# 14' Montgomery Ward Sea King - Semi-V



## KorpalDiem (Apr 20, 2011)

After owning several beater cars over the previous two years I decided it was time to purchase a decent rig. I ended up with a 2001 F150 which I justified to the wife by telling her it would be used to pull, haul, and tow whatever home improvement and landscaping equipment we needed for the homestead. However, the entire time we were going through the purchase all I could imagine was pulling a boat to hit whatever lake, pond or puddle thats producing the most slabs or housing the most birds. After fruitlessly searching on craigslist for a boat, the father-in-law told me he had to do some spring cleaning. The spring cleaning happened to be his entire property and on the lot was this 1974 14' Montgomery Ward Sea King and a 9.9 Johnson Sea Horse! Overall the boat was in decent condition considering it was sitting out in the Wisconsin elements for 3 to 4 years.

Here is my original assessment of the entire rig:
Boat: rotted transom boards, chipped paint, wobbly seat, broken gunwall supports
Trailer: rusty, burnt up bearings, sketchy tires, shotty wiring, dry rotted rollers, rotted bunks
Outboard: good to after
Overall: Labor of Love

The father-in-law and I instantly started to work on getting the trailer road worthy by purchasing new tires/rims, bearings, races, and seals. After getting that squared away at his shop I took the King home to start prepping for paint. That's where I came across this wonderful site. Great information, friendly advice and some spectacular ideas for modifications! After putting in some research I determined I would remove as much paint as possible with a sander and wire brush attachment for the drill but leave any areas with good adhesion as the boat will be getting a good amount of abuse fishing and duck hunting the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. The past couple of days I have not been able to do any more work because Wisconsin is relapsing to winter again and I need some good temps/humidity to finish priming! Anyways, here is the rig and my progress so far. Let me know what you think...


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## ckr74 (Apr 20, 2011)

That's a good looking old boat. This is one of my favorite "warm weather" sites. You got a good start. Keep the pics coming!


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## KorpalDiem (Apr 22, 2011)

This really is a great site. 
Well I haven't been able to any more work on the rig as the highs have only been in the 40's and it has been snowing. I think I will be taking the King back to the father-in-laws shop since it's heated and has about 10 times more room than my one stall garage. Hopefully we will get the trailer painted and put back together this weekend.

ckr74, great build by the way!


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## Sgt. Stiglitz (Apr 22, 2011)

Here is what I did to my 14 ft. SeaKing........

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=15880


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## KorpalDiem (Apr 25, 2011)

Sgt. Stiglitz, I've seen your boat modifications before and it is a really impressive boat now but I don't have the time or money to complete anything near yours! I am hoping to get a floor and possibly a casting deck in this year but that will depend on boat stability and cash flow. 

I was able to paint the trailer yesterday and I also got the boat out on the water to check for leaks. Good news is that there are no leaks so I was able to go ahead and prime the hull with some self-etching primer. Today, I will be picking up some OD paint for the hull and hopefully get the trailer all wired. I completely forgot to take some pics but will make sure to take some tonight. 

Hope everyone had a good Easter!


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## Brine (Apr 25, 2011)

Congrats on the rig, and welcome to the site.

Sounds like you ended up with a pretty good father in law too... =D>


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## KorpalDiem (Apr 28, 2011)

Thanks, Brine!
Yeah, I most certainly lucked out on landing a wonderful wife and father-in-law...well actually all of the in-laws! 

Anywho, Robin (father-in-law) and I pretty much got the trailer all squared away last night. Wired it up, put on the new lights, and cut new bunkers. All that is left to do is carpet the bunks and fix the right taillight (I dropped one of the lights while I was checking out of Fleet Farm and it must have busted...IDIOT!  ). 

As for the boat, we put two coats of HS Camo OD enamel on the hull. It was a little chilly (45 degrees) last night and Robin got impatient so we decided to create our own redneck sun to 'bake' on the first coat...  I will be going back out tonight to clean the inside of the boat and get it primed so I can apply paint on tomorrow. Once the painting is complete I plan to put in the floor and do a bunch of fishing so I can determine the stability of the boat before making any big modifications. I really cannot wait to get her out on the water once it's done!

Well I have been trying to upload my photos for like 10 minutes now and it's not working working! Getting very frustrated...i'll try to post them later i guess... :evil:


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## KorpalDiem (Apr 28, 2011)

I'm going to try to post one pic at a time since trying to upload all of them apparently won't work! :evil:


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## KorpalDiem (Apr 28, 2011)

Prime hull and our redneck 'sun baked' enamel process


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## KorpalDiem (Apr 29, 2011)

TGIF, I will be working on priming and painting the inside of the boat this weekend and putting on the new transom boards, motor, registration and fixing the right taillight. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can get everything squared away so I can let the paint cure up for a week before the fishing opener next weekend!


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## Froggy (Apr 29, 2011)

Very nice


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## KorpalDiem (May 3, 2011)

Thanks, Froggy!
I really like what you've done with your jon boat. Clean and simple, that's what I'm striving for with the King.


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## KorpalDiem (May 6, 2011)

Haven't had much time to get the boat completely squared away yet because softball season just started up! Anywho, tonight i'm going to reattach the front seat, put on the new transom boards, attach the 9.9 Johnson Sea Horse and take her out to sea to see how she does. Crossing my fingers that i can get out of work early! [-o< 

Have a great weekend and tell your Mother you love her!


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