you are planning. Otherwise customize it to your needs. I'm interested in following your project.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[TDobb]

I would seriously consider extending the front deck to the front side of the middle bench. I found after 7 years of use that the front deck, same size as yours got really small once I put a pedestal seat up there. Extending the deck back made it SO MUCH MORE usable. I actually fell out, didn't go all the way in but I was in up to my armpits upside down in the water cause there just wasn't much space up there. I went several years without the pedestal up front but it was tippy and my back said I needed a front pedestal when on the trolling motor in any kind of waves.

For the rod box, if you can do it I would definitely put tubes thru the front bench but make sure you use a coupler fitting on the cut edge or you will risk putting scratches in your rods (weak spots, I broke two rods due to the scratches from the tubes). Also make them long and put an end cap on the end that goes thru the front bench so the tips are protected from stuff bouncing around and breaking the tips.

To answer your question from my thread, I did not cut the middle bench all the way down to the hull. I left a couple inches of the bench verticals attached to the hull and cut it off, then attached the angles to that vertical section. That kept the mid section pretty stout side to side. It is riveted together with a pretty tight spacing.

 

[thomasdgs]

To answer your question from my thread, I did not cut the middle bench all the way down to the hull. I left a couple inches of the bench verticals attached to the hull and cut it off, then attached the angles to that vertical section. That kept the mid section pretty stout side to side. It is riveted together with a pretty tight spacing.

Is the white paint on the interior from the second rebuild still? What methods did you use to prep the old paint, and to paint the new white?

I have stripped the hull down again, full of ambition and direction to get the inside of the hull painted. However, after trying two different chemical strippers (aircraft stripper and EZ Strip), I am reconsidering my plan to strip all of the old paint to bare alu. before starting over with primer.

 

[akboats]

Nice boat looking forward to see more details and it finished.

 

[thomasdgs]

Update: Some time in early May I decided I was going to paint the interior of the boat. I didnt have a clear plan for the paint job start to finish, but I figured rather than spinning my wheels planning and sourcing supplies, I would just jump right in an figure it out as I went. Well, now it is mid August, the boat hasn't seen the water yet this year, there is less than 2 months left of my fishing season, and the boat is no where near usable. Travelling a lot in July and a few weekend trips early in the summer really slowed me down. Another issue has been spending time researching every step of the process, usually to find out that whatever process or products I choose to go with aren't available in Canada, then trying to find a usable alternative.

The first step to this painting project was to remove all the wood and hardware from the hull, leaving just a bare hull. Then I had to figure out how i was going to remove the paint. Soda blasting was way to expensive for me to consider, so next was using a chemical stripper. I know everyone says to use the air craft stripper, but since I was doing the work in my yard, and just washing the boat out into the alley, I wanted to avoid such a toxic substance. The method I ended up using was to sand as much of the paint as I could down to bare metal using an orbital sander and 220 grit paper. For all the areas I couldn't sand I used a "environmentally friendly" EZ Strip Paint and Varnish Stripper by applying the product, letting it sit for 15 minutes, then hitting it with a wire wheel in a drill. This process probably took about 12 hours in total. The paint that remains after finishing stripping is still solid, and will provide a good enough base for my new top coat, and is all in areas that wont be exposed to much sun or wear.

 

[Extreme]

Looking forward to seeing where you are with this now
I have a lund wc14 and getting some great ideas.
Cant wait to see this finished

 

[thomasdgs]

TLTR; Got the primer and paint done, yay!

Achieved a major milestone yesterday, got the hull primed and painted. I feel like its much more down hill from here, assembly can begin now.

I set up a "booth" in the garage with a roll of poly and staple gun. I also installed 6 new fixtures to get more light for the paint job. All these side projects associated with the painting have also been slowing me down..


Deciding which paint to use was a huge headache for me. After looking at everything from Interlux Brightside to Tremclad (Rustoleum), I settled on a two part etching primer and a three part (paint, hardener, and thinner) Cloverdale "industrial coating." The five parts cost me $235, plus consumables (mixing cups, filters, etc.). I used all the primer and half the paint.


The primer could be recoated in the time it took to mix the next batch and have a drink of water.



In order to be able to reach most places in the hull reasonably well, I had to tilt it back and forth and spray it one side at a time.



I tried to match the new Lund interior colour. It ended up being a little lighter than I hoped, but I am still happy with the outcome over all. I did two coats of primer, two coats of paint. Did it all in one evening (5hrs) after work.



There are three things I could have done differently to have had a nicer outcome. First would be to build stands to hold the hull in the air, and rotate side to side completely along the longitudinal axis. Second, I would have mixed my paint in two or three smaller batches instead of one large one, by the last cup, it was getting pretty thick and starting to lump out the nozzle. Third, I would put a whip on my spray gun to get the filter and regulator/gauge off the gun. The whole set up was so long that it made it hard to maneuver into the tight corners of the boat, resulting in some nasty surface roughness.


Here is a peek at what is to come.