# 1976 16' Lund Pike D Reborn



## milli (Apr 29, 2016)

I have been coming to this site for the past 4 months to learn more about what others have been doing to their boats. It has been over 3 years since owning my last boat which was a 70's 14' row boat. That was a great build. The boat had bench seating that I converted to flat floors and a casting deck. When I was done I had realized that the boat was to heavy and no longer steady in the water (to top heavy, you couldn't move with out the boat feeling like it was going to tip). With moving to the Twin Cities I had to sell the boat. Now three years later and finally having the space and my own garage I have began the search for a new project. I had been searching for the last 6 months and I knew that I wanted something bigger and more stable. I now have a 3 year old that I want to teach how to fish and let him enjoy the open waters like I did when I was a kid.

I ended up purchasing a 1976 16' Lund Pike D. It has a 72" beam with factory floors. It is in rough shape. The PO hadn't used it since 2012. The floors are soft, Carpet is peeling/missing/rotted, gas tank smells like an old tractor, motor runs only at idle and the trailer lights don't work. The motor is a 1978 Johnson 35 hp. 

I want to show my progress through here so that if someone see's something that there is a better way of doing it then I can learn now vs starting over. I have restored/rebuild 2 other boats in the past 8 years so I have a little knowledge in knowing what I am doing, however this is my first console boat.


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## milli (Apr 29, 2016)

The boat is now home. Here are some pictures of it the day I drove it home.


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## milli (Apr 29, 2016)

I have about 4 weeks before a annual fishing/camping trip that I do every year comes up. For the past 3 years we have always been stuck going to the same place due to having a boat rental as an option. Now that I own another boat we get to go where we want when we want. I plan to have it mostly ready to go. I plan to rewire the trailer, replace the bearings and tires, clean the carb, replace the water pump and spark plugs, put in all new seats, and a few other things as they come up. After the trip I plan to rip out all the flooring and start over. I haven't decided yet as to what kind of plywood I am going to go with. Exterior or marine grade? (any help on this would be greatly appreciated)

I plan to keep the layout original.

Edit: I did purchase a used carb off of EBay. I took mine apart and it was bad. I figured out why it only idles and when given throttle dies. The second butterfly (I believe the Choke) was frozen in place with gunk/corrosion. I soaked it in carb cleaning for a few hours and started working it back and forth and it now moves freely and the spring brings it back to position. However just as a precaution I wanted to get another one. You can see from the pics that it is in rough shape.


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## milli (Apr 29, 2016)

I have a good feeling this boat has been neglected through out its years in service. This weekend I am going to get the trailer bearings replaced. I bought new tires with rims from Fleet Farm so those are going on (4.80-12). I purchased a carb kit and plan to get the carb all back together as well. Next week I want to get this boat in the water to check for leaks and see how it handles. I will post pictures as I go though out this project! 

question I have about the foam under the floor? I have seen people use everything from foam pads to the noodles that you can buy for kids. What is recommended and will last. I want to start planning out and getting all my supplies for the flooring. When I get to the floor I plan to remove everything and do a good cleaning and paint the inside of the boat before putting everything back together.

I want this boat to last me a good 3-5 years before I get a newer boat. I am not interested in adding a live well or anymore storage. This is my first boat with having any storage at all and I am happy I have that.


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## derekdiruz (Apr 29, 2016)

Keep it up. I'd love to see w he re this goes

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## Kismet (Apr 29, 2016)

I think you made a very good purchase. Nice size, decent power plant, and really not a lot to be done to it.

Have fun, be safe.


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## Abraham (Apr 29, 2016)

My initial response was going to be "drop the motor off at the boat shop and fix the floors" but you sound capable and I'm looking forward to your progress. Good luck with it.


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## milli (Apr 30, 2016)

I thought about taking it into the shop. I called around and everyone wanted $250-350 just to clean the carb. I ended up just buying a carb kit for $30 and I am going to do it myself. I went to school for marine and small engine back in 07. I love working on motorcycles/dirt bikes/quads but outboards is another story! I will get some pics posted today for you guys. Plan to get the motor back together and new bearings and new tires all done today. I started the wiring but I'm going to redo it so that it runs inside of the trailer frame. 

I want to do a test fire to see what it runs like now that the carb is working right.


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## antiochba (Apr 30, 2016)

Looking forward to watching your build.


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## milli (Apr 30, 2016)

Ok so today I was able to replace both wheel bearings and put on my new rims and tires. Only 1 busted finger so that's a plus. (Got a bit to crazy with the punch and hammer!)

The old tires were from 2005... new ones have a date stamp of 2016. I am hoping that this will help make the trailer more stable and reliable. The last thing I want is to be headed out to the lake only to have a wheel fall off


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## milli (Apr 30, 2016)

Here are some more pics of the inside of the boat.

The bearings took a bit longer than expected so I didn't get a chance to mess with the trailer lighting today.


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## jparrishbt (May 1, 2016)

Looks like a nice build so far. Since you have a couple weeks till your trip here is my suggestion based on the timeline of my boat. Before installing lights I would get a angle grinder and 3 knotted wire wheels and strip the trailer. It took me about 7 hours off and on, going to grab a bite to eat, spending a couple minutes cussing the thing, and running to get more wheels. If you have everything you need ready to go, 3 hours you can have that thing done. Get 4-6 cans of rustoleum rust primer, then paint it. If you put the lights in first before painting it, then when you want to paint it after your trip, youll have to rip it all back out. In a weekend you could have that trailer looking new. If you have any questions just holler.


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## perchjerker (May 1, 2016)

man looks real nice!! great platform

I am interested in your comments about your old boat.

What happened there? You overbuilt it? Got any details for those wanting to avoid the same problems? (might be too late for me lol)


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## milli (May 1, 2016)

jparrishbt said:


> Looks like a nice build so far. Since you have a couple weeks till your trip here is my suggestion based on the timeline of my boat. Before installing lights I would get a angle grinder and 3 knotted wire wheels and strip the trailer. It took me about 7 hours off and on, going to grab a bite to eat, spending a couple minutes cussing the thing, and running to get more wheels. If you have everything you need ready to go, 3 hours you can have that thing done. Get 4-6 cans of rustoleum rust primer, then paint it. If you put the lights in first before painting it, then when you want to paint it after your trip, youll have to rip it all back out. In a weekend you could have that trailer looking new. If you have any questions just holler.




I really don't have the time to paint the trailer before my trip. I am mainly focused on getting it out on the water for now. After my trip I plan to spend some time. I also want to do it right the first time and not be hurried. I want to tear it all the way down and get each piece cleaned and primed and replace all the rollers and the winch.


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## milli (May 1, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> man looks real nice!! great platform
> 
> I am interested in your comments about your old boat.
> 
> What happened there? You overbuilt it? Got any details for those wanting to avoid the same problems? (might be too late for me lol)




Yeah I mainly fish for bass and I wanted a platform to walk around on. I got the old boat for a really good price that I couldn't turn down. I ended up using wood 2x4's for all the bracing and thick plywood for the floors. I wanted it to be solid! When you were on the front of the boat fishing off the platform if you moved the slightest bit the entire boat would rock pretty bad. I will try and dig up some old photos. the beam on the old boat I believe was only 48 inches across. That is why I wanted a bigger boat this time around. My new to me boat is a 2.5 feet longer and has a 72 inch beam. should be much more stable.


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## milli (May 1, 2016)

Here are some pics that are from when I lived in Alexandria MN back in the day. This was my first boat ever. It was a old Lund deep and wide ss with a 25 hp tiller. Best boat ever. This boat is what got me started on doing boat builds. I replaced all the floors, painted the boat and trailer. redid the carpet and rebuild the motor. It was a great boat. wish I would have never gotten rid of it.


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## milli (May 2, 2016)

jparrishbt said:


> Looks like a nice build so far. Since you have a couple weeks till your trip here is my suggestion based on the timeline of my boat. Before installing lights I would get a angle grinder and 3 knotted wire wheels and strip the trailer. It took me about 7 hours off and on, going to grab a bite to eat, spending a couple minutes cussing the thing, and running to get more wheels. If you have everything you need ready to go, 3 hours you can have that thing done. Get 4-6 cans of rustoleum rust primer, then paint it. If you put the lights in first before painting it, then when you want to paint it after your trip, youll have to rip it all back out. In a weekend you could have that trailer looking new. If you have any questions just holler.



I was rereading your post and I might just end up doing this. I might take it slow and do sections at a time. Thinking I might focus on just the front half first. I did move the winch bracket forward 4 inches so that the boat doesn't hang off the end of the trailer so much. I'm thinking this will make it track better without having so much weight behind the rear axle. I feel that it should still be another 4 inches more forward but it was all I could do without removing the trailer bracket that is welding in place. I would really like to get the boat off and replace the two front rollers as they are ripped and rotted and it can't be good for the boat to be sitting on them like that. I will post up some pics later today. 

Thank you everyone for showing interest. It really makes you want to keep coming back to post! 

On a side note the Carb I got off of EBAY comes today so that means I get to fire it up!!!! Might even replace the water pump/impeller today or tomorrow so I can get it in the lake and see how she does.


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## perchjerker (May 2, 2016)

thanks for the explanation bud!!


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## milli (May 2, 2016)

Alright I am super stoked! My carb came in the mail today. Much better condition than the one that came off my engine. Everything is smooth and no corrosion or pitting.


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## milli (May 3, 2016)

Yesterday I got a lot done. My newer carb came in. I tore it all the way down and cleaned it and rebuilt it. Then I went and picked up a new 6 gallon tank and fuel hose. I also replaced the fuel hose going from the fuel pump to the carb, and the spark plugs. The fuel pump looks in bad shape but works for now. I plan to replace that this coming weekend along with the water pump. For now the motor is all back together finally and will be ready to start today. If everything goes well today I plan to head to the lake Thursday to do a test run. 

On a side note: I pulled up a corner of the flooring and it is real bad. The PO just laid new plywood over the old rotten floor. The original floor crumbles in your fingers. My son is 30 lbs and he was walking around in the boat earlier that day and the floor was bowing... That's bad. I am going to have to tear it all apart before my trip. I was not planning on having to get to it so soon however if it bows from a kid I'm sure it would break with me walking on it. 

I am going to start some research this week about aluminum flooring. I don't know pricing, grades, or thicknesses, time to install?? (If anyone has any thoughts or past experiences please let me know)

If it looks to be to costly to do aluminum then I am going to just use exterior grade 5/8 or 3/4 plywood and seal it and lay some carpet down.


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## milli (May 3, 2016)

Also I looked at the foam and it looks bad too. I did some reading on foam and buoyancy and I am still confused on what I should do. I am thinking that I will pick up a two sheets of the foam from Home Depot or Menards. I think it would be better than just leaving the water logged foam that is in the boat. I might have to put off the fishing trip for another week. I want to do the floors right. Clean it really good. Seal up all the rivets as a precaution, lay a coat of paint down on the inside, lay down new foam, and lastly install the floors and new benches.


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## perchjerker (May 3, 2016)

good move

don't rush the build, you will only end up redoing it and causing yourself more work


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## milli (May 3, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> good move
> 
> don't rush the build, you will only end up redoing it and causing yourself more work



Yeah I don't want to rush it. I only want to do it once. Today I am going to check the compression in the cylinders before going any further however. I don't want to keep putting money into a motor that might not be worth it. It ran quite well at idle when I bought it. However when you gave it any gas it would just die. I know that now after getting the carb off I know why. But It is still a good idea that I check.

I will post up the numbers I get from each cylinder in a bit.


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## milli (May 3, 2016)

I decided that I couldn't wait any longer. Took me 10 minutes to check it. The top cylinder was at 119lbs and the bottom cylinder was at 121 lbs. That is really close numbers. I am not sure what it should be from factory but I do believe that it is good. At least they are close to each other. plus it was really nice to hear it turn over again after being disassembled!!!! Tonight I will get gas flowing through it and do an official test to see how it runs now.


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## perchjerker (May 3, 2016)

great those are really good numbers

from your symptoms I was doubting you would find a compression problem


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## milli (May 3, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> great those are really good numbers
> 
> from your symptoms I was doubting you would find a compression problem




I didn't think I would either but I was still really nervous to check. I'm glad they turned out good. I had night class tonight so I didn't get a chance to fire it up. Class went a lot longer than expected. I will have to get her going tomorrow.


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## antiochba (May 4, 2016)

Checkout Discount Steel for your Aluminium in Minneapolis. Pretty reasonable


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## milli (May 4, 2016)

I was able to find this conversion table for thickness of aluminum.


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## milli (May 4, 2016)

I looked up the cost for 1/8 aluminum 4x8 sheets and it runs $130 a sheet.


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## milli (May 4, 2016)

antiochba said:


> Checkout Discount Steel for your Aluminium in Minneapolis. Pretty reasonable




Funny that you mention this. I have been there plenty of times before. My father is a trucker and we used to deliver steel there.


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## milli (May 5, 2016)

She runs!

Idles great!

not peeing water though...........


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## milli (May 5, 2016)

Took me about 2 hours yesterday to get it to start. When turning the key nothing would happen. after checking many wires and following where they go i finally thought about a neutral kill switch. ended up being a little bolt that needed to be adjust two turns in so that it would engage the switch... turned the key and she fired right up and idled great. it wasn't peeing any water so i didn't run for more than 5 seconds. I took the lower unit off. Inspected the impeller, and it is pretty bad. I am going to run up to the shop and pick up a new one and oil for the bottom end.


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## milli (May 5, 2016)

Alright an update for everyone. Motor runs great. I replace the water pump and put in a new outlet hose for the water to come out. Started it up and still nothing. Took it apart and blew air through all the lines. Dirt/sand pieces started coming out. Hooked it up to water again and it started dribbling water which was a good start. I let it run for about 30 seconds with brown water dripping out then it turned to clear and had great flow. Tomorrow will be the first time i put it in the lake! 

That lower unit kicked my butt to get back in. There was a black tube that ran with the drive shaft and the original one was a bit melted. I had to drive over to Wisconsin to a shop to get a new one. Once I put the new one in it went together with no issues. Learned a valuable lesson on that one.


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## milli (May 5, 2016)

Tomorrow I am going to change out the lower unit oil and head to the lake. I checked it already and it is black and smells burnt. I am thinking the PO didn't realize he had to do any Maintance at all. Either way the motor will be taken care of now and babied for a while.


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## milli (May 6, 2016)

Ok todays agenda is going to be changing out the lower unit oil and then I need to get a new battery. The one I have is a interstate starting battery that is 2 years old and came with the boat. I charged it and it still barely wants to crank over the motor so I am going to replace it. 

I also need to pick up a new deep cycle battery for the trolling motor which I need to test first. The one on the boat looks to be about 10-20 years old and I am not sure if it even works. So I am going to give that a test before hitting the water.

If everything goes as planned then I will be starting the floors. I will post pics as I go.


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## Abraham (May 6, 2016)

Looking forward to the pics. Without them the build just isn't the same


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## milli (May 6, 2016)

I was able to get the boat in the lake today. The motor started right up. Idles perfect. However when you give it gas it runs really rough. I was able to get the boat up to almost 10mph (gps on phone). It would not plane. When giving it full throttle it runs and sounds bad. Almost like it is out of timing. The motor is a 1978 johnson 35 hp. There is a little linkage with a screw on it that you can loosen and then there is a small plate that you can move back and forth. I am not sure where it was at on the old carb or where it needs to be. 

Any Help in this area would be great. I am at a loss. I have tried everything. Does anyone have the part in the manual that talks about adjust the Carb linkage timing on this motor? I have searched forums, google, youtube, and came up with nothing. 

Other than that my son loved it. he didn't like it when the big boats went by and made our boat rock but not to bad for his first time out on the water! I didn't get any pictures because I was to busy trying to keep it running and messing with it.


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## milli (May 8, 2016)

I decided to start the floors before my trip and I am really glad I did. Yesterday I removed the back three feet where the fuel tank and battery sit. I must have removed over a hundred pounds of rotten wood and another two hundred pounds of water logged foam. I did get some pictures.


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## milli (May 8, 2016)

There was all kinds of garbage and sand under the foam. And it also looked like some nice made it their home for a while. The front of the boat is going to be much worse because there are three levels of rotted plywood. The PO never took the old out. Instead he just put new over the old every time it got bad. 

When I took it out on the lake the other day I was wondering why it was so heavy and sat so low in the water. I'm going to get new foam and plywood this week and hope to have it finished by next weekend.


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## milli (May 8, 2016)

There is so much sand and dirt and water logged plywood and foam I can't even believe this thing was able to float. I am half way done removing all the crud and I must have removed over 500 lbs so far.


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## milli (May 9, 2016)

I wasn't able to rip the rest of the flooring out of the boat yesterday. Not sure how much more I will get done this week. It looks like rain for the next few days. If it isn't to bad I might finish it up. It's easy pulling up the two layers of rotted plywood. The hard part is lifting the water logged foam out and then cleaning it all up.


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## milli (May 10, 2016)

I have been tinkering with my motor to see what the issue was when I took it out on the water. It sounded like it was missing or out of timing. Found out that it may have been only running on 1 cylinder. I am going to go get a spark tester and see which one. Then figure out if it needs a new coil or a loose wire or power pack.


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## milli (May 11, 2016)

I have decided that I am running out of time to get the floors in. I am going to finish ripping out the floors and do a quick cleaning. Then I am going to get some 2 inch foam board from Menards and lay new plywood floor and carpet down. I am only going to put the floor in temporally for now. I am thinking that I am going to either go with 5/8 or 3/4 exterior plywood and seal it than glue and staple new carpet down. 

My fishing trip is booked for the weekend of the 20th! 

Once I get back I plan to take it all back out and clean everything up better and then paint the inside of the boat. Then I will put the floors back in and screw them down. I have been thinking about making the drivers seat a live well so that might happen after the trip as well. For the front of the boat there is already a small covered portion and I might make it larger with a step down with a casting deck. 

I have been searching for a new to me motor in the mean time. It is hard to find a decent used 2 stroke right now. My motor works but I want something that I trust when I have my family with.


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## milli (May 11, 2016)

It's still raining out but I decided to finish ripping all the floors out. Worse than what I was thinking that's for sure. Here are some pics of my progress


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## milli (May 11, 2016)

Once I get this boat done I plan to keep it covered and dry. That should help against future rot.


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## milli (May 11, 2016)

Also with the motor I was able to do a spark test today. Both coils are sparking as they should so maybe it was the timing linkage that goes to the carb that was causing my issues? I was able to get in touch with a guy who only works on johnsons and he walked me through how to properly adjust it. I put it in a barrel today and it now seems much better. That and I'm sure the 500+ pounds of extra water and crud and rot didn't help much. 

I'm excited to see how this boat handles and floats now with all that extra weight gone.


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## antiochba (May 11, 2016)

Dang Dude, that's some ugly stuff

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


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## milli (May 11, 2016)

antiochba said:


> Dang Dude, that's some ugly stuff
> 
> Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk



Yeah it was pretty nasty. I was thinking it would be an easy project. I removed 4 different mice nests. It was gross. I'm going to let the boat breath now for a couple days. I have some wiring to redo as the PO used house wiring and duct tape for lighting and trolling motor. 

Here are a couple pictures I snapped as I was calling it a night.


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## perchjerker (May 12, 2016)

I noticed that the battery is still hooked up while you are working on it

I would disconnect and remove it for safety's sake


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## milli (May 12, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> I noticed that the battery is still hooked up while you are working on it
> 
> I would disconnect and remove it for safety's sake



Yeah that's my old battery. I removed it before I started spraying water. I usually keep the battery in the garage but I was testing the motor in the tub of water right before I took the pics. 

I'm glad I am getting feed back. Thanks


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## perchjerker (May 12, 2016)

good deal man!

just lookin out for my fellow tinner!!


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## milli (May 12, 2016)

Got it back out on the lake again today I wanted to test the motor one final time and see how well it floats now. The motor ran great and I was able to get it up to 26mph with phone gps. I'm very happy with that result. 

The boat was much lighter and easier to load and unload. It also didn't sit low in the water anymore. The pic below are from today. Before the boat was only 6-8 inches away from the top of the boat.


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## perchjerker (May 12, 2016)

man, thats great to hear

looks sweet!!!


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## milli (May 12, 2016)

The motor runs really well. I was very surprised and Happy that all that was wrong with it was the timing linkage that was adjusted wrong. Lesson learned. 

I picked up some 3/4 inch exterior plywood and stainless steel screws tonight. I got 4 different sizes of screws because I am not sure which will work best (trial and error). After getting home I was looking the boat over quick and realized that I had 1 small piece of non rotted original piece of wood and decided to see how thick it was. The original was only 1/2 inch. Im thinking Lund used half inch because they were using the foam as part of the floor structure so it didn't bow or dip when walking on it. 

I decided for now I am going to hold off on putting any foam in the boat. I couldn't decide how I wanted to do it. I was originally thinking that I would use 2 inch pink foam from menards but after looking at it I am just not sure. (I will be adding a bilge pump this weekend). 

I also got a carpet sample while at menards. I am going to check and see if Cabelas has carpet in stock before making the final purchase. 

Thanks everyone for enjoying my rebuild. There will be lots of pics added over the weekend of my progress.


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## milli (May 12, 2016)

Also for some reason some of my pictures post sideways. I am not sure how to correct this. I have tried cropping the photo on my phone then transferring it and it still won't work right. Please bare with me 

(if anyone has a way that I could transfer from my phone that would work please let me know) 

It would make looking at them a lot easier I'm sure.


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## milli (May 13, 2016)

Some progress on the floors.


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## milli (May 14, 2016)

Today's work so far


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## milli (May 14, 2016)

This boat is kicking my butt on these floors. My last two were easy square cuts and this one requires much more precision. I will be glad when it's over and I get to fish!


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## jasper60103 (May 15, 2016)

milli said:


> This boat is kicking my butt on these floors. My last two were easy square cuts and this one requires much more precision. I will be glad when it's over and I get to fish!



I just stumbled across this build and wanted to say you're doing a great job!
And certainly understand wanting fishing time, and it goes quick in Minnesota.
Good luck and I'll continue to follow your progress.
-jasper


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## milli (May 15, 2016)

Got the rear bench seat back in place. I am using 3/4 inch plywood and Lund originally used 1/2 so it is making things fit a little more tight.


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## milli (May 15, 2016)

jasper60103 said:


> milli said:
> 
> 
> > This boat is kicking my butt on these floors. My last two were easy square cuts and this one requires much more precision. I will be glad when it's over and I get to fish!
> ...




Yeah this year might be the shortest ever! Woke up to puddles of ice this morning.


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## milli (May 15, 2016)

I also cut every single wire in the boat except the wires running from the motor to the key switch. Everything else went to either broken lights or no where. I reran the main starter wires under the floor along the side. It really cleaned up the way it looks. I'm going to pick up a fuse block and rerun my lights and interior lights off of. 

The trolling motor will have its own battery now up front so I was able to shorten down that wire as well. I might run a 3rd battery for extras too?


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## milli (May 15, 2016)

Handful of wires I took out.


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## milli (May 15, 2016)

I got more done on the floors. I will get some pictures. So far the floor is roughed in and I will be doing a final figment tomorrow. Then Wednesday I will get the carpet done and Thursday I plan to take it out for a test ride to see how it is. Then Friday I have to get it loaded up and head 3 hours north for some fishing.


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## milli (May 15, 2016)

Today's progress


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

I ran up to the store this morning to pick up a new bilge pump and install kit. It says it will do 600 GPH (I hope that is enough). That will go in today. I also plan to finish the last section of flooring today. I am going to be cutting it really close with getting it done before my trip. (I am really glad however that I decided to get the floors done before my trip). If I get the floors in today and it is still daylight I would really like to get it out on the lake tonight to see what it is like. If I do I will post up some pictures.


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## perchjerker (May 16, 2016)

looking good

I don't know if you mentioned it but check your wheel bearings and tires before the 3 hour trip

sorry I see now that you did

good job


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## jasper60103 (May 16, 2016)

That thing should be rock solid with 0.75" plywood. 
Keep up the good work ! =D> 

-jasper


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> looking good
> 
> I don't know if you mentioned it but check your wheel bearings and tires before the 3 hour trip
> 
> ...



Yeah, that was one of the first things I did. They were shot. The old tires were dry rotted and could barely hold air.


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

jasper60103 said:


> That thing should be rock solid with 0.75" plywood.
> Keep up the good work ! =D>
> 
> -jasper



I searched everywhere to find out what thickness of plywood to use. I ended up going with the 3/4 inch because I didn't want the floor to dip or bow when you walked on it. I believe that when Lund made the boat they used 1/2 inch but they also used the foam as part of the support so the floor didn't bow. That foam was so water logged that it would take years to dry it out. 

I also had to piece the wood together yesterday and today to make it all fit without removing the seats and benches. I did the floors in 4 sections.


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

Almost done with the floors! It's been a lot harder than any other boat I have ever done.


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

I also found that if I hold my phone sideways when taking the pictures they work right when putting them on here. So I will start doing that from now on. Thanks for putting up with sideways pictures!


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

The back of the boat is now carpeted and all the flooring throughout the boat is screwed down in place.


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## milli (May 16, 2016)

Tomorrow will be a long day between work and night school. I plan to get the bulge pump installed and the new control box cables installed! I plan to leave the console the way it is until after my trip because I know that it is going to take a lot longer and I want to install a fuse block and a onboard charger. 

I have also decided to put the bow mount trolling battery in the rod holder along side of the boat close as far up front as possible. I want to keep the front platform clear and clean for fishing!


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## gunpackinpanda (May 17, 2016)

looking good man! I'm digging your build! 

Your local maker of blades 
AB knives


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## milli (May 18, 2016)

So I ordered new cables for the control box and when installing them yesterday the plastic sleeve that connects it to the shift lever on the side of the motor cracked and broke. Luckily I only had to drive an hour over to WI to get a new one! Now my throttle and shifting is buttery smooth. 

Today the bilge pump will go in and the carpet will be done.


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## milli (May 18, 2016)

This boat has been a lot more work than I originally thought. It was in way worse condition then what I was expecting. I'm really glad for the folks on here. With out it I am not sure If I would have gotten this far. I have learned a lot along the way. I am far from finished, however the boat will be in the lake tomorrow for a final test run before my trip. As long as everything goes smoothly on my trip and nothing else breaks I plan to redo the console and install a new trolling motor and a platform up front. I want it to be storage for the battery and extra gear. More pictures will be put up tonight of what all I get done tonight. 

List of things to do today:
*finish carpet on floors
*install bilge pump
*install battery trays
*wire up the batteries
*get another sheet of plywood to finish up the rod locker and driver's seat

I plan to have 3 seats in the boat total. Drivers seat, a seat up front, and a rear seat on the back bench. I don't plan to ever have more than 3 people in the boat at once. Next year as my family is growing I plan to buy a newer bigger boat. I would like to get an even wider boat for stability. This boat works for now and it is so far the most stable boat I have owned. My beam is 72 inches. My next boat I would like to be 84 inches or wider. Until then I will fish the heck out of this boat!!!!


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## jasper60103 (May 18, 2016)

milli said:


> This boat has been a lot more work than I originally thought. It was in way worse condition then what I was expecting. I'm really glad for the folks on here. With out it I am not sure If I would have gotten this far. I have learned a lot along the way. I am far from finished, however the boat will be in the lake tomorrow for a final test run before my trip. As long as everything goes smoothly on my trip and nothing else breaks I plan to redo the console and install a new trolling motor and a platform up front. I want it to be storage for the battery and extra gear. More pictures will be put up tonight of what all I get done tonight.
> 
> List of things to do today:
> *finish carpet on floors
> ...



I've enjoyed following your build so far.
And I think you will love it after all is said and done.
Thanks for sharing. 
jasper


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## milli (May 18, 2016)

Over my lunch break I found a guy on CL that was selling a used trolling motor, Anchor with rope, brand new winch, and some used life jackets. I ended up getting everything for a really great deal. The trolling motor is a transom mount 36lb thrust. Its older but works and will get me back to shore if my motor acts up. 

I installed the winch over my lunch break today. It is a pretty large one compared to what I had before so I had to drill new holes to make it fit. Looks great and best of all it works! My old one was ripping and rotten. (not safe)

I also figured out how to move the boat further forward on the trailer. I can adjust the winch bracket to get another 1-2 inches of room. I feel that the trailer is a bit to small for the boat but by moving it a bit might help some and not have so much of a over hang.


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## milli (May 18, 2016)

It's 9:30 here and it is getting so close to being done. I had to take a break for a minute so I figured I would give y'all an update.


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## milli (May 18, 2016)

Pics


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## milli (May 19, 2016)

Almost got the carpet done. It's on heck of a messy job.

I have about 3 feet left to trim off. However my neighbor across the street got a little upset because I was making to much noise. ( time to move back out into the country ) 

The only thing I didn't get done today was installing the bilge pump. I did drain the lower unit and put new fluid in it earlier today however. The family and I are going to take the boat out tomorrow for a bit. I will get some pics. I plan to drain the lower unit after that and refill again just to try to get as much of the old black oil out as possible.


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## jasper60103 (May 19, 2016)

Good progress.
Are you going to put your seat pedestals back on?

jasper


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## milli (May 19, 2016)

jasper60103 said:


> Good progress.
> Are you going to put your seat pedestals back on?
> 
> jasper



I purchased 3 new seats for the boat. I am going to put a swivel seat in the rear and a drivers seat and I haven't decided how I am going to do the front seat yet. I have three different seat mounts that I can use. I have to do some test this afternoon.


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## milli (May 20, 2016)

Seats are in. All that's left to do now is load it up and head up north tomorrow for some quiet time!


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## perchjerker (May 20, 2016)

Congrats bud let us know how she does

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk


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## milli (May 20, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> Congrats bud let us know how she does
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk



I will get plenty of pics and will post back on Sunday!


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## milli (May 21, 2016)

Pics


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## jasper60103 (May 21, 2016)

Nice pic.
Sounds like that motor has some life left in her
Can't beat a Johnny Rude.


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## milli (May 22, 2016)

Caught 50+ crappie. Kept 28 ( 10-12 inchers) boat has been in the water for 3 days and is bone dry. Motor still needs some work but runs great at full throttle. Half throttle it starts to almost have like a miss.


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## Fire1386 (May 22, 2016)

Ouch, that will hurt for a while. Nice mess of fish.....


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## jasper60103 (May 22, 2016)

You did great! 

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk


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## milli (May 23, 2016)

Fire1386 said:


> Ouch, that will hurt for a while. Nice mess of fish.....



still hurts today but at least I was still able to catch some fish.


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## milli (May 23, 2016)

boat was rock solid. There are a few things that I plan to change. The front seat is to far forward and I put it in the middle of the boat. I am going to remove it and put in a bench seat like it was when it came from the factory. I also need to move the drivers seat more towards the middle of the boat and back an inch or two. I might also take out the swivel attachment because it sits a bit to high and is awkward driving like that. I plan to get an achormate for the front as well. 

I am also going to remove the front bow mount trolling motor. It works but will only turn to the left and it is really noisy and in the way of the front fisherman. I plan to keep an eye out for a good used one but until then I am going to just use the transom mount trolling motor. 

The boat also needs more cup holders and some rod holders. 

I am going to pull the carb off and give it a good cleaning again. It backfired a couple times and there was crud by the butterfly's in the carb. I went through 5 gallons of gas this weekend and I feel that the motor used to much for how much we ran it. When I adjust the lean and rich mixture it doesn't change much until you give it a full turn then it either idles to high or backfires and shuts off.


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## milli (May 25, 2016)

I don't plan to work on the boat for a week or so to let my hands heal. 

I put a drill bit through my left pointer finger last week and broke my middle finger on my right hand. 

Thank you everyone for following my progress. 

I am no where near close to being done. I am taking the boat up to Alexandria MN in 2 weeks for another trip. I plan to get a new trolling motor and install the front bench before then.


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## perchjerker (May 25, 2016)

thanks for the report

so you are saying that the trolling motor is broken?

Is it a Minn Kota Power Drive?


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## milli (May 26, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> thanks for the report
> 
> so you are saying that the trolling motor is broken?
> 
> Is it a Minn Kota Power Drive?



Yeah the bow mount trolling motor is broken. It works but it has a very loud motor and it will only go forward and to the left when using the foot control. I could not get it to go to the right. It seems to try but then stops. It came with the boat so its not a big deal. I plan to give it to my dad for his sail boat since he only needs it to push I'm straight. He can turn with his rudder, and then he doesn't need to have a gas motor on it. He was complaining of smelling the gas when out on the water. I don't use a trolling motor much when I fish. I tend to find a good spot and stay. 

I have a 36lb in the rear that is there mainly to help get me back to shore if the motor fails. Better than using a paddle. I was going to buy a bigger boat next year and still might but I really like this boat and it is very sturdy in the water when walking around. There are going to be some changes however. The front pedestal seat was a pain and my buddy ended up just taking it out while he fished because it got in the way. 

I ordered some cup holders that flush mount, and plan to put two in the front bench seat and 2 in the rear and 2 in the console.


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## perchjerker (May 26, 2016)

ok the reason I asked is because on these motors, a lot of times all that is wrong is the foot pedal. If you know of someone that has one try swapping it out and see if it works properly

but since its noisy there may be other problems as well in the drive motor


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## milli (May 26, 2016)

perchjerker said:


> ok the reason I asked is because on these motors, a lot of times all that is wrong is the foot pedal. If you know of someone that has one try swapping it out and see if it works properly
> 
> but since its noisy there may be other problems as well in the drive motor



Yeah the motor makes a lot of noise. We caught fish so it wasn't loud enough to scare em away but the guys in the boat made fun of it saying set the troll speed to whop whop whop or whop....whop....whop....whop haha. That is how we would determine how fast we wanted to troll haha.


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## Kismet (May 26, 2016)

You did good, Sir.

_(that car-door finger made me wince...been there, done that.)_

Look at how "right" that craft looks!

YOU did that!


Nice. Very nice.

=D>


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## milli (Jun 2, 2016)

I am still waiting for my finger to heal up. I planned to get some more work done this week to the boat. I am taking it out of town again this weekend. I am going to remove the front bow mount trolling motor along with the battery and give those to my father for his sail boat. I am not sure if I will put one back on the front or not. I really only want a trolling motor for if my outboard goes to crap. I will still have the 36lb rear trolling motor that I will keep on the back.


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## milli (Jun 6, 2016)

Took the boat up to Alexandria MN this last weekend. It ran great for about 10 minutes then it started bogging like crazy at full throttle. I am getting pretty fed up with this motor. We still got to fish however! It was my sons first time fishing and he had a blast!!!

He caught 2 really large sunnies and now all he wants to do is fish haha.


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## milli (Jun 6, 2016)

At least the boat was able to tow in my dads sail boat!


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## milli (Jun 6, 2016)

Found my problem with why it was bogging down so bad. The top coil ground wire was Brocken and corroded.


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## jasper60103 (Jun 7, 2016)

milli said:


> Found my problem with why it was bogging down so bad. The top coil ground wire was Brocken and corroded.



Yea, that looks nasty. Good catch!


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