The Boat Project (Updated 11/14/2007)
I wanted to post progress on the boat project for those who may be interested.
The boat is a 20' Pontoon boat made by Landau under the "Lake Raider" name. It has a 35 HP Force outboard motor which looked to be in really good shape. The boat sat out in the weather for a while and also sat in a slip on a lake for a while, as evidenced by the staining on the pontoons (And the numerous spider webs). I got the boat, motor and trailer in early February of 2000 and immediately removed the furniture. Later on, I removed the decking and motor. I ended up rebuilding the whole boat from the ground up. The various photos here will guide you through the rebuilding process.
This is what it looked like before I removed anything. The Captain's console, seats and almost all of the wood products on the deck were rotted out. Not too bad mind you, but it was not really worth repairing. That is what prompted me to remove everything. It is hard to see, but in front of the Captain's console was a box that the last owner made to keep a cooler inside of. It was made with plain wood with a home made seat cushion on the top. It did not hold up very well to being left outside. The carpet had a hole in it, again, not too bad, but not what I wanted. I started to dismantle the boat not kowing anything about them. I just figured I would learn as I went.
I am sorry for the low resolution photos, but I took them with my video camera and captured the image as a still on the computer.
Here is the aft end of the boat. As you can see, most of the boat was in quite impressive condition. The staining on the sides of the pontoons was eventually reduced. It still needs to be worked on.
Here is the motor as it came originally. I have since taken it off and have it in the shop to be "gone through". The steering cable was frozen inside the motor mount and had to be pounded out. The entire steering cable mechanism has been replaced. The motor was taken to the shop where they did a compression check and tried to start it. When they did, a ring came off of one of the pistons and did some minor damage to the cylinder head. It has since been repaired and now the motor is like new inside. One thing to mention; when I looked at the piston you could see where the ring had been failing before they tried to start it. There were burn marks down the side of the piston where it had been wearing for a while. I guess it is better to happen in the shop, than on the lake. Although it was not a forseen situation, I am glad it happened the way it did.
This is after removal of all of the furniture (And most of the spiders). I have since removed the railing, the carpeting and the wood decking (And a lot more spiders). I replaced the regular plywood that they used with marine grade plywood. I found out the hard way that they do not give that stuff away, but if you are going to do it, do it right! Most of the decking was in good shape with only 1 corner really needing to be replaced.
Here is a photo of the bare deck. I took the opportunity to water seal (Thompsons Ultra) the bottom of the new wood before I replaced the deck. Taking out the self tapping steel screws was the most difficult part so far, as all of the screw heads were rusted and would strip as soon as you put a screwdriver to them. I used several methods to remove them, including a 4" disk grinder which worked well, but caught my neighbors lawn on fire. I switched to another method so as not to burn the neighborhood down.
I replaced them with stainless steel sheet metal screws with a much coarser thread. Again, I am trying to do it right so I would not have to do it again. It was the condition of the screws that prompted me to replace the whole deck. This last photo in this series was where I had only 1 sheet of plywood left on the metal frame.
Here is the bare frame as I tried to clean it up and take the motor mount (Transom) off.
The transom was just two 1" thick pieces of plywood encased on the edges in an aluminum frame. The wood was rotting on the bottom and needed to be replaced or repaired. Since most of the wood was still good and was cut at a very strange angle, I decided to keep what I had and repair it. I took circular saw and cut 2" off the bottom to get into good wood. I was concerned about this at first, but realized that there was no structural use for that part of the transom. Also, by cutting off the bottom, it allows more water to flow out from in front of it, where there is a sheet metal canal to route cables and protect the front of the motor. I sanded off the outer wood layer and then took the dremel tool and ground out any bad wood. I filled the voids with outdoor grade wood filler. Since then, I painted the entire transom with several coats of grey paint to really protect it from the elements. (See the photo below).
My main concern at this point is the electrical system. At first, it looked a lot more complicated than it actually is. I have obtained a new breaker panel and used it to create the new electrical system. All of the old lights worked off of just 1 switch. I isolated the running lights from the docking lights to give myself a little more versatility and to take some of the stress off of the 1 circuit breaker that was being used for all of the lights. I also replaced the trolling motor electrical socket with a new one. The old one was rusted and was connected directly to the breaker panel. I initiallydecided to run it through an on and off switch to again isolate more of the electrical system, but instead ran it directly off the battery.
I have completed the re-decking of the entire frame with the marine grade plywood, and covered it with rubber backed gray carpet. I was told by a local carpet dealer that I wanted a short nap carpet and not a loop. I asked why and he told me one thing: "Fish-hooks". I never thought of that, but he told me he had done his first boat in loop carpet, and he was sorry he did because every time he went fishing, he had to cut a hook out of the boat carpet. After a short time, it looked really bad. I used a waterproof glue especially made for boat carpet to hold it in place.
I installed all of the rails. Before doing this, I hand polished several of them with "Flitz" metal polish to remove the corosion and dirt. After doing 2 complete rail sections, I just did the bottoms of the rest of the railing, so when I have more time, I can do the top parts without getting black stains on the carpeting. If I were to hand polish all the rails first, it would have taken too much time. As it was, I held off quite a long time installing the railing to get the bottoms of the rails done. As you can tell, I wanted to get this thing up and lake ready.
The best laid plans... As I read through this, I realized that some of my notions were a bit enthusiastic and others were not even considered yet. The final bits took place during the last 3 day weekend of the summer and I would be taking the boat out that weekend. Only a few more little things and I would be "Lake ready".
Here is the back of the boat after I did the decking, carpeting and started on the rails. As you can see by this photo, the motor is off and the transom out. The motor was being completed at this point.
Here is a close up of where the transom goes. Here you can see the pan I was describing earler where the wiring for the motor is routed and the transom connects to the framework.
This is a look at the rails after installation. As you can see, this is quite an advancement since the re-decking and the carpet installation. I did not take any photos between then and this point. I was so busy working, I did not stop to document the progress. By the time I realized I should be taking video, I was already at this advanced point.
Here is the completed transom, installed with the fresh motor and new steering system. If you are wondering what the globs are on the center of the transom, it is grease from servicing all of the lubrication points on the motor mounting system.
Here is an example of the new furniture I have installed. I had to bolt the armrests to the seats, but I did not want the seat vinyl to rub against the armrests. I bought 1/4" plexiglas and used 2 pieces between each armrest to stand it off 1/2". You can not see much of it, and it really did the trick. The seats themselves are screwed right into the floor using the same stainless steel screws.
Here is a look at the captains chair. The pedestal has since been mounted to the floor, again with stainless steel hardware.
This is the new captains console with the new steering system installed. I have also put a new switch panel in with a cigarette lighter, a battery meter that checks both batteries, and 3 rocker switches with fuses. It came pre-made from West Marine, and installed very nicely. It does not show up here because this photo was taken before I did any wiring. The gee-whiz panel I installed was sitting in the sun and the fuse holders deformed in the sunlight making the fuse-holders unusable. I had to replace them with some that would stand up to direct sunlight. As you can see, everything has been an exercise in trial and error.
The wiring was a lot easier than I had ever anticipated. Once you figure it out, it is not so bad. It is labor intensive and took a long time in the Oklahoma sun. Here is the inside of the console where the wiring all comes together. As stated before, I did not use a switch for the trolling motor connection. I figured that it was one more thing to go wrong. I did however, put a separate switch to control the aft white anchor light. I read where you can legally shut off the green and red navigation lights when anchored at night. Having the separate switch for the white anchor light ended up being a great idea. I can keep the one light on and save the battery by not having the other two lights burning. When using the trolling motor and having the lights on, you can burn up a lot of battery power. The battery I have for the system is so good, it really does not make a lot of difference, but then, better safe then sorry.
I replaced the velcro on the bimini top rails and here it is just after installation. After the first few uses, I installed snaps on the front rail and on the bimini top. This has made the use a lot easier. I also had a friend make me a bimini boot so I can leave the top on the rails and store it for trailering.
As you can see from this photo also, I cleaned the pontoons quite a bit with a strong cleaner called "Toon-Brite". It REALLY works. I still have a little cleaning to do.
Here it is...almost ready to go to the lake. I have since installed the fuel system, the battery boxes, the throttle assembly, all of the lighting systems, and a new prop. I did not even know I had another prop, but it was in a box of stuff that was under the original seats. When I saw it initially, I did not think it was for this motor. I put it on and it fit perfectly. It is exactly like what was on there except it is brand new.
I also rewired the trailer. That in itself was an interesting situation. I had no idea how to do this and went round and round with the 4 wired from the harness to the lights. Once I figured out that the white wire was a ground, everything else made sense.
One addition I did to the house was this fence that allows me to keep the boat in the back yard without everyone being able to see it from the street. Also, I can get the boat in and out without too much trouble...so I can go to the lake anytime I want.
The maiden voyage on 9/3/2000 was a success. If you think about it, the boat was purchased in February and was on the lake by September of the same year. The whole boat was rebuilt in a matter of 6 months. Not bad!
There were a few learning experiences for the new Captain, and overall, even though it was really a hot weekend, we had a great time.
Here we are hooking up to go for the very first time. As you can see, the fence was a great addition and makes getting the boat in and out much easier than it could be, but it still requires a bit of maneuvering. I initially planned for a 10' opening but the fence guy was smarter than I am and went with 12'. He never asked me, and just told me about it after he was done. During the first few times I put the boat in, I realized what a smart guy he actually is and was glad he was thinking ahead. He told me he had seen how wide the boat is and knew what kind of angle I would need to use to get the boat in. He just knew 10' would not be enough. Thanks Carlos!
Here is your captain sitting at his helm. One thing I realized right away was that the steering system was installed backwards. When you turned the wheel to the right, you went to the left and vise-versa. This became really noticeable when I trailered it, but it was nothing too difficult to deal with. I did not fix that for almost 8 months.
The motor ran well and for a 35 HP motor, it seems to go fast enough for my tastes. (I may invest in a 50 HP motor later, just to pick up the pace a little). I replaced 2 of the carpeted rails (Bunks) on the trailer. I will replace the other 2 soon. The 2 bunks that I replaced were pretty rotted out...one seriously rotted to the point of failure. The others can wait for a while.
This photo in on lake Hefner here in town. If you notice, there is nothing on the front of the deck. There were two holes I had copied from the original decking where seat plates were mounted. The carpet in this photo is covering the holes. The mount plates have been installed and the seats drop in and pop out as needed.
I want to take this opportunity to thank 3 special people who were involved in the restoration of my boat. First is my neighbor who is 81 years old, Ken Brand. Ken helped here and there and always had a smile for me when things seemed impossible. He also shook his head at me a lot and said, "You are going to do what?" Second is my good friend Josh Hall who was instrumental in the re-decking process, the steering installation (Not his fault it was backward!), and some of the other heavy work. Last but certainly not least, was Bob C. Jones, whom I worked with. "Doctor Bob" was the one who helped me re-hang the motor, also worked with the steering (Not his fault either) and helped with some of the other two man operations. He not only worked really hard, but he also brought beer with him! You have to love a guy like that.
In addition to the expressed gratitude to the individual people I already mentioned, I wanted to thank Tony at H&H Marine for all his help and advice, Mr. York at York Marine for making the furniture available at a reasonable price, and the people at West Marine who always have great ideas and helpful hints.
I wanted to take this time express some more lessons learned. The trailer received a set of new tires, and I found a place that sells hubs and springs that are really inexpensive. It seems that a bearing set for a hub is $12.00, but a whole new hub with bearings is $16.00. So for an extra $4.00 per side, I can have totally new hubs. That will be a future upgrade. The tires for this trailer are special (What else is new???) and are hard to find. I had to hunt for them, and finally found them for a good price. If anyone needs 20.5 X 8-10 tires for a trailer, I have a source for 6, 8, and 10 ply tires. The 6 ply (Load range "C") were less than $40.00 each. (Believe me when I say that is a bargain!). One other thing I learned is that the standard spare tire carrier "U-Bolt" does not work with short fat tires like these. I will have to do some backyard engineering to make the one I bought work.
I was forced to make another repair to the boat cover. It seemed that Oklahoma had no rainfall for over 50 days, and during that timeframe, I had installed my throttle assembly. I left the boat covered all that time, never thinking that the throttle would be a problem. Once the rain finally came, I realized the next day that I had a big problem. The throttle handle sticks straight up, and the rainwater had gathered in the boat cover. No matter how well I thought I had it "tented" so the rain would run off, it still gathered. As the rainwater gathered, it applied pressure to the point where the throttle was sticking up and the throttle handle poked a hole in the cover. I spent most of one day sewing the cover with a needle, thread and a great deal of patience. I have put wood sheets under the cover so snow loading and rainfall will no longer be a problem.
I said that I would include more info and photos as the progress continued. I have recently (5/7/01) fixed the steering so it now goes the right direction when the wheel is turned. I also replaced the starter soleniod, the ignition key-switch, and put new terminals on the battery cable to the motor. During the Winter, I acquired a foot controlled trolling motor which I hooked up and made ready for the first all weekend trip of the summer. I have added the photos listed below to show the boat in current functional condition and show some of the installations of the fuel and electrical systems as well as the forward mounted fishing chairs.
I obtained a trolling motor battery and figured a way to set up the trolling motor so it attaches to the front deck and is removable. The battery is huge and required a larger battery box. I screwed the trolling motor mount to an old wooden shelf and use quick clamping C-Clamps to attach it to the front opening on the deck. When I am under way, I can lift the motor out of the water. When the boat is not used for fishing, the whole system is easily removed. I also removed the large vertical wooden bumpers from the front of the trailer and replaced them with one 2 X 4 which sits horizontal and is about 15" long. Taking an old, weather cracked trailer tire, I cut the sidewalls off and used the tread to wrap the new bumper. Not only does it protect the front of the boat better as the deck sits nicely on the new bumper, but also it makes getting in and out of the boat easier when trailered. I bought some rust inhibitor which makes rust into a paintable surface and repainted the front pylon on the trailer. I am still trying to replace the trailer wheel hubs.
I made a name plate for the boat using a piece of scrap lumber, some stencils and a dremel tool. I marked the name on the wood using the stencils and then carefully carved the letters out using the dremel. I have stained it and attached it to the back of the boat. The name is spanish for; "Queen of the lake".
Update: 12/10/2001, The boat is winterized until spring.
Update: 11/14/2007, This summer I brought the boat out of retirement. She sat as a yard ornament for the last 3 years, and was only used once the year before she sat so long.
I purchased an older Yamaha Wave Runner, which I have been using for the last 2 years. She is in very good condition for her age and runs extremely well. I replaced the steering
cable in the boat and the impeller, and although you can not see it in the photos enclosed, I sanded the rest of the staining off the pontoons this year. The boat was used twice,
and she is ready for winterizing again. I may use her in the Oklahoma Centenial boat parade this weekend, but after that, I am sure that the wave runner and boat will both be winterized.
I have included photos of the new '07 Tundra Truck I bought, the boat in recent condition, and the wave runner. Notice the change of the bench seat placement. It is no longer in
front of the console, it is however on the port side.
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