Remaking An Old Tidecraft, a Photo Essay

[labill]

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This is the point at which I had a thought to post the progression of revamping Cajun Dave's old Tidecraft. First we flipped the boat and glassed the bottom where needed (chips, cracks, possible leaks, and wear marks where it had slid on and off the trailer. After the glass had set up and cured, we turned it back upright and started on the inside. The ribs under the floor were rotted and were not supporting the floor, and the wood glued onto the fiberglassed bottom as a stiffener was also decayed. We stripped all of it from the boat and did a through cleaning and sanding, then cut wood to fit in the original positions of the rotted wood. We then cut new ribs to replace the old ones and set them aside. Then we glued the stiffeners to the glass floor, and while they were curing we placed a new piece of stainless on the transom, as shown in this pic.



This next pic shows the stiffeners and some of the ribs that will support the inside floor. The weights are to assure 100% contact for a good bond. Notice the steel that runs the center beam that we added to cover the wooden one for more strength. It is also stainless and bolted to the beam.



Another view from the stern.....



At this point the right side stiffner had cured, we then installed the ribs and let them cure out.



This is a closer view of the detail of the ribs. The point closest to the beam has a cutout to allow water to drain to the back of the boat in case of a leak, rain or wakes from bigger boats.



The stiffeners have been glassed and cured, and the front quarter as well. Notice the small blocks in the front to enable fastening that part of the inside floor.



We laid the floor in the boat and actually got inside and walked on it, the result being that we discovered we needed more under floor support, so we removed it and installed some bolsters for support and it did the job. This is Dave making some final checks before the floor goes back and is fastened by screws.


This pic is sort of a bird's eye view of the bolsters.



We ran into a problem glassing the inside floor. We got a bad batch of either resin or hardner that took 24 hours to to harden, rather than take a chance that it wouldn't cure out completely, we bought another batch of another brand and mixed it hot, and it hardened in just a few hours. In the pic below, Dave is indicating his satifaction at the outcome. NOW, I'll start fitting the carpet (color co-ordinated, of course) when it's cured completely.



These next pics show the new carpet glued, and must wait 2 days before we can get into the boat and finish the rest of the details. Before we glued the carpet, we replaced the throttle/shift module, rewired the bilge pump, rewired the lights. remounted the outboard and reconnected the cables. Our next job will be painting the seat pedestals and mounting them when the carpet glue sets, then the trolling motor will be mounted. We're getting closer to taking her on her second maiden voyage in pursuit of the wild and woolley 12 Mile Bayou crappie.....







This next series of pics will be my final post in the progression, but there will be a number of them with some dialog as we post each. These two pics are to show the inside from front and rear, and the layout of the interior.




And an outside view to to end the pics of the boat, but following this one, a few pics of our fishing success, or lack thereof.... Dave will be headed out to Nashville TN to a tournament next month, and we'll strip the trailer, paint it, and get it ready to make the trip.


Now for the fishing results.....We took it out Monday 19th to 12 Mile Bayou. This is Dave's first fish of the day, and if you can find it, you'll have to agree it may be lacking in size!!! But he was game enough to let me take the pic, so I have to admire his sense of humor. Couldn't ask for a better fishing pal.


The final count was 1 'gill, 2 Kentucky bass and nine crappie. The next two pics are of the biggest crappie. The first is Dave's.


This one is mine, it weighed 1.5 lbs and measured a shade under 15 inches. All in all, we had a good day.....and returned home at 2:00 pm Monday 19th, glad to escape the 101 degree temperature. This has been a fun post for Dave and I, and I've got to commend all you guys and gals for what you do for this site. And thanks to edhead for his patience and interest.



This will really be my last post, but I want to finish it off with the work on the trailer. Here's the frame as it was......



This next pic shows the disassembled frame and axle. The first thing I noticed was the seals were shot, so we had a look at the bearings and they were badly pitted. New seals and bearings replaced the old ones.



This is Dave sanding the fenders down, and the next pic is the finished product.




The frame sanded and primed....


Axle sanded, primed and painted....


The finished job. now we reinstall the bunks, winch stanchion and winch, lights, and license plate.


The next pics are a comparison of the trailer before the work and the results of the finished job.
Before....


After....


A view from the stern....note the bearing buddies.


Thanks for your patience, guys and gals. This may be the longest post in crappie.com history.

After the spring rush next year we're going to gelcoat the bottom and sides, after sanding and roughing the original coat. More fun!!

[SkyChimp]

Nice looking job. That looks like a boat that has a lot of good memories attached to it, and plenty more to come.

[Mo'nBack]

Bill; it's good to see you back posting fishing reports. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I see that you and Dave have been real busy. Looks a great job ya'll did on the boat and each of you should be proud. Looks like Dave was pretty proud of that first fish! :D You got the boat ready just in time for the fall pickup which is good. Would've been bad to shut it down and go out in a leaky boat. :D Hope to see more and thanks for the pics.

[labill]

Thanks Sky and Mo'nBack. We have one more task to do before Dave leaves for Nashville and the Crappie Masters tourney, and that's to rework the old trailer and paint 'er up good. We should be able to knock that off in a couple days.

[CrappieHead]

Louisiana Bill & Dave,

What size engine are you pushing that stick steering boat with.

[labill]

Louisiana Bill & Dave,

What size engine are you pushing that stick steering boat with.

An old 35 "Rude", 1978, just recently overhauled. Had to replace the power head, a connecting rod went thru the block. She's good for about 28 to 30 mph with two passengers, if they're not too heavy.

[labill]

CrappieHead......you got a divorce?? How did I miss that??

[papasage]

nice boat have one simular and it is a good river boat . love the stick steering . especialey on the river where i fish . this is the boat . ithink it is a bomer .

[labill]

[QUOTE=papasage]nice boat have one simular and it is a good river boat . love the stick steering . especialey on the river where i fish . this is the boat . ithink it is a bomer .


Papasage, it looks just like it. Is it a Tidecraft?

[papasage]

no it is a bomber bass boat. one of the first i guess there was several brands that was built like that. look at the back side there is a bad crack where a tree fell on it that is why the ankormate is leaning . will fix it one day if some one don`t buy iy first .