# 1959 Del Mar 1436 - my Mini-Bass Boat Mod - Updated 7/16/11



## Sader762 (Jun 23, 2010)

Finished boat:























I love this site, you guys have some truly awesome mods and have inspired me to attempt to restore my old tin boat.

I bought an old tin boat 4 months back or so so that I could get out on the water and do some good fishing and take my kids out with me. The boat is a manufacturer called Del Mar and was made in 1959 according to my paperwork. It is essentially a 1436 with 3 seats in the boat. this boat, as I have jokingly told others, has been "well used." There were some serious defects with the boat but the boat still floats and fishes well.

the owner was selling the boat for $900 with a trailer and an old 1962 Evinrude 5.5 engine. When I got there to look at it the engine "for some reason would not start." And of course it was a great boat and never leaked..uuh huh. Well I bought the boat for $650 and took it home. My helpers here testing her out.











I pulled the motor off, bought a 40 fp trolling motor and took it out. It floats but of course leaked. The motor took some work but these old Evinrudes are some great motors and parts are still available. I replaced all electronic parts, carb rebuild, fuel parts, and impeller. Turns out I had a blown head gasket. After that she runs like a top now!
















I also repainted the engine cowl close to original but took some artistic liscense.






I then turned my attention to the trailer which was serviceable but needed to be cleaned up. I ground down all the old slag on the trailer and cut off the hitch. I repainted the trailer, put on new lights and wire, put a new hitch on the front, put on new bunks, and put on trailer guides for easier hook up by myself. the trailer now looks great!

















Now, it has been time to start on the boat. My oh my what have I got myself into? At some point this poor jon has seen some serious damage. there is a serious bend in the bottom of the boat and several cracks that have been repaired with JB weld. One of these did not hold and was the source of my 10 gallons per hour leak that I had.

Here are some beginning pics:
















You can see the damage here:
































I've started by striping off all the old paint. Let me tell you this boat has been painted once or twice. As far as I can tell there are 9 different layers of colored paint, not 9 layers of paint, 9 different colored layers. Who ever owned the boat long ago knew what they were doing. The first 4 layers are solid, followed by a layer that is like a thick gray primer. the there are at least 5 different layers of spray bombs.

I started with aircraft stripper. this stuff works, at least on the spray bomb layers. I was applying this in the Texas heat of summer. It evaporated pretty quick. My method was to apply it in 5 foot sections and then spray a thin layer of water on it when it go close to evaporating. then I used a drill with a cup brush to scrub the paint layers and then I sprayed it off with water. Wear long clothes and use gloves! This method worked for the spray bomb layers but not the thick primer layers or any paint below that.

I then used a combo of sanding with 60 grit or using and a twisted brush on a grinder. A heavy duty grinder is too much, you will go thru the side. I went out and bought a cheap small grinder for $15 that had the right speed.

This took 18-20 hours to do. Yep, that much paint. if I had to do it again I'd rent a big compressor and sand blast the boat. Sand blasting using a lighter medium will not hurt the boat if you take your time with it.

Here is that process:











I decided 5 hours into it that I didn't really need to go down to bare metal. 

I have now completed sanding and prepping the boat for paint and Steel flex. Steel flex will be done tonight. I start posting more pics in a few days.

I also patched all holes with aluminum rods and a propane torch. It works but you have o go slow. I fixed the crack on the bottom with Alu rods and went over it with JB weld. I also touched up some other areas on the bottom with JB weld. Other holes above the water line I patched with aluminum rivets.

I've done alot of work on her so far and hopefully tonight I start to see some of my work pay off.


I hope y'all enjoy the process!!!

Thanks for all the help.


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## Ictalurus (Jun 23, 2010)

Looks like you'll have your hands full with that one. Seems like a lot of seating for a 14' boat, you may want to take out one of the bench seats for a little more leg room. Great job on the Evinrude =D>


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## Sader762 (Jun 24, 2010)

It is a lot of seating and I'm still trying to figure out how to handle it. I need to keep the middle seat so my kids have a place when we are under way but I'd like to put a livewell in. I may try to mod the middle seat into a livewell/bench seat design. Still not too sure yet.

I have got her in the garage and ready to apply steel flex tonight..hopefully. [-o< 

:?: Has anyone ever heard of Del Mar Jon Boats? I can't find anything on the net about them.

Thanks!


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## Sader762 (Jul 7, 2010)

Updated 7/07

Well I have managed to Steelflex the bottom, patch up some rough areas, and add some color.

Here is where I used angle aluminum to patch a rib that was cracked





Steelflex prep





Steelflex added, sorry no pics thru the process I was working alone. Everything went pretty smooth, the Steelflex was simple to work with if you went slow and easy.





Paint prep





Painted, I found a really good paint at Sherwin Williams, it's an outdoor oil based enamel for metal and it comes in flat, satin, and gloss. I wanted satin to hide the imperfections in this old girl.






This has been a very long project. If you are thinking of doing a complete mod realize that it will take some time.

I have spent a lot of money on this so far, probably too much, but in the end it's all about the experience of working with your hands.

I'm now working on the interior. Lots of cool stuff to be added --- hopefully.






I'm thinking of removing the front seat and putting in a platform about 6" above the ribs then adding a a seat up front. The other two seating areas will be extended with storage and platforms above the ribs, and a seat in the back.

Comments or ideas welcome!


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## russ010 (Jul 7, 2010)

wow.. you have taken that boat a long way, and it looks great!

I'll have to read everything when I get home... I kinda just look at pictures while I'm at work


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## russ010 (Jul 7, 2010)

ok I lied... I read through it anyways...

As far as removing that front bench - I would personally leave it. What you can do is cut the top of it out, remove all the foam, and make it a storage compartment. You can deck up to the bow level with the top of that bench. You can still add your seat and all that too - with it being only 36" wide, I would suggest going much higher than the top of the benches. I had a 1236, and it worked great for that (making the bench a compartment).


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## Sader762 (Jul 7, 2010)

Yep, that's my dilemma. I want a front deck area but I don't want it to be too unstable. What I think I may do is cut the bench part way out leaving about 6" from the sides of the boat and going down about half way down the height of the bench. And then reinforcing it and decking from the rear of the bench all the way forward. 

Does that make sense? I saw aother member did that, I'll see if I can find his post.


ETA:

Here is what I was thinking, it's Bufford's mod: https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=9912


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## Sader762 (Jul 26, 2010)

More work on decking....






















Comments welcome, if to do nothing else than make me feel good about my little tin boat... 8)


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## weezer71 (Jul 26, 2010)

Looks like it is coming along pretty well! Keep it up and can't wait to see more pics


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## Sader762 (Aug 4, 2010)

Finished boat:





















Very long, hard work. Took about 2 months and about $600. Looks good and doesn't leak.

If you do your boat add a hardener to the paint. My paint job is not as durable as I'd like.


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## weezer71 (Aug 4, 2010)

That turned out AWESOME!! Great job =D>


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## bobberboy (Aug 4, 2010)

That turned out really well. WTG


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## BaitCaster (Aug 4, 2010)

Awesome job!! Did I see a support bracket for your trolling motor? Can you post some close ups of the trolling motor set-up?


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## Sader762 (Aug 4, 2010)

BaitCaster said:


> Awesome job!! Did I see a support bracket for your trolling motor? Can you post some close ups of the trolling motor set-up?




Yes I did, I'll try and get a close up of it posted later tonight.


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## hyzerbomber (Aug 4, 2010)

Very nice indeed!

Noticed that in it's original shape it was kinda beat up in front and bottom, did you hammer any of the dents out or is this not advised?


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## huntinfool (Aug 4, 2010)

Great job. Where 'bouts in Texas are you?


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## Sader762 (Aug 4, 2010)

I decided to leave all of the dents in place. I fixed any holes with either an aluminum welding rod or JB weld. I rebraced the inside of one area with aluminum angle iron. So far so good - no leaks. To minimize the dents I used a satin oil based paint since gloss shows dents easily.

I fish Lake Tyler and live about 5 minutes from it. It's a pretty tough lake for me so far but I'm trying to learn.


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## swingr1121 (Aug 9, 2010)

Sader7.62, the mod looks great. One thing is missing though. I don't see a BFL on the boat like on the back of your Expedition. All in all, nice setup. Hopefully I'll get to pick up a boat this week...

Mike


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## Howard (Aug 10, 2010)

WOW, nice work!


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## Sader762 (Jul 16, 2011)

I had a setback...


After 10 months she finally started to leak, and boy was it a good amount.

It seems some of the JB Marine Weld repairs I did did not hold up. Sanded everything down and now I am in the process of using aluminum brazing rods to patch up 2 really bad areas.

Wish me luck.


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## Sgt. Stiglitz (Jul 18, 2011)

Second that! #-o 



> I have spent a lot of money on this so far, probably too much, but in the end it's all about the experience of working with your hands.


665.13 Seats, seat pedestals, stainless bases, Cabela's Premier Marine Carpet Saphire
42.49 Gallon Carpet glue stainless screws, metal cutting blades (x3) for the radial saw, new plywood blade for skill saw. 
59.47 Hatches
122.93 more Decking and aluminum, rivet gun and rivets, unopened Jig Saw.
71.42 hardware stainless screws, Thompson's water sealer
295.74 aluminum and plywood for the deck, hole bore
309.64 Bimini Top (Not ordered yet) 
44.99 Cabela's Premier Marine Carpet Gray

$1611.81
1303.81 without the Bimini
Boat and trailer: 750.00
Total:

2361.00
2052.00 without the Bimini

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=20999

You can shorten those shafts on the trolling motors, I have the one you have and cut it down to about the size as the gas engine.


https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=15880


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