Corpusfishing.com

[Towboat Trash]

"Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Yeah
Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island
Might even raise a little sand
Yeah"

Jimi Hendrix, "Voodoo Child," 1968


I remember the first time I ever heard Jimi wail on that guitar...don't think I ever heard anything so raw, and don't know if I ever will again. Options in 2015? The "Mumford and Sons." Or "Tove Lo," with a new song about how she likes to get high all the time while making out and trying on new clothes. Shame. I do know without a doubt however that my daddy said my granddad was gonna disown him if he ever caught the old man listening to that "devilish racket" ever again. And like Jimi, a recent trip down memory lane took me back to when we were a bit younger, and got me to thinking. There's something about standing next to raw wood, or raw steel, or just an open canvas, and creating something that's distinctly American. We were first on the moon...we built the first airplane, the first automobile, and even the nuclear submarine. Each and every part on my Dodge truck causes me to give way and think about the time involved in putting in all together and making it work. As I gazed at all the old pictures my momma found in the attic and gave me, I realized I wanted to build something again like when we were kids. Not just anything. A boat. After all, there's nothing more appropriate for a salty beach bum to do than build one, right? Shark racks used to be the same way, as a lot of the stuff used on the beach used to be. You couldn't buy it all and then just show up at the 30. You had to think it, to build it, and then improve it and maintain it. And I know for a FACT that my sunburned bum will NEVER pay some dealership clown 50 grand for his turd of a boat, without even a bimini. And I don't care if it runs so "shallow" that it doesn't even need water to run in.

The first boat my brothers and I ever had. 300 bucks-boat, motor, trailer. Commercial gill net shad boat. 1950s Orlando Clipper. Stick steering up on the bow behind the gill net in the fos'cle. Rebuilt the transom and steering. And eventually, the powerhead, which kept blowing head gaskets. But that 35 would straight scoot.




And my middle brothers sailboat dinghy. Cut the stern off, shortened the thing, and put a 1969 18 Evinrude on there. At 29 mph the floor would buckle and move and your "orifice" would pucker right up.


And at fifteen, 600 bucks for a 18 ft Forcast, 70hp Evinrude, and trailer. Rebuilt the floor, the stringers, and transom, the trailer, the steering, and eventually the whole ignition system, etc. on the motor.


And it ended up being one heckuva boat.


33mph all day long.


Scooting!


But quite the project.


Before rebuild...


And a Cobia in the background that was given to me that I never ever did rebuild....


And a McKee craft that my old man bought, that had its flotation completely waterlogged. We called it the McQueer Craft behind his back. He found out and butts almost got beat.


Which leads us this piece of crap. For 300 bucks and a drive to an abandoned trailer park in Rockport, it was mine. Well, after I put tires on it, because they had dry rotted 12 years ago. And removed the mobility chair scooter thing from out of the inside of it. Got rid of one snake, and propped up the boat because the bunks were so old the supports for them had rotted away and fell on the ground.


But it was mine! Here's a shot after clearing out the all the beer bottles, the trash, and about 90 gallons of leaves. Oh-and using a shop vacuum to suck up all the roaches. I like it. Got character! A 1973 Fibercraft from the era of the transition from wooden boats to fiberglass. Look at the simulated strakes on the sides!




A rebuilt floor that was never painted or glassed and not done remotely the right way.






You could feel the stringers totally rotted away.


They were horrendously braced at some point in time.






So I jerked that motor off, hung it in a tree, and got to work ripping up the floor. Glass sanding time!!!!







Nasty.








No good.




First step? The transom. Totally rotted away. Time to cut out the splashwell, leaving the rest of the cap, and get to work.


Out.


And transom removed. Nasty!!! Roaches and fire ants all in the wood everywhere. Vacuum time again.


Cleaned up and tracing a new transom.



Fit test!!


Time for some glass!


Two cuts of 3/4 inch marine Ply from Armstrong Lumber. Glassed together and clamped overnight.




With transom clamps from my old buddy Keith Kay at Waterman Boatworks, it was off to the races! New transom glassed in to sit overnight.










With 3 layers of mat and 2 of Biaxial cloth, this thing ain't goin anywhere!!!!







Looking good!


Now stringer time. Center stringer/Keelson first.




Fit test!




And now on to the next stringer.



Glassing it in.


And the next...




As always, each one took much trimming to fit!


But looking awesome!


And finally the port outboard stringer, which would lead all the way to terminate at the transom as part of the master plan of rebuilding the tankwell underneath the splashwell.





And finally the starboard outboard stringer.



A new coupler.


And finally! Decking!


And having made the decision to foam the hull since this boat is going to be a 2nd gut beach bandit, and will likely sink in its new lifetime.




Heck yeah!





And a 2nd layer of decking!


And finally, the rear deck piece!


Looking good!




And a tankwell piece cut.


And tankwell stringers built and fitted.


And glassed.


And the finished product!!!!





And back on with the splashwell.


Reinforced for the shrimp nets that WILL be getting hung from this rig soon...and painted...


Fitting her up.





And I picked that 70 up and carried it over. Lifted it and hung it.


A "Looper!!" Old school. One MASSIVE chainsaw engine ready to scream its way down the beaches of Padre!






Water pump time!


Fuel hose replacement.


Fuel pump replacement.


Carb rebuilds.






With a quick truck spring replacement thrown in.


And the axle was horribly warped! No more 2000 pounder! 3,500 all the way!





And a rebuilt starter.


And a trip to see Dale.


To search for new control cables in the abandoned parts house of death out back.






Gold.


And finally, it was time to float the old beast.


And break down a few times.


Walk my happy arse back to the ramp.


Get the truck and return.





And put that pig back on the trailer.


And go home to continue replacing ignition parts and testing coils.


Get it right, return with the old lady, and ride.


You darn right.



Roll OUT!


And make sure to show my old lady this lil picture, just so she KNOWS she shall remain a deckhand for the time being aboard motor vessel 300 bucks. And then get smacked, put the picture away, and put that hog on the dash and ride out.


Sorry so long, but boy, there was so much work in this thing that half of it I didn't even cover. Only thing left is to adjust the pickup timing in the water, and then we're good at this point. I guess I got my wish. It was like being 15 all over again for many days, just alone with my thoughts and sanding or glassing on this old beast.

I like it. The boat is older than I am, and at build date 1973 I suppose my daddy was just coming back from overseas around then, or stationed in the Philippines still. I'll never know it's history, only that I took something on its way to the burn pile and brought it back. I built it the way I wanted it, and I'll use it for every last stretch of beach on this coastline, you can be sure of that. A beach man will never fit the mold, he'll never do what everyone else does, and I suppose I'll never be able to erase that trait. I personally love nothing more than choking folks out at the boat ramp with the fresh smell of unburnt fuel and oil coming out of a 1975 2-stroke while wearing my beloved Dickie work pants, a filthy nasty cutoff work shirt, and steel toe boots. They need that, they really do I'm seeing. Shrimp season opens soon and my supple bum will darn sure be hanging up on some inshore rock pile off Padre pretty soon now. When an American wants something he goes and gets it. And I'll be darned if I'm not gonna have a boat because these dealerships want 45 grand for some turd that can drive itself if you put in a 100 dollar bill to the console. As a 17 year old, the 80 ft trawler I worked on was paid for with 22 thousand in cash, who in @#$^ is gonna pay a small mortgage for some turd with no gunwales?

I'm outta here. Thanks for looking. Who knows...maybe your heart will beat with a desire to build something. There's nothing more rewarding.

Take care.

--Colin
_________________
Protect Padre at all costs for future generations to use and enjoy and never forget our freedoms aren't free.

www.padreislandexpeditions.com

[LongXnosea]

That was awesome. Thanks for sharing the rebuild process with us. I took the bottom out of my old VIP bass boat and never went any further... Good Job.

[landlocked beachbum]

Man........

You like to WORK!!!!!!!!!!
_________________
Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[Johninaustin]

Damn, and I thought my 72 Whaler is a big project. At least the foam is still good in it.

[deputydawg]

WOW!!! That was a cool rebuild! Can't wait to see the fish and story's its gonna produce!!!

[Tyler]

Dang that was some work. Reminded me of my dad designing and building the mold and everything for an offshore racing boat in our garage in 1969.
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[ROBDOG]

Wow, that was an awesome build and an awesome write up (as always).

[HungerBuster]

Well, I feel inspired to get out in the garage this weekend.....
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Fish ON!

[TomP]

Thanks, Cool Boat report, You just gotta love it. Happy fishing.
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Hook'em and givem Dragggg !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fish2drink]

[rodandroll]

I've got an 89 Cajun 21ft Fishmaster with a 150 Johnson if your looking for another project. How much do you charge by the hour????
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Now that food has replaced my sex life I can't even get into my own pants!!!!!!!!

Even duct tape can't fix stupid ... but it can muffle the sound!!!

[lifeaquatic]

These Towboat reports always have just the right amount of humor added! Enjoyed scrolling through the pictures guessing how you were going to address problems. Then you revealed your fix nicely.

Let's see, where was I in '73? I was 13 years old harassing South Florida fish from Pompano and Deerfield beaches.

Will be waiting for future reports in the new Boat, Sweat & Tears.
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kick your shoes off and cast a line

[maxthelab]

Thanks Towboat for the motivation to finish mine. Rebuilt the knees and back part of the deck on my 87 kenner last year and got sick and tired of working on it. This makes me want to put the finishing touches on her. Not a whole lot left, just a little here and a little there, seems like a lot when you look at the big picture, but just like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. Thanks again.

[Towboat Trash]

[putawaywet]

How much fun. You'll get a lot of satisfaction out of something you put that much effort into. BTW, that McKee craft is badass..
_________________
"If you love something let it go. If it comes back to you gaff it and throw it on ice."

"God loves a workin' man.
Don't trust Whitey.
See a doctor and get rid of it."
N.J.