# 97 SeaArk 1872 Build



## erictetterton (Aug 3, 2014)

Well... after having just about every size tinboat out there, I have finally found a SeaArk superjon. Its an old NC wildlife boat that was auctioned off at a surplus sale. They used it to shuttle fourwheelers across the sound to the outer banks. its seen a lot of use but its still a good boat. SeaArk makes a great boat. It has a bunch of corrosion on the transom that im concerned about. I want to stop it and do a permanent fix. I have already sanded it down really good. I am thinking about painting the holes with self etching primer and putting fiberglass resin inside the holes, then priming and painting with rustoleum bottom paint from lowes. (Any suggestions to stopping this corrosion would be greatly appreciated).

Here's some pics of the boat the day i got it. I have since sold the 115 johnson... I want something a little newer and less hp. 






Heres Pictures of some of the worst corrosion spots. From the water line stains in the stern of the boat, it appears that this boat sat with the plug in and water was halfway up the transom... leading to this corrosion problem


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## erictetterton (Aug 3, 2014)

Yea and those bunks are probably treated lumber... IDIOTS #-o


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## erictetterton (Aug 3, 2014)

I am taking the side console out and putting the center console back in.






Ripped the floor up to see what was under there. There was a lot of zinc screws, broken supports, and sand from the sound and well as sea grass. This thing will definitely have to have some welding done.


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## Pembroke36 (Aug 3, 2014)

Two steering wheels, you are already setup for twin outboards. :LOL2:


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## Natedog57 (Aug 5, 2014)

That looks like a great project.

Probably not what you'd like to hear, but I vote to cut/replace the transom. By the time you clean/reweld every little pin hole you could probably just replace it. Any kind of patch job (5200/fiberglass) will just be temporary, and the old girl deserves better than that.

You should have a heck of a rig once she's up and running, good luck


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## juggernot (Aug 6, 2014)

I saw that boat on CL the other day. It will be a fine boat when you're done fixin it up and plenty of room for customizing and adding accesories to make it perfect for your uses.


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## erictetterton (Aug 6, 2014)

I'm hoping I can get it right. There are some bad corroded spots underneath the boat from where it say for years on treated lumber. It's going to have to have new aluminum plates patched over it. I got a quote today for $600+. There are a ton of cracked welds and ribs. This boat has took a beating


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## tonka329 (Aug 6, 2014)

I would LOVE to find a boat this size! I'll be watching


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## erictetterton (Aug 15, 2014)

Well I got the boat back from the welder today. He did a lot of work on this boat. Here's what he did about the corroded areas. 





















He used 3/16" aluminum plate to cover all the corroded areas. He made me a trolling motor bracket also. I filled the boat with water and there's still 10 small (pin hole) leaks around the edges of some of the welded plates on the bottom. I am thinking about putting 5200 on the spots and priming and painting. Any objection to that plan?


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## erictetterton (Aug 15, 2014)




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## 87tpita (Aug 17, 2014)

Awesome pick up ..... 5200 or gluvit or metal-all from the inside for those pin holes..... I wouldn't even consider a swivel seat up front..... bolt a leather recliner up there...you've got the room .lol. good luck with the project.


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## Jeeper (Aug 17, 2014)

5200 will work great nice find by the way


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## Natedog57 (Aug 19, 2014)

I'd use a bottom coat like Steelflex before 5200.

I was very impressed with Steelflex, very thick product and finished off pretty slick. I will use it on every riveted boat I have in the future. I applied it to a welded hull mostly as a protective barrier, it seemed like paint would always wear off the runners/edges below the waterline.

I have no personal experience with Gluvit, but have used Wearlon Wetlander Superslick which was very slick, but very thin and didn't stop up leaky rivets for very long.

If your leaks are below the waterline I'd be a little concerned with the 5200 peeling up over time, just from the water passing across it at speed.


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## erictetterton (Aug 22, 2014)

Well I found a motor at a decent price and it came with a boat lol. It's a 95 model Johnson 130 and it runs great. Definitely a freshwater motor. It's very clean under the cowl. Check out the high jacker jack plate on the back. This thing is going to fly on the ark. It also came with a newer model minn kota edge 55. Only paying 1000 for the boat and motor I think it was a decent buy. After I strip the boat of the motor and jack plate, I'll sell the minna kota and boat and get some money back.


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## erictetterton (Aug 22, 2014)




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## erictetterton (Aug 22, 2014)

I started painting the boat today. I treated the boat with ospho then painted with rustoleum rusty metal primer


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## erictetterton (Aug 23, 2014)

Stripping out the javelin and putting new leaf springs, hardware and bunks


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## smackdaddy53 (Aug 23, 2014)

Weld what you can and do it right or you will regret it


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## erictetterton (Aug 25, 2014)




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## erictetterton (Sep 7, 2014)

Getting the beast back on the trailer


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## smackdaddy53 (Sep 8, 2014)

That is a good looking rig man! What's the draft with that motor?


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## erictetterton (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks. I'm really not sure. I haven't had it in the water yet. I expect it to be pretty shallow. I still have a lot of work left. Once the motor rigging is done, I will feel a lot better about this project. I got the motor off a bass boat that had flush mount controls and I hope I can salvage the control box to use on my center console. I don't know which control box to buy if the flush mount won't work?


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## smackdaddy53 (Sep 8, 2014)

You can probably find one on Amazon or Ebay


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## erictetterton (Sep 8, 2014)

Yea I have seen a bunch on there but I can't seem to find which years and hp ranges will work for my 1995 Johnson 130?


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## Pembroke36 (Sep 8, 2014)

Nice find for a 1000 bucks.


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## smackdaddy53 (Sep 8, 2014)

erictetterton said:


> Yea I have seen a bunch on there but I can't seem to find which years and hp ranges will work for my 1995 Johnson 130?


The thing that really makes the controls work with your motor are the throttle/shift cable connections and the wiring harness that plugs into your motor.


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## Edintampa (Sep 8, 2014)

The boat is looking good! What did you paint it with ?


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## erictetterton (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks. I still have some touching up to do and put the sea ark decals on. I sprayed it with rustoleum oil based enamel using a HVLP gun


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## erictetterton (Sep 13, 2014)

Put the deck hatch in to store my 24v system







Put interior courtesy lights in as well. Got all my wiring done, next up is to put in the floor 







Also installed my fuel system. 2 12 gallon tanks with a fuel water separator


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## Edintampa (Sep 13, 2014)

Eric I have a couple of questions. Nice looking boat you have. 
I have thought about running two tanks and I saw that you use a T to join them together. The motor will pull evenly from both tanks at the same time? 

I have a 25 hp Yamaha 4 stroke. 

Thanks, 

Ed


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## erictetterton (Sep 14, 2014)

Thanks Ed. Yes that is the plan.. If not I have quick disconnects on each tank so I can isolate them if needed


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## erictetterton (Sep 25, 2014)

Finally found some time to work on the boat between working at the hospital and bow season. Here's some pics of the progress. Finally got the floor in, HDI 7 on the console, and steering cables run. A few small things left and it's time to splash her.


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## SaltyGhost (Sep 26, 2014)

I'm no fuel tank expert but I'm thinking you may need a fuel tank switch. Invariably, one tank will be easier to suck from than the other and will drain quicker. Of course, it won't matter if you keep plenty of gas in them.


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## KRS62 (Sep 27, 2014)

I too am curious to see if that fuel line set up works. That said, I can think of a reason why it wouldn't....but enough suction to get it primed could be an issue. You might need primer bulbs prior to the T. Keep us posted. 

I am actually in the middle of converting two 6 gallon tanks to a single 14 gallon aluminum tank. I LOVED being able to run off of one tank until empty, then switch over to a full one. (This was an easy way to know how much fuel I had left.) So, I would recommend a switch (especially if your set up doesn't work.) That said, the switch does add complexity to the system. The previous owner of my boat had primer bulbs for each line prior to switch and it seemed as if it was needed for my setup. 

I started having fuel delivery issues and I could never really trace it down to 100% certainty to what the problem was. I switched lines, tanks, switch positions, new fuel line, etc. Ultimately, I think it was one of my ancient fuel tanks. So, decided to pull it all out and install a new tank. Will wire up fuel gauge in dash, etc.

Your project looks great man! Good job. I am dying to move up from a 16ft to something larger.

KRS


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## erictetterton (Sep 27, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions. The tanks can be isolated by disconnecting the female end that connects to each tank. I will update y'all when I test it


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## erictetterton (Sep 30, 2014)

I secured the console down, mounted the speakers for the radio, and installed rod holders.


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## erictetterton (Sep 30, 2014)

For seating arrangements I am thinking about 2 seats in the back bench for passengers and using that cooler for the driver's seat. I am going to get some clear vinyl from walmart and a foam seat cushion and make a seat cushion to fit the top of the cooler lid. That'll be a nice, removable seat that won't be in the way all the time


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## erictetterton (Oct 14, 2014)




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## erictetterton (Oct 27, 2014)




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## erictetterton (Oct 27, 2014)

She's finished. Runs 44mph and burns the hell outta some gas. About half throttle it runs 25mph. I will get some better pics of the inside now that I've cleaned it up and put the anti-skid floor in. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. She's a beast and takes corners with authority. This is the best Jon boat made IMO. I've had just about every size and brand out there. There's no comparison when it comes to SeaArk


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## Y_J (Oct 27, 2014)

Pembroke36 said:


> Two steering wheels, you are already setup for twin outboards. :LOL2:


Just don't turn opposite directions at the same time [-X #-o


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## erictetterton (Oct 28, 2014)




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## erictetterton (Oct 28, 2014)




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## erictetterton (Dec 20, 2014)

Well my Elite 7 crapped out on me after 4 trips so I upgraded to the HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch. What an awesome unit. So glad I was given the option to upgrade. Here's some of the fish I've been catching on the Tar river. Stripers have moved in early this year. Still loving this barge of a Jon boat.


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## c1gator (Dec 21, 2014)

Man you did a heck of a job on that rig, looks great...I also had a 18/72 with a 90/65 merc jet and it was a great boat, wish I still had it....What did you use to cover the wires up on the floor of the boat, and where did you get it? I got a new boat and I need to cover the wires...Thank you.....


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## erictetterton (Dec 22, 2014)

Thanks. I used a piece of the aluminum rib that was cut out of the deck to put the hatch in. It covers the wires/teleflex nicely so people Dont trip over them


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