# New Life For An Old Skiff



## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

I bought this boat a few years ago for $400 and put many, many hours on it. She's a 1971 Kingfisher 154 that I remotored with a 79 Johnson 55hp. Well, now the transom is getting a couple of soft spots and the trailer is looking pretty rough. Also, the layout is a little awkward to move around in. 

So, with permission fom the budgetary commitee (wife) it's time to redo the ol girl! The boat, not the wife. I plan to make this an ongoing build thread. And the time to completion will hopefully be around March 2017. 
Here is the starting point:


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Here is the vision. The plan is to replace the transom with 1-1/2" Coosa Bluewater 26. Why, because I bought it for another boat and never used it. So, it has been sitting for 2 years along with 5 sheets of 1/2" an 3/4" marine ply. I'll cut out the current seat boxes and ribs. Those will be replaced with 1-1/2"Coosa ribs. Then I am going to floor the whole boat and convert it to a Center Console. Yep, I said it! 
Why? Cause I want to and I already have a brand new cooler seat that came with another boat that I bought. The boat already needs new cables and to have a rotary safety helm anyway. I'll create a boxed in area at the rear that will house a 12gal fuel tank (already have it sitting around) and add a bilge area with a bilgepump. I'm also gonna fill the areas under the floor, deck, and under the gunwales with floatation foam, as the boat has none now. No floatation and no pump can = a really bad day...

The planned layout:



The planned paint job: White hull with blue sides and an oyster white interior to knock down the glare a tad.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, I have the hull stripped of everything that will unbolt except the seat lids. I'm cutting those out anyway. The boat looks really narrow in these pics, but it is really 62" wide across the floor.




Uh oh, looks like we have a little rot! Well, I already knew it was there. You could push in on the transom with your finger.


Break time!!!


Yep, there's ROT!!


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Budgetary committee. .. Bawahahaha ! Well said. Good luck on the rebuild, I'll be watching for progress reports.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Yeah, the Chairman of the Budgetary Committee looked at me crooked through her eyebrow until I explained:
Transom is rotted, boat unsafe 
Already have Coosa and plywood
Explained sticking steering cable and that it was not safety helm = consequences
brought up her discomfort in front of boat and how much she likes Center Consoles


So it unanimously passed. Of couse, each line item will have to pass scrutiny as the funds are procured... But the good news is, she was looking at stuff for sale in online yardsales and showed me several boat trailers to replace the one that needs so much work. Oddly enough, I was the one that rejected the price. haha


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Looking forward to the build!!!


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## noffboy69 (Jun 26, 2016)

following.....:thumbup:


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## murfpcola (Aug 28, 2012)

Looking forward to the build. Have you done much testing with the boat in the water and you standing in it? Obviously you are going to be adding weight which may make it less stable. Just some thoughts before you get too far. I bet when you get it done you will use it a lot much around the house than the Cape Horn.


EDIT--I see where you say you put many hours on it so you have stood up in it. I like to look at pictures more than read


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## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

I admire anyone who takes on rebuilding an old boat. I have one in the yard that I keep looking at and thinking about doing something with one way or another, but I would probably need more of those Landshark's that you have sitting on the boat even to begin the colossal plan. Keep posting progress and good luck with the Chairman of the Board financing the project.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Yes, I've spent many hundreds of hours in the boat already. We fish it alot. I would say at least 3 out of 4 weekends a month from April till November. Our trips are usually 8-10 hours. So yeah, I'm familiar with the boat. haha We use it ALOT more than the Cape Horn. I've only had the CH in the water up here twice. Once was to test out when I replaced the foot last year and the other was the shakedown cruise before our annual trip to the coast. That CH only sees 3-5 fishing trips a year. All within the week that we are down. The rest of the year I just clean it, charge it, and crank it every month or so to keep it from going bad. I probably shouldn't have bought it. But it sure is nice not getting beat up when we do go to the coast like we did in my 17 footer.

As for the weight issue. That is why I am using alot of composite. I may try to sneak some Coosa or similar material into the floor and structures. Not super worried about it though. With 2 people, ALOT of gear, 2 coolers (one for food, one for fish) 12 gals of gas, and two batteries, she still drafts about 5 inches of water at the rear. And she is very rear heavy. That is one reson why I am doing the lighter Coosa transom and will move the two batteries into the center console.The floor is only going to be about 2 inches off of the hull in the centerline, and directly on the hull at the sides. So center of gravity will not change much. It will still be below the water line.

I've put a great deal of though and design into this for weight and distribution as well as water drainage. This isn't a "hey hold my beer and watch this" kind of project. haha
But I am always open to you guys saying "uh DUDE, you might wanna look at ______, you're f'ing up" hahaha




SHunter said:


> I admire anyone who takes on rebuilding an old boat. I have one in the yard that I keep looking at and thinking about doing something with one way or another,


Well, this aight the first rodeo on rebuilding a boat. The first one that I bought to redo right after we got married... She saw the boat and thought that I had lost my mind! She loved it in the end.




SHunter said:


> but I would probably need more of those Landshark's that you have sitting on the boat even to begin the colossal plan. Keep posting progress and good luck with the Chairman of the Board financing the project.


I carefully omitted that part of the budget from the proposal. She's not stupid though. She' knows that is a hidden cost on any project. Mine or HERS! She bought a Corian counter top and sink for the master bath this morning. Oop, that will cost X amount of Landsharks to install



!


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Wow!!! I have the best wife! While I was hammering away at this transom, she went to the grocery store. When she got home, she came out and asked if I wanted a beer! She had gotten some because she knew I didn't have any in the fridge. Brings me beer, likes to fish, and loves boats! Gotta keep her! Oh and she make a mean Mississippi Gumbo! Gulf Coast Girls are the best. Hard to find around these parts!


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

I love these threads, keep the pic comin dude!


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, I dug into it pretty good today. I got the middle 1/3 of the transom completely out to the outer skin. I also got both outer 1/3's of the transom about half way to the outer skin. Thaat work is much harder because of the gunwales in the way and the wood is not rotten at all. I found that steam is my friend. haha. I would hose the wood down good with water and let it sit in this ridiculous Alabama sun for about 10 mins. The spray it again and let it bake. This made the wood much easier to chisel out. My wife kept me fully hydrated with beer and Kool-aid. haha I also got the two rear seat boxes and the old console mounting block cut off of the floor. This allowed me to place the cooler seat into the boat and see kinda what she will look like. And to see if there was amply walking room around the seat. It worked out fine. Plenty of room! I may have to rename the boat "Teh Donald" because the inside of this thing seems Huuuuge!


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, today's work doesnt yeild very many exciting pictures, but there is great news. the transom is OUT!!!! In the pics, it looks like theres is alot of wood left. But it's mostly just the wood pattern cast into the transom skin. There is a paper thin layer of wood in some areas. But the grinder will get that out on another day. I also did a great deal of brainstorming (more rain and fog than lightning) about how to build the rear compartment that will house the fuel tank. I want it to span the entire width of the boat, but I want to allow for drainage when the boat is in the yard. I have two LARGE oaks that are over the boat, so there is alot of debris. I have to allow clearance for water to drain as well as allow access to clear out leaves and twigs. I think I have come up with a plan! I wish I could get CAD to work then I could get this out of my head and onto the computer. But of all things I have ever tried, CAD is one of the most miserable failures... haha

Anyway, here are the pics.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Use scd 40 PVC..... Split it length wise. I'd pick something larger than normal.
Say 1 1/2in or even 2in.

One on each side up close to the sides....That way , when the boat is parked and list's slightly to one side or the other it will drain.

But you mention trees and that in itself is going to be a constant PITA.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

X-Shark said:


> Use scd 40 PVC..... Split it length wise. I'd pick something larger than normal.
> Say 1 1/2in or even 2in.
> 
> One on each side up close to the sides....That way , when the boat is parked and list's slightly to one side or the other it will drain.
> ...


Keep in mind that this is not a self bailing hull. The deck will be below waterline. 

The drainage that I am trying to figure out is how to get the water and debris off of the main floor, through the fuel tank box , and into the bilge area. The main problem is going to be getting access to the bilge area because it will be under the fuel tank. I of course want to keep the fuel tank as low as possible for center of gravity purposes, but still have a bilge pump that I can get to and be able to clean out the leaves from the trees. Even with a cover, they find their way in. Thousands of them. :shifty:


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Are you planning to have a rear deck above the fuel tank? If you move the tank forward of the transom by about a foot, it'll give you a space for a mini bilge area to put a pump in there. Basically a rectangle, say 8x12 whose bottom is the hull and sides are the raised floor and is where the drain plug hole resides.

I hate trees near a boat, had a oak myself.

Here's a site to make the design choices harder/easier. http://bateau.com/index.php


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

kanaka said:


> Are you planning to have a rear deck above the fuel tank? If you move the tank forward of the transom by about a foot, it'll give you a space for a mini bilge area to put a pump in there. Basically a rectangle, say 8x12 whose bottom is the hull and sides are the raised floor and is where the drain plug hole resides.
> 
> I hate trees near a boat, had a oak myself.
> 
> Here's a site to make the design choices harder/easier. http://bateau.com/index.php


The tank is 7.5T x 18D x 36W. I am gonna run it about 10-12 from the transom on a shelf about 8 inches off the floor. This will allow a pump behind the tank as well as access under the tank for clearing debris

Yeah, I am familiar with Bateau. I can spend days on that site. I have to make myself stop before I buy plans for stuff that I dont have the space, time, or money to build. haha


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## OHenry (Apr 28, 2011)

Very nice! I love watching these projects. Thanks for sharing.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

NoMoSurf said:


> Yeah, I am familiar with Bateau. I can spend days on that site. I have to make myself stop before I buy plans for stuff that I dont have the space, time, or money to build. haha


I agree, look what happened after hanging around that site. 14' Claymont. Only thing that made the project happen was that all the wood was free.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Yep, it can "real" real fast. haha Nice job on that deck. So can watching FL Sportsman Project Dreamboat on youtube. I binge watched the whole season in 1.5 nights. Dont go watch it, it creates boat building sickness. ;-) It's like HGTV for boat guys. It makes you scour craigslist for hours a night, looking for the next project.

What did you deck it with? Ply or some composite? I already have a 4x8 sheet of 1.5 Coosa for my transom and 3 or 4 sheets of marine ply for the floor. But I am thinking of building my deck and rear enclosure out of 1/2 coosa or similar. I cant seem to find a price for it anywhere, and most important, I cant find a place that sells it thatt is open on Saturday so that I can go get it. No one local to me sells it. Closest place is about 1.25 hours away and I have no time to take off work to go get it.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

I used 1/4" plywood, was about 5 plys. We stripped the decks on skateboard ramps that were built for indoors but used outside. Saved the best pieces, the other plywood came from pallets that a few bookcases destined for a library were secured to, 7/16" 11 ply and 1" 15 ply, assumed it was furniture grade scraps from same manuf.
A layer of xynole went on the deck. Epoxy for the entire build.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, not much progress this week. I spent most of the week looking for a newer trailer.
Then I got hit with my first setback. My wife's birthday is Friday and she finally decided what she wanted... For me to build her a pantry cabinet for the kitchen...

There went the trailer budget and the next few weekends of time... haha


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, I'm finally back on the skiff re-build. After the wife's birthday, then Thanksgiving with family in two states (in two different directions) and then Christmas (same situation as Thanksgiving). After that it has just been cold, rainy, or cold and rainy... Oh and February brought a case of Bronchitis, with a touch of pheumonia. THAT was AWESOME! I'm still not totally straightened out from that. Anyway, I got some real progress done this weekend. The old transom is completely OUT! And the cap is completely removed. My remaining goal for the weekend is to get a transom template cut out and order the first batch of glass. 

I also scored a trailer last night for $250 that is in great shape. It has aluminum mod wheels, but it's gonna need tires before I go anywhere with it though.

Of course, I took pics and will get them loaded up this evening. Gotta use as much daylight as I can, working on the boat.


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## stc1993 (Nov 23, 2014)

Subscribed


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, here's the pics from this weekend's progress.
Here's the cap coming off. The whole thing was riveted around the perimeter. I drilled those out and punched the rest of the rivet through into the boat. Then, the factory had tabbed the whole cap to the hull on the inside with a 3 inch wide strip of chopped strand "tape". It also had eight "knees" that supported the cap if you stepped on it. I cut those loose with a vibrating saw and then beat them out from under the cap with a hammer. At first, I started cutting the cap loose with the vibrating saw, but it was just to hard to get up under there. And I cut one spot down into the hull. It will still be hidden under the cap, so no big deal. But there had to be a better way. Ah HA! I used the claw of the hammer with a towel against the hull to pry the hull inwards and the cap out. That tore the tabbing "tape" loose from the cap and allowed the cap to come free. Now I can just go back and chisel the "tape" from the hull and will be good to go.



Here we have the whole cap off and laying in the yard. Man, there is so much room in this thing now...



Here is a shot of the cleaned out transom. I just have to grind out the excess glass and just a tad of wood skin left. That part shouldn't take but about 5-10 mins. There is very little left to do. I also took the two end pieces of the original wood and am going to use them to make the template for the Coosa replacement.



And here's the new $250 trailer. It was for some sort of Fish-n-Ski. But I dropped the bunks and the ol boat fits on here like a dream. I was skeptical at first. I thought that it was going to be way too wide. But it is not too bad. I'm gonna have to do some bunk fabrication. And probably a new front winch post. But that sure is cheaper than a new trailer.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

You might want to put in some braces to keep the hull square since you took off the top cap.

I'm itching just following this.


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## bonita dan (Oct 3, 2007)

Here's some motivation for ya. My skiff when I first got it.:thumbdown:









This could be "you" when your done. :thumbup: Keep the Landsharks flowing!


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## Curtisimo81 (Nov 10, 2007)

:thumbup:Looks good! Keep up the work. I have had a few project boats and I love the challenge. A lot of the time my pocket book doesn't but whats the fun of saving to buy a brand new one right?? LOL.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

bonita dan said:


> Here's some motivation for ya. My skiff when I first got it.:thumbdown:
> 
> View attachment 880105
> 
> ...


Nice! I was looking for a McKee or a TomBoy when I bought this one. Right after I bought it, there were McKee's everywhere. Not a dang ONE while I was looking.



kanaka said:


> You might want to put in some braces to keep the hull square since you took off the top cap.
> 
> I'm itching just following this.


The cap on this boat is pretty insignificant. It didn't shift a bit when I pulled it. I took before and after measurements. Not a bit of movement. The real structure in this boat is the ribbing and front box structures. 

The boat has a history of shifting around depending on how it was sitting on the trailer. I'll build a jig to set it in to square it up before the transom and floor go in. Hopefully with a floor and better ribs it will stay a bit more stiff. As you can see in the pics, I am leaving in the ribs and front boxes until I get the rear section of the floor in. Then I will work forward in a total of three stages cutting structure out as I go.

This isn't the first hull that I've re-done. If anything, I over think and over engineer stuff. Who ever heard of re-doing a crap bucket like this one with a 1.5 inch thick Coosa 26 Transom? haha I've got some marine ply for the floors, but I am thinking of doing them in 1/2 Coosa if i can find a place to buy it. That has been a HUGE problem so far. No one local sells it. And no one within reasonable driving distance is open on Saturdays... I dont have any time to take off work to go get it during the week.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Huge project.*

I used to get into projects like yours and might consider it again if I could find a fairly decent Kennedy Craft 14' vee hull.

I need to have my little 11'2" Johnsen painted. It looks bad, mainly because it is a 1989 model. It isn't banged up and I know it would look good painted.

Glad you are posting your project. Maybe it will encourage a few members to DIY on an old boat rather than paying the big bucks on a new boat.

Imagine how proud you will be when you take it fishing! 

Hug your wife. She sounds like a keeper.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

captken said:


> I used to get into projects like yours and might consider it again if I could find a fairly decent Kennedy Craft 14' vee hull.
> 
> I need to have my little 11'2" Johnsen painted. It looks bad, mainly because it is a 1989 model. It isn't banged up and I know it would look good painted.
> 
> ...


Oh, yeah. She is. She's all aboard this project. She's the one that found the "new" trailer. She's seen my previous work and is pretty excited about it. She doesn't know that I am thinking about a brand new 4-stroke to go on it though... :whistling:

We are about to put my 21 Cape Horn up for sale. The money from that will pay it off and hopefully pay for a new engine. I dont like the 55 Johnson that came off. I'll sell that too and hopefully be able to buy a new 4-stroke Zuke, Tohatsu, or Yamaha... I havent decided yet. Gotta see what they cost vs how much money I have. It very may well end up with a restored 55 Johnson. LOL

By the way, I saw a decent little Kennedy hull and trailer on either Pensacola or Panama City Craigslist this afternoon for $700.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, this is how I spent most of the weekend. Getting all itchy scratchy from grinding fiberglass. And of course killin a few Dos Equis Ambers...



I got ALOT done though. The transom is completely ground down to the outer skin and is completely flat and level. Ready for the new transom. I also ground out all of the filler glass and resin that was around the sides of the transom. And, I also ground out the "slot" that the transom slid down into from 1" to a 1-5/8" to accommodate the new 1-1/2" Coosa transom.





And here is how she sits this evening...


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

All of the stuff is here to move forward.
1-1/2 Coosa for Transom -- CHECK
2 packages of resin and glass from US Composites -- Check


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, it's butt pucker time. About to start cutting a $600+ sheet of Coosa that there will not be enough scrap for a second try... Here we go...


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Man! This stuff cuts like butter, but it EATS saw blades!!! I could get about 18-24 inches out of good quality Bosch blades before they looked like this! 


But I got it cut. Well at least the outline. I still have to cut the dip at the top. Here it is sitting in the boat. This is a rough fit. I still have to roundover the rear edge and cut a rabbet into the bottom front edge for it to slip down behind the floor.


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## NKlamerus (Jan 4, 2016)

Looks good, crazy how well it eats those blades!!

What the heck is that thing laying on the coosa behind the jig saw


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## TFRIZZ30 (Jun 26, 2014)

NKlamerus said:


> Looks good, crazy how well it eats those blades!!
> 
> What the heck is that thing laying on the coosa behind the jig saw




I'm going to guess dust sweeper to keep his line nice and visible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Car wash brush with bristles facing camera.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Uh Oh... Not a happy camper...

Transom does not fit... Cant figure out why...

Now I've nibbled away at it to the point that it is no longer an acceptable piece to put in boat...


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