Oh yeah. I'm screwed. But hello!

Prob,

At least you started small. I have done a couple of projects like this over the years and I am currently restoring a 1895, 23' Cobalt. Shawn

All great suggestions from a seasoned restorer of several boats.

NorCal
Could you post some pics of that 1895 Cobalt:grin:
 
. . . I have done a couple of projects like this over the years and I am currently restoring a 1895, 23' Cobalt. . .

Man now that has to be a classic there. 120 years old. :smt043

Sorry I couldn't resist.
 
Prob,

You stated, "....the hull "seemed" solid but, ....there was a lot of rotten wood inside. My concern is there may be rotten wood in the hull structure. You should "tap" the hull everywhere on the outside of boat paying really close attention where anything was bolted to, or screwed into, the hull.

For the engine, I would change the oil, hook up a battery and check the compression. That will tell you quite a bit. Chances are you will have to rebuild the motor. Is there an hour meter on the boat anywhere? The problem you have is the lack of history so in this case you might as well just assume the worst. If that doesn't happen you get to be pleasantly surprised.



If you are doing it thinking you might flip it and make some money....I would start parting it out now.

Shawn

I just did the tap test, and it sounds pretty sharp throughout. I didn't notice anything notably dull, but with my untrained ears I may be missing something. I'll do the test again with my bro in law here when he arrives next time (he grew up around this kind of stuff, but is not the most reliable). When I said some of the wood was rotten, it is generally the marine plywood that seems to be after market installation for the bait tanks, and all that. The stuff that seemed to be build with the boat looks pretty good, so far.

There is an hour meter. Prepare yourself. It reads: 1182. I'm sure that number is bigger than I was hoping for.

I am definitely not planning to flip it for money. The only reason I'd sell it once it's working is if there is something preventing me from doing the kind of fishing I bought it for in the first place (tuna, about 30 miles out), which may be a dream to begin with.

Photobucket account created. I promise I'll get some pics up today.
 
One other thing.... we really need to know what the engine/outdrive is. If it's black its a Mercruiser and that's good. If the engine is red and the outdrive is a light blue/green, that's Volvo and not as good but not a disaster. If the outdrive is white and says OMC on it anywhere, that is a huge problem as the drive was a POS to start with and parts are virtually non-existent.

If it is a Mercruiser it will help to know what motor. You said there were 2 exhaust manifolds. Is it a V6 or V8? Is the distributor on the front of the motor or the back. If its on the front and 8 cylinders it's Merc 888 with a Ford small block. In the back its GM either a 5.0 or 5.7.

One more thing on the taping....tap the stringers under the engine as well. The stringers are under the engine on either side and what the motor mounts are bolted to. Check YouTube.



Shawn

It is indeed a Mercruiser, and a V8. The distributor is on the back (if I am properly identifying the distributor) and is blue. I didn't tap the stringers yet, but I will. Thanks so much for your time so far....
 





On this last picture, note that one of the bolts is removed. I accidentally took that out while trying to remove the exhaust manifolds, and water immediately started pouring out. When I squeezed the biggest hose on the front, it would spurt out faster. I am not sure if this is normal, or a certain sign of doom.
 
Ok, so that is most of the pictures I have so far. If anyone needs/wants to see anything in particular, please ask :).
 
Wow. Great pictures, glad you got Photobucket to work for you.
You will get a lot of suggestions / advice on how to handle the jobs you have ahead of you. You may want to start some type of punch list. I am not qualified to answer technical questions so I leave those to those that are, but I am going to make two suggestions just based off of your pictures.

1. It appears like a water holding tank of some kind perched up on the swim step. Probably not a good idea. If they haven't already started ripping out through the boat, the screws mounting the step & handle were not intended to support that weight.

2. This is pretty important: I saw wires spliced & taped together in one of your engine pics. This is a huge safety concern because of the risk of explosion. Never should anything not ignition protected be allowed anywhere near the engine compartment. Good news is you have the perfect opportunity now to correct it.
 
http://www.amazon.com/VMAX857-Batte...1426123684&sr=8-2&keywords=12v+marine+battery

That is among the cheaper batteries on amazon... Are batteries among the first things I should buy, or would you wait and make sure that it's worth projecting, at this point?

That is a trolling battery, you need a combo starting/deep cycle most likely. I would try to get an old battery to run on a charger to figure out what works and only get one after I knew the project was going to completion. You have too many unanswered questions right now to spend on that.

MM
 
http://www.amazon.com/VMAX857-Batte...1426123684&sr=8-2&keywords=12v+marine+battery

That is among the cheaper batteries on amazon... Are batteries among the first things I should buy, or would you wait and make sure that it's worth projecting, at this point?

Just my opinion but you are not ready for new battery(s) yet. Get one that will hold a charge to use while you are testing and working on the boats different systems. Wait until you are ready to get the boat in the water before buying new ones.
 
I will be following your progress as well. I agree with mwph about the batteries. I'd wait to buy new until you are ready to hit the water. The junkyards around here will sell their used batteries for $25, while not marine they will be enough to crank the motor and run the rest of the systems. I've gone that route when restoring a car that wasn't quite road worthy but ran.

That's a cool boat and closer to what I wish I had bought. DO you have a goal of when you'd like to have her in the water?
 
That's a neat looking boat and could be a fun "project boat" to keep you busy.
Maybe, a Marine surveyor is in order to tell you what you have .... and if it's worth working on.
I'd hate to see you waste funds...
 
About to kill someone trying to resize these stupid pictures... I reduced them to 400 pixels and it is still too big, so now I have to resize the entire package... One by one... Again...

Hey, I can save you some time the next time around. Google "Bulk Image Resizer", it runs on windows and is free.

As far as a battery goes, I agree with others and would wait to spend any money until you are done peeling back the layers on the onion and have a full picture of what it will take to restore her to running/seaworthy condition.
 
I will be following your progress as well. I agree with mwph about the batteries. I'd wait to buy new until you are ready to hit the water. The junkyards around here will sell their used batteries for $25, while not marine they will be enough to crank the motor and run the rest of the systems. I've gone that route when restoring a car that wasn't quite road worthy but ran.

That's a cool boat and closer to what I wish I had bought. DO you have a goal of when you'd like to have her in the water?
Tomorrow, haha. This season was the plan, but I'm no moron, I expect absolutely nothing to go easy, and won't have a fit if it doesn't happen.
 
That's a neat looking boat and could be a fun "project boat" to keep you busy.
Maybe, a Marine surveyor is in order to tell you what you have .... and if it's worth working on.
I'd hate to see you waste funds...
That's a great idea, and a job I had no idea existed. I wonder how much it costs to have them come out?
 

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