Another 79 Eluder Revived

[glake]

I introduced my find in my Back into Boating thread and I thought I should start a new one since the restoration has officially begun. To give a quick recap; free boat - 79 Eluder, 175 Merc and trailer. If it's free, it's for me.

After bringing it home my wife dubbed it the SS Moss-bucket due to the moss that was actually growing on it. I gave it an initial cleaning, propped it up and surveyed the damage of time and neglect. The floor and transom are obviously shot, and thanks to so many out there who have posted info on their restores, I have a lot of help. The rest of the hull is in very good shape, no dings, gouges or holes. There seems to be a clear coat on it that is peeling off. I hope to get it all off and go from there. At some point I will paint, but the brown/gold flake will do for now. Besides, I'll look like a local at the river!

The motor was a big plus. It is in great shape, just in need of a tune up. Trim works without a hitch, but the jack plate motor looks to need a rebuild/replacement. It's an electric motor and I have a mechanic buddy that has the means to rebuild motors of this type.

After digging it out of the yard of the PO, I brought it home, cleaned it up and surveyed the damage.

 

[glake]

I've gotten the boat disassembled. They key items; motor, trim, jack-plate, controls, and steering system all are in great condition. They just need a little tlc.

 

[glake]

The last two weekends have been all about demolition. I have removed the floor, which came up quite easily do to the rot. Yesterday I removed the deck to get at the transom. Transom removal looks to be pretty nasty as it is glassed in their pretty good. I've been doing a lot of reading of the great write-ups on this site as to the methods everyone has been using. Wish me luck!

 

[Greenmercury115]

It's great to see another old Checkmate saved. Anybody can just go out and buy a new boat but the pride of ownership would not be the same if you did'nt have the before and after pictures and restoration story to tell. Good luck with your project and keep the pics coming.

 

[Rob B]

Glake the mate cleaned up nice. Hopefully you took some measurements and pictures before you tore the floor and transom out, that will help on the rebuild. If your transom comes out in pieces, use contractors paper to use as a pattern, I had to do that. You can get that from Lowes or Home depot. As for glass and resin I ordered my stuff from Merton's, there's also other places to buy supplies as well. Good luck!!!

 

[glake]

Glake the mate cleaned up nice. Hopefully you took some measurements and pictures before you tore the floor and transom out, that will help on the rebuild. If your transom comes out in pieces, use contractors paper to use as a pattern, I had to do that. You can get that from Lowes or Home depot. As for glass and resin I ordered my stuff from Merton's, there's also other places to buy supplies as well. Good luck!!!

I'm a bit anal at times (drives my wife nuts), so yeah, I took measurements of just about everything. I actually have files of projects with measurements, receipts, etc. Every so often I have to go in and clean things out. You never know when you might need those figures again.

 

[ezflyer]

hey glake i am restoring an old mate myself. this is my third resto on differents boats. this is my first mate. the people on this site is awsome. there is an answer for any queston you might have. as you can tell other people will chime in aswell. i would like to offer a few tips. 1. get plenty of cardboard to make templetts before you cut any wood, it is way cheaper. 2. dont use any treated lumber, the new glass will not stick to the preasure treated lumber, anything but that. 3. check the transom before you cut old one out, it may not be strait across the back, mine was not. 4. mike at the factory is realy helpful, dont be scared to call him with, even though your boat may be a bit to old. mine is. take your time and it will come back together better than new. i will follow closely , you may have a better idea of how to do something than i do. have a blessed day and stay posted. also take plenty of pics it will help out later down the road.

 

[glake]

Lunchtime Success!

It's funny how some things that many people find insignificant can really make you excited. After only about 2-3 hours, I hand the transom out and in one piece!

Thanks to a lot of reading and research, mostly from this site, I was able to accomplish the feat. I used a diamond blade in the grinder and the sawzall to free the edges. Then with a little tapping on some wedges, it came away pretty cleanly.

 

[ezflyer]

MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU. it took me more than a minute to get mine out because only the middle were the motor bolted up was bad. so all the rest of transom was still in tack pretty good. i used a hammer drill with a chisel and it came out in about 3 to 4 hrs. mine was a full transom from floor to top of hull, all the way accross. good job keep it up.

It's funny how some things that many people find insignificant can really make you excited. After only about 2-3 hours, I hand the transom out and in one piece!

Thanks to a lot of reading and research, mostly from this site, I was able to accomplish the feat. I used a diamond blade in the grinder and the sawzall to free the edges. Then with a little tapping on some wedges, it came away pretty cleanly.

 

[groundloop]

Just out of curiosity, where did the part I circled in your photo come from? When I got my boat from the previous owner these were just lying under the dash and I never could figure out where they were supposed to go. (Not that I'm planning on reusing them, it's just always bugged me wondering where they went).

 

[glake]

Just out of curiosity, where did the part I circled in your photo come from? When I got my boat from the previous owner these were just lying under the dash and I never could figure out where they were supposed to go. (Not that I'm planning on reusing them, it's just always bugged me wondering where they went).

I believe they were mounted under the dash, to the rear section of the front seats. Kind of finishing off that interior storage area.

 

[glake]

During the week a took a little time to give the motor a bit of attention. I buffed the covers out. They came out pretty good. Here's a before and after.

 

[glake]

I also got the upper deck completely lifted off and on a roll-around cart. Now I can get to the remainder of the floor and also work on seeing how the deck buffs out.

 

[glake]

I have two weeks off so I'm hoping to get a lot done. I started vacation this morning by finishing up the attack on the floor. I had high hopes that I could get it all removed the rest of the way and scrub the hull tomorrow.

It was obvious that the side air boxes had to be removed as well. I noticed the the left side was wet when I removed the rear box previously, but I was hoping that it might only be the rear portion. No such luck. After removing about a foot of the box I figured, forget it, and removed the whole thing. Turned out to be wet all the way up. Since the left one is out, might as well do the right one.

Just as I could see light at the end of the tunnel, I notice the hole. Where one of the front seats used to be, the floor was gouged. Water had gotten in and rotted some of the balsa. In the end I ended up having to remove an 8x12 section.

 

[glake]

To paint or not to paint. I patched the bad spot in the floor and decided to spend a little time on the deck to see if the color can be brought back to life. My thinking is that if I do need to paint, now would be an easy time to do it.

I started with Aqua Buff 2000 and it did not look good. The clear coat is so shot and peeling that it would not clean out. I switched to wet sanding and then buffed again with still no improvement. In a fit of frustration, I broke out the sander and started sanding the clear off planning to paint.

I got about half the boat sanded before I wore out for the day. Just for kicks I decided to hit part of the sanded portion with the AB2000 and it looked better. I also used some polish on it and it kind of shined up. It's not great, but it's better. I'm thinking that I could spend more time with the 2000 and then hit it with the 1000 and it might look fairly decent (great from afar, far from great).

But then again, painting it now would still be the easiest time to do it. Not to mention I could update the look. So the question remains, to paint or not to paint.

 

[Rob B]

GL, looks good so far. Do you use balsa core to repair the bad section in the hull? A couple of us had the same problem with the seat screws embedded in the core, easy repair. I would go ahead and repaint the boat if it fits in the budget. Also go with new wiring since you got the top off. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[glake]

GL, looks good so far. Do you use balsa core to repair the bad section in the hull? A couple of us had the same problem with the seat screws embedded in the core, easy repair. I would go ahead and repaint the boat if it fits in the budget. Also go with new wiring since you got the top off. Keep the pictures coming.

Yes to the balsa. It was easy. At first I was worried, but it turned out to be no big deal. Wiring was definitely in the plan as it looked like a rat's nest so it all went in the trash bucket while I was tearing the boat apart. The more I think about it, the more painting may not be in the budget at this time.

 

[glake]

I spent yesterday down with a bit of a cold so I didn't work on the boat. I did manage to get out and get some supplies. I also spent the morning running around stocking up. It's amazing how much stuff you need. The good thing was that I was able to find a good boat store fairly local and fiberglass supplier within 20 miles.

I decided to spend the remainder of the day on the trailer. I tacked up the fenders and rear steps. Thanks to yellowfiero88 for the guide pole idea. I borrowed it for my trailer. Now that I have the poles in place I will be removing the hull from the trailer.

After some research and thought, I have decided to go ahead and paint. I decided to give the roll and tip method on the hull. I bought a gallon of Interlux Brightside. I plan to spend the next day or two getting the hull sanded and ready for the paint. I figure if I don't like the paint looks, it's only the bottom. We'll see how it goes.

 

[jboyd100]

how is it coming along

i have the exact same boat think mine is an 1980 and it is the same color as well hate it lol... just wodering how you been coming along on this and if you plan to paint it soon or not....I thinking of going black and gold on mine with the metal flake in the gold...I live in Louisiana lol....very good job so far I have removerd the floor out on mine so far as well but i have not removed the top and think my transum is fairly good still but the foam boxes are shot....

 

[Rob B]

GL when you prep the boat for roll and tip be sure to read the directions and watch the videos from Jamestown Distributors. The roll and tip method is easy just take your time. One of the biggest no no's is don't go back and try to fix a mistake while it's wet, let it dry first. Second go to http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22 and type in roll and tip in the search function, plenty of information on the subject. Good luck.