1978 SPORT 15 Restoration

[MDD622]

Hello all--I just recently started working on restoring--or planning out the process at this point--a 1978 Boston Whaler boat that I believe is a SPORT 15 with a 1983 Johnson outboard. The boat has been in my family its whole life, but unfortunately was neglected by a previous family member and left outside uncovered for the past 10 to 12 years. The boat has a lot of sentimental value, and I really want to get her back to her former glory and keep it as original as possible. [I am a] carpenter by trade. I do not have much mechanical experience or any experience working on boats, but would like to do as much of the work as possible myself.

The hull seems to be in good shape considering all the neglect. [I am] looking for a good plan of attack on the deck. I am thinking a good washing and scrubbing with a marine soap [will permit me] to be able to see spider cracking or any other damage; and sand them out; and repaint.

[I am] hoping [there are] no soft spots anywhere. There are some open screw holes where the seating was removed. [The boat] has only sat with those holes exposed for a couple years.

Should those be a big concern for rotting wood inside?

The hull seems to be in great shape. [It needs a] little repair around the bow hook. [There is]a 1/4-inch hole drilled in the stern [that] I assume was put there to let out any water. [I would] like to sand off the remaining bottom paint, then wet-sand the whole thing, give it a good buffing. and see how she looks.

As for everything else, I have an order placed for the engine's service manual and owner's manual. [I will] do some basic maintenance before running a compression test.

The trailer has pretty much rusted away under the boat, [there are] no wheels, and the axle has rusted and crumbled away. [I am] not sure how I am going to swap out trailers on land just yet--but that is a problem for when I actual have a new trailer.

Any guidance or thoughts on this project would be greatly appreciated, and I am looking forward to getting started and being a part of the forum. Thanks!

[Moved to REPAIR and MODIFICATIONS--jimh]

[MDD622]

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[Jefecinco]

It's useful that you have good wood working skills as that will allow you to fabricate a complete new interior at minimal cost. That looks like a good navigation light forward including the chocks and the all around white light looks to be in good condition. If the engine is salvageable for a reasonable cost it could be a good choice for the boat. It will look good to the purists since it is of the same era as the boat. It is hard to judge because of the dirt and stains but the hull and deck look to be in fair to good condition. It looks like a fun project for a dedicated person. The Sport 15 is a nice size for a couple for putting around or angling. Good luck and enjoy the boat.

[skred]

As JimH has often noted: the 15 hull is (also in my opinion) the very best of the small and mid-size Whaler hull designs. I have a 1978 15 Sport with the optional wraparound rear seat/rail configuration, and I am convinced I will never part with it. I'm on a smallish Wisconsin lake, and it's perfect for that application, and no problem for Lake Michigan fishing if I choose.

If you choose mahogany for the balance of the interior, I bought new African mahogany for mine, and the total cost for seats, side rails and console (which you don't need), was less than $250 (fitting and finishing by me). Your hull looks as if it will buff out just fine - mine did. Good luck with it and keep us posted on progress.

[jimh]

In your pictures (above) the cockpit of the hull looks like it has grown some sort of bluish mold or mildew. Mildew is a problem with fresh water exposure. Scrub the mildew away. Do not use harsh chemicals. Use a good boat soap and a very mildly abrasive scrubbing sponge--very mild.

Be careful with the gel coat. The gel coat layer of a boat is very thin, about 0.018-inch. Any sort of abrasion can remove gel coat resin very quickly. Approach the gel coat with tenderness.

If the boat has sat out in the weather for 12 years, the gel coat has probably become very dried and brittle. You want to apply a gel coat restoration compound to infuse the gel coat with some moisture, usually an oil based liquid, not water. There are many products available for this. Recently I have heard that some very knowledgeable restorers have used Coconut Oil as a treatment for restoring gel coat. I have not tried this myself.

No matter what product or process you use, I recommend you begin with a test of your method and materials on a small area that will not be in a prominent place. Try your gel coat restoration product and methods on the small area to see how they work.

The general process of gel coat restoration is as follows:

--remove surface dirt and mildew, leaving clean gel coat

--remove surface oxidation layer from gel coat, using gentle abrasive compound with perhaps added oils or restorers

--infuse non-oxidized, clean gel coat with oil-based restoration product or compound; remove excess

--buff surface to a lustre with ultra fine abrasive and polish compound

--top coat restored and polished gel coat with protective wax layer.

I have used the Meguiar's products in the past. See:

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product/color-restorer

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product/b ... s-enhancer

For wax I have used Collinite 925 Fiberglass Boat Wax. See

http://www.collinite.com/marine-wax/fib ... -boat-wax/

I embarrassed to say how long it has been since the last time I waxed the hull, but it has been several years, and water still beads and runs off the gel coat.

These products I mention are somewhat traditional products and require a lot of elbow grease in their application. There are other products--miracle products--that offer what might be a more modern method and claim to eliminate a lot of the work. I have not tried them.

[jimh]

The side console (seen in pictures above) is a bit of an enigma. I don't know if that is an OEM Boston Whaler side console. It looks somewhat like the console in a SUPER SPORT LIMITED, but there should be a corresponding console to Port.

In the bow locker there appears to be some sort of external wood reinforcement that has been added. It appears to have been installed at a slight angle from horizontal. For that reason I doubt that reinforcement is an OEM Boston Whaler addition.

The bow locker hatch cover is missing. This is a common problem. They seem to disappear. When I bought my otherwise pristine SPORT 15 the OEM bow hatch cover was gone and a replacement had been fabricated by a previous owner.

[jimh]

Any hole in the hull laminate layers that allows freshwater (like rain water) to enter into the interior of the hull, and particularly portions of the interior which have wood reinforcements there, is a problem. Freshwater produces rot in wood.

[cc378]

It is not a sport. The side console and plate bolted through the bow locker suggest it started life as a striper 15.

[MDD622]

Thanks guys! I appreciated the info and help. i had chuck from boston whaler run the numbers and he said its a "sport 15" maybe just with some modifications?

I will definitely get those products for restoring the gel coat this weekend and hopefully start on that next week. Im not sure about the console, I know the boat was originally owned by a Boston Whaler employee so maybe they modified it. no idea about the reinforcement in the bow locker, should i consider removing and patching that? and that is the reminance of bottom paint on the hull, looks like somebody got 1/2 way through sanding it off and gave up

i gave the deck a quick clean today and came across some little patch jobs, ugly, but they seem water tight. But, the screw holes where the side cleating for the seat was removed have been exposed for some time. They are vertical, so i would hope not much water was able to get in. I also am concerned about the screw holes in the cleat for the console. The cleat has rotted away, the screws are still in the deck though. So i hope the screws themselves and the console were able to shed most of the water away from that entry point. should i be overely concened about water in the hull?

the bow area has alot of spider cracking, some bigger cracks and a few repairs as well. maybe dremel out old, ugly, repairs and use a fairing compound to fill everything in nice and maybe repaint the deck? not sure what to do about the smaller spider cracks. i did come across this video and think maybe this is the way to go for the deck:

[LINK to youTube presentation that shows complete abandonment of original finish and application of new top coats:]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUOlWPvgLfQ

ill post a few pics later on to show spider cracks. thanks again guys!

[MDD622]

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[jimh]

I hope those ugly blobs of material filling the holes in a non-skid area of the deck are just some soft sealant that you can pry out of the hole. If they are hardened resin you will have to carefully grind them down and removed them as best you can.

[jimh]

Based on what I have seen in your pictures of the boat, the hull condition looks quite decent, and on that basis I cannot imagine you would undertake a repair like that shown in the youTube presentation you mentioned. The boat being repaired in the youTube presentation is in much worse condition. The method shown is a complete abandonment of the original gel coat finish of the boat. The repainting of the boat to have a blue interior is also not authentic.

I don't see anything in the youTube presentation you have made reference to that could be used in your boat, unless you plan to completely abandon the present gel coat finish--which I do not see as a good choice in your situation as the boat's condition does not appear to be so distressed that you ought to just completely refinish it with a new paint surface.

Paint is only a few mils thick and any scratch or abrasion will easily wear through the paint layer to reveal the undercoat or underlying layers of different colors.

[MDD622]

ok thanks man
sorry, like i said im new to doing any work on boats and fiberglass stuff. those are hardened resin blobs unfortunetly. i will take your advice for the gel coat restoration process on the hull. inside on those spider cracks should i give it a light sand before, then go through the same process of:

rubbing compound
color restorer
polish
wax

Thanks again! got a few warm days coming up so ill be starting the process then, cant wait to see how she cleans up

[Oldslowandugly]

That boat is in great shape compared to mine and others I've seen for sale. I would begin with a good power washing. Then scrub with a 3M scrubby pad and a bucket of hot sudsy water with a shot of bleach. After all the dirt is gone then you can decide if the gel coat is good enough to save or paint over. Yours looks pretty nice but washing will reveal all. Mine was horrible so I painted- I wish I didn't have to. Those old Johnson motors are very easy to work on. They have electronic ignition, carburetors, and probably an electric choke with a manual over ride. Is that a 30 or 35 hp? Perfect for a 15 footer.

[MDD622]

Thanks, that is what I have heard. [The engine is] a 50HP actually. I just got the service manual for it, I plan on starting work on that as soon as weather permits.

[Note: the remark caused several replies about performance. Discussion of performance of a SPORT 15 w ith 50-HP has been moved to a new thread. See viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1965&p=11470#p11470.

[Phil T]

You do not want to introduce any water to the hull in cleaning before you seal ALL holes and check the thru hulls.

Apply some basic polysulfide caulk to all the holes. Leave each hole flush to top, not like the overfilled floor holes. Once the caulk has cured (24 hrs), you can use a hose but not a power washer. One small mistep with an incorrect tip or pressure setting and you can do significant damage to the brittle gelcoat.