SaltyCajun.com - Boat Rebuild Project

1997 Homemade Aluminum Bay Boat Project
This boat sat under a tree behind my dad's office for 5 years. I removed 65 shovels of leaves and decomposed debris from the tree, removed all of the wiring, electronics, gauges, controls, lights, everything. I noticed that the tongue weight was really heavy, so I brought it to the local aggregate site and got a weight on the hull, motor, and trailer. 3700 pounds !!! There was a panel over a void under the console where a tank used to be. When my brother bought the boat 12 years ago, he removed the aluminum tank, foam filled the void, and covered it 2/3 of the way with a piece of aluminum plate, leaving 1/3 of it exposed to moisture/rain, etc. The drain in the bilge area where water inside the double bottom could drain was plugged, so rainwater accumulated between the bottom of the boat and the floor, and then overflowed to across the floor to the bilge area to drain through the transom. At least 5 years, (we're assuming more like 7 years) of rainwater accumulation kept the foam inside the floor saturated, causing the added weight. I removed the plate, cut out chunks of the foam, and began draining the hull. I removed 70 gallons of water, and about400-500 pounds of waterlogged flotation foam from the void and surrounding area and then I kept it under cover, or in the direct sunlight for the last month. Water actually flowed through the foam to the void as I vacuumed the water from the area. I get no accumulation now, and I have removed the motor to do some fill work on the bottom to repair a few spots of electrolysis and scratches from years of use on shell reefs chasing redfish in Vermillion Bay. Below are photos of the boat as I received it, and I will be adding photos throughout the refurbishment. One thing is for sure, waterlogged flotation foam is extremely heavy. The guy that built this hull must have had a thing for rod holders. It had 10 on each gunnel, 4 in the leaning post, and 4 on the rear deck.

The other thing is a product plug. Belzona 1211 product is absolutely the best fill material for aluminum in the world. Google it. I'm sold on it. Stood against sand sweeping to prep the hull for paint.

My plan is to paint the hull Cedar Green and the console Cylinder Cream, then cover the floor and decks with teak slat Hydro Turf. New controls, wiring, lights, accessories, etc, will be installed, and the 2002 Mercury 115 EFI 4 Stroke will be replaced with a 2011 Mercury Optimax on a 10 inch gill bracket and a 4 inch Atlas Jack Plate. The trailer will be refurbished and painted to match the hull.