Doing boat restoration has become an ongoing hobby for me. Each project seems to be more complex than the last. I like that progression. It broadens my skill sets and prepares me for the next, which may be more difficult.
My last boat restoration involved a lot of wiring projects. I added a nice sound system with a high power amp. I didn’t need to but I really wanted to make this boat stand out. To that end, I also added blue led interior lighting to it. In order to do that I had to add a lot of auxiliary wiring as well as switches and power panels. I also learned to leave drag string inside the hull for future wiring projects. I also learned a lot about fiberglass repair and gel coating. There was a large gash in the upper part if the boat. Thankfully, not in the hull.
Before that I restored a Wahoo center console 180. That was really an education for me. I re-pwoered that boat with a used Mercury engine. It originally had an Evinrude. I learned the hard way that I had to run all new controls on that boat to match the engine. Here’s a link to that article. Wahoo Restoration
I’m on my third restoration project, a 1966 Boston Whaler 13. This one is going to be a challenge. The hull is in great condition. However, the inside shell needs a lot of work. There’s several layers of old paint as well as some fiberglass de-lamination that needs to be corrected. Not only that, but there are sections of the non-skid flooring that need to be repaired (ore entirely removed). On top of that, the engine, a 1988 Johnson 40HP hasn’t been run in over 20 years. I’ll be spending a lot of time getting this seaworthy but am looking forward to the challenge!
In my last post, I described how I tore down the lower unit. In this post I’ll be re-assembling it. I’ll be taking the following steps to get it complete back together. Replace the seals, including the shift rod bushing and o-ring Re-install the lower unit impeller, plate and gasket Reassemble the drive gears seal …
Evinrude 9.5hp Lower Unit Impeller and Seals Rebuild – Part 2 Read More »
Removing the Lower Unit Dropping the lower unit was fairly simple. There are four bolts holding it in place. There is also a shift rod connector that you have to take into account to completely release the lower unit. If you look at the pictures below you can see the Brass connector on the far …
The Boston Whaler 13 I purchased came with a 1988 Johnson 40hp outboard. We had to return to pick it up in the bed of my truck. Once we got the engine home my son and I removed it from the truck. We mounted it on the wooden stand I had built. That’s when we …
How to Fix an Outboard Stuck Tilt Tube or Frozen Steering Rod Read More »
1971 9.5hp Evinrude on Boston Whaler Port One of the things I acquired when I bought the 1966 Boston Whaler 13′ was a small outboard engine. In my usual manor, I tried ti finagle the price down on the whaler a bit. The owner didn’t want to budge so he threw in a bonus. He …
My Wahoo CC 18 Restoration I’m fond of the hulls on these Wahoos. I was pleased to find this one and wasn’t daunted by doing a boat restoration on it. and wished they were still made. Wahoo made boats to compete with Boston Whaler from 1985 through 1996. As the story goes, the founder started …
Boston Whaler 13 I love restoring boats, in the past I’ve restored an 18 Ft 2001 Wahoo center console, a 2005 Seaboss 180DC Dual Console. Each of these have been increasingly more demanding in the amount of restoration required. This Boston Whaler 13 I just bought (Less than 2 weeks after selling the SeaBoss) is …
