# Looking for advice on this boat



## Pemnuts (Mar 23, 2014)

This is a 1990 16 footer by Ercoa that didn't see the end of the assembly line. It needs a complete interior. The layout was going to end up with dual live wells, 2 bucket seats and a console.
It's advertised as a prototype of sorts, and is being sold for $800, no trailer or motor.
I'm thinking it's a good buy at this price for the hull. Understanding it would need flotation and floors added along with other things.. this would be my first boat purchase. 
Anyone familiar with this brand of boat?
Would you trust the hull integrity as far as rivets go?
Would you invest the time in finishing it - from it's As-Is state?
Any and all advice would be appreciated.


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## rscottp (Mar 23, 2014)

Looks like a pretty nice hull. Never heard of the brand but I think its a pretty good deal. My 2 cents.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Mar 23, 2014)

Does it come with a title?


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## Pemnuts (Mar 23, 2014)

Yes, it comes with registration and current license stickers with the hull.


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## Pemnuts (Mar 24, 2014)

I wished more boat owners / DIY fabricators would have chimed in on this with their opinions..
As it is, I am having it delivered to a place i can receive it tonight, 800 for hull, 150 for delivery from 150 miles away. I hope this works out, really do.. the guy said he had trailers to put it on, but during the last phone call just minutes ago, he said he and two other guys stuffed it in the back of a pickup truck =( 
His Craigslist advertisement said "Brand New Never Used" and 
"All the aluminum work was completed"
I can only hope it arrives in that condition. 

In the next 3 hours, what should i look for as far as 'missing' aluminum?
I had asked him about the transom, he says it's fully covered in aluminum.. should i replace the wood inside? I'm not sure how long it sat indoors or outdoors. 
Again, any advice appreciated in advance
Pem


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## Kismet (Mar 24, 2014)

Having rehabbed two older boats, I'm jealous of all the stuff you DON'T have to do!.

Man...I'd wait and look, and sit and look, and imagine and look, and sketch and troll through all the designs of boats on the waters you are going to fish...and look.

You have a blank canvas. 

Best wishes. =D> =D> =D>


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## huntinfool (Mar 24, 2014)

If it looks new, and you think you can do something with it, and your happy with the price, then I'd say buy it. You can add or subtract anything you want. If the transom has wood in it, use a pick in the motor holes and see how firm it is. Also pull a small piece out and see if it is wet. Ask the guy if it was stored outside. Ask him about the rest of the floor pieces and hatches and decks, seats etc. Heck he may have some he might throw in. But once the boat is delivered it may be too late. 

One pic the blue looks new and dark, the other it looks light faded and dirty. Possibly two different boats?


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## Pemnuts (Mar 24, 2014)

It's time to go meet the guy..
Thanks for the thoughts and tip. 
I'll post some pics tomorrow that show more clearly what i'm getting tonight. I'll check the transom out as best i can, hopefully it's solid after 25 years of sitting??


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## muddywaders (Mar 24, 2014)

Is this hull designed for 2 or 3 bench seats?It appears to have a center bulkhead/partition that is lower than the front and rear seat-is this a third seat or support for decking?Does foam need to be installed to be Coast Guard approved?Would be nice have storage and or a built-in fuel tank in the seat cavities.I suggest building a hidden compartment for beer and valuables.


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## Pemnuts (Mar 24, 2014)

This was the CL ad:
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1990 Ercoa 16' aluminum V-hull fishing boat. Was purchased off the line, incomplete, after the Braham-based pontoon manufacturer went out of business. Brand new! Never seen water! Clear and proper (not homebuilt, salvage, or any other BS) Minnesota registration in hand.

This boat is a prototype of sorts, one of a very small test run. There are five of these 16-footers known to exist. Three were completed, used for promotions, advertising photos, etc. and then sold years later; one was mostly completed and left to lay in the factory, and one - this one - was next (and last) in line behind it. All the aluminum work was completed, but no floor or interior were ever installed.

As configured, this boat is set up for two bucket seats and a console in the middle (dropped) part of the floor, and a pedestal seat in front and back on the raised portions of the floor. It also has dual livewells and lots of under-floor storage space. (You can make it whatever you want it to be, but that's the layout it was being prepared for.)

This boat will float as-is, but you'll need to add your own interior, motor, and trailer.

If you want to get some ideas - or try and duplicate the factory style - I have many detailed photographs of the finished boats, which should provide all the details necessary to build a complete interior.

SALE INCLUDES HULL, REGISTRATION, AND CURRENT LICENSE STICKERS - NOTHING ELSE. You'll need to provide your own trailer, motor, and the materials and skills required to complete the interior. But if you can do that, you'll own a brand-spankin'-new boat, customized to your liking, for pennies on the dollar!

Call it a piece of local history, call it a steal of a deal - whatever you call it, just don't wait to call me about it. It's priced to MOVE
Price is $800 CASH
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I was concerned about it being stuffed in the back of a truck, but it came like this..

And here's a couple pics of a finished boat, not the one i bought - which still needs an interior. This boat has the first coat of paint on it, nothing more.
I totally failed to get some pics of it right side up.. but i will soon =]
Here's one of the pics i managed to get of the bottom side, in all the excitement i simply forgot to take more, this thing is 16 feet long and 77 and a half inches wide omg. the entire hull seemed extremely solid just as advertised. The transom is solid too, like a rock. One happy camper here !~
Pem


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## matzilla (Mar 24, 2014)

That's a great looking boat, and a perfect clean slate to work with!


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## thill (Mar 25, 2014)

I'd buy it in a heartbeat.


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## mattfishinmanvan (Mar 25, 2014)

I have been searching Craigslist for boats every single day for the past 6 months and if that came up in my area I would have bought it in a heartbeat. Great deal.


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## Pemnuts (Mar 30, 2014)

Craigslist had a trailer for me yahoo.. I hope it works, it previously held a 16' 1989 bayliner..
it's all galvanized and has a lifetime license and title and all the lights work too. paid $350.
If the boat fits, i'm going to be real happy with everything soon.
Pem


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## rscottp (Mar 30, 2014)

You just keep finding good deals! What are you gonna do next get a motor for a buck?


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## Pemnuts (Mar 30, 2014)

It's kinda funny that you suggest i might find a cheap motor for it - my son has a older 18xd mercury we're gonna push it with, so it's actually cheaper than a dollar.
I finally got the hull on the trailer, and this is what it looks like earlier today.
It looks like we will need to do some bunk modifications to get the boat sitting right, but it looks like a good fit to start with?
I am not sure how to address this issue, but i am looking forward to any help from the members here.


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## rscottp (Mar 30, 2014)

Looks good! Throw up a post in the trailer section someone there will point you in the right direction.


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## thill (Mar 31, 2014)

Those particular Caulkins trailers don't give you many options with changing the bunk width, since they don't have the standard cross-members.

What are you looking to do to make it fit? 

If you only need it to go back so it's not sitting so far forward, then you can take off the roller stop, bolt or weld on an extension, and then mount the roller stop onto the extension.

If the bunk width hits the boat funny, that a little tougher, but if the current bunks are solid, you can attach another pair of bunks on top of them, offset a little, to bring the contact point in or out a few inches.

Looking something like this:



Obviously, there are other solutions, but hopefully, this is helpful.

-TH


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## rscottp (Mar 31, 2014)

Your hull looks really similar to my Lund. Take plenty of pictures!


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## Pemnuts (Apr 13, 2014)

The existing aluminum and old foam was removed and we cleaned up the interior of the hull.
The layout was designed for a console and two live wells originally. We're keeping the forward live well and going with a open floor plan to keep it simple. It's actually hard to remember to take pictures, but i did get a couple - I got a good deal on some aluminum that we'll be using: 25 feet of 1-1/4 x 1-1/4 x 1/8 thick angle and 20 feet of aluminum channel 1-1/2 wide with 1 inch legs, so they fit together nicely like this for 41 dollars; the majority of it will be used in the deck framework.


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## fool4fish1226 (Apr 13, 2014)

Sweet boat love the hull should turn out great :beer:


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## Pemnuts (Apr 13, 2014)

Many boats have ribs inside. Instead, this boat has pairs of aluminum angle butted together that we can build upward from, and just a couple ribs like normal near the stern area. I'll get a better picture of it today so it makes sense. Some of the vertical panels for the console and seat were too tall so i took them to a hvac company conveniently located in the same building where i work to have them cut and bent with a nice clean flat bend for flooring support.
Determining the floor height was extremely easy because the rear of the live well already had a floor height piece of aluminum angle on it already, and because it matched the same height as a couple other rib location areas closer to the stern we decided to continue that height from the live well to the transom. It looks like we will be able to get 8 cubic feet of foam under the floor, and each side of the transom will have about 3 and a half feet. The sides and bottom of the live well has another 3 and a half cubic feet of foam. This boat is gonna float !


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## Pemnuts (Apr 13, 2014)

I left one vertical panel inside the empty hull to show how the others would be installed, once they have been modified. The other pic shows a close up of the same thing. At the bow you can see a normal rib and right behind that going toward the stern is the two vertical supports for the livewell.
I don't know if any other boats are made this way with these aluminum angles, but once we got all the heights adjusted on our vertical panels it was fairly easy going to get the floor supports installed. The only real work was figuring out how to give support for the floor over the two rear ribs, and also for a pedestal seat in the rear. When the last few pieces are in place i'll post more pics.
As a side note, it would be really cool to see any of the other 5 prototype boats that are allegedly known to exist from this company, and being a prototype - my son and I were trying to come up with a name for it and so far, "Proto-Pike" seems to keep coming up more and more.


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## Pemnuts (Apr 21, 2014)

The floor framework is nearly finished, just a couple small pieces left to put in. Once this is done we'll be looking for a nice day for a leak test at a local lake =]


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## rscottp (Apr 21, 2014)

Looks good man! There won't be any leaks, its brand spankin new!


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## Pemnuts (Apr 24, 2014)

This is a mock up of the front deck support, the rear live well material was used for flooring in the front of the bow to allow vertical supports to be put in, having a sawzall makes this easy work =]
The support for the pedestal seat is held up by angle that is attached to the live well and legs closer to the front.
We'll get the left side gusset put in tomorrow, and then look at our options for hatches.


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## rscottp (Apr 25, 2014)

That look pretty stable. You should have plenty of support around the seat mount.

Did you get my reply to your PM? I can never tell if the replies go out correctly.


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## Pemnuts (Apr 25, 2014)

Yeah Rscottp i did get your pm, thanks ! You were right - it didn't leak =]
The boat's transom is 22 inches and now we're looking for a long shaft motor or alternative to making the Merc. 18XD work with a jack plate - Any how, here's todays pics. Keep in mind, we're still in the modifying stages.
Pem


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## claytonb78 (Apr 26, 2014)

Wow, that is an awesome boat you bought. Like so many on here...I am totally jealous. That's the exact type of boat I'd love to have someday. Looks like you have an excellent project boat. Love the photos.


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## Pemnuts (Apr 27, 2014)

Thanks for the compliments guys, we're looking at spending a bit more than we wanted to originally, but isn't that how it generally works? I seriously wish i had more time and especially more money.. but then i wouldn't be modifying anything, I'd just go buy whatever suits me and then sell it if it didn't work out and then try again.
Here's a bit more work on the front deck support, just about half done.. love the sawzall =]

Question for the forum members ~ My transom is currently 22 inches deep, will a long shaft work at this depth or will i need to trim a couple inches off of the transom? I'm looking at long shaft tillers and there's not many available.. not sure if it would work anyway. Would i need to find something that has a 25 inch depth?
Pem


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## Pemnuts (Apr 28, 2014)

A local dealership had a 1996 20hp Evinrude long shaft for 800 and tax.. 
2 pulls and it started and ran real smooth - went into forward and reverse gear well. I hope it pushes our deep v well enough to get around lakes and up the river. We're not looking to go fast, just reel them in fast.. when we get there =]
I had asked the mechanic to pull out the rope one more time after the tank testing was completed so we could see if the rope needed replacing or not. He had unplugged the gas line by then, and as he slowly pulled it back out the motor fired up and ran for a moment on what was left in the carb. The rope was fine.. for now, I am happy that it seems like a good choice to start out with.
I'll post a few pics later ~
Pem


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## Jim (Apr 28, 2014)

Wow! I need to get into tho section more. Nice boat man!


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## Pemnuts (Apr 28, 2014)

Thanks Jim, always an honor to get friendly comments =]
Here's the motor - 1996 20hp long shaft Evinrude..
and for a kicker, i have a 1985? 3.5 horse suzuki.. 
We managed to get the deck framework supports almost done - I think i bought the wrong piano hinge, it's flat.. prolly needs to be an off set hinge.. anyhow, here's some pics
Pem


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## rscottp (Apr 28, 2014)

I think the 20hp will push you about 20mph. I will be curious to see how it does when you test it out. Keep us posted.


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## Pemnuts (May 1, 2014)

This Sunday we'll be going fishing to see how things work out with the new motor so we can post results after that..
For now - just a couple pics of more work under way in the deck.


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## Pemnuts (May 3, 2014)

Sunday came a day early and we got out to test the new motor and fish for a bit. All in all it was like a perfect day cuz the evinrude 20hp pushed the boat at a solid gps verified 20mph like rscottp said it would =] We're extremely happy for that, and we also managed to catch a catfish for each of us before it got too late. Sunday.. 'er tomorrow - we'll go out again and get some video and pics of the latest. 
Things on the to do list as of yet, finish wiring for everything, complete the deck hatches, mount transducer and make a home made style bow trolling mount for our transom mount troller.. then carpet after a final test day. I'm sure other things will come up before we're done =]
Pem


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## rscottp (May 4, 2014)

Congrats on the motor, glad you hit 20mph with gear and fisherman. Boat is coming along nicely!


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## jasper60103 (May 4, 2014)

I remember seeing this boat on CL. Glad to see a fellow tinboater get it. Keep up the good work! =D>


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## Pemnuts (May 4, 2014)

Yeah jasper we're happy as can be with it, and fishing out of it is awesome for us because we've only had a smaller boat or canoe to work with prior to this one. Some of the comments I've heard locally were that they too - have also seen this boat on craigslist and they didn't make a move on it. I'm just glad it's mine!
Sunday was awesome, boat worked great again and we each caught some more catfish too..
Here's a few pics =]

Hatch cut outs and pedestal hole drilled.. and some fish =]


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## spacks013 (May 4, 2014)

Looks like a fun project! I actually saw this boat on CL and had to convince myself that the work it needed was beyond my skill level (which is absolutely is). Glad to see someone on here picked it up so we can see what you do with it.


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## VT-Bass13 (May 5, 2014)

hey like what you are doing and nice work 

this is what i did to my 16ft boat check it out may or may not give you some ideas 

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=25172


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## Keystone (May 5, 2014)

Pemnuts, do you hit Pepin often? Living in Albert Lea makes it a bit of a drive to the river for me. But I have been from Red Wing all the way down to the end of Pepin several times since moving here in 1996.

Looking forward to seeing this boat finished. You are doing a nice job so far!


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## Pemnuts (May 5, 2014)

Thanks again for the positive comments guys, it's inspirational to see others appreciate work being done on a 24 year old boat =]
As for craigslist boats, this one turned out to be a good deal for us - and if it were not for this wonderful website we might not have had the nerve to even begin bringing it back into service. Thanks to Jim, and all forum members for posting your years of experience on this site.
Keystone, we do get up towards the mouth of Pepin from the south side of it, even in our canoe.. now with this larger boat, Pepin will be a fun ride. I'm actually interested in heading your way in a couple weeks, the last time we were in your area we spent the entire day catching northerns one after the other in Fountain Lake during an algae bloom. As I think back on that day, it was the first time I ever got tired of reeling in large fish. When it was time to go we headed back to our launching point and managed to swamp our canoe when my tired arms tried lifting the 65 pound battery up so my son could take it out. The hand off didn't go well and the battery sunk to the bottom and the canoe was taking on water so fast all i could think of was rescuing the Suzuki outboard that was still hooked on to the canoe. After a few minutes of "What the hell just happened??" I found the battery at the top of a sand mound made from power loaders and it was easily within reach - a few feet one way or another and it would not have been recoverable. Anyhow.. the battery still works perfectly and we have another memorable story to tell anyone willing to listen =]


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## Keystone (May 5, 2014)

Winter kill this year was bad. I'll know next week how the Pike, Walleye and channels did and let you know. I do pretty good on that lake pulling spinner rigs around. Not uncommon to catch a few dozen Pike in a morning and some real decent Channels. Let me know when you are heading over. Do most of my fishing solo but always ready to have some company.


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## Pemnuts (May 10, 2014)

We used fiberglass resin to coat our wood decking, not much to say about it other than it's going to seal out moisture. A couple days curing time in the shed worked out well. 

It's a wonderful thing to have a son that likes fishing, loves boating and is very handy at getting things done. If not for him, I'd still be working on the deck framing, cussing at having to get out of the boat to cut something, then back up the ladder into the boat to test fit it only to find out I've cut it more than twice and it's still too short ~ :roll: I'm also glad that I listened to his advice and trimmed the hatches back about a quarter of an inch on two edges of each hatch so the carpet fits tightly between the hatch and the deck after it's glued on and stapled. Did I mention that he owns and drives our boat hauler? yeah he likes trucks too. Thank you, Son, for making this old mans' dream a reality. 
We covered all of the wood in carpet in about four hours.. that carpet glue sticks to everything and thanks to the rain today we had to do the carpeting inside the house on the living room floor. One of my dogs found out that.. yes, it sticks to paws too.. Now I have boat parts from one end of the house to the other, laying upside down with all sorts of heavy things on top of them. Luckily for me, no carpet glue got on the living room floor.. just on my hands and clothes, and somehow on one of my elbows. I was relieved to put the lid on that bucket of glue for the last time.
The pictures that follow show the resin we used, some parts that have resin applied, and my son doing a test fit for the pieces on the roll of carpet to make sure everything fits - about halfway through the application of resin. I'll post back tomorrow with pics of carpeted pieces, soon as I can flip them over =]
Pem


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## Pemnuts (May 11, 2014)

In the pics that follow you will see I decided to staple my hatch hinges on, I realize that the staples will eventually pull out. After a few minutes of debating with myself about whether to use piano hinges or use a spare tie down strap for this, you can see that I won, and "Git Er Done" took over.
20 minutes later it was finished. No binding hinges, no drilling, no measuring, and the staples are actually really strong. If it works out and the lids don't fly off going down the road then it's all good. I'll use real hinges if that happens.

I used a wood hammer to wrap the tie down strap around to make sure the straps have enough play in them and allow the hatch to open freely. Pics show this, and hatches closed and open. The live well at the bottom will probably be 'hinged' to the underlayment (not shown ) when we install all these parts onto the boat. I also decided not to use a loop for the hatch pulls because I don't want to risk tripping my handicapped ass and falling into the water


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## bobberboy (May 11, 2014)

Like they said. Looks nice and you don't have to undo all the work someone else did to make what you want. All in all it looks like you've done well on both.


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## Pemnuts (May 11, 2014)

When I first saw this boat in person I never really thought I would see the build part come to an end, but now there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel. The top part of the front deck is not finished yet - just sitting in place with the hummingbird 597ci HD in its location. It'll be our first time using it. The vertical part under the live well is covered in a off white vinyl, and the vertical parts underneath the rear seat box will have this too.. undecided if we should add a left side seat at this time. I don't like cleaning up too much, it makes it hard to find tools and parts and also makes it easier for me to remember what I wanted to accomplish next :lol:


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