Digging into my 1974 Shamrock boat

[vettemed]

I've had this little boat for about a year and a half now. It's been a fun little toy, and quite economical too. After my prior history running big go-fast boats, this is a nice change from all that.

It's powered by a fuel-injected Merc 350 (derivative of the L31 Vortec motor), good for 300HP, sending power through a Borg-Warner Velvet Drive transmission and a straight shaft to a "keel drive" prop.

Lately I've noticed that the deck panel at the helm has gotten soft, so I decided to dig into it today. 6 bolts to remove the console, 10 machine screws to remove the seat/storage box, and then a dozen or so sheet metal screws securing the deck panel to the supporting structures beneath.

The panel itself is fiberglass on the topside, but there's no waterproofing on the bottom or sides. Over the decades, water wicked in and completely rotted the wood. The panel was resting on 1x2 strips, which also were rotted. Those were screwed into the fiberglass-encapsulated main stringers, which still seem sound.

So, I'm going to replace the 1x2s with some strips of PVC board, which should be adequate for support. The deck panel itself, I'll be stripping off the rotten wood and reusing the fiberglass topside, then cutting new marine plywood to size. I'll fully encapsulate it with a few coats of epoxy resin to prevent a recurrence of water intrusion.

Pics below show the new-ish fuel tank that the prior owner installed in 2020, and the underside of the rotten panel.

[GTOguy]

Bust
Out
Another
Thousand

[LATB]

I’ve always liked those Shamrock boats.

[vettemed]

Bust
Out
Another
Thousand

Eh, if I was paying someone to do it, sure. This job should only run me a few hundred bucks in materials.

I do have to replace the aft exhaust hoses that connect the exhaust pipes to the tailpipes through the transom. Had to cut the old ones to get stuff apart. $48 shipped for 2 new 3" diameter hoses.

[GTOguy]

I had a boat once, but storage and transport were a pain. If I lived on the water like some of you guys do, I would have one. Lots of people around here have boats due to all the lakes and reservoirs, but to me, it's too much hassle.

[simpleman68]

Looks like a great skiff to restore. Starboard FTW :cert:
Scott

[vettemed]

Looks like a great skiff to restore. Starboard FTW :cert:
Scott

Full resto will have to wait a few years. For now slightly soft floors are tolerable as long as safety is not compromised. The panel I'm redoing now is what I stand on when I'm running the boat, so I hate the sponginess.

Starboard is nice stuff, but good plywood is stiffer and a LOT less expensive. So I'll be redoing the panel in 3/4 plywood but sealing all surfaces with epoxy resin, not just the top surface.

Once I get the time and space to cut out the entire deck, I'll also have the hull painted.

[zeek]

We restored a boats complete interior once. Once was enough....:yesnod:

[Frankie the Fink]

If I wasn't on the water I wouldn't have one either, and, I switched to a pontoon boat (yeah old fogey stuff) from my Sea Ray inboard/outboard runabout. No bilge to worry about, almost can NOT sink and I can repower it by throwing on another outboard....so far the maintenance has been a lower unit lube change, new impeller and engine oil and plugs - which I do myself on the water. At this stage in life its a no brainer.

I added a trolling motor ad a backup motility source if I need it (unlikely) and to cruise silently. There are no rescue resources on my lake.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eepb2xIkC7g

[vettemed]

Got all the rotten wood scraped/pried off the fiberglass deck panel. Lot of dirty sweaty work involved.

Tomorrow I'll start glass work.

[Tikiman]

Is that a Griot's bottle that I see?

[vettemed]

Is that a Griot's bottle that I see?

Yeah, just a bottle of car wash soap that I didn't put back on the shelf after the last use.

[Onebadcad]

True to my cheap bastage character, I prefer other people's boats:

[vettemed]

Busy weekend. Got her all put back together, nice to have firm footing at the helm now.

Dropped a hundred bucks of fuel in, then braved the holiday crowd at the ramp and ran to my buddy's house so we could put her on the lift, a project that's been 10 months in the making since I sold MY waterfront house.

The lift, which hasn't had a boat on it in over a decade, Needed new lift motors, plus today, found that one of the pulley blocks was installed 180 degrees off, causing cable bind, but that's now fixed, and the old lady is in her new home, ready to go at the push of a button.

[BayouCountry]

Let the good times roll. Doing it yourself just adds that extra sense of satisfaction.

[Frankie the Fink]

That's what my dock looked like before I went with composite decking.....don't miss the wood one little bit.

[vettemed]

That's what my dock looked like before I went with composite decking.....don't miss the wood one little bit.

Yah, at my old place I had composite decking on the whole 140 feet of seawall. Very nice and maintenance free but not cheap.

Since this is my friend's house it's no concern of mine!