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| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [30 messages per page] Muskie Fishing -> Muskie Boats and Motors -> 1987 Tuffy Ltd Summer Project |   |
setme31 |
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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 Attachments ----------------  Tuffy_Ltd1.JPG (124KB - 187 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd2.JPG (118KB - 180 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd3.JPG (111KB - 174 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd4.JPG (115KB - 172 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd5.JPG (150KB - 168 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd6.JPG (104KB - 176 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd7.JPG (126KB - 192 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd8.JPG (109KB - 176 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd9.JPG (91KB - 194 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd10.JPG (100KB - 183 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd11.JPG (114KB - 192 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd12.JPG (103KB - 183 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd13.JPG (114KB - 187 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd14.JPG (124KB - 202 downloads) Tuffy_Ltd15.JPG (107KB - 205 downloads) | ||
| lambeau |
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| Shep |
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Posts: 5874 | |||
| setme31 |
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Posts: 516 Location: Kildeer, IL | I saw the ants multiple times, but I always assumed they were just hanging out on the boat because I stored it outside. I never imagined that they lived in the boat. They made a home inside of the floatation foam. Here is a shot of what the wood looked like once you got under the fiberglass. The second shot is what it looked like once the floor was removed. This is not sawdust. It is what the ants chewed up. Attachments ---------------- IMG_2433.JPG (124KB - 184 downloads) IMG_2584.JPG (142KB - 204 downloads) | ||
| Pedro |
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Posts: 670 Location: Otsego, MN | |||
| WI_guy_turnedMudDuck |
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| Reelwise |
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| weedsnager |
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Posts: 476 Location: St. John, Indiana | |||
| SebSkie |
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Posts: 99 Location: North Coventry, PA | |||
| sworrall |
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Posts: 32939 Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | |||
| setme31 |
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Posts: 516 Location: Kildeer, IL | |||
| muskynightmare |
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Posts: 2112 Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | |||
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