Hello Everyone I have become the owner of what I believe to be a 1968 Niagara and I can't seem to decide how rough the rough shape it is in. It has sat outside like most of these for last decade or 2 with whatever was in the interior rotting away.
I know for sure I'm probably going to have to cut up the floor to get the foam out that I am sure weighs about a ton now. I'm also pretty sure the transom is in need of replacing based on it's age but it sounds sold and doesn't move if you grab it and pull or push on it.
It does float or at least it doesn't sink and I can't beat the price of free that I paid for it.
I do have a few questions. Please keep in mind my intention with this boat is just to have some fun. I'm not worried if it's the peach of the lake, I just want to get out on the water with the wife and have some fun boating around.
1. Around the edges of the interior where they attached the trim it feels like they used plywood, it won't hold their little nails anymore and I'm assuming they glassed it in and it can be easily replaced. Should I just glue the trim back in place?
2. Where did people mount the battery? I'm assuming on the right side in the back but it's hard to tell.
3. At some point a previous owner added an automatic bilge pump, the switch is still there but the pump itself is gone. Any ideas on why they put that in there?
4. The interior is missing most everything, no ski racks or anything. It did come with a pile of Vinyl that resembles the fun in the sun seats I see in the brochures. Did they gel coat the interior or was it paint? It is worn down to fiberglass in places so is it worth coating it or just using paint?
5. I did see in another thread that I can't find now some product for the transom that just needed you to drill some holes from the inside so that some chemical can be injected that will bond to and impregnate the wood making it solid again. Any ideas what that might be?
6. The windscreen is nice and yellow, would using a headlight restoration kit clear that up or is it a lost cause and treat it like yellow sunglasses?