What am I ?? do you know ???

[oldboat]

Hello again ! well I'm on the road again a little later then I thought. I reworked my new trailer some what again . over the winter a tree fell on it and broke one of the bunk boards.. so I replaced the four box steel independent front and rear wobblers with a one long piece of box steel so it is ridged front to back and added one more cross support for the bunks.. and changed the bunks to all 2 X 6s and added Caliber Polly bunk wrap.. ( I'm not sure I like that stuff yet ) its not the easiest stuff to work with.. and I also lengthened the tongue about 3 foot.. here's photos of the changes.. tomorrow I will be launching the boat off the old trailer and retrieving it on the new trailer and finally be bringing it home !! more photos to follow !!

 

[oldboat]

well ok, I didn't get it switched to the new trailer but I did get it moved to a friends cabin not far from the marina it was stored at so we could get it cleaned up some.. tomorrow we will get the trailers switched and bring it home.. I was originally told by the previous owners sister it was originally a Detroit River Police boat.. I had my doubts that it was.. but after the cleaning I can actually see " De Polic " outlines on the side if it.. so it was indeed at one time a Detroit Police boat !! here are a few photos before and during the cleaning cleaned .. I used Velocity Visions Aluminum Cleaner after seeing it on YouTube .. it really works as they show it.. as soon as 4 seconds or you can leave it a bit longer .. and can do it over again if things are a bit stubborn.. it didn't brighten the water line as well as the rest but did clean it .. maybe a bit of scribing would help but this was spray on and rinse off in just a few seconds .. I did the complete boat top and bottom and the inside at the back with just a gallon.. more photos tomorrow...

 

[oldboat]

the marina was very busy today so I didn't get a good chance to get as many photos as I wanted .. here is the launch, and floating, and on the new trailer.. I think I added to much length to the tongue.. I will shorten it a foot and see if I need to take more off....

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

Wow it really came up nice with the cleaner! Might consider moving the axles forward a bit. Once you get it fitted out with a motor you'll know better by judging tongue weight and balance.

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[LDUBS]

Like Weldor says, wow! That cleaner looks like it does the job. Does it leave a uniform sheen? On my previous boat I used Starbrite's alum cleaner. I really had to work hard and the final result still looked blotchy. At lease the dirty hull was a uniform color. LOL.

Your boat sits well in the water.

 

[oldboat]

Wow it really came up nice with the cleaner! Might consider moving the axles forward a bit. Once you get it fitted out with a motor you'll know better by judging tongue weight and balance.

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Hello Weldorthemagnificent !! thanks! yes that cleaner works like no other I've seen. and yes I was thinking I may have to move the axles a bit.. the front axle is in about the same position as the old trailer.. it doesn't seem to have a lot of tongue weight at the moment, but it does drop my truck just enough to say it does.. once the motor and gas is in it may not.. time will tell on that..

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Longer trailers are easier to back up. If the length is not an issue for storage I'd leave it, also you never know when you might get a longer boat.

 

[oldboat]

Like Weldor says, wow! That cleaner looks like it does the job. Does it leave a uniform sheen? On my previous boat I used Starbrite's alum cleaner. I really had to work hard and the final result still looked blotchy. At lease the dirty hull was a uniform color. LOL.

Your boat sits well in the water.

Thanks LDUBS !! I would say it would leave a pretty uniform sheen.. but this is pretty old aluminum and it kind of looks like aluminum paint.. but where there are missing tags the aluminum is shinny. I just did it like they showed in their video which said 4 to 5 seconds then rinse.. I ended up letting it stay on for maybe 30 seconds as I went on.. the bottom I did twice and could do again to make it look like the sides and top.. I didn't read the label until I was done.. it says to let it set for 15 to 30 seconds then rinse and towel dry. ( which I didn't do ) I had a few darker streaks here and there that I went over a second time after I had the whole boat done and they went away.. it probably would have looked better if I had wiped it dry with a towel.. but I'm quite happy with the results with no work involved !! I bought it directly from Velocity Visions its $19.99 a spray quart or $39.99 a gallon.. I bought 2 gallons but the shipping was a bit high.. I think it was around $47.00 through USPS.. check out their Velocity Visions YouTube video !!

Yes the boat doesn't set low in the water at all.. even with a motor on it maybe only a few inches in the stern..

 

[oldboat]

Longer trailers are easier to back up. If the length is not an issue for storage I'd leave it, also you never know when you might get a longer boat.

Thanks lckstckn2smknbrls ! I did notice the difference in backing up being I lot easier !! storage for now isn't a issue . maybe I will just leave it for the time being...

 

[oldboat]

here are a few more photos my friend took on his phone.. the first two you can see the ghost remains of " Detroit Police " on the side of the hull..

 

[zuren]

Very cool boat! This would be a good rig up around Drummond Island or Beaver Island where it would be nice to get under some cover when the wind whips up. I fished up on Drummond Island last spring out of a 14' open tin in cold, blustery weather and was definitely wishing for something bigger with a cover. And the weight is low enough that you could pull it with almost anything.

I can't remember who does it (West Marine??), but there is a place that makes your registration numbers as a single sticker, so everything is nicely aligned and spaced. I think you can also chose your font style and text color. Something a little more script would look nice on a vintage boat.

 

[oldboat]

Thanks zuren !! that's interesting.. I have property on Sugar Island where I envision this boat to be mostly !!
I was also thinking about those registration stickers !! I'll be checking into them once this boat is done …

 

[AnglerRoy]

There’s a few sellers on Amazon that do the lettering as a single decal, font/size/color/spacing is all customizable for a reasonable price. Just do a search for “registration” and they should come up.

 

[oldboat]

Thank you AnglerRoy !! I'll check into that !!

 

[Shaugh]

Refinishing old aluminum is the trickiest part of this hobby. That wash does a pretty good job of evening out the tone to a kind of chalky white. Where you are is probably a good stopping point unless you're sure you want to go a step further to get a more shiny metallic finish.... because that step is a pretty big one....

I know it's tempting to try to steel wool or attack those old lettering lines but don't do it... You'll just leave a blemish worse than the lettering by the time you get done. Anything you do to a boat you have to do to that entire surface, not just the blemishes.

I've had good luck using an orange Nyalox wheel like this in a 1200 rpm drill:
https://www.lunadabayhardware.com/products/310425




The key is to keep all your scratch lines running in one direction... just like sanding wood... never across the grain so to speak... it's time consuming but it's fairly relaxing work... not physically demanding because the brush doesn't dig in... If you do it section by section it's over before you know it....and then you'll really have a shiny metal boat with a minimum of blemishes....

This type of brushed finish is the best way to handle old blemished aluminum. Its a bit of a coarse finish...not shiny polished, but it's the best way to blend dents and blemishes into an even tone. The other mistake people make with an old boat is trying to mirror polish it. If you do that you will see every scratch and blemish from 100 yards away.... the rough brushed finish works best imo.

 

[DaleH]

I used 2x4's for my 16' Naden. Took a bit of finagling to get them all set good to the hull but the boat sits snug as a baby in a car seat. No carpet for this fishing boat, just used some leftover deck stain. Maybe carpet one day ...

I wouldn’t carpet trailer bunks and whomever 1st did should be tarred & feathered ... as they will hold water against the hull and cause corrosion pitting.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

I suppose rollers on the ribs would be the best as even uncovered wood will hold moisture. I've always preferred a bunk trailer to a roller. I'm happy with how mine is working out.

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[zuren]

I wouldn’t carpet trailer bunks and whomever 1st did should be tarred & feathered ... as they will hold water against the hull and cause corrosion pitting.

Is this an issue in salt water environments? I've been around many aluminum boats for 40+ years, and have never seen this type of damage...but I'm 100% freshwater and the bunks were covered with marine/outdoor fabric, not carpet for your living room (which I have seen people use).

 

[LDUBS]

I suppose rollers on the ribs would be the best as even uncovered wood will hold moisture. I've always preferred a bunk trailer to a roller. I'm happy with how mine is working out.

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Me too -- bunks over rollers. Especially on these light thin skinned boats.

Trex seems like a good option over wood but Jethro recently posted some potential issues with how it flexes/sags.

 

[jethro]

here are a few more photos my friend took on his phone.. the first two you can see the ghost remains of " Detroit Police " on the side of the hull..

Oh funny, you and I have something in common, we both own prior law enforcement boats! Found this when I peeled off some of the old reg stickers: