The Recreation is finally finished
Well guys and girls, you may remember twelve months ago, Nico and I started a little project boat in my front driveway. Here's a couple of pics to refresh your memory.
Anyway, we started with a lot of enthusiasm and a wad of cash, (I sold my last boat for a princely sum) and we fixed the floor, put in pockets, installed a new dash and created a pod for the 150hp Johnson to sit on.
We got it in the water and running just before Christmas last year although we did not do everything we planned to do mainly because the fish were calling and the other half was getting sick of the mess in the driveway!!!
But even as she would agree, the boat just did not look finished because of the non-nautical colour scheme that thirty years ago Douglass Craft had chosen. What were they thinking?!!!
So five weeks ago, I stripped the ol' girl down again,
Put a couple of coats of white undercoat,
And started with lauderdale blue for the sides and snow white for the gunnels and bow top.
Finally, I had new rego numbers made up in silver vinyl and today we installed the gunnel rubber which is 40mm wide.
I also redid the windows and windscreen to make them more solid and robust.
All in all, it has taken us twelve months to finish and it owes me all up around $12000 and that includes the purchase of the boat, motor and all accessories. It has been agreed valued at twice that by the insurance company but I have no intention of selling it for hopefully a very long time.
Wherever you go, there you are
Perry Home
Posts: 434
Date Joined: 07/10/10
Hats off to you Dave
On a job well done. I'd like to have a go at a rebuild one day - probably in my retirement when the Mrs is otherwise gonna kill me cause I'll have nothing to do. I & a few others would appreciate a couple more photos of the interior fit out. BTW with the pod on how long does it make the beast and have you given thought to a name for her? Cheers
MetroMako
Posts: 245
Date Joined: 17/07/12
what happened
what happened to the old johnson on it mate?
Goatch
Posts: 1011
Date Joined: 03/07/07
Nice work
Thats a credit too you , she certainly looks the goods .
Just one more cast , honest !!!
deepwater
Posts: 1921
Date Joined: 09/05/07
Boat project
Well done David,12 months and the old girl looks million dollars ,looks like she is going to be a fish killling mechine,look forward to seeing some fish pics david
jeff
catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
cool
cool
Nathan
Jon H
Posts: 17
Date Joined: 03/08/12
Beautiful work - completing
Beautiful work - completing a project like that yourself must fill you with pride everytime you take her out!
UncutTriggerInWA
Posts: 2692
Date Joined: 05/09/08
Great effort mate
She looks great. Now for a name.....
Vince.
Work smart and fish often.
Member and die-hard supporter of the mighty West Coast Eagles.
Rick
Posts: 1113
Date Joined: 22/12/06
Great Job
WOW looks like a new boat, well worth the effort thats for sure
PGFC Member
SABRE
Posts: 404
Date Joined: 17/05/12
Top job
Top job boys, have you managed to blood her yet. Be nice to see some pics of the finished interior ?
If fishing is a sport I,m an elite athlete
davidbland50
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 24/07/11
In answer to
firstly Perry, the name has been made up by my nine year old son and it is 'BLUE FLAME'. Pre pod the boat measured 5.9m or 19 feet in the old scale. With the pod, she added a further 700mm or 2.3 feet. We decided on the size of the pod for the purpose of extra fishing room as well as a great place to get on and off the boat into the water. The pod is made up of fibreglass and ply. Here are a few pics of her
The top being made and reinforced with plywood
The mould ready for the first coat of gelcoat
Two layers of gelcoat soon to have three layers of fibreglass on it
Then the ply reinforced ribs are glassed in
And finally, the pod is attached to the transom by fibreglass and bolted through the transom to the back of the motor mount
Secondly, Metromak, the old engine was sold with the alloy pod to a fellow from down south. The alloy pod was attached with about sixteen s/s nuts and bolts and then topped off with a large amount of sikaflex. It took a lot of elbow grease and even being pulled off with the car!! This is what the transom looked like after.
Thirdly, Sabre a couple of pics of the interior including the finished dashboard
Fourthly, as to being a killing machine, here are a few of the catches so far even taking her out 25 miles off Ocean Reef.
Wherever you go, there you are
SABRE
Posts: 404
Date Joined: 17/05/12
Thanks
thanks dave certainly looks the goods heaps of storage and deck space. Good to see some blood has been spilt. Well done be proud.
If fishing is a sport I,m an elite athlete
Dreamtime
Posts: 657
Date Joined: 21/09/09
nice
good work fellas, nice tub and love the name, classic! should be all you need to get amongst it? where you usually fish from mate? think ive seen it out somewhere?
davidbland50
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 24/07/11
Depends
Dreamtime,
If the weather is good, we put her in at Ocean Reef or Hillarys, however if the weather is not comfortable, we go down to Maylands boat ramp.
Wherever you go, there you are
davidbland50
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 24/07/11
Where
Where do you put your boat in, Dreamtime
Wherever you go, there you are
crasny1
Posts: 7003
Date Joined: 16/10/08
A nine yr old came out with the name
Classic.
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
davidbland50
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 24/07/11
Thank you
to all those who have commented. It certainly has been a labour of love but it will be fun to get her out some more and do some serious fishing. Can't wait!!
Wherever you go, there you are
mako magic
Posts: 5785
Date Joined: 03/08/05
Looks great seen it on the
Looks great seen it on the water today parked up , and then back at the boat ramp , your electric winch was working its ass off , next time get the trailer in the water a touch more and it won't be so much of a strain
davidbland50
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 24/07/11
Which one?
Mako,
Where were you at the boat ramp? Were you the one that came in behind me or did you have your boat already on the trailer when I got there? I know what you mean about the trailer but I find that having her a little more out of the water is better when there are a lot of wakes around. It seems to do less damage to the keel. Don't be a stranger next time though and introduce yourself if you see me again. Always good to meet other fishwreckers.
Wherever you go, there you are
mako magic
Posts: 5785
Date Joined: 03/08/05
Yeah I was still in the
Yeah I was still in the water and got out just as you drove off , I had the commodore boat with the hard top and graphics on the hull , couldn't miss it
davidbland50
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 24/07/11
yes
I do remember your boat now. What an absolutely gorgeous boat! I was actually admiring it for quite some time. VERY NICE.
Wherever you go, there you are
Perry Home
Posts: 434
Date Joined: 07/10/10
Once again Congrats Dave
And well done to your young fella on coming up with a classic name for the boat.