# '87 Bluefin Sportsman 1700 Rebuild - Family Cruiser



## kofkorn (Mar 24, 2020)

Hi All, 

I'm looking at another rebuild. I've been looking for a bowrider for some time now that I can use with the family for tubing and cruising when we go on vacations. My brother had this Bluefin given to him, and he decided that he didn't have time to re-do it. I dragged it home and am planning on doing a full rebuild on it. This is definitely going to stretch my skills quite a bit, as I'm planning on building custom seats and cushions on my own. I'd like a layout that will give me reasonable amount of seating with as much open space as possible. 

The current Force 85hp will be replaced with an Evinrude 88 that I have in my garage. While I'm doing the swap, I'm going to replace the transom. I don't think it's totally gone yet, but with a 30+yr old boat that hasn't been maintained, I figured it's due. 

So here are some pics of the condition it was in when I brought it home:































I've already started clearing out the consoles and the front bow seating area. The wood was so rotted, a bunch of it fell apart in my hands. I kept as much together as I could to use as templates. I also pulled off the rub rail so I could remove the cartpeting completely from the gunnels. 

I'm going to use the Nautolex on this build. I've been really impressed with the durability from my last build. I'll be sketching up some seating concepts shortly. I might fall back on a standard back-to-back setup if it doesn't work out, but I'm hopeful it'll be alright.

Any thoughts on how I can refresh the look of the paint without re-painting the whole thing? 

Comments and suggestions are always considred!


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## LDUBS (Mar 24, 2020)

I look forward to watching this. This style of boat is among my favorites. I like the wide gunnels and space. It will be a great boat for the family.


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## davedude (Mar 26, 2020)

Will you be able to save the consoles? I see you have the 85hp force on yours. That should be good fun. I had an 88 just like yours except it had the 50hp on it and man it was a weenie!
If you strip out all the crap and build lightweight that boat should move pretty quick with the 85 on it.


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## WhopperPlopper (Mar 26, 2020)

You may be able to save the paint, although it is quite faded. Try to clean/degrease as well as possible, then go over it with a clay bar. Next try some 3m aluminum polish in a small area, low speed with a wool pad on a electric polisher might do the trick. There is a few youtube videos that show how to bring back very faded paint on cars and the same princples should apply. If you experiment with this option make sure to show a before and after!


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## kofkorn (Mar 30, 2020)

I was able to put a little more time into it this weekend. I managed to pull the floor and all of the foam out. The foam was more waterlogged than the stuff I found in my bass boat. I definitely lightened the load a significant amount. I didn't get a chance to to do a full clean out before it started raining. 

I pulled the foam up in about 2' sections. I used a long blade to slice it, the popped out the pieces. It was a fairly easy operation overall. I still need to pull out the small centerboard and the livewell tubing. The new boat won't have a livewell.












There's a lot of corrosion on the bracket for the bow ring. I'll need ot replace that too, or it'll be a short time before the boat is sitting on the road somehere.




Next job will be doing a deep clean on the inside, removing all of the remaining accessories from the gunnels, then removing the remainder of the carpeting. The floor was so soft that I was worried about walking around inside before. I feel much better with all of the cruddy wood removed. 

I'll look into the possibility of saving the paint. But looking at it closer, there are a bunch of spots that are scuffed and scratched that I wouldn't be able to touch up. So it's more likely that I'll be taking it down to the bare aluminum and going from there.


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## Kootenaykid (Jun 4, 2020)

Hi.. looking forward to more pictures. We have a 17’ spectrum by Bluefin with a soft floor. We think it’s a 1990. 
Was thinking of using a vinyl wrap on treated 3/4” plywood. Say in 3 separate panels Two panels at the stern and one at the bow. Make the panels so they can unscrew and lift out.


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## kofkorn (Jul 23, 2020)

Slow progress. I've finished stripping just about everything out. 

My original plan was to leave the splashwell in position, and simply slide out the transom wood in one piece. I pulled the top cap off of the transom, then put a few eye lags into the wood. I lifted on the eyebolts with my engine hoist. The first few times I tried, there simply wasn't enough weight in the boat to allow the wood to slide free. 

I stopped there, went on vacation (good time!) and came back about a week later. Originally the wood in the transom was a bit wet and soft. The extra week away with the transom open firmed it up pretty well. Additionally, I put a strap over the boat and tied it down to the trailer so I had some extra weight to pull against. 

This time, it worked out quite nicely. I was able to pull it out in one piece. 




Afterward, I looked underneath and realized that the splashwell was only held on by 12 or 14 rivets under the gunnels. It will make it much easier to work on the transom with it out, so I decided to pull it.

Overall, everything's in pretty good shape. I do have some significant corrosion on the outer aluminum, where they installed a factory "Cap" over the top of the entire transom assembly, you can see the blue piece laying inside the boat here:















I acutally came across a great deal on a complete windshield assembly. Entire windshield, all hardware, $10. Not a typo... I couldn't believe it. So I rushed down to Warwick RI to pick it up. 




Not long after, I came across a CMC tilt unit for sale. I had one before that I sold with a different boat. I like it for the ability to easily swap out motors without messing with the transom sealing. I work on numerous motors on the side, so this will give me a nice platform to test my motors out easily.






I've been thinking through my seating layout, and I think I'm going to go with something like this:




Maybe not a full "U" shape but more of an "L". I don't know if I have enough room to do the "L" along with a swiveling passenger seat, so I may extend the "L" all the way up to the console. Maybe I'll build a bit of a wedge backrest that can allow the passenger to have a bit of support, but we could remove the wedge to have a full flat seat... Not sure about that though. I'm gonna have to give a lot of thought to the way it all goes together so I can have access to storage and to the bilge when needed. It's gonna take some work. 

Any suggestions are appreciated.


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## DaleH (Jul 23, 2020)

You're certainly well on your way and appear to know what you're doing, but _where you asked for suggestions_ - take a look at this transom I just replaced on a similar hull, but one also tied in with a splashwell. It came out superb and will last the life of the boat!
https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=47405&p=473317


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## kofkorn (Jul 23, 2020)

Hi Dale,

I had reviewed that build before and was definitely planning on oversizing and filling the holes with epoxy. 

When you did that, what did you use as a backing to prevent the epoxy from leaking out? Duct tape? 

Here's an additional challenge: The prior owner had clearly fit a different motor(s?) onto the transom at some point. From what I can see, there are three separate sets of holes in the skin. Any suggestions that I could use to plug up the holes in the aluminum to prevent extra water from getting on?

I've considered taking it to someone to have that section cut out and a new piece welded in place. 



Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


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## DaleH (Jul 23, 2020)

I could cut and ship you out a large square or rectangular piece of 5052 alloy, likely same alloy as the hull you have, as that's what Starcraft uses. Then rivet in place on the transom, fitting over all holes, goop/seal edges and filling holes w/ any thick epoxy product. G-Flex 650 would be ideal here, to seal the edges (as is somewhat flexible).

Yes, duct on backside of wood, applied in at least 3 strips 4" long per hole, to prevent weeping, strips overlapped 1/4" at least.


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## LDUBS (Jul 24, 2020)

Kootenaykid said:


> Was thinking of using a vinyl wrap on treated 3/4” plywood. Say in 3 separate panels Two panels at the stern and one at the bow. Make the panels so they can unscrew and lift out.



Putting your floor in sections so you can pull up a section as needed is a really smart idea, IMO. Wrap the edges with vinyl and you won't even know the seams are there.


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## kofkorn (Jul 30, 2020)

So what does an engineer do during quarrantine? Play with CAD: 

Here's what I was thinking for my initial layout, with a bench seat on the side and one in the back. I'd need to be able to acess the bilge area for fuel and accessories, which means it would need to be able to hinge upward or something similar. But that leads to some challenges where the seats meet. I'd need to blend the seating between these two corners:







But I started playing around with removable seating, and I think I might be better off with removable pedestals in the main area. I can take the back two pedestals out when tubing or fishing, or when more space is needed. 

This might be the way to go: 







It'll certainly be easier to build in removable seats rather than a permanent bench.

I gave the inside a powerwash last weekend. It looks much better. 




Here are some better pictures of the corrosion on the back of the transom:




and the cover that caused it:


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## Rlight2 (Aug 24, 2020)

Any new progress on the boat watching this thread carefully as I’m redoing same boat only mine is spectrum 1700.


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## kofkorn (Aug 24, 2020)

This one is going to be a slow build. It's been so hot lately, I've not been able to work on it too much except for short spurts here and there. 

I did build up the new transom. I used two layers of 3/4 Araucoply material that I picked up from my local lumber yard. I was able to fit both layers of the transom on one, 2' x 6' section, with leftover material. I used the old transom as a template and cut it out with my skill saw and a jigsaw for the rounded inside corners. I screwed the two pieces together to get the edges sanded, and built a quick jig to hold it up while I used my belt sander.




I did a test fit, and it slid in place nicely






I've started doing the layers of epoxy, and I have the middle coat, gluing the two halves together, and two coats on one side. I'm going to do a light sand and a final coat on the first side and then flip and do the other side. Plus 3 coats on the edges. It should be fairly well protected. 






I've also created the center supports that go between the two long stringers. I've just started coating those. probably 2 layers per side on those. 




I have decided to cut the really corroded section out of the transom where the motor sat and I'll take it to a welder to get a new piece added in. I'll have them patch a couple of small stress cracks at the front at the same time. The cracks are well above the waterline, but it should help out.

We've decided to update the paint color to a cream or white, but not paint the bottom section. Since the existing paint is in good shape and sticking well, it'll prevent me from having to take it all the way down and re-prime. 

I'm going to flip the hull and clean and polish the bottom. 

Knowing my time, I'll probably be doing the final build out in the garage over the late fall and winter.


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## Blufin88 (Aug 28, 2020)

I am working on a very similar project a 1988 Bluefin 19' IO. I am converting to a outboard. The starting condition looked very similar. I am also right now rebuilding building the transom. This is my Covid 19 fall and winter project.


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## kofkorn (Aug 28, 2020)

I would have loved to have the 19' with an ouboard. I came across a 19' I/O after I started this one, but I didn't want to get into the process of tearing out the motor and rebuilding. Probably should have gone for it  For me, the big thing would be to add some additional depth to the transom. It feels like it's a little weak at the point where the motor sits. Good luck!


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## DaleH (Aug 28, 2020)

kofkorn said:


> This one is going to be a slow build. Knowing my time, I'll probably be doing the final build out in the garage over the late fall and winter.


That is going to be *wicked AWESOME! *

I remember you ... you had all of those OMC 60hp & 70hp OB motors mounted on wooden stands so you could move them around your yard. This hull should fly with one of those on it!


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## kofkorn (Aug 28, 2020)

Yep, that was me  

The mix has changed, but the affliction remains the same. I've got a nice '88 Evinrude 88 Special planned for this boat. It's even got a nice custom painted cover to go with it:




I've managed to move most of the others I had on to better families  I still have the '77 70hp that needs a new timer installed, and I picked up a nice 4 stroke electric start 9.9 for a job I did for a friend. The 85hp Force on the rack is what came with the boat, it's a running motor, but I don't want to deal with the hassle of parts in the future. 






I recently rehabbed a really nice '61 40 hp for a friend, he's rebuilding the transom on his '61 RedFish now and we'll be putting that back on later this fall. It doesn't look pretty, but it was in incredible condition. Carb was pristine, but I rebuilt that and replaced all of the ignition (100% OEM for Pappy  ). Fired right up.




Just this past week, I pulled a few motors from a relative who was managing the estate of a family member who passed. Safe to say I have my time for the next few months planned out:


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## jethro (Sep 9, 2020)

kofkorn said:


> But I started playing around with removable seating, and I think I might be better off with removable pedestals in the main area. I can take the back two pedestals out when tubing or fishing, or when more space is needed.
> 
> This might be the way to go:
> 
> ...



For what it's worth, I absolutely love the removable pedestal layout of my Sylvan. Wouldn't change it for the world, and I'm about to redo the whole floor. I don't do much family stuff, so I can take the two rear seats out and have an absolute dance floor back there for fishing. When I go saltwater I put a huge catch cooler back there. 







This is what it looks like most of the time:


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## kofkorn (Sep 17, 2020)

Progress slowly continues. 

I've pretty much finished sealing the transom wood. Numerous coats of epoxy on all sides. I just need to mark out my holes and oversize drill and epoxy the space left over. I'm holding off on that for now, as I'm likely going to be ignoring some of the holes already in the transom and adding new ones as I go. The old Force motor didn't follow a normal mounting pattern, so I'll be updating that. Additionally, because I'm completely rebuilding the skin on the inside and adding a new cover over the mounting area on the outside, so a number of existing holes won't be good guides going forward.

I've started the process of finishing the ouside of the boat. I flipped it and put it up on some stands, and took a closer look at the general condition of the hull. I was a little surprised to find some good sized corrosion holes on the bottom side. It became pretty clear what created the holes, as they were very specifically contained within the gaps that were between the structural ribs. Additionally they are all on the outer edges of the hull. So this area is where the 2 part foam crept into the ends of the ribs and set up there. When the foam absorbed the water and held it there, it set up a galvanic corrosion environment. So I will need to clear out the ends of the ribs on each side to ensure this doesn't happen again going forward.

Flipped and supported



Corrosion Holes in the rib spaces





Example of the foam in the ribs



I've started prepping the hull for a full coat of Gluvit. I'm going to put a heavy coat on, then prime and paint it to protect it from UV exposure. So I've gone ahead and filled the exposed holes, per the Gluvit guide, and then used a Scotch brite type of cleaning disc to remove gunk and prep the surface of the hull.


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## kofkorn (Sep 17, 2020)

I've also masked the hull for the areas that I want to contain the Gluvit. Mainly because I know I'm not great at being neat when it comes to painting. 












I've already coated with the Gluvit. It went well, and I applied it in two coats. It's an epoxy, so I used half the can for each coat and measured according to the 5-1 volume requirements on the directions. The two layers of coating applied very thick. I'm actually going to have to use a knife to cut along the edge of the masking tape before I paint and prime, or it is likely I won't be able to tell where the edge of the tape actually is.






Here's the prep disc that I used. I bought three and ended up using two to finish the hull prep.




Next up will be to sand and prep the Gluvit for prime and paint, then to start prepping the sides for paint. There are some scratch marks that will need to have some sanding and filling too.


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## kofkorn (Sep 19, 2020)

Got the first coat of paint on the bottom. I did a rough sand of about 80 grit over the entire bottom and applied the paint. It looks like it took well. No major issues with the application. 

I'll put on another two coats tomorrow.


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## kofkorn (Sep 28, 2020)

Did some more polishing and priming this weekend.

I started by using some Brasso polish on a soft scouring style pad. That seemed to do a good job of taking the tarnish off the bare aluminum. 




The results were fairly good. I'm sure I could have gone further with some additional elbow grease, but it is a 30 year old boat  










Then I redid the taping and started priming the top band this weekend. I've got to fill in a few deeper scrapes. Final paint will be coming soon.








The goal for the final result is to use a graphic to add some detail, something like this:


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## kofkorn (Oct 5, 2020)

Finally got the paint on this weekend. Not a professional job, but I'm happy with it. The color is muted, but really pops in the sunlight, with the pearl really showinging in direct sunlight. 

I originally had some issues with the green "frog" masking tape holding, but I switched to some 3M masking tape with much better results. I'm thinking about adding a pinstripe to the transition between the polished surface and the painted surface to protect the edge a bit.









Here's the color in the little bit of sunlight I had left:






And the finished look:


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## zachw (Oct 19, 2020)

Wow that looks awesome! Love the polished stripe.


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## jerseycat9 (Oct 25, 2020)

The build so far looks great! I will keep an eye out for the finished results.


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## Slimcowboy1978 (Dec 3, 2020)

Any updates?


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## kofkorn (Dec 3, 2020)

Unfortunately no.... It's still upside down on the sawhorses right now. I've been wrapped up in a fundraiser for our local Cub Scouts and trying to plug up a few leaks on the house before winter. I'm hopeful to get it inside in the next week or so, then I can really get going on it. I gotta make some space in the garage to get it in first.


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## Slimcowboy1978 (Dec 3, 2020)

Completely understand, my Tin is still sitting in storage waiting for me to give her the love she deserves.


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## Blufin88 (Dec 15, 2020)

What kind and color or paint did you use?


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## kofkorn (Jan 1, 2021)

I went to an auto paint shop and looked through their paint book. I ended up picking a GMC color "Limited Addiction Red Pearl". GMC has cutsie names for their paints:




I finally managed to move it into the garage today. The trailer wouldn't fit, so I made a couple of cradles to hold it while I work on it. I'll need to add a bit of carpet or towel to cushion the sides.







I'm going to start working on the floor boards and get the vinyl delivered. Now that it's inside, I'm hoping to make slow progress  Goal is to have it on the water by Memorial Day or so.


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## Zum (Aug 20, 2021)

Hope all is going well...browsing through some older posts enjoyed your progress so far.


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## kofkorn (Sep 11, 2021)

So unfortunately, my build made it into the garage but it quickly turned into a really large workbench. I had cut a couple of the floorboards, and sealed them. I had the floors across the gunnels to work on them and they were at the perfect height to use for other projects.

I finally cleared all of my project junk off the top of it today and laid the floor down to start visualizing the layout. 

I also positioned the windshield across the top. I think it looks pretty good. I might pull it a little father forward. I want to have as much space in the back as feasible. I think the rear deck tends to get used more than the front seats.


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## kofkorn (Sep 25, 2021)

Picking up steam this week. I purchased the Nautolex (gray sisal) and continued sealing the floors. 

I also worked on replicating the curve on the front of the bow. I don't remember the original wood under the bow having a curve when I pulled it, but it must have been there. I started with a base of 3/4" plywood and then built up several layers that I sanded down into a curved surface. It took a while, but came out well.


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## kofkorn (Nov 7, 2021)

Continuing slow progress. I've been doing some painting and started fitting the new transom in place. I also continued working on my flooring and general planning. The Nautolex arrived

I haven't been as good taking pictures this time around. I painted the splashwell, but didn't go a great job. I ran out of paint towards the end, and the stuff is really expensive. I might get a rattle can of touch up to finish and clean it up. 

I cut out a new piece of aluminum for the inside skin of the transom. I used the old piece for a template and then cut it with my cheap plasma cutter. It came out well and was easy to do. 






I also drilled the holes in the transom. I bought a cheap drill guide to help ensure my holes were square to the transom. It worked really well, and I was able to hit the manufacturer holes on the inside of the transom. 






I've still got to drill the splashwell drains and the motor mounting holes. But the motor holes will probably wait until I've got the whole transom back together. I'm a little worried about drilling them to low. 

Next steps are to start building the bow seating area. I got a great deal on some old cushions from a pontoon boat. I'll use the foam from those to build my own seats.


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## DaleH (Nov 8, 2021)

What an AWESOME =D> build tuturial! *I LOVE it *... just don't want to get into one again myself, LOL  !

Been there, done that ... I'm done :lol:


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## kofkorn (Nov 14, 2021)

Ha ha Dale! This one's definitely taking a lot longer than my first one. 

Did some detail work this week. I pulled apart the control box and cleaned all of the old sticky grease out. I painted it to match the boat color, and played around with our laser engraver to add the "Evinrude" and "lift to start" to the warmup lever.

Gonna be a quiet few weeks as we're going on vacation and then heading to Maine for Thanksgiving as soon as we're back.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving all!


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## kofkorn (May 16, 2022)

Question for some of you have experience here: How do I get the old 2 part mixed foam out of the support braces? 






The angle of the braces and distance from the inner wall of the hull prevent me from going straight in with any kind of a stiff tool to pull it out. I've been able to go in about 3-4" using some various bent tools, but the foam appears to be even further in than that on some of the braces. I tried bending a hacksaw blade, a few hooks & rods made out of welding rod, 

Having seen what this stuff does to the hull when it's wet and soaking for a long time, I want to remove as much of it as I can. 

Are there any chemical combinations that could help break down the foam? Other tools that I haven't considered?

Thanks for the help!


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## LDUBS (May 17, 2022)

Something that you could chuck in a drill. Problem is that bend looks pretty sharp. I was thinking one of those flexible fiberglass wire pullers (I have one about 5' long). But it won't bend that small a radius. I'm not sure I said that right, but you know what I mean. There must be something out there. Like a very small diameter roto-rooter. 

Don't know about chemicals.


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