Replacing the cracked plexiglass windshield.

Now that i've been out on the Puget Sound a few times, I've found the most frustrating thing about this boat is the windshield.  It's cracked.  It's crazed (small cracks within the plexiglass caused by UV exposure over time).  It fogs up making it difficult to see.  I usually sit on top of the backrest of the seat so I can see over the top of the windshield, you have to be extra careful about rogue logs floating in puget sound.  Running into one would be a real bitch.  So getting back on subject, when I say the windshield is fogging up, I don't mean condensation.  It's the surface of the plexiglass.  I have polished it a couple of times with polish made for headlights.  It comes out great but it tends to get foggy again within 2-3 outings.

[Stupid cracked windshield!]


[Crazed plexiglass]

Soooooo here's a couple of ideas.  I'm not sure which one i'm gonna do yet.

Idea 1, Replace the molded plexiglass:   

I could get some more plexiglass and try to mold it to fit into the existing frame.  My plan would be to remove the old windshield (hopefully)without damaging the shape.  Because it is molded into a curve, I was thinking of using construction paper or cardboard to get an accurate template of the shape of the windshield that could be then laid out flat.  Cut the new windshield out of a sheet of plexiglass.  I have heard/read a couple of conflicting methods of molding plexiglass.  If the plexiglass was Lexan, I've heard you can bend it without heating it up.  Otherwise I would need to use a heat gun or order a heating strap.

Pros:  Keeps the original look of the boat.  Plexiglass is easy to obtain.  It's lightweight and tough.

Cons:  Molding the plexiglass could prove to be very difficult, and costly if i screw up and have to buy more.  May still fog up and eventually start crazing again. 

Idea 2, Create a new frame:

In order to avoid the possible catastrophe of trying to mold plexiglass, I was thinking of making a whole new frame that would hold panels of flat plexiglass (or safety glass if i could have it made for cheap enough).  I've seen aluminum channel stock you can buy at the local hardware chain which looks like it would support 1/4" thick glass/plexiglass. 

Pros:  Freedom to design the windshield to my specs.  No molding of plexiglass.  Could replace the individual panels in the future if they break. 


Cons: This could get expensive with all of the stock/panels.  It may prove difficult to join the sections of framing.  As it will probably cost too much to get safety glass made (once safety glass is tempered, you can't cut it to shape) I will likely have to use plexiglass.  Which I hate.

Idea 3, Find an existing glass windshield:

I've scanned craigslist a few times, and I have seen them come up once in a while.  This seems like the best option as it seems like it would be pretty easy to remove the old windshield and attach the new frame to the boat.

Pros: CHEAP! I saw a windshield off of an old boat on craigslist.org the other day for 100$!  Unfortunately I'm broke right now, otherwise I would have called right away (after checking the measurements of course).  It will be glass instead of plexiglass.  Easy installation (I hope). 


Cons:  Being patient enough to find a suitable replacement that is low cost and will fit the dimensions of the boat.

Next week: If all goes well, I will be posting the installation process of installing a new windshield!

Boat Buying

I can't afford to work on anything this weekend, so i figured this would be a good time to do a post about the time of boat purchase.

Before you buy a boat, when you're thinking, "I can spare $500 to buy the actual boat I'm going to fix.. woo!", here are a few things to consider. If you're as frugal (and or broke) as I am and every dollar counts, make sure you know what else you're going to need, it can add up fast!

Pre Boat Sale

-Vehicle; make sure that you check the towing capacity of your vehicle, what the motor can handle and your tow hitch. Usually you can find it out pretty easily online or if you have the owners manual to your rig. Research the weight of the boat you plan to buy, the size and whether it is aluminum or fiberglass makes a difference - Aluminum tends to be lighter. Don't forget to add the weight of the trailer.
- Tow lights; If you're vehicle does't have a harness for the trailer lights already, don't worry, you can usually purchase a kit that is made for your make of truck or whatever you are going to use to tow the boat with. Example; I was able to buy a harness for tow lights from the local auto parts chain. It was easily installed on my 2002 Toyota Tacoma in about 30 minutes. It connected to the tail lights on the truck and cost's about 40$. You may wan't to get some magnetic trailer lights as well. You wouldn't want to be pulled over because your trailer lights are out. I always use them every time I take the boat out, since you can take them off the lights won't be submerged in water. (moisture + light bulbs just seems like a bad idea to me)
- Tow hitch; Sure you already have a 2" ball hitch set up on truck. Unfortunately the trailer you just bought that comes with your boat has a hitch that accepts a 1 7/8" ball. Not a big deal, a new ball hitch is easy to find/install and costs about 10$. Just another cost to keep in mind. Make sure to bring some tools with you when you come to pick up your new boat.
- Wheels; Call ahead and make sure the wheels aren't flat on your new prospective trailer. I got lucky and despite sitting in someones yard for a year, the tires were fine. Make sure to be prepared for the worst.. who know's what kind of shape the tires are in on that half rust covered trailer.

Post Boat Sale

- Cover; If you're like me; the first thing you do is clean out all of the crap. I pressure washed the inside and outside of my boat as soon as the weekend rolled around. Even with an awning over the boat, it still only took a week for it to get pine needles all over the inside. To avoid this, I recommend getting a boat cover as one of your initial purchases. Your neighbors will also like this.. or at least not glare at you for having a big eye sore in your driveway. By the way, they ain't cheap! unless of course you get one at Amazon.com. I bought mine for around 40$. You will probably have to look through a bunch of pages to find a cheap one that fit's the length of your boat. Shop around, but that was the best deal i could find.
- Legalities; If you plan on using your boat while fixing it up, assuming it floats and the motor works, there are a number of things you will need to make sure you are boating legally and safely. Where you live you may need a boating license. In Washington you do (depending on how old you are)- you can take the test for it online for a fee and they will send you a Washington Boaters Education Card. There are also classes you can take, but they book up pretty fast. The internet is your friend for finding out these details. Be prepared to buy fenders, flares, lights, horns, Lifejackets ect. Make sure to do a little research on what your state requires and what you feel comfortable with in case of an emergency out on the water.  If you live in Seattle, Second Wave in Fremont is a great resource for used boat parts and equipment.

Next Week: Brainstorming on how to replace the shitty plexiglass windshield!

Intro to Boat Flip! Exploits in boat repair

Welcome to my boat-flipping blog, where I will attempt to repair and remodel old boats that otherwise would end up on a junk pile!

A few years ago, just as a reason to hang out with my friend Dan, who i hadn't seen in years, I agreed to go fishing.  I've always enjoyed the outdoors, so why the hell not, right?  Drink a few beers.  Might even be fun to catch a fish.  Didn't take long till i was (pun incoming.. sorry, but get used to it) hooked!  Ok, so now you're thinking.. "I thought I was reading a blog about flipping boats", right? FINE I'm getting to it.  Anyways, I bought an old 12' aluminum Crestliner dinghy from my friends dad for 100$ (I think i was doing him a favor by getting it off his lawn) and a 24 lb thrust minn-kota electric motor from a different friends dad for 50$.  Soon i was fishing just about every weekend in the summer.  Sometimes even after work. 

Well, the appeal of catching yet another 1/2 pound rainbow trout in the nearby lakes started to wear off and I began thinking of the fishing that could be done on the Puget Sound (I live in Everett, WA - about a 30min drive from Seattle).  It was then that I was confronted with some challenges.  Sure, you can take a 12' aluminum boat on the sound.  But being that i was a fairly inexperienced boater at the time I didn't want to take the risk of, umm, drowning.  I needed a bigger boat!  I started scanning the boat section of craigslist.org for potential boats that would get me on the saltwater, Salmon fishing.  It seemed finding a decent working boat was outside my financial means, 'cause almost everything is out of my financial means, so I had no choice but to buy a decent not-working boat.  Again, I was reduced to being a junk hauling service, but hey it worked out well last time with the 12' Crestliner. So why not again?

[current boat rehab victim above, 16' 1968 Starcraft]

For a couple months now I have been the proud owner of a 1968 Starcraft 16' aluminum boat.  For 500$ I got the boat, a 1968 Johnson 65HP outboard, a 7.5 Gamefisher kicker motor, and the trailer.  The main outboard motor apparently needed a replacement water pump, which after replacing, I found out it really needed a new bearing on the drive-shaft.  The trailer is working, but rusty (I really need to get a replacement spare tire.. hopefully i will get around to that before regretting my procrastination on getting it).  The kicker just needed a starter (pull cord style).  After a bit of work on the motor and some pressure washing, I have a sort-of decent boat, which after parts, only cost me about 700$.  I have had quite a bit of fun working on it and a few fishing/crabbing trips, so i feel like i got my moneys worth already.  The thought now occurs.. I bet if I put some more effort into making this boat really nice I could sell it for more than what i paid for it plus parts and materials.  If not, well, at least i'll have a really cool boat.  In my day job I work in the apartment industry and we (*by "we" i mean the people that pay me) make lot's of money by adding perceived value to apartments all the time.  People flip houses and make money all the time by adding new fixtures/flooring ect.  Why not boats?  Then with the profits I could could upgrade to bigger and better boats.  The only foreseeable problem i can think of is that I have a light 2-wheel drive truck that just barely tows the 16 footer safely.  I'll deal with that later.

[1968 Johnson 65hp - just put the lower unit back together]

I have the basics down.. the motor runs, the boat doesn't sink when launched (unfortunately that got that part done before i decided to start this blog). It's functional.  Now it's time to fix everything else.  From what i have assessed so far, it needs a new windshield, new flooring, new instruments(pretty much the only thing that works is the ignition switch and a cheap ass toggle switch I installed to turn the bow/stern lights on), repainting, re-doing the seats, re-doing the bimini top, and re-doing the dashboard and interior siding.  Since i'm kinda poor, i will be doing the "elbow grease" and "DIY" methods.  I plan to blog each project.  Those of you who are experienced can laugh at my misguided attempts.. those of you "in the same boat" as it were, can learn from my retarded mistakes.  In any case, I will definitely be drinking beer, listening to Beck, The Racontours or Wolfmother (I do listen to other music as well - my wife Mad would argue that point though!) on my ipod and having fun the most time.   Except when i'm hurting myself, or breaking expensive parts on accident.