Boats and Bikes!

[mcgovern61]

I just found another picture of my first bike. It was a 1981 Suzuki GN400. The only other picture I had of her was alongside my boat. (1st boat too!) In this picture (shown here before) you can see the Plexifaring II windshield installed.

In this picture (just found) the windshield was removed because I had to carry the plank for the port side back to the boat. (The plank was 24 feet long!)

Funny thing is, after our first daughter was born in 1987, I sold the bike. I lost the boat in 1984 to a boatyard that cut her up with a chainsaw while I was away on a ship. Never bought another boat or bike.

Until we acquired the Slug! 1st bike in 20 years! Last spring, we bought our 1st boat in 35 years and guess what, it was the same kind of boat.

(Must be doin somthing right?)

 

[Ansimp]

:good: :salute:

 

[joedrum]

Nice pics ...to bad about the first boat...

 

[Rednaxs60]

Very addictive these boats and bikes!

 

[dan filipi]

Okay, there has to be a story behind your boat getting cut up with a chain saw!!

 

[mcgovern61]

dan filipi » Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:16 am[/url]":aadxterv]
Okay, there has to be a story behind your boat getting cut up with a chain saw!!

There is.

It was a 1956 Chris Craft 24' semi-enclosed name "Marisa" that I had acquired for $50 in 1982. Her engine was seized, she was sinking at the dock, missing hardware, missing the deck hatch, but it was my first boat. 20 years old and I thought I owned the world!

I had a great time restoring the "Marisa". I spent all fall, winter and spring (1982-83) working on her. I launched her in June 1983 and had a blast all summer! I met my future Wife and we had our first dates on that boat!

But, in September 1983, at the end of the summer season, a group of drunk kids broke into the boat and stole it. My fault for leaving the key inside, but it was behind a locked door. They broke the lock off, found the key and went joy riding. They didn't get very far. It was low tide, night time and they were drunk. At the end of the harbor was a significant sand bar. They ran aground, pull the strut off, bent the shaft, bent the wheel and still kept going. With the bent shaft and rudder, they had a hard time steering and ran the bow into the George Redding Bridge in Wildwood, NJ.

They kept going until the boat had too much water to keep going. It was beached and left sinking right next to the Burger King in Wildwood. Before they left, they ripped out the windows, tore off the lights, threw everything overboard (tools, life jackets, fire extinguishers). It was a sad day indeed.

I saved the "Marisa" from totally sinking. I thanked God the gas tank was empty and there were still 8 life jackets in the bow. When we found her, she was floating right at the covering board. Just enough to throw in an electric pump from shoreside and get her pumped out. A boatyard right across the harbor hauled her out.

I cleaned her up and started over. Pulled the engine again, rebuilt it completely, head shaved, valves done right. Fixed the strut, shaft straightened, wheel straightened, rudder post fixed. I was determined to get her running again!

Late in the spring, I got a job as Mate/Engineer on an offshore clam dredge with a Captain I had already worked for. We headed up to Cape Cod for the summer with the dredge. While up there, the boatyard where the "Marisa" was stored was sold. The new owners were tearing everything down and building a whole new marina. They sent 30 day notices to all boat owners to move their boats off the property.

I was in Cape Cod on the dredge "Easy Rider" working 180 miles offshore. I never received the notice. In July 1984, the boatyard cut up the "Marisa' with a chain saw and threw her in a burn pile. I did not find out until September '84 when we returned.

I was devastated!

 

[dan filipi]

Sad ending. That had to be rough.

 

[dan filipi]

Curious, how do you choose a name for a boat? I mean you wouldn’t want to name it the same as someone else has, would you? Is there a registry of boat names already taken?

 

[mcgovern61]

You can name a boat anything you want. If it is a popular name, you could easily be sharing it with many other boats. The only real difference is the homeport and State registration number.

My first boat was already named "Marisa". I liked it so I kept the name. Our current boat did not have a name when we bought her. My Wife's dad had a boat when they were kids called the "Snoopy". She was thinking we could call this boat the "Goofy Snoopy". I wanted something a little more elegant since it is a 1956 antique.

I chose "Laura Ann". It has a classy sound (plus it is also my Wife's name! Happy Wife, Happy Life!) :hihihi:

I knew it would look nice on the transom. Plus, we had our first dates on the "Marisa" and after 32 years of marriage, it seemed appropriate.

 

[Ansimp]

It really is such a beautiful boat and that transom looks perfect especially knowing that it is your better half’s name. :salute:

 

[wilcoy02]

:clapping: :fishin: :clapping:

 

[julimike54]

So it looks like the overloading of bikes has been going on for a while :razz:

Nice looking boat that took a while to return to y'all :BigGrin:

 

[dan filipi]

Transom and lettering look beautiful. How many coats of shine on it?

 

[mcgovern61]

dan filipi » Thu Feb 14, 2019 12:07 pm[/url]":1u58yrbp]
Transom and lettering look beautiful. How many coats of shine on it?

12 coats of varnish! :heat:

 

[mcgovern61]

Varnishing is only part of the process. In my case, I have to "wood" the boat meaning, take it back to the original wood (mahogany) by stripping, sanding, staining, sealing and then varnishing.

1. I remove the old varnish and stain with a heat gun.
2. Sand with 80 grit paper.
3. Check for cracks or holes and repair with Famowood or epoxy.
4. Sand again with 80 grit. Vacuum off. Wipe with tack clothe. Wipe with thinner.
5. Stain using a special filler/stain that is rubbed on and then cross grain using a piece of burlap.
6. Let stain dry 24 hrs. Wipe with tack cloth.
7. Seal stain with marine wood sealer for marine stain (2 coats). Wipe with tack cloth.
8. 1st coat varnish thinned 40%.
9. 2nd coat varnish thinned 30%.
10. 3rd coat varnish thinned 10%.
11. 4th coat varnish full strength.
12. Wait for varnish to harden (24-72 hrs)
13. Sand with 240 grit. Vacuum off. Wipe with tack cloth.
14. 4 more coats of varnish full strength.
15. Wait for varnish to harden (24-72 hrs)
16. Wet Sand with 600 grit. Vacuum off. Wipe with tack clothe.
17. 3 more coats of varnish full strength.
18. Wet Sand with 1500 grit. Vacuum off. Wipe with tack clothe.
19. Top coat with last coat of varnish.
20. Reinstall hardware. Reinstall on boat.

Here is an example of a before and after. The after picture is at coating #8 for the step so I have more work to do. This is a replacement step I got from a 1920's Chris Craft that I restored to match my 1956 step:

 

[mcgovern61]

Here is another example restoring one of the front windows:

This is the window with the hardware removed and before using the heat gun.

After removing old stain, sanded, new stain applied.

Sealer and 3 coats of varnish.

10 coats of varnish. Wet sanding finished.

Finished with hardware reinstalled.

 

[Ansimp]

No wonder your bike always looked so good Gerry. You are a very patient and diligent restorer which produces a wonderful finished product. :salute: :hi:

 

[dan filipi]

Wow, I didn’t know there were so many steps. Patience for sure!

 

[DaveKamp]

Okay, Gerry- now, tell us about her engine!

 

[mcgovern61]

DaveKamp » Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:16 pm[/url]":24iv5ip9]
Okay, Gerry- now, tell us about her engine!

Original 1956 Chris Craft KL engine, 105 hp with a 1:1 clutch/gear. It is a Hercules Industrial flathead 6. 6 volt system is fully intact. I just finished rebuilding the carb, water pump, fuel pump and distributor. I have a shop cleaning and rebuilding the starter and cleaning the generator.

I have a new head gasket to install since I missed that you are supposed to re-torque the head bolts at the beginning of the season and then monthly while running. I started spitting water out of the head. Retorqued the 24 head bolts and got a full turn out of each! I am going to pull the head just in case there is a crack in the gasket from improper torque.

Here is a video of the very first start of the engine last spring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwV5koA1xIg