# The Sea King Chronicles



## CBGale2 (Apr 8, 2009)

First of all... Hello everyone!! Im new in TinBoat town. I just picked up a unknown year Seaking aluminum boat, its a 15', came with a 18hp 1957 Johnson Seahorse with only about 30hrs on it, and a 97 Shorelander trailer. Picked up the whole package for $375!!! Godbless Craigslist \/

I have been reading through all of the upgrades and coversions on here, and I must say I am inspired.... so I thought I would post my project and share. Here are a couple of pictures, I will get some good ones so I have some decent before pictures. The rig has been sitting since 97, so its begging for attention. I started tearing into it earlier today, tore out the rotten wood benches, displaced a colony of carpenter ants in one bench. I hate bugs!, unless they're bait.


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## ben2go (Apr 9, 2009)

:WELCOME: Great project.


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## russ010 (Apr 9, 2009)

that will be a fun project... keep the pictures coming! And welcome aboard!


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## CBGale2 (Apr 9, 2009)

Alright I took some good 'before' pictures today, wish I would have got one before I tore out the rotted benches, but oh well.





















Started on my first real modification today, I like to jump in with both feet :shock: . One thing I didnt like about the boat is so much space is wasted with the covered section up front.... so of course the solution is to get the jigsaw out. There was about 13 inches I could open it up forward before messing with the floatation box that is mounted inside there. I carefully cut the trim piece out, took that and set it on top 13 inches forward and used it to trace the new opening and started cutting, worked out perfect, now I can take that trim piece and reattach it in the new opening and tie the space on the sides together with some aluminum angle. Took the old wood cross support off and traced the shape out for a new one. Now I should have enough room for 3 pedestal seats.


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## CBGale2 (Apr 11, 2009)

Project #1 Completed  

Opening up some more of the covered front section to make more room.

Ready to be put back together:




Finished Product:







Aluminum piece to tie it back together:




On to the next project, replacing the transom wood..... More carpenter ants in there I found :evil: .... last piece of wood left though.


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## shizzy77 (Apr 11, 2009)

wow, nice job. looks like it is supposed to.


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## Waterwings (Apr 11, 2009)

That's really nice work, and good call on leaving the foam floatation intact. 8)


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## CBGale2 (Apr 11, 2009)

I thought I should leave that floatation alone. There were some in metal boxes under the benches that I removed, but they were pretty much rusted out anyways, when I do the floor Im going to put some more under floor to replace what I removed. I dont want all my hard work sitting at the bottom of the lake #-o .


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## ben2go (Apr 12, 2009)

That's some good work.


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## CBGale2 (Apr 13, 2009)

Argh! #-o I started removing the old paint today. I dont think this is going to be any fun. Any pointers? So far I tried a small hand orbital sander with a medium grit disk, a sanding wheel that resembles some sort of sponge, and a wire cup brush in the drill. So far the wire cup brush is most effective, but dusty. Im pretty certian I will have lead poising by the time this is done from the dust.


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## ober51 (Apr 13, 2009)

CBGale2 said:


> Argh! #-o I started removing the old paint today. I dont think this is going to be any fun. Any pointers? So far I tried a small hand orbital sander with a medium grit disk, a sanding wheel that resembles some sort of sponge, and a wire cup brush in the drill. So far the wire cup brush is most effective, but dusty. Im pretty certian I will have lead poising by the time this is done from the dust.



Not sure this will work for you or if it's effective for others - but by using a heat gun I was able to effectively take off roll on bed liner very, very easily.


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## CBGale2 (Apr 13, 2009)

Heres my next question, after Im done sanding all the old paint off, can I take a sealant and do all the seams before I paint it, or should I do it after its painted? My concern is that the sealant will come loose, taking the paint with it, if I seal first?


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## Loggerhead Mike (Apr 14, 2009)

i sealed mine and painted over. onces its sanded and wiped down with acetone the sealer should stick fine.

mite want to get you a cheap-o dust mask. when the asbestose and led get in your lungs they stay there untill you die


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## CBGale2 (Apr 16, 2009)

Well Im still taking paint off ](*,) , should have it ready by first ice. :roll: I hate doing this part of the project, I want to be cutting wood, laying carpet and mounting seats.

Ive got a question, can I do much damage to the aluminum with my wire wheel on my drill? And no, Im not trying to burn a hole through it. Im keeping it on the move constantly, but I swear the dust looks a little shinny. Im taking it down to the bare metal because there are atleast two layers of paint on the boat, the bottom layer is not in good shape so painting over it wont last very long. I think on the top half of the boat Im going to try and strip the paint off, I thought of doing the whole boat that way but I see in the seams an old caulk of some type, I didnt want to eat that away with the stripper. Im hoping to be painting on Saturday, supposed to be nice and warm.... 65 deg. Its a Michigan heat wave. \/


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## CBGale2 (Apr 26, 2009)

Alright, havent given any updates in awhile, figured pictures of me changing wire wheels in my drill werent very exciting.

Old paint removal progress picture:







So after about 8 wire wheels and an unfortunate accident involving one of the wire bristles that flew off getting stuck between my shirts.... which resulted in a pierced nipple when I leaned over the boat. :shock: Here it is with all the paint removed:








First coat of self etching primer:







And finally, the paint. Went with a white topside marine paint, brand was Aqua Bould or something, its Boaters World brand, got it for $17 a can since they are going out of business. This was my first attempt at painting a boat, did the roll and tip method [-o< . I was suprised by how good it turned out. Its not like a mirror finish but its pretty smooth and you can see a reflection in it, so Im happy. Going to be painting brighter blue on the top edge of the boat yet.


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## ober51 (Apr 26, 2009)

Looking great, man. Keep up the good work!


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## CBGale2 (Apr 27, 2009)

Hey, can anyone else see my pictures, they arent showing up when I look at this today. Was fine yesterday?


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## Stryker777 (Apr 28, 2009)

I can see them. Looks great! It is amazing how much a paint job can do for a boat.


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## Brine (Apr 28, 2009)

I see all but the first one, and if that's the shot of the pierced nipple, I can live without it. :lol: 

Boat is looking good!


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## Loggerhead Mike (Apr 28, 2009)

great job


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## CBGale2 (Apr 28, 2009)

Brine said:


> I see all but the first one, and if that's the shot of the pierced nipple, I can live without it. :lol:
> 
> Boat is looking good!



No, that wasnt my nipple picture. Sent you a PM with that one! :LMFAO: j/k


Ok, here it is with the blue on the top edge done and flipped back over. Blue came out a little brighter than I wanted.... but after a few trips in some good dirty water it wont matter.


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## Anthony Sisk (Apr 28, 2009)

that boat is identical to my 1960 starcraft.Great boat to modify.On mine I cut the whole front out and built a casting deck from the second bench a the way to the front.I have found it to be pretty stable.Man you are going to be happy with that thing.Good luck on your mods.Just let me know if i can be any help.Oh yeah mikne has a 1987 15hp johnson that pushes it pretty good.


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## CBGale2 (Apr 28, 2009)

pitdog said:


> that boat is identical to my 1960 starcraft.Great boat to modify.On mine I cut the whole front out and built a casting deck from the second bench a the way to the front.I have found it to be pretty stable.Man you are going to be happy with that thing.Good luck on your mods.Just let me know if i can be any help.Oh yeah mikne has a 1987 15hp johnson that pushes it pretty good.



Hey pitdog, PM sent.


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## CBGale2 (May 3, 2009)

The Painting is Done!!!!! :beer: 


Before Picture:




After Picture




My fishing buddy





Now its time to start tackling the inside.


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## Brine (May 4, 2009)

Awesome! =D>


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## russ010 (May 4, 2009)

that is an awesome paint job man!


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## CBGale2 (May 6, 2009)

Alright, Im leaving this up to everyone on TinBoats to decide, majority wins. I will not post my opinion so I dont sway the voters.

Should I put these decals that I bought on my boat or not? Same as evattmans decals on his "not sure what it is, Lund" (link below, and not the Lund part). Decals are in silver.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3829&start=100


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## ober51 (May 6, 2009)

I am on the fence - I really like the look of the two tone paint with nothing ti clutter. I also think a pinstripe on the white might be just as effective, and you can do it yourself. 

Is there any way you can use some computer skills and see how it would look? If I HAD to provide an answer at this point, I say no. Then again, I have never been considered by my girlfriend to have a good eye with this type stuff, lol.


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## CBGale2 (May 6, 2009)

ober51 said:


> Is there any way you can use some computer skills and see how it would look?



If only I knew a Graphic Artist, oh wait. Thats what I do. Here is some visual aid.

With the decals:






Without the decals:


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## Cheeseball (May 6, 2009)

Well... from a fellow graphic artist. I say come up with your own design. You'll probably come up with something much cooler and it will be your own that no one else has.

Besides, my personal view on logos is... They can pay me to put it on, I don't pay them to put it on. This goes for clothing and my boat.


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## CBGale2 (May 6, 2009)

That creates a issue for me, if I designed my own then everytime I looked at my boat it would make me think of work. And thats the last thing I want to think about when Im fishing. But no seriously, these were dirt cheap off eBay, wasnt worth my time and effort to design and then have some printed.


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## CBGale2 (May 7, 2009)

So nobody has any other opinions on if I should put the decals on or not?


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## CBGale2 (May 7, 2009)

Should I put them on or not?

With the decals (artists representation):





Without the decals:



[/quote]


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## CBGale2 (Jun 7, 2009)

Just wanted to thank everyone for their opinion on if I should put the decals on or not =D> ,after all two of your replies I decided not to put them on. Anyways.....

Got the interior done, here are some pictures.


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## bobberboy (Jul 28, 2009)

I haven't been looking for a few weeks nd just came across your project today. What a sweet boat. The interior pics didn't show up for me.


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## Brine (Jul 28, 2009)

CBGale2 said:


> ober51 said:
> 
> 
> > Is there any way you can use some computer skills and see how it would look?
> ...





CBGale2 said:


> Should I put them on or not?
> 
> With the decals (artists representation):
> 
> ...


[/quote]


CBGale2 said:


> Just wanted to thank everyone for their opinion on if I should put the decals on or not =D> ,after all two of your replies I decided not to put them on. Anyways.....
> 
> Got the interior done, here are some pictures.



Just an FYI, all of the above refer to pics that don't exist. It's hard to comment on something without seeing it. In the meantime, you've made a sarcastic thank you comment to the board for not commenting on your imaginary pics. Bad move.

Good luck with the rest of the build.


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## CBGale2 (Sep 23, 2009)

Brine said:


> CBGale2 said:
> 
> 
> > ober51 said:
> ...





CBGale2 said:


> Just wanted to thank everyone for their opinion on if I should put the decals on or not =D> ,after all two of your replies I decided not to put them on. Anyways.....
> 
> Got the interior done, here are some pictures.



Just an FYI, all of the above refer to pics that don't exist. It's hard to comment on something without seeing it. In the meantime, you've made a sarcastic thank you comment to the board for not commenting on your imaginary pics. Bad move.

Good luck with the rest of the build.[/quote]

Well it would have been nice if someone would have let me know the pictures werent showing up (I could see them), took two months before you gave me a heads up. So thank you Brine for finally letting me know this.


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## jigster60 (Sep 23, 2009)

Had one those old Johnson 18's sweet motor.... wc aboard....JIGGY


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## wolfmjc (Apr 10, 2010)

just saw your post, nice job on the boat...and a late welcome to tinboats....


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