Did you go with marine grade ply? A coat or two of fiberglass resin on the bottom side to prevent any rot from the bottom up will go a long way in the longevity of the floor. Fiberglassing over the ply to the hull itself will seal it against water damage from anyhting that splashes in or comes over the side when people get in/out from swimming.
In reply to bashr52 :
Exterior grade ply non treated is what I bought. It will be coated with epoxy resin on all sides, with predrilled holes for stainless screws, and a little dab of 3m 4200 on each of the screws before fastening down. No plans to glass the edges into the hull though. I've got some foam faux teak flooring that will bridge the gap and keep most of the moisture out.
Looking great!
Have you considered a cord-wrapped steel steering wheel? Use your choice of paracord color.
Well this all may come to a screeching halt.
The last registered owner didn't sell me the boat. I'm not even sure the guy before him was the last registered in this state. Unfortunately the number I have for him is no longer connected, just an address. Arkansas Game and Fish says there should have been a Hull Identification Number assigned to the boat at some point after any 1972 or later registration, but it's not stamped into it. She knows there was never one originally issued when the boat was manufactured, but there has obviously been one assigned to it at some point to get registered.
From what I've been told, the course of action is contacting the DMV for the last registered owner information they have on file. This would be from 2008, so highly doubtful any of that info will be useful if they have moved at any point. I've got to submit my request in writing with basic information and $1 for processing fees.
The lady that is responsible for the HIN crackdown was less than sympathetic to my situation. As of right now she says that unless I bought from the last registered owner I basically own a piece of scrap. So if the last registered owner can't be tracked down I'm screwed. All because Arkansas doesn't use titles for boats. I know there's got to be another way, but she is literally the appointed person that can keep me from putting this on water.
That's too bad. I guess it shows that the first thing to do with any project vehicle is to make sure there aren't any title or ownership issues.
In reply to stuart in mn :
Yep. It's my first boat, and I'm finding out quickly that it's a lot different than any vintage automobile process. Even if I couldn't a title with a car, there are processes to do so. With a boat I'm kinda at the mercy of one person. With that said, I think I can get this sorted out. I talked to the Game and Fish lady again to go over my options. While she is stuck on what she wants right now, I imagine she will be a little more lenient if I am jumping through the hoops she asked me to jump through. I'm doing my best to track down the previous registered owner to get some sort of bill of sale.
Talk to the more git-r-dun boat guys in your state. I know there are three or four ways to register a boat without a title here, there might be some sort of backwoods way to do that here.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
I'm going to put out some feelers. Unfortunately what they are asking for is a hull rubbing to turn in, so it's not that simple. In fact all of this is to stop the gir-r-dun boys from fraudulently registering boats. I get why they do it, so not complaining.
Until I am registered there won't be any more work done on it. I cancelled the seats and flooring for now. Hopefully I'll have some good options in the next few days.
I don't blame you for stopping.
Here you can claim that the boat was used on a private lake (and thus never needed a registration) or that the boat has never been registered in Florida.
captainawesome said:Well this all may come to a screeching halt.
The last registered owner didn't sell me the boat. I'm not even sure the guy before him was the last registered in this state. Unfortunately the number I have for him is no longer connected, just an address. Arkansas Game and Fish says there should have been a Hull Identification Number assigned to the boat at some point after any 1972 or later registration, but it's not stamped into it. She knows there was never one originally issued when the boat was manufactured, but there has obviously been one assigned to it at some point to get registered.
From what I've been told, the course of action is contacting the DMV for the last registered owner information they have on file. This would be from 2008, so highly doubtful any of that info will be useful if they have moved at any point. I've got to submit my request in writing with basic information and $1 for processing fees.
The lady that is responsible for the HIN crackdown was less than sympathetic to my situation. As of right now she says that unless I bought from the last registered owner I basically own a piece of scrap. So if the last registered owner can't be tracked down I'm screwed. All because Arkansas doesn't use titles for boats. I know there's got to be another way, but she is literally the appointed person that can keep me from putting this on water.
If there is no HIN, how can anybody prove it was ever registered?
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Forum Patrón) :
Correct. I'm thinking some out of state family may be of use here for a bill of sale. Unfortunately the only lady that issues the HIN for the whole state already knows my name, number, and information about what I have. She knows it's been registered from our conversation. By the end of the week she will probably already forgotten our chat though.
I'm thinking my wife may end up taking on the paperwork side to help further it along without my name having to pop up.
FYI, something to keep an eye out for while you're doing this, you may be able to do an antique vessel registration. In Florida it means that you pay registration once and then an annual service fee of under $10
https://www.sarasotataxcollector.com/services/other-services/vessels-boating/registration-antique
In reply to Mr_Asa :
Arkansas only does antique plates or registration on road going motor vehicles. Boats are all on their own. Their response repeatedly since 2017 is that "It may be that you cannot register this boat as it sounds like it could be an older boat and there is no way to contact the previous owner for a "bill of sale".
I ran into similar issueshere in GA several years back when I biought my first, a 14' sailboat. There was an '83 Georgia Reg sticker on it from the original owner but the guy I bought it from never registered it. I had to jump through some paperwork hoops and then take the boat to be inspected by a DNR agent. They only did certain dates and locations around the state for inspections, so one Wednesday I spent half a day sitting in a Bass Pro Shops parking lot with about 30 other boaters waiting on Ranger Rick to look at the HIN, look at the paper work and go "Ayup."
It sucks that there's not a better process. I understand cracking down, there is a lot of shady E36 M3 that goes on in used boats, but come on. It's not like someone is hatching a master plan to steal and profit from a 50 year old aluminum 14' boat.
Got some paperwork in that should square me up for registration, so I'm back to work on it.
I got a steering wheel and hub adapter last week, but the adapter needed some fiddling to work. The 3/4 taper shaft fits fine, but it's a 3 piece adapter. The tapered part is the perfect length, but the adapter that bolts too it adds too much to the stack height. Since the 3 bolts can carry the load, I took a large step drill and opened the center to fit the nut through. Problem solved.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
I also got my pedestal mounts in place. Waiting on front seats now to figure out position.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Sunday I had a few minutes to tinker, so I started marking my reference lines for the floor when it's time to screw it down. I also cut some strips of leftover ply to help support the transitions between each piece of the floor. I'll epoxy and screw them on the bottom of the front and rear pieces. The middle piece will sit on top and will attach with stainless screws. At least that's the plan.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Tonight I'm going to get the hull prepped for the Gluvit and probably start the first coat of epoxy on the floor. It would be awesome to have the floor screwed in place by the end of the weekend.
That's a good looking steering wheel. Putting some veneer on the dash in a matching grain/color would look nice.
In reply to stuart in mn :
That's probably the route I'll go at some point. Still waffling on that a bit as I don't want to go too crazy with the wood accents. I wish there weren't so many holes in the existing wood or I would just refinish it.
The kiddos went to their grandparents this weekend so I convinced the wife she would have fun stripping paint on the boat. I've never tried Citristrip before, only Aircraft Stripper. The price for the paste was only a few more dollars than the liquidish stuff, and since I've got vertical surfaces figured it was worth a shot.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Just like Aircraft Stripper it bubbles up the old paint. With a couple different sized scrapers it basically fell off the boat. Around the rivets required a little more effort, but all in all I'm super happy with how well it worked. It's way safer to work with too. Some cleanup with mineral spirits and a slight scuffing with some Scotch Brite pads should get us ready for paint very soon.
I've still got the inside of the gunwales and the stern to strip today. If my plan works out, the hull should be ready for the Gluvit by this afternoon, fingers crossed.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Make sure you update on the title!
A buddy had similar issue in ohio where the registration is tied to a motor vin. He scored a beat motor off a salvage site and sorted the issue. I would imagine you might be able to do this out of atate and then bring it in? Given you paid good money and are playing by the rules it is a work around I wouldn't feel at all bad about doing.
Forget paint, I'd polish that sucker.
In reply to jfryjfry (Forum Supporter) :
Will do. I have what I need to meet their demands, so in that regard I should be covered. I'm kinda staying ambiguous about it until it all shakes out.
In reply to Mr_Asa :
I've thought heavily on it, but I think paint is still planned. There will be some polished spots though.
Seats came in yesterday, and they are perfect. The 6" pedestal is just about the right height. They can rotate all the way around, but lock in the forward facing position. I may look into getting a slider for the helm seat, not sure yet on that. We had company over, so I didn't get much time to fiddle with fastening the base hardware down properly or getting crack at position for more than a few minutes. Hopefully after I mow the stupid lawn I'll get to tinker more with them tonight. Frickin grass ruins everything.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Slow moving on this lately, but I'm back at it. After a weekend at the lake with no boat, we now want this thing in the water by the 1st of July. It's an arbitrary date, but it gives me a reasonable deadline to get things done.
Both control knobs were a bit worse for wear, so new ones were purchased as well as a new control box label. You'll also see I bought a starter bracket with spare starter parts, so I won't always have to pull start. Pretty excited about that. Still need to open up the water impeller wormhole and order parts accordingly.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
I really need to finish up this floor stuff. So after an hour or so of checking seat position, I marked up where the bases will screw in place so I can pre-drill some holes for mounting. I sprayed some metal etch prep stuff all over the inside of the hull and rinsed for the 300th time. I let it bake in the sun for the afternoon and then overnight.
When I got home from work yesterday afternoon, I had one mission. Gluvit the hull. That was it.
So I did a quick vacuum of the hull, mixed the Gluvit, and brushed it to all of the rivets and seams. It actually went pretty fast, and was super easy to work with. I felt empowered to do more, so I laid out my flooring and put on the first coat of epoxy. I should have done this stuff along time ago. I've been afraid to screw it up so much that I just didn't do anything. Tonight I'll throw on another epoxy coat, tomorrow morning another, and then I'm out for a track day Thursday. Friday will be another coat or two of epoxy on the backside, and hopefully by next Monday the floor will be ready to screw in place. It feels good to have some progress again.
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr
Your impeller comment reminded me of something. Have you taken the motor off the boat at all? If not, there is a way to quickly check for a common leak that gets ignored a lot.
The shift bushing and seal usually fail and don't get found out until all the oil in the gear case is fouled. Put the motor on its back and see if you get a puddle of gear oil from the drain section of the gear case.
This is my motor (cause it was handy) but yours will be similar. #43 is a brass/bronze bushing and 42, 47 are o-rings that prevent water from entering
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