Post a message

Muskie Discussion Forums

Search | Statistics | User Listing

You are logged in as a guest. ( logon | register )

Posting a reply to: 1987 Tuffy Ltd Summer Project

Muskie Fishing -> Muskie Boats and Motors

You are replying to:

setme31

Posted 12/6/2007 8:37 AM (#287822)
Subject: 1987 Tuffy Ltd Summer Project

Posts: 516

Location: Kildeer, IL

WARNING!! If you find even one carpenter ant in your boat, spray it with ant killer immediately. Don't wait to see if they make it through a trip/winter/weekend. I decided to wait, and it cost me a summer of fishing.

I went fishing this spring, and while boating through some rough water, my drivers seat screws pulled out of the floor. I knew right away that this meant that my floor was rotted. I also knew that my summer fishing trips were not going to happen. I have two small boys, and it is very tough to find time to work on projects like this.

Well, I finally started working on the boat in late August. The first item of business was to find out how bad the floor rot was. I started pulling the floor up with a crow bar, and everywhere I pulled up was wet and full of dead carpenter ants. I thought to myself, oh #*#* this is bad. I decided to check the transom for wetness. If the transom was wet, I was getting a new boat. To my bad luck, the transom was dry as could be. So I continued pulling up the floor. It wasn't until I got past the floor drain and middle seat (working from the back) that I started to hit dry wood. The bunks were also water logged. Luckily, all of the stringers were still encased in fiberglass and dry as a bone. The stringers may have been dry, but all of the flotation foam was water logged.

Anyway, I pulled up all of the boards, cut new boards to size, and fiberglassed everything into place. Then I recarpeted the boat. $1000 later, and my boat is back in business. The worst part about this whole ordeal is that my boat is exactly like it was when I started (minus the rotting wood). No improvements, it's not worth any more money, and it's not easier to fish out of. It's exactly like it use to be.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy.

Edited by setme31 12/6/2007 8:43 AM

Zoom - | Zoom 100% | Zoom + | Expand / Contract | Open New window