Old boat project

SmooveP

SmooveP

Well-Known Member
So I bought this semi restored late 50s vintage boat 5 years ago. Not sure what I was thinking except that it's wood and it looked cool. $5k for boat, motor and trailer.
Boat.webp

14' Elgin with 35HP Elgin motor. Basically it's a Sears boat. Sears bought the Elgin brand at some point. Bought it from a guy who did a decent, if not museum quality, restoration. Deck and hull are plywood, white stripes are tape, lol. Gives it that vintage ChrisCraft look. It ran OK when it wanted to start, but was super finicky and left a trail of oil on the lake. I used it for 2 seasons and it wouldn't start, so I didn't launch it for a year or 2. Last year, decided to repower it with a modern motor, so I ordered up a brand new 25HP Suzuki motor off the internet. Clamped it on, ordered a new steering system from Vevor for like $150 (The old motor used cable and pulley steering. Primitive.) So much nicer to operate - quiet, reliable and powerful enough for putzing around on my lake.

I never got around to making the electrical components work with the new motor. The old one was positive ground, for one. Didn't really need lights, horn, etc. Decided I would fix that. More fun than I expected. In addition to lights and horn, it had gauges, under dash lighting, etc. Had a water pressure powered speedometer that never worked. Purchased a modern fuse block, some spools of wire and various crimp-on connectors and got to work. Main wires from battery had a short, so I ripped them put and replaced them, got a nice GPS speedometer that fit the existing hole (uses a mechanical needle, so looks kinda vintage). Kept the existing voltmeter. Had like 5 or 6 toggle switches on the dash, but decided I only need 2, so I fabricated a wood panel to cover up the old holes. Ended up replacing ALL of the wiring in the interest of a clean setup.

Also found a period-correct Elgin steering wheel on eBay. Was in decent shape, but I decided to refinish it in red using leftover touch-up paint from my truck. The floor of the boat had 1/4" plywood panels that were deteriorating, so I decided to replace them, too. Finding marine grade 1/4" mahogany plywood was difficult, so I decided to use solid Sapele. Had to mill it down to 1/4" thickness so it would conform to the shape of the hull. Lotsa compound miter cuts involved. New bottom paint and some varnish touch-up and called it done:

boat 2 2026.webpboat 1 2026.webp
 
SmooveP said:
So I bought this semi restored late 50s vintage boat 5 years ago. Not sure what I was thinking except that it's wood and it looked cool. $5k for boat, motor and trailer.
View attachment 282837

14' Elgin with 35HP Elgin motor. Basically it's a Sears boat. Sears bought the Elgin brand at some point. Bought it from a guy who did a decent, if not museum quality, restoration. Deck and hull are plywood, white stripes are tape, lol. Gives it that vintage ChrisCraft look. It ran OK when it wanted to start, but was super finicky and left a trail of oil on the lake. I used it for 2 seasons and it wouldn't start, so I didn't launch it for a year or 2. Last year, decided to repower it with a modern motor, so I ordered up a brand new 25HP Suzuki motor off the internet. Clamped it on, ordered a new steering system from Vevor for like $150 (The old motor used cable and pulley steering. Primitive.) So much nicer to operate - quiet, reliable and powerful enough for putzing around on my lake.

I never got around to making the electrical components work with the new motor. The old one was positive ground, for one. Didn't really need lights, horn, etc. Decided I would fix that. More fun than I expected. In addition to lights and horn, it had gauges, under dash lighting, etc. Had a water pressure powered speedometer that never worked. Purchased a modern fuse block, some spools of wire and various crimp-on connectors and got to work. Main wires from battery had a short, so I ripped them put and replaced them, got a nice GPS speedometer that fit the existing hole (uses a mechanical needle, so looks kinda vintage). Kept the existing voltmeter. Had like 5 or 6 toggle switches on the dash, but decided I only need 2, so I fabricated a wood panel to cover up the old holes. Ended up replacing ALL of the wiring in the interest of a clean setup.

Also found a period-correct Elgin steering wheel on eBay. Was in decent shape, but I decided to refinish it in red using leftover touch-up paint from my truck. The floor of the boat had 1/4" plywood panels that were deteriorating, so I decided to replace them, too. Finding marine grade 1/4" mahogany plywood was difficult, so I decided to use solid Sapele. Had to mill it down to 1/4" thickness so it would conform to the shape of the hull. Lotsa compound miter cuts involved. New bottom paint and some varnish touch-up and called it done:

View attachment 282838View attachment 282839
Click to expand...
I think elgin made bikes back in the day too
Nice project!
 
SmooveP said:
So I bought this semi restored late 50s vintage boat 5 years ago. Not sure what I was thinking except that it's wood and it looked cool. $5k for boat, motor and trailer.
View attachment 282837

14' Elgin with 35HP Elgin motor. Basically it's a Sears boat. Sears bought the Elgin brand at some point. Bought it from a guy who did a decent, if not museum quality, restoration. Deck and hull are plywood, white stripes are tape, lol. Gives it that vintage ChrisCraft look. It ran OK when it wanted to start, but was super finicky and left a trail of oil on the lake. I used it for 2 seasons and it wouldn't start, so I didn't launch it for a year or 2. Last year, decided to repower it with a modern motor, so I ordered up a brand new 25HP Suzuki motor off the internet. Clamped it on, ordered a new steering system from Vevor for like $150 (The old motor used cable and pulley steering. Primitive.) So much nicer to operate - quiet, reliable and powerful enough for putzing around on my lake.

I never got around to making the electrical components work with the new motor. The old one was positive ground, for one. Didn't really need lights, horn, etc. Decided I would fix that. More fun than I expected. In addition to lights and horn, it had gauges, under dash lighting, etc. Had a water pressure powered speedometer that never worked. Purchased a modern fuse block, some spools of wire and various crimp-on connectors and got to work. Main wires from battery had a short, so I ripped them put and replaced them, got a nice GPS speedometer that fit the existing hole (uses a mechanical needle, so looks kinda vintage). Kept the existing voltmeter. Had like 5 or 6 toggle switches on the dash, but decided I only need 2, so I fabricated a wood panel to cover up the old holes. Ended up replacing ALL of the wiring in the interest of a clean setup.

Also found a period-correct Elgin steering wheel on eBay. Was in decent shape, but I decided to refinish it in red using leftover touch-up paint from my truck. The floor of the boat had 1/4" plywood panels that were deteriorating, so I decided to replace them, too. Finding marine grade 1/4" mahogany plywood was difficult, so I decided to use solid Sapele. Had to mill it down to 1/4" thickness so it would conform to the shape of the hull. Lotsa compound miter cuts involved. New bottom paint and some varnish touch-up and called it done:

View attachment 282838View attachment 282839
Click to expand...
Very nice. 👍 I would have made the seats red to match the rest of the colorway but that looks like a fun ride nonetheless.
 
Nice! Living near the Delaware river and about 2 miles from a public boat ramp, I am often tempted to get a boat. Then I look at my fleet of classic cars, a room full of bicycles and another room full of guitars (plus never-ending house projects) and come to the realization I already have more hobbies than I have time for.

Boats are still fun to look at.
 
Ian F said:
Boats are still fun to look at.
Click to expand...
And cruise on!

Nice project @SmooveP The pulley/cable steering and water pressure speedo brought back memories of the boat my dad bought when I was a kid. It was a Winner tri-hull from the 60s and nowhere near seaworthy, but that didn't stop us from getting on the water. The floor boards were shot and complete mush, and the transom was just as bad. I have memories of watching the transom flex as we hit waves and wondered how the engine was holding on. It had an old Merc 50 that never ever ran right and there were constant problems with it. My dad let me do a lot of electrical work on the boat unsupervised when I was like 10-11, I hope he checked/fixed what I did after I went to bed at night 🤣 somehow we survived. Needless to say, I try to learn from the mistakes of my ancestors and do things a bit differently this time around.

Anyway, your project is the complete opposite of my childhood boat. Looks great!
 
Ian F said:
Nice! Living near the Delaware river and about 2 miles from a public boat ramp, I am often tempted to get a boat. Then I look at my fleet of classic cars, a room full of bicycles and another room full of guitars (plus never-ending house projects) and come to the realization I already have more hobbies than I have time for.

Boats are still fun to look at.
Click to expand...
I went on a guitar buying binge a few years ago. Then I realized my favorite guitars to actually play were a $900 Taylor acoustic and an $800 Godin 5th Ave electric. Sold off most of the pricey ones, but still have one higher end acoustic that I like. Boats are a pain in the ass. I actually enjoy being out on the water in a kayak more.
 
SmooveP said:
I went on a guitar buying binge a few years ago. Then I realized my favorite guitars to actually play were a $900 Taylor acoustic and an $800 Godin 5th Ave electric. Sold off most of the pricey ones, but still have one higher end acoustic that I like. Boats are a pain in the ass. I actually enjoy being out on the water in a kayak more.
Click to expand...
Yeah... I did the same thing starting around ten years ago. And now have around 30 guitars... and the one I play most often is a 1990 Strat I bought in 1991... along with a couple of Les Pauls I've owned since 1988 and 1992 and an Explorer I've had since 1994. I'd like to pare down the collection to maybe a dozen. Acoustics are tough... I have a couple I've had since the 90s that I really like, but a grade 2 right shoulder separation makes playing a normal thickness acoustic painful after a few minutes. So on the rare occasion I play an acoustic I'm limited to a shallow-bowl Ovation I bought a few years ago.

Nearly 30 years ago, I helped a friend build a Chesapeake Light Craft kayak kit and got to try it out a couple of times. I also tried a different CLC kayak at one of their demo days in Annapolis around the same time. I then found and bought plans for a baidarka style strip-built kayak and we painstakingly made the strips out of western cedar. Those strips have been wrapped up in my garage ever since... as I lack the space to build a kayak. Another in my endless list of projects...
 
Ian F said:
Yeah... I did the same thing starting around ten years ago. And now have around 30 guitars... and the one I play most often is a 1990 Strat I bought in 1991... along with a couple of Les Pauls I've owned since 1988 and 1992 and an Explorer I've had since 1994. I'd like to pare down the collection to maybe a dozen. Acoustics are tough... I have a couple I've had since the 90s that I really like, but a grade 2 right shoulder separation makes playing a normal thickness acoustic painful after a few minutes. So on the rare occasion I play an acoustic I'm limited to a shallow-bowl Ovation I bought a few years ago.

Nearly 30 years ago, I helped a friend build a Chesapeake Light Craft kayak kit and got to try it out a couple of times. I also tried a different CLC kayak at one of their demo days in Annapolis around the same time. I then found and bought plans for a baidarka style strip-built kayak and we painstakingly made the strips out of western cedar. Those strips have been wrapped up in my garage ever since... as I lack the space to build a kayak. Another in my endless list of projects...
Click to expand...
I have shoulder issues, too - torn rotator cuffs, but I like the sound of dreadnoughts so I suffer.

My CLC boat. I built 2 of them a dozen years ago. Ex-GF has the other one.
Kayak.webp
 
Red Mosquito said:
And cruise on!

Nice project @SmooveP The pulley/cable steering and water pressure speedo brought back memories of the boat my dad bought when I was a kid. It was a Winner tri-hull from the 60s and nowhere near seaworthy, but that didn't stop us from getting on the water. The floor boards were shot and complete mush, and the transom was just as bad. I have memories of watching the transom flex as we hit waves and wondered how the engine was holding on. It had an old Merc 50 that never ever ran right and there were constant problems with it. My dad let me do a lot of electrical work on the boat unsupervised when I was like 10-11, I hope he checked/fixed what I did after I went to bed at night 🤣 somehow we survived. Needless to say, I try to learn from the mistakes of my ancestors and do things a bit differently this time around.

Anyway, your project is the complete opposite of my childhood boat. Looks great!
Click to expand...
Boats suck and wooden boats suck harder. Even after sealing up anything that looked remotely like a crack and doing new bottom paint, water still seeps in. It has an automatic bilge pump but I'm still a little bit paranoid about going away for a few days, worrying that it will sink at the dock, lol.
 
SmooveP said:
Their kits are great. Fun project if you're patient and have the room to build. This one is 17' long. Took a little over 100 hours to build.
Click to expand...
Yep. I helped my friend build his in the living room of his apartment in Germantown Philadelphia. While he was building it, he called it his "$20/day kayak habit" as it seemed like he was buying some tool (mostly clamps) or supply for it every day. He also later said that once all of the tools were acquired, it made building more boats easier, although I think he built the next few boats from plans rather than from kits. His kit was a Chesapeake LT (this was in the late 90s, so the kits used tapered scarf joints rather than the interlocking joints they cut out now). He did some camping trips with it up in Maine a few years after it was built, which he said was pretty cool, even crossing some open water to get between islands. After experiencing how the kayak works out in open ocean he compared paddling it in a lake or river to "riding a downhill bike in a parking lot."
 
Ian F said:
Yep. I helped my friend build his in the living room of his apartment in Germantown Philadelphia. While he was building it, he called it his "$20/day kayak habit" as it seemed like he was buying some tool (mostly clamps) or supply for it every day. He also later said that once all of the tools were acquired, it made building more boats easier, although I think he built the next few boats from plans rather than from kits. His kit was a Chesapeake LT (this was in the late 90s, so the kits used tapered scarf joints rather than the interlocking joints they cut out now). He did some camping trips with it up in Maine a few years after it was built, which he said was pretty cool, even crossing some open water to get between islands. After experiencing how the kayak works out in open ocean he compared paddling it in a lake or river to "riding a downhill bike in a parking lot."
Click to expand...
CLC has a ridiculous number of models now. The 2 I built are the Shearwater hybrid models. Hybrid meaning puzzle joint plywood hull and cedar strip deck. Best suited for flat water, but capable of open water. I already had most of the tools, but picked up a Japanese handsaw and of course more clamps. You can never have too many clamps.
 
SmooveP said:
Boats suck and wooden boats suck harder. Even after sealing up anything that looked remotely like a crack and doing new bottom paint, water still seeps in. It has an automatic bilge pump but I'm still a little bit paranoid about going away for a few days, worrying that it will sink at the dock, lol.
Click to expand...
Now you're bringing back more memories lol we never had one sink, but always spent more time wrenching than cruising on any boat vacation.

You've got a leg up by acknowledging the limitations! You'd probably be fine if you set up a backup pump on a separate battery for the overnight.
 
SmooveP said:
CLC has a ridiculous number of models now. The 2 I built are the Shearwater hybrid models. Hybrid meaning puzzle joint plywood hull and cedar strip deck. Best suited for flat water, but capable of open water. I already had most of the tools, but picked up a Japanese handsaw and of course more clamps. You can never have too many clamps.
Click to expand...
They had quite a few models then too... oddly enough, the kit I wanted they don't make anymore - the Pax 20. It was the boat I tried at the demo day around Annapolis Bay. So fast... Apparently described as an "advanced" boat, but I didn't have any trouble with it in the moderate bay chop. Looks like the perfect day-boat when you just want to go out and paddle around for an hour or two. Especially for what we have around here, which is mostly just quiet lakes.
 
Red Mosquito said:
Now you're bringing back more memories lol we never had one sink, but always spent more time wrenching than cruising on any boat vacation.

You've got a leg up by acknowledging the limitations! You'd probably be fine if you set up a backup pump on a separate battery for the overnight.
Click to expand...
Lol. So, after I was talking about my new, reliable motor, I took it out for its maiden voyage of the year and 100 yards from the dock, the overtemp alarm comes on, then the motor starts knocking and I'm like fuuuuhh and start limping back to the dock. By the time I got back, it had cleared itself and then was fine. Clogged water intake or some other temporary insanity I guess. Not a bad idea for the backup pump. They're cheap. Batteries not cheap, though.
 
Ian F said:
They had quite a few models then too... oddly enough, the kit I wanted they don't make anymore - the Pax 20. It was the boat I tried at the demo day around Annapolis Bay. So fast... Apparently described as an "advanced" boat, but I didn't have any trouble with it in the moderate bay chop. Looks like the perfect day-boat when you just want to go out and paddle around for an hour or two. Especially for what we have around here, which is mostly just quiet lakes.
Click to expand...
Just looked up the Pax 20. Looks fast! And skinny, not for wideasses, lol.
 
SmooveP said:
So I bought this semi restored late 50s vintage boat 5 years ago. Not sure what I was thinking except that it's wood and it looked cool. $5k for boat, motor and trailer.
View attachment 282837

14' Elgin with 35HP Elgin motor. Basically it's a Sears boat. Sears bought the Elgin brand at some point. Bought it from a guy who did a decent, if not museum quality, restoration. Deck and hull are plywood, white stripes are tape, lol. Gives it that vintage ChrisCraft look. It ran OK when it wanted to start, but was super finicky and left a trail of oil on the lake. I used it for 2 seasons and it wouldn't start, so I didn't launch it for a year or 2. Last year, decided to repower it with a modern motor, so I ordered up a brand new 25HP Suzuki motor off the internet. Clamped it on, ordered a new steering system from Vevor for like $150 (The old motor used cable and pulley steering. Primitive.) So much nicer to operate - quiet, reliable and powerful enough for putzing around on my lake.

I never got around to making the electrical components work with the new motor. The old one was positive ground, for one. Didn't really need lights, horn, etc. Decided I would fix that. More fun than I expected. In addition to lights and horn, it had gauges, under dash lighting, etc. Had a water pressure powered speedometer that never worked. Purchased a modern fuse block, some spools of wire and various crimp-on connectors and got to work. Main wires from battery had a short, so I ripped them put and replaced them, got a nice GPS speedometer that fit the existing hole (uses a mechanical needle, so looks kinda vintage). Kept the existing voltmeter. Had like 5 or 6 toggle switches on the dash, but decided I only need 2, so I fabricated a wood panel to cover up the old holes. Ended up replacing ALL of the wiring in the interest of a clean setup.

Also found a period-correct Elgin steering wheel on eBay. Was in decent shape, but I decided to refinish it in red using leftover touch-up paint from my truck. The floor of the boat had 1/4" plywood panels that were deteriorating, so I decided to replace them, too. Finding marine grade 1/4" mahogany plywood was difficult, so I decided to use solid Sapele. Had to mill it down to 1/4" thickness so it would conform to the shape of the hull. Lotsa compound miter cuts involved. New bottom paint and some varnish touch-up and called it done:

View attachment 282838View attachment 282839
Click to expand...
She looks wonderful, very nice.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom