# Restoring my 1988 Blue Fin Bass Dominator



## BassDominator (Apr 30, 2010)

Hello all, i am new to TinBoats.net and have seen some of the work you fellow anglers have done and have been quite impressed so I found my own deal and am hoping to turn it into my own dream boat. 

I just acquired a 1988 Blue Fine Bass Dominator for around $1500. The motor looks like it is in great condition with probably less than 100 hours on it the rest of the boat however needs some work. The sun and weather has ruined the carpet as well as the decking. All the gauges, steering wheel, switches, older sonar unit etc are ready to be pulled. I cant wait to dig in and start stripping it down.

A few questions i have are: 
1. is marine grade wood a must if your boat is not going to be exposed to the "elements" much, i live in northern california where we get no snow and not tons of rain. I figured treated wood would handle fine...

2. should i use 3/4" treated plywood or what size???

3. should i purchase new carpet from bass pro shops or should i just purchase it from my local lowes hardware store??? its cheaper at the local store but I don't know if the quality would be as good?

4. what did you use on your aluminum boat to get ride of old oxidation quickly? i have heard sandpaper with vegetable oil on it then buff it using corn starch???? 

ANY TIPS, IDEAS, AND ADVICE YOU MAY HAVE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!


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## wolfmjc (Apr 30, 2010)

Welcome, do not use treated plywood on aluminum as it will pit the metal. use regular plywood and seal it with a good wood sealer. I would match the plywood thickness to that which was on there. nice boat by the way! Oh and the carpet fron bp will prob be higher quality but i used lowes because it was cheaper.... 8)


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## BassDominator (Apr 30, 2010)

thanks for the advice. how is your lowes carpet holding up?


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## huntinfool (Apr 30, 2010)

Do not use treated wood, as it could cause some galvanic corrosion. 1/2 in. ply wood that is braced would be fine, but 3/4 would be stronger. Also the 3/4 would be heavier. I would see what you have on the deck now. ALso now would be the time to add on to anything, so take that into consideration. As for the carpet I can not say as I do not like carpet in my boat. Also my boat is painted so I can't give too much info. But I do know that there are several products on the market (aluminum cleaners) that you can get and they will clean up most if not all of the oxidation. I have not heard of the method you suggested, but it might work. It would be a lot of labor, as opposed to the cleaners that you spray on and rinse off. Might try looking at Sharkshide(i think that was the name of it). Supposed to bring out a real good shine(if that is what you want)


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## bobberboy (Apr 30, 2010)

Did you really buy that whole outfit for $1500? What a sweet deal. That looks like a really nice boat. I am in the process of doing some changes to my new boat, including carpet. I bought my carpet from a local dealer who carries marine fabrics. I just googled "marine carpet in Minneapolis" and came up with some good local results. I assume you could do the same in your area. I don't really know the actual difference between marine and other carpets. From reading a lot on TinBoats, there seems to be some consensus that marine is the way to go. If yours isn't too exposed to the weather and kept covered when not in use, maybe the outdoor carpet would do fine.


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## BassDominator (May 2, 2010)

yeah the boat was only 1500 bucks. the main difference between marine grade and outdoor carpet is marine usually comes with UV protection and has a durable rubber backing to prevent water from touching the wood decking. at least thats what i've gathered...

Today i gave the entire boat a bath, and buffed and waxed the motor to a glassy shine. then i ripped the entire front casting deck out, and found aluminum supports which i was excited about, then i removed the dated tape deck, removed the bimini from the support pieces in order to clean it and bend the poles back into shape. I also stripped the carpet off the steering console and am contemplating weather i should re carpet it or just paint it...I spent hours trying to get the motor to turn over but all the batteries i have just are not strong enough to kick over the starter. tomorrow i am going to go get a new starter battery. 


I am thinking of painting all of the interior aluminum white. i figure paired with nice grey carpet and new red seats, new red Mercury decals on the motor and new side decals the boat will look super sharp.... 

Another exciting thing is that this boat lacks storage!!!! after opening up the front deck i found a HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! waste of space right under the front pedestal that is big enough for someone to lay down. I can not wait for tomorrow when i find out what storage possibilities there are in the back of the boat!... 


i got alot more pictures coming as well.


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## BassDominator (May 4, 2010)

here are pics from the first two days
after removing the 
- windshield 
-front and rear decking
-stero
-seats
-fish finder
and more i can not remember everything.

we got alot done for just spending roughly 3 hours on it. the decks were held in with about 50 rivets which had to be drilled out and ground down. then each compartment lid and seat was held on by 20 plus screws. over kill if you ask me.


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## BassDominator (May 4, 2010)

*DAY 3*​I purchased some aluminum polish you might say. its called Aluminum brighten and it is sold at NAPA, 32 oz for 10 bucks and a gallon for 30. i went with this stuff just because i didn't want to wait a week and i had 3 days to work on it so i HAD to get something done! 


this stuff is strong, i wore rubber gloves, jacket, pants, and eye protection, since i was outside i didn't feel a face mask would be necessary. i duluted it with some water in a spray bottle...BAD idea. spray bottles just cause it to sploch even the one provided by the manufacture didnt mist enough and caued it to pool and made run marks all over the test areas. the trick! *pour some in a plastic container and use a sponge or a spong brush and distribute the stripper evenly.* stick to small areas it is easier to control!

In these pics i spent about 20 mins with my friend trying this stuff out on the front of the boat. Tomorrow i am going to hit the rest of the aluminum with this stuff, i think the 32 oz bottle will do the entire boat!. Well worth the 10 bucks

*NOTE: in the pictures that are up close the LEFT side is the finished product and the dingy rite is untreated!*


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## Crankworm (May 4, 2010)

Nice boat looks like you got a good deal. That cleaner really takes the years off can you leave the hull like it is or do you need to put on some kind of polish to keep it clean? I could be wrong but looking at the pics it looks like your motor is a Force not a merc.


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## BassDominator (May 4, 2010)

yeah im not going to do the entire hull just everything thats visible. thanks for the feed back.

and it is a force but force was made by mercury at least according to the information i found online. i'm planning on replacing the force sticker because its faded and i would prefer a newer decal to match the new ones that are going to go on the boat. and for 40 bucks its worth it. it would make the boat look 15 years newer.


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## Ictalurus (May 4, 2010)

Your boat looks great, what a deal. For extra storage, I'd consider taking out one of the two livewells.


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## Loggerhead Mike (May 4, 2010)

very jelious sweet rig


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## bAcKpAiN (May 4, 2010)

Very nice boat, looks like it is built like a tank. I can't wait to see some more pics of it.


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## BassDominator (May 5, 2010)

yeah honestly i am planning on entering tournaments with this boat...not pro but amateur at the lake near my house. I figured for 5 fish limit two live wells would be better plus make it a lot easier to separate your keepers from your fillers...

the boat is built pretty sturdy , today i finished polishing the boat. tomorrow im cleaning out the engine compartment, getting my plywood, and working on rewiring the entire boat.

i am pretty sure it will be done within the next week and a half. its going pretty quick!

the only thing that is slowing me down is the fact that i have to order a bunch of supplies from basspro.

*Thanks for the feed back guys*


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## bobberboy (May 8, 2010)

Man, that's going to turn out to be a nice boat. It looks like a lot of work, but each layer you strip off makes it better. It must be gratifying to see when you peel off the crappy carpet, etc that there's a really nice boat underneath. Sometimes all the work in the world can't change what you find when all the old stuff is taken off. Yours is going to be sweet. I may have missed it but what is the size of your boat?


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## BassDominator (May 9, 2010)

the boat is 16 ft long. not great but for the price it should rival any used tracker...

The boats coming along great its just turning out to be more work that i originally expected. i figured new wood carpet and a few parts. we have taken it down to the guts. we were nervous about the rivets leaking so we bought stuff to seal them but in order to reach them all we had to remove all of the flotation foam and we found that it had absorbed a lot of water and was causing the boat to oxidize on the inside.... bad news. 

but after calculating everything together i think we will be able to get out of this boat for around 2500... including the original purchase price + all new accessories parts etc. 

most used trackers are around 2500-3000 in rough condition so to find a boat and build it up with all new components for less than the price of a used boat i am pretty happy. 

i have new pictures i will try to upload later.


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## longjohn119 (May 11, 2010)

I use acid based aluminum cleaners all the time to clean aluminum finned condenser coils on large commercial AC units. Just make sure you rinse it well .. and then rinse it one more time just to be sure. Especially important is to get any standing rinse water out of the boat or at least make sure it's well diluted because if it's allowed to sit in a low spot or crack it will continue to corrode the aluminum. Basically all an aluminum cleaner is is a controlled corrosion which you stop by fully rinsing off the acid. Look for a white powder after any sitting water dries up and if you find some re-rinse that area really good. 

Like I tell my apprentices when I'm training them to clean coils, it's impossible to over rinse but extremely possible to ruin a coil (or any other piece of aluminum) by under rinsing.


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## longjohn119 (May 11, 2010)

BassDominator said:


> the boat is 16 ft long. not great but for the price it should rival any used tracker...
> 
> The boats coming along great its just turning out to be more work that i originally expected. i figured new wood carpet and a few parts. we have taken it down to the guts. we were nervous about the rivets leaking so we bought stuff to seal them but in order to reach them all we had to remove all of the flotation foam and we found that it had absorbed a lot of water and was causing the boat to oxidize on the inside.... bad news.



Some of that oxidation could also be from your aluminum cleaner getting trapped under the foam and not getting diluted enough during your rinse. Of course it could also be from acids in the waterlogged foam being rinsed out and sitting there. But basically it illustrates the point I was trying to make in my previous post of what happens if the rinse water isn't drained well or at least diluted enough so there is no acid left in it.


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## Rat (May 14, 2010)

Marine ply Vs Outdoor ply. For building decks and stuff (boxes storage etc) that is well supported there is no reason not to use regular outdoor grade ply. Marine ply is superior in every way, more plies per inch, uniform ply glue thickness, usually not warped, better woods etc. But it costs much more; and for what we use it for anyway, regular ply will pass with flying colors. Make sure it is outdoor ply (not treated) as this ply has waterproof glue, even though you will be waterproofing it anyway before the carpet goes on. There are tons of different waterproofing opinions on here as well. If it were me, and I was doing what you are doing, I would use Boiled Linseed Oil. 

BTW, you stole that hull man! That thing would be $3000 easy where I live.


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## BassDominator (May 15, 2010)

thank you very much for the info about the decking! 

so i want to treat the ply before it goes down. i was confused what to use because everyone says that treated wood causes aluminum to have pitting....

and yeah it was a steal the owners were older...and i mean it needed alot of work so they just wanted it gone...i put a new battery in the boat and it fired rite up i was excited...

This weekend i am painting over all of the rivets with Glove-it to ensure that the boat will not have any! leaks since it is riveted.


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## wasilvers (May 15, 2010)

Thanks for the tip on the brightener. I used some today and that is just the ticket to get the look I wanted.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (May 15, 2010)

BassDominator said:


> thank you very much for the info about the decking!
> 
> so i want to treat the ply before it goes down. i was confused what to use because everyone says that treated wood causes aluminum to have pitting....
> 
> ...


Pressure treated wood is what you want to avoid.


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## BassDominator (May 16, 2010)

wasilvers said:


> Thanks for the tip on the brightener. I used some today and that is just the ticket to get the look I wanted.



did you go to napa??? i feel it did a decent job for 10 bucks  would have loved shark hide but for the price and the fact that i didnt want to wait for shipping...and sharkhide gives to much shine for my liking...wanted shiny but not a mirror


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## wasilvers (May 18, 2010)

Yes, went to NAPA. The guy tried to sell me 2 other products, then I saw what you had used in the spray bottle. He tried to talk me out of if! Myy fam couldn't believe the difference. I was REAL happy and it only took part of an afternoon.


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## BassDominator (May 18, 2010)

yeah i was skeptical at first but i read carefully and it said it could be used on pontoons so i said ehhh ill try it its only 10 bucks...just wish i had a better respirator that stuff is very strong


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## BassDominator (May 18, 2010)

The boat is completely gutted. we are getting ready to paint the riveted seams with a product called glove-it. the couple we originally purchased the boat from told us there was a small leak at one point. however when we tore the boat down there were probably 30 different ways for this "leak"

could have been water from the front from their bad storage of this boat coming to the rear upon acceleration...
a plug that was from 1988....its pretty corroded.
we found the foam to be waterlogged and we were glad we tore it out.
all the fittings on the back of the boat were damaged and could have leaked...
and all the hosing for the live wells etc were dried cracked and damaged and the fittings were all rusted. 

*the trolling motor was functional however it had seen better days it was cracked and the paint was faded and dull. i disassembled it and bought a can of rustoleum and clear coat.... painted and repainted then upon the last coat of clear the paint peeled and now it looks crappy...i think i messed it all up. it still works but looks like crap in my opinion....

here are some current pictures.


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## Troutman3000 (May 18, 2010)

Now comes the fun part.

Keep up the good work.


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## BassDominator (May 18, 2010)

for me the fun part was ripping it apart now it feels like there is so much work ahead that its overwhelming!!!! 
i'm mostly looking forward to just screwing in the deck after its carpeted and being DONE! i want to get this done before june is over so i can go catch some monster bass and maybe fish a tournament or two.


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## wasilvers (May 18, 2010)

You should have that done before June for sure. Your foundation is already laid. Carpeting stuff isn't all that hard. Wiring might be fun.


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## BassDominator (May 18, 2010)

yeah no kidding did you see that rats nest of wires!?!?!
:shock: 

and i just got done testing the hull for leaks and found a fair share...i am pretty disappointed and dont really know where to begin...either i need to seal it or take it to get welded....does anyone know how much it costs to have your boat re welded?


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## Rat (May 18, 2010)

About $70 if you buy the HTS 200 and do it yourself; lots more if you don't. :mrgreen: I know, not much help huh? Call a local welding shop that welds Alu. and get a quote, that way there are no surprises.


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## Rat (May 18, 2010)

HTS 2000
Lots of vids on youtube as well.


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## wasilvers (May 18, 2010)

BassDominator said:


> does anyone know how much it costs to have your boat re welded?



Careful with getting welded. Mine was is an old 1978 riveted boat. Between the rivets is a sheet of tar paper type stuff. When the seams were welded, this paper burned out and the rivets leaked more :evil: He put some type of aluminumepoxy on it on the inside to stop leaks. It seems to hold right now. So I would caution against getting it welded unless it is metal on metal. Mine cost $450 to get about 9ish feet of welding done - but he picked up the boat late at night and dropped it off on the weekend for me.

If I would do it again, I would just rebuck the rivets. Cheaper and pretty fast (so I hear).


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## westeed (Jun 6, 2010)

get an automatic bilge pump and call it good. Mine leaks too.


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 7, 2010)

westeed said:


> get an automatic bilge pump and call it good. Mine leaks too.




Float swithc and thats it. As long as the floor is above the water its not gonna hurt anything. My new Tracker has a feew small leaks but unless you go through it and rebuck every rivet and apply 5200 on top of them, then there are bound to be a few leaks. Furthermore, if you dont rebuck the rivets there is no point in using the glove it.


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## tccanoe (Jun 9, 2010)

How about Steelflex up to the water-line?


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 14, 2010)

If there are loose rivets the steel flex wont hold them under normal stress. Mine had some rivets that came loose. I plan on pulling my floor out of my tracker this winter to rebuck the rivets and then any small leaks will be filled with gluv it from the inside. That shoudl do the trick. The steel flex is a good tool but not a fix all.


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## free jonboat (Jun 14, 2010)

hey, ill take that old fish sonar off of ur hands if u dont want it


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## thatcanbefixed (Nov 30, 2010)

HI
:LOL2: 
I just acquired a similar boat for 450 dollars and it's structurally sound. There are a lot of little issues with it and what you did with yours caught my eye. I was hopping you could give me some tips on what to do because at this point, I'm just trying to figure out where to start. 

Thanks

Sam Fritz


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## mmf (Dec 3, 2010)

BassDominator said:


> *DAY 3*​I purchased some aluminum polish you might say. its called Aluminum brighten and it is sold at NAPA, 32 oz for 10 bucks and a gallon for 30. i went with this stuff just because i didn't want to wait a week and i had 3 days to work on it so i HAD to get something done!
> 
> 
> this stuff is strong, i wore rubber gloves, jacket, pants, and eye protection, since i was outside i didn't feel a face mask would be necessary. i duluted it with some water in a spray bottle...BAD idea. spray bottles just cause it to sploch even the one provided by the manufacture didnt mist enough and caued it to pool and made run marks all over the test areas. the trick! *pour some in a plastic container and use a sponge or a spong brush and distribute the stripper evenly.* stick to small areas it is easier to control!
> ...


I thank you very much for posting your find on this cleaner, it works FAR better than anything I have tried and cheap too! Thank you again!


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## mmf (Dec 3, 2010)

Rat said:


> Marine ply Vs Outdoor ply. For building decks and stuff (boxes storage etc) that is well supported there is no reason not to use regular outdoor grade ply. Marine ply is superior in every way, more plies per inch, uniform ply glue thickness, usually not warped, better woods etc. But it costs much more; and for what we use it for anyway, regular ply will pass with flying colors. Make sure it is outdoor ply (not treated) as this ply has waterproof glue, even though you will be waterproofing it anyway before the carpet goes on. There are tons of different waterproofing opinions on here as well. If it were me, and I was doing what you are doing, I would use Boiled Linseed Oil.
> 
> BTW, you stole that hull man! That thing would be $3000 easy where I live.


Please let me add:
I use the regular exterior grade (waterproof glue) plywood on all my restorations and it holds up great! I make sure I seal it excellent before I install it too. First I dry fit the wood and drill the attachment holes BEFORE I seal it, then I use Marine Spar Varnish (available at Lowes), $27 bucks a gallon here. I seal EVERY piece like this, for the first three coats, mix 50% mineral spirits and 50% varnish, this will allow the varnish to DEEP soak the wood much more than straight out of the can, then I start building up my "straight" coats sometimes 3 or 4 coats until I have a perfectly slick finish on the wood (no grain showing at all). This will give you the protection you need from the elements. Note also I always take my router and a corner rounding bit and go over the outside edges of the wood too, this makes less wear on the carpet or covering when foot pressure is applied to the area( less likely to cut it) than the 90 degree angle left from a straight cut. It also has more "eye appeal". Let me stress the importance of sealing EVERY penetration BEFORE INSTALLATION! Last, the EDGES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT in sealing!


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## 89Suburban (Dec 3, 2010)

Bassdominator, I don't know what happened to you but this is a great project man, you did real good, and that cleaner kicks a$$. I had a Force motor exactly like that one and had that whole motor apart and put back together, I know it pretty good and it's quirks if ya ever need advice for it. Keep an eye on the engine base and fuel pump housing gaskets.....


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## duckman59 (Feb 16, 2011)

I might be buying the same thing-88 Blue fin for $1,300 and wondering if it is worth it or should I spend twice as much and get a nice boat that has been garaged and taken care of. How did your boat turn out? pictures? 

Duckman59


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## sal (May 9, 2011)

Wow, does this thread bring back memories. My first bass boat was a 1988 Bluefin Bass Dominator. I caught a ton of fish in that boat.


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## mitchhuff (May 24, 2011)

How's the boat coming along? I bought the same boat today with a 50 horse on it and I can't wait to get started on it! Thanks for giving me an idea of what's under all that carpeted plywood. I'm already planning the new layout.
I can't really tell, about how much space is there underneath that floor at the console level. I can't decide if I want to try and use some of it for storage or just put some floatation in there.
Anyway, keep up the good work. I can't wait to see what else you come up with for the Dominator.


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## BassDominator (May 28, 2011)

sorry i was away for so long guys!!! between a break up and school full time this boat project has moved fairly slow. Alot of progress however has been made. The boat its self is nearly complete which just leaves the hard part....ELECTRICAL!!!!!! Due to running out of carpet though we have been stuck where we are now.

We did more on this build than we planned with the paint etc but here is what has been done up to today
- primed and painted the galvanized trailer with auto motive roll on paint ( amazing results!!!! highly recommended )
- new bunk boards with carpeting
- removed old bent tongue and fabricated a new one
- replaced old tow hitch with a new one
- new electrical and led lights on the trailer
- braised and patched a dent on the bottom of the boat
- acid washed the years off the aluminum
- used gluv it to seal all the rivets up
- new foam all around
- painted the interior compartment white as well as the engine compartment ( makes it look cleaner and stay cooler on hot days )
- new barring buddies
- built a new seat box
- New deck boards and boat carpet through out
- New live well and aerator pumps, all new fittings as well as hoses
- new bilge pump hoses and fittings 
- new threaded seat mounts, adjustable posts, and opted to reuse the old seats for now. 
- 200 WAT STERO!!! - didnt need that much power but that one had the best reviews plus I have to listen to my country while I fish BAHAHA

I uploaded upwards of 70 images from our build to date onto photo bucket please check them out and tell me what you guys think! 
https://s620.photobucket.com/albums/tt281/lyonsdennn/

WHATS NEXT YOU ASK?!?!
- make sure it floats HAH
- finish carpeting
- install seat box
- install counsel 
- fix 35 hp force impeller 
- order a new windshield 
- order new trolling motor
- order two new fish finders
- install all of them
- install and run all of the steering cables and hardware for the Force motor

Overall the boat looks great and its moving forward but it is just hard when you run out


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## BassDominator (May 28, 2011)

https://s620.photobucket.com/albums/tt281/lyonsdennn/


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## westeed (Jul 3, 2012)

Lookin good man. I have the same boat. Works well. Did mine in 3 months. Been fishing with it for 3 years now. Leaks thru the rivets but nothing the bulge can't handle between fishing spots. I just did a boat in camping at banks lake here in Washington state and had it pulled up as far on shore as I could get it and it turned into an ocean shore with 3 foot waves crashing on the sandy beach. The lake came up six feet on shore too. Oops. All happened at night. Sucked!!! The waves break over the back of the boat and the water ramps right up that oddly sloped tail. Careful in rough water. Luckily I had a 5 gallon bucket. About half the boat was full. Definately an adventure. Made it out though. I vacuumed carpet for hours... Haha


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## dgoss (Aug 15, 2014)

I am so glad i Found this thread. I have the exact same boat, Just picked her up last night. can not wait to get started on the restore process. You did a great job! How is yours holding up?

Dave

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=35585


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## BoatDawg4120 (Aug 15, 2014)

Awesome job on the boat. Thought I would add my .02 worth. I am currently working on a 86 Sea Nymph FM161 16' aluminum and will be redoing all the wiring. Ive done a few fiberglass and aluminum rebuilds in the past 3 or 4 years and one thing that I found that greatly helped with the wring is.....

1. PVC piping. Anywhere you have long runs front to back, center to back, center to front etc. see if there is a spot to hang a piece of pvc out of view. this makes it extremely easy to keep your wires protected and neatly tucked away. This also makes it a lot easier to run more wiring in the future if you dont already leave a few extra pairs in the pipe. 

2. If you can get the measurement of how much wire you will need to run to each electronic device you are putting in. Add a few feet for those just incase you need more and also for wire repair in the future. Cut your length and have a friend hold one end of your positive and negative pair and place the other end in a drill and slowly twist the pairs together then tape here and there and number the ends of each pair accordingly and put a spare pair or two in for additions later but marking them will let you know that #1 on one end corresponds to #1 on the other end of the run. 

Ive done this on 7 or 8 boat rebuilds in the past few years 2 of them being my own and it GREATLY reduced the headaches involved with securing and tracing the wiring down later. Picked up these tricks when I used to install custom auto audio and lighting.


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