The Floor

The floor of this boat had suffered years of unprotected exposure to the Minnesota elements, and was completely rotten. My first step was getting everything out of the boat (seats, etc.) so I could remove the flooring. It was pretty disgusting and mold infested under the carpet. I was able to pull up most of the wood intact, but once it dried out it did not want to hold together. I found some pretty interesting artifacts buried in brownish Styrofoam underneath that flooring. There were fishing supplies, such as bobbers, hooks and line. I also pulled out a needle-nose pliers that was so rusted that it fell apart in my hands. After I gave it a good washing, I found that the boat was very solid underneath all of that rotten wood.

I then used the old pieces of floor as best as I could to make a template for a new floor. I didn't go with marine plywood; just green-treated to prevent water damage. I used some left-over pink foam insulation between the floor joists for flotation.

Before I put the new pieces of floor in, I gave them a couple of coats of polyurethane on each side. For the topside, I put a texture in the last coat, as to prevent slippage.

All-in-all, it's a pretty good floor. The black strips are non-skid tape, and work to both hide the seams of the plywood pieces and further prevent wet feet from sliding all over the decking. The striping sort of matches the striping of the seats, so that came together nicely. The seats are something else I'd like to get to eventually, but that's another post.

Sea Scout

This is my 1967 Crestliner Sea Scout--the project boat--as it was when my wife and I first found her. Not bad structurally, but pretty rough around the edges. The windshield was cracked in several spots, the paint was showing signs of sun fade and wear, there wasn't a motor (the one in the picture is a 1970's Johnson that my father-in-law loaned me), and the interior (floor, side panels, etc.) was all rotten and falling apart. It's actually a small miracle we survived the test voyage.

Below is a picture of the boat today. I stripped everything off, sanded down the original paint, found an appropriate motor (a 1969 40 hp Evinrude Big Twin), and have put on a first coat of paint--a blue that is almost an exact match. The paint is a funny thing. It's actually a designer (Ralph Lauren) exterior enamel called "Mediterranean Blue." As I was painting I imagined that the inspiration for the color came from an old 1960's Crestliner ad. Hey--it could have happened.

I'm also painting the motor, and actually found someone who specializes in making decals for vintage outboards. Here is a picture from a 1960's Crestliner catalogue of a slightly earlier model of the same motor .

It's unbelievable what you can find online these days!

It's also, as I've already mentioned, unbelievable to me that I am increasingly concerned about bringing this boat back to its original look. What is driving me to the details of an old outboard, or just the right dash plate for the interior? It's as though I've been possessed by the spirit of some 1960's water skier.

On the Lake

I mentioned in my first post that this whole fascination with boats started with water. I grew up on a lake in Minnesota, and as far back as I can remember was either fishing, swimming, or on the boat with my family. Dad and I used to go out fishing at dawn on his pontoon--a rather scrappy looking thing, but common in those days. (Those are my grandparents in the picture.)

He had this old green 9 hp Johnson outboard on it, and the look of it resembled one of the motors I now own--a 1958 10 hp Evinrude Sportwin. It's a great motor for my small fishing boat. As one fellow boater said recently as I was launching "it runs great once you get it started!"

So, I guess this fascination with boats began back when I was having my first experiences on the lake. However, that doesn't fully explain why I had to have my current project boat, or why its vintage is so appealing to me. Nobody that I know had such a boat when I was growing up. We were more of a fishing and leisure (as in pontoon and folding chairs) family.

I own a 1967 Crestliner Sea Scout, and am currently in search of the propper dash plate for the 1969 40hp Evinrude Big Twin motor that powers it. It's the kind of thing I never thought I would obsess about. I sometimes wonder what (who?) planted this desire in me to be caretaker to this old boat. Who's memory is this, anyway?

This is the story of my boat fixation. It all started with water.