# 1966 Polarkraft 14' (Completed)



## ryan20021982 (Jun 1, 2011)

Hello everyone new member here but have been looking at pics and reading for awhile before even registering. Now I have a project of my own.
1966 Polarkraft 14' and a Mariner 5hp
got em both for $500

Plan on doing some mods such as:
Front casting deck
extend the rear seat to go all the way across
remove middle seat
paint
carpet
new seats
and a bunch of other little things

Just want to say thanks to everyone on here for giving me so many ideas with your own projects, I can literally sit on here for hours reading build logs and looking at members boats.


----------



## G3_Guy (Jun 1, 2011)

Welcome to TB! Great looking project!


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 4, 2011)

Well got some stuff done the last few days

The motor was only $100 because it would run and then when warmed up would die, so I had it in a bucket of water and got it running and noticed it wasn't spitting any water so I decided to take off the lower unit and check the impeller and this is what I found. After putting it in properly it worked great.






Then I got working on the boat and removed the center seat and the rotten transom, sorry meant to take pics of inside of boat before flipping it over for sanding but forgot.






Then on to the trailer. Sanded down and removed all the unneeded parts and parts to be replaced and a fresh coat of paint. New rollers on order.

Before:






After:


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 7, 2011)

Well the boat got sanded down and got all the inside that will be exposed primed and flipped over to prime the bottom tomorrow morning when there isnt any bugs around. Primed with Rustoleum Self Etching Primer and the paint should be here any day, using Parker Duck Boat Paint in Bay Gray.

Will post pics when all done primed


----------



## Ictalurus (Jun 8, 2011)

Great looking mod ryan. The impeller looked like a mess :LOL2: Glad that was an easy fix. The Parker Paint in Grey looks great, should add some life to the old hull.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 9, 2011)

Ictalurus said:


> Great looking mod ryan. The impeller looked like a mess :LOL2: Glad that was an easy fix. The Parker Paint in Grey looks great, should add some life to the old hull.



Thanks Ictalurus, and ya this old hull needs something lol


Got some more stuff done and pics

Boat is all primed and ready for paint when it gets here











Transom area all cleaned up after removal of the old one






Got a nice size piece of aluminum diamond plate from my dad that he had laying around so decided to cut a piece to go over the new transom which will make it the proper thickness with 3/4 wood, the old one was 1" thick






Got a bunch of other stuff ordered and on its way like some lights, cupholders, nav lights, carpet, seats.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 9, 2011)

Kinda hard to explain this but I want to make the side have a ledge to mount stuff onto, I wont be using up any floor space to do it but rather just making the sides straight up and down. I will use wood to make an angle to meet up with the vertical rib and make the side and then use some aluminum flat to make brackets to hold the rib and the wood together, I made a pic to kinda show what I mean.


----------



## Ictalurus (Jun 10, 2011)

Ryan

You may find that by creating sides, the amount of space in the boat will be cut drastically. Take some measurements and give it a good thought. I would lose over 1' of space if I did that on my boat. This is assuming the 90 degree sides run the length of your boat.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 10, 2011)

I wouldn't loose any floor space at all, the black in the pic is the boats ribs and the red is what I want to add and then the white will be little plates to hold them both together. I would rather have the sides straight up with a shelf at the top to mount stuff too since that isn't really floor space anyways.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 10, 2011)

Got the new transom all done today its 3/4 wood with aluminum diamond plate over it, all stainless hardware and 3M 5200 shot in all the holes before bolts.


----------



## dixie_boysles (Jun 13, 2011)

Boat looks awesome so far! I have a 1985 model 14' PolarKraft. doesnt look like they change much at all


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 16, 2011)

Thanks Dixie

Got the inside painted 2 coats and 1 coat on the outside will do a second coat and then its time to start installed and modding


----------



## dixie_boysles (Jun 17, 2011)

is that Parker Bay Grey duck boat paint? if so, thats what I used on my Polarkraft


----------



## SVOMike86 (Jun 17, 2011)

Hey man, nice boat, I also have a 14ft Polarkraft. A quick piece of advice. With your impeller, you said it runs great now that you took it out and fixed it, but I would still consider buying a new one. I imagine it wasn't too hard to replace, mine only took about 15 minutes. BUT, you should be able to find one on Ebay for less than $20 I bet. There's no telling how long that thing was in there messed up like that, and it could have stressed the rubber to the point where flipping the fins to the other side could crack it in the future. No reason to take a chance like that with something that is so cheap and easy to fix.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 17, 2011)

dixie_boysles said:


> is that Parker Bay Grey duck boat paint? if so, thats what I used on my Polarkraft



Yes it is and I'm liking it




SVOMike86 said:


> Hey man, nice boat, I also have a 14ft Polarkraft. A quick piece of advice. With your impeller, you said it runs great now that you took it out and fixed it, but I would still consider buying a new one. I imagine it wasn't too hard to replace, mine only took about 15 minutes. BUT, you should be able to find one on Ebay for less than $20 I bet. There's no telling how long that thing was in there messed up like that, and it could have stressed the rubber to the point where flipping the fins to the other side could crack it in the future. No reason to take a chance like that with something that is so cheap and easy to fix.



I actually ordered a whole water pump kit so I dont have to worry about it, I was just trying to figure out the problem when I was talking about it. Thanks for the tip


----------



## SVOMike86 (Jun 17, 2011)

Good deal Man. That transom looks awesome with that diamond plate on there. Wish mine was that easy to replace. My boat has aluminum trays that surround the gunwhale around the transom for storage. Would be a HUGE pain to take it all out to replace it, luckily it's not in too bad of shape. Can't wait to see how your's turns out.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 17, 2011)

SVOMike86 said:


> Good deal Man. That transom looks awesome with that diamond plate on there. Wish mine was that easy to replace. My boat has aluminum trays that surround the gunwhale around the transom for storage. Would be a HUGE pain to take it all out to replace it, luckily it's not in too bad of shape. Can't wait to see how your's turns out.



Thanks man, I actually wasn't planning on using it but the old one was a full 1" think and I had some 3/4 so I needed to find something to fill it in and after looking through all I had i wound up at my dads and saw it and said hey you gonna use that, lol and he said no take it. So that was a cool deal. I also plan on using it in the back compartment to go on the floor and up the sides some.


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 21, 2011)

Well I got some more done the past week, just waiting for stuff to come in now to get measurements and stuff before making deck. All the framing is pretty much done just a few little things left

Also I have a bunch more of the diamond-plate left from the transom and wanted to make some panels for the rear compartment and make another piece to wrap up and over the transom and polish it to protect the painted part from getting all marred up and to make it thicker but I need it bent, has anyone ever tried bending 1/4" thick without a press or brake? Can I just make a jig and heat it up to bend it? Have done that will steel but I just wanna make sure the aluminum wont want to break or something. Thanks











Got a few things in yesterday


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 26, 2011)

Now its starting to look like something, most of the panels are just sitting there not if you see one not sitting square or level thats why.


----------



## Ictalurus (Jun 27, 2011)

Looks great man, I like it!


----------



## z0mbie f1sherman (Jun 27, 2011)

very very nice!

i hope my carpet8ing looks that good when i am done... what kind of glue/cement did you use?


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jun 27, 2011)

Thanks guys, I used contact cement as suggested by a user here don't remember who now, but it worked good just very time consuming. The contact cement takes 15min to set and with wood it soaks it up so you need another coat and then another 15min to set and then stick the carpet on and then you have to do it all over again on the back side for the edges. Its great though I would do it this way again very good hold, just gotta be patient.


----------



## vbgreen (Jun 27, 2011)

ryan very nice progress on the new rig :shock: i really like the gray carpeting and the way you mounted the panel. i am about to recarpet myself in the next two weeks or so and i think your job has motivated me that much more good work and post some pics


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jul 1, 2011)

Almost done just got a few little things and do the hatches and thats about it


----------



## ROBB (Jul 1, 2011)

Nice Job....what a transformation.


----------



## PlainBassCrazy (Jul 2, 2011)

is that insulation foam board you used as filler between the ribs? if so how are the buoyancy properties of it? I thought of using it as floatation foam in my rig just not sure if its buoyant enough to be used for this purpose?


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jul 2, 2011)

No idea the buoyancy properties of it I just know it floats and I added more than I took out.


----------



## HOUSE (Jul 3, 2011)

ryan20021982 said:


> No idea the buoyancy properties of it I just know it floats and I added more than I took out.



lol my thoughts exactly.
Looks great man. I am about to start carpeting mine this week. Sounds like fun #-o


----------



## mightymite45 (Jul 4, 2011)

That boat looks professionally done, great job!


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jul 8, 2011)

Well its all done, we had it out yesterday and everything worked great. Motor isnt the fastest but I didnt want it for my main motor anyways, had it clocked at 6mph with my GPS on my phone so its about what I expected. Water level is fine after adding the weight and handles pretty good and it plenty stable enuf for fishing on the deck. Now I just need to get a 25hp for it, been looking but everything is either too new and too expensive or too old.


----------



## Ictalurus (Jul 8, 2011)

Dude, totally awesome! =D> =D> =D>


----------



## Dragonman (Jul 8, 2011)

Sweet looking Boat!!!


----------



## vbgreen (Jul 8, 2011)

Way to go looks good and glad you enjoyed it. The offset seats are a nice touch as i hate that my rear seat is centered in the boat. im sure youll find the right motor if you look long enough. I am searching for a used 30 hp as my 9.8 wont plane the boat but im worried whatever i get will not equal the reliability of the old merc


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jul 9, 2011)

Thanks guys, and ya I'm not in a hurry to get a motor I'll wait and find the right one.


----------



## hueydr (Jul 10, 2011)

What a transformation!! Boat looks fantastic. =D> Is there an elevated seating position in the back? Do you just add a pole to the drivers seat?


----------



## Brine (Jul 10, 2011)

First time seeing your build. Nice job, and looks great.

Did you use two different types of carpet, or is the color difference the grain going different directions?


----------



## ryan20021982 (Jul 10, 2011)

hueydr said:


> Is there an elevated seating position in the back? Do you just add a pole to the drivers seat?


No just the front



Brine said:


> Did you use two different types of carpet, or is the color difference the grain going different directions?



Ya I had to do it that way to have enough carpet I was cutting it close. The camera makes it look more noticeable than it is. I only had a few scraps left.


----------



## ohiolunker (Aug 6, 2011)

Boat looks good. Nice job!


----------



## SVOMike86 (Aug 6, 2011)

Yeah Dude, that looks awesome! I didn't think the compartments on the sides were gonna work well, but it looks great! Good job.


----------



## Swampthing(True) (Oct 24, 2012)

That is one sweet rig I need to come across some funds so I can finnish mine off I have a long ways to go before it looks half as nice as yours! But after all its a labor of love and once you do something that nice I prolly will never get rid of it!


----------



## pgk (Oct 24, 2012)

Hey I know this an old thread but one thing you'll have to watch out for with the diamond plate on the transom is your motor clamps vibrating loose because of the metal on metal contact. I know a couple guys who have lost motors this way. If you're just running the 5hp you'll be fine but if you up to something with more jam you'll have to keep an eye on it. Most guys I know with metal on metal motor mounts have their motors cabled off to the transom.

Amazing work though, great transformation.


----------

