TOPIC: advice

looking for some advice here. i know next to nothing about boats, but im going to look at an old (60s?) fiberglass boat that my dad used to own. and im hoping it shapes out for sentimental reasons. i dont even know what year or make this thing is but i was hoping to find some advice on what to look for. from what i hear it has been kept in a barn since the day my dad sold it which was twenty years ago or so. i fully expect this thing to be full of critters of every sort and the engine to be worthless, but how can i be sure that the hull is ok? i know its fiberglass but if its had standing water in it for years there has to be some issue right? how bout the transome(sp?)? as i said, id love for this to work out for sentimental reasons, even if i could buy it and it didnt see water for years. so any advice is greatly appreciated, as ive never owned a boat. i looked thru some photos here and i have one picture from when i was a kid and it looks kinda like the 64 elgin that is in the gallery area. and i know my dad sold it way back for $500. at what dollar amount should i walk away from this? thanks all
jeremy-ohio

Jeremy, if the boat has a floor in it (as opposed to the hull being the floor), and has had any standing water in it, it is no doubt wood and rotted out. You can tell by standing in it - if it's springy and/or mushy feeling, it's not good. If it's solid, no problem. Also, if there is flotation foam under the floor, it is probably waterlogged, very heavy, and would steal substantial performance from the boat. If the transom ever had any way for water to infiltrate, it is probably bad. You can lightly tap a transom in different places and tell by the sound you get whether it's solid (like rapping a piece of oak) or not. Most old boats have these kind of problems normally.

Outboard or i/o or inboard? What kind, how many horse?

You can find a lot of help here, just ask. Price is difficult. these old boats are pretty much worth what somebody would pay. Not trying to be smart here, that's just the deal. It's your dad's old boat and has value to you, where it probably wouldn't to me.

Good luck with it, and let us know how you make out.

Frank

no way i took offense to that! thing is, i have no way of knowing that over twenty years if theres been standing water in this dude. so assuming there has been, tell me about fixing this? am i looking at millions of dollars? ill try to get some pics up this weekend and see if i can offer some more help to those trying to help me! thanks!

If you are going to do the work your self (any fiber-glassing experience automotive or other??) then no it is not a big dollar venture unless you want to restore it to better than new but even still, resin, plywood, paint of choice, engine (again restored to looking nice and running good verses restored to new) etc.....time on the other hand will be the larger investment. How much time do you have and when do you want to be on the water?
If you were to pay someone to restore it for you that is another situation. Not so much the materials but now you are paying an hourly rate plus if a guy has to invest in buying the materials they will want 10 to 25 % on tying up their money into your boat (aka overhead??).

If you do the work when ever you remove a piece try to pull it out whole as best you can so you can make a template to make the new part and photograph... photograph... photograph... and make notes as you dis assemble so you can put it back together without question.

Like Frank said allot of times the boat is worth more sentimentally verses dollars. In some cases it depends on the boat if a high dollar value is expected. If it is a boat you desire and want to enjoy with friends and family as well enjoy the ride and attention it will get when complete then it is worth every dollar and the amount of time into the project.

Try to post some pics when you can. There is a boat load of good folks out here on this board in particular, that offer good advice and inspiring enthusiasm to help you along.

Don't assume that a boat that has been a barn for 20 years is full or critters and falling apart. This boat was in a barn for 40 years and all I did to it before the picture was wash it. However, I am replacing the floor at this point, but that is not unexpected for a boat this age. Good luck getting it back. Cool project.

got to see it today. boat is a 1958 crownline. it was no ways near in bad of shape as i thought it would be. no critters, no standing water. the barn seemed pretty solid but did not have a door so it was open, she also said that someone had been over there recently to empty the stuff out of it. and oh yeah, she said I CAN HAVE IT! so, i need your help fellas, cause im towing this jewel home in a few weeks. ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS APPRECIATED! i need onfo, on outboards, parts, titles anything. there is no windshield on this, and come to find out, my dad apparently had some trouble with it back in the day and its gone. i banged on the transome (sp?) a bit and it seemed solid but i really dont know how to tell. the cables are no longer attached to the outboard, but i was pretty tickled that the wheel even turned and that cables were moving in the rear. the trailer looks like hell though. i dont know what they used back at that time but it basically looked like bent and welded pipe. lets see what else, she didnt know where the title was, is this a problem? i couldnt find a HIN number on the boat but she did have an old registration from my dad that had that and a serial number off of the trailer. the HIN was four digits, is this correct? ok guys, thats enough for now, ill get some pics up when i get back in town, happy easter and thanks

heres some pics as she sits

more

again

couple more

last one

Some 1957/1958 literature is posted in the Crownline section:

www.fiberglassics.com/library/Crownline

Depending on your state, an old registration in hand goes over well when registering. Be sure to check out your state's rules as not all require titles for small boats.

There is a little booklet that many of us have used to help us through renovating old boats. You may find it useful. It is called "Runabout Renovation" by Jim Anderson, published by International Marine, and is available through Barnes and Noble (and elsewhere) for about $18 or so. This is sort of the "bible" for those of us afflicted with a certain boat disease. And there are a lot of helpful people inhabiting this site.

Great book by the way. I bought a copy a year ago or so for fun, and to be honest it is one of the best books i have on the subject.

An article on the Crownline Boat firm history will be in a future issue of "Classic Boating" magazine, published at Oconomowoc, WI.

They started making boats in 1956 at Onarga, IL.

Andreas

i really appreciate the help! i dont see that my pictures are up, can anyone else see them? heres another question. where on earth am i going to find a windshield for this jewel? i called a local marina to see if they might have some suggestions on parts, the dude chuckled and said "good luck" haha.