# samzerelli's 1649 flat bottom overhaul



## samzerelli (Apr 8, 2012)

I bought a severely neglected 1649 Grumman flat bottom jon boat with a 1985 20hp Evinrude outboard and diamond plate floors. The boat used to sit in the water at the marina 24/7, so the motor housing and the boat are severely pitted. 

I have been working on the boat for a few weeks. I decided to make this thread to keep track of and share the progress. I'll add some photos to get everyone up to speed.

Here are before pictures:


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## samzerelli (Apr 8, 2012)

I removed the diamond plate floors by drilling out all the pop rivets. I then took the boat to my welder/outboard mechanic to have the following done:

- change the motor oil
- replace water pump impeller
- replace transom wood
- fix broken floor braces and make a few misc weld repairs
- added a piece of plate metal to re-enforce the front "deck"

The transom wood is completely enclosed by metal. He was able to just remove the bottom transom support brace and bend it up enough to get a new piece of marine plywood in there without having to cut it completely open.

Also, he found that although the motor is extremely ugly, it runs like a champ and seems to have low hours on it.


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## samzerelli (Apr 8, 2012)

The next problem to address is the bottom of the boat. All of the rivets had some sort of flexible silicone sealant on them, possible 5200. There are no leaks, but this doesn't look kosher at all.


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## samzerelli (Apr 8, 2012)

After peeling off all the sealant, I found that all 200+ rivets had J-B Weld on them. Some of the J-B Weld was in good shape, but others were missing chunks and cracked, etc. A leak test found 6 leaky rivets. Two of the rivets are actually missing and have been welded shut, both of which have a hole in the middle that is leaking.

I decided to remove all the J-B Weld from the rivets. I was able to do this in a matter of about 4 hours by using a propane torch. I made a video to show how well the torch worked to remove the J-B Weld.

[youtube]hsl7wwbd6K0[/youtube]


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## samzerelli (Apr 8, 2012)

All the J-B Weld is removed and I'm now stripping the paint using Jasco paint stripper and a wire brush/wire wheel on my drill. Once I'm finished stripping the bottom, I will do another leak test to see how many rivets need replaced.

Here is round one of stripping the bottom:






This thread is now up to date with my progress so far.


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## samzerelli (Apr 10, 2012)

Once I'm done stripping paint off the bottom, my next step will be to take care of three or four rivets that have been welded shut. Unfortunately the welds have holes in them now so they are leaking. I am going to grind off the welds and replace the rivets. As you can see, I have already ground off one of the welds.


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## fool4fish1226 (Apr 10, 2012)

Keep it comin Looking good so far


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## Gramps50 (Apr 10, 2012)

Keep on working and keep uploading pictures and posting progress. Looking good so far


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## samzerelli (Apr 18, 2012)

After about 30 man-hours, I have the outside of the boat all prepped for paint.






I replaced about 14 rivets with these 1/4" closed-end aluminum/stainless mandrel blind rivets from Jay-Cee and got everything water tight. I used the instructions in this video:

[youtube]L0MA1-5NXjs[/youtube]

I then decided to apply J-B Weld to all of the 200+ rivets that are below the water line for a little extra insurance.







Next steps are to finish stripping the inside of the boat and then paint. After that I plan to reinstall the diamond plate floor in the rear of the boat and build a deck across the two benches in the front of the boat.


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## TimRich (Apr 19, 2012)

Nice work! Looking forward to updates.


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## samzerelli (Apr 19, 2012)

I pulled a bunch of dents out of the rub rail using a slide hammer. They didn't come out completely perfect, but I'm definitely satisfied.

Before:








After:







I'll grind off the burrs and finish it off with a little J-B Weld.


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## samzerelli (Apr 21, 2012)

Day one of stripping the interior. This is a sucky task.


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## acabtp (Apr 21, 2012)

what is going on with the single knee brace way off to the side?


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## samzerelli (Apr 21, 2012)

acabtp said:


> what is going on with the single knee brace way off to the side?



I thought that was interesting too. That's the factory transom brace.


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## bguy (Apr 22, 2012)

im doing some interior on my 16' monark it , your boat has plenty of potential .. i looking foward to your future post. what are your plans for the interior...?


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## samzerelli (Apr 22, 2012)

bguy said:


> im doing some interior on my 16' monark it , your boat has plenty of potential .. i looking foward to your future post. what are your plans for the interior...?



I want to put the diamond plate floor back into the rear and then build a deck across the middle and front with two pedestal seats. Im still thinking about materials and paint colors.


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## samzerelli (Apr 25, 2012)

Round two of stripping the interior:


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## samzerelli (Apr 27, 2012)

Interior is all stripped! I just have a couple little touch-ups to do with the paint removal. Then I will apply Gluv-It to the interior and get ready to prime and paint the exterior.


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## samzerelli (Apr 29, 2012)

GluvIt is now applied to the rivets on the interior for some added insurance against leaks.





It's translucent and has sort of an industrial rotten fruit smell as it's being applied. When it dries it feels like a thick plastic or resin coating. Here's a picture of what it looks like after about 5 hours of drying time:


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## samzerelli (Apr 30, 2012)

I put primer on the exterior today. I started with a coat of Rustoleum Self Etching Primer:








And then I put a coat of Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer over that:


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## fool4fish1226 (Apr 30, 2012)

Your making good progress and the boat is looking good


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## samzerelli (May 1, 2012)

First coat of Rustoleum Smoke Grey (and gnats). Rolled and tipped:


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## samzerelli (May 2, 2012)

Second coat is now on the exterior. I'm going to let it sit upside down to cure for a week and turn my attention to this rusty trailer.


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## Gators5220 (May 2, 2012)

Nice progress, is your final color option going to be grey?


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## samzerelli (May 2, 2012)

Gators5220 said:


> Nice progress, is your final color option going to be grey?



Yes, I'm going to use that grey for the inside as well.


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## samzerelli (May 5, 2012)

Spent the day wrenching on about 1.2 million completely rusted bolts to disassemble the trailer and get it ready for some refurbishing.


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## Gramps50 (May 6, 2012)

Boats looking good you're coming right along with it.

Seems everyone always uses paint remover to strip their boats, anyone ever try media blasting?


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## New River Rat (May 6, 2012)

acabtp said:


> what is going on with the single knee brace way off to the side?



I'm guessing that is a Grumman thing. I've seen a few like that.


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## samzerelli (May 10, 2012)

Here's what she looks like with three coats of smoke grey on the exterior after about a week of cure time. I left the top rail unpainted because I'm going to use an anti-skid additive for the interior and wrap that up over the rail.


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## fool4fish1226 (May 10, 2012)

Turned out nice =D>


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## samzerelli (May 11, 2012)

Here are some trailer progress photos. I still need to add bunks, wire the lights, add some guide-ons, and then button everything up:


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## samzerelli (May 15, 2012)

Just about finished with the trailer, aka the USS Enterprise. I have one more rusty roller to paint, I need to mount the license plate, and I need to move the trailer jack in front of the tower and shim it out with a couple pieces of aluminum for clearance.


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## samzerelli (May 21, 2012)

I put a coat of self-etching primer and a coat of clean metal primer on the interior. And of course it had to rain overnight. I'll make sure everything is dried and cured before I apply paint.


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## samzerelli (May 25, 2012)

The first coat is on the interior. It looks pretty bad with patchiness and brushlines galore. I'm really curious to see what it looks like after the second coat is applied.


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## samzerelli (May 26, 2012)

Got the second coat on the interior. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Tomorrow I'll put the registration stickers on it.


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## TheMaestro (May 26, 2012)

The paint job looks really good. What are you using for decals?


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## samzerelli (May 26, 2012)

TheMaestro said:


> The paint job looks really good. What are you using for decals?



I ordered three inch vinyl decals from Holy Sheep (sixgun86 is his username here). He lets you pick your own font, so I used Airbus, in white.


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## samzerelli (May 27, 2012)

We're legal now.


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## New River Rat (May 28, 2012)

Looking good!


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## samzerelli (May 28, 2012)

The dirty rear floor is back in.


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## Gators5220 (May 29, 2012)

Man that boat looks clean, I'm envious of your space to redo your trailer like that...I'm stuck in an apartment complex with no space or a yard to redo my trailer...very clean and nice job thus far! =D>


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## samzerelli (May 30, 2012)

Thanks for the comments everybody. I plan to have my buddy help me start measuring the decking soon. I want to cut a hatch or two in and then use this marine vinyl on it:

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|311409|311410&id=23740


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## samzerelli (May 30, 2012)

Thanks for the comments everybody. I plan to have my buddy help me start measuring the decking soon. I want to cut a hatch or two in and then cover it with this marine vinyl from Defender.com that looks like carpet:


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## bigwave (May 30, 2012)

Nice job, I like this style of boat. My next mod will be like yours, but I want one that is 20' with 115 four stroke.


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## slipsinker (May 31, 2012)

Overall project came out great so far... did you add the side guides on your trailer? i am looking for something like that.


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## samzerelli (May 31, 2012)

slipsinker said:


> Overall project came out great so far... did you add the side guides on your trailer? i am looking for something like that.



Yes I did. I think they were around $120 at Bass Pro. I haven't tried them out yet, but they came highly recommended from some other fishermen.

https://www.basspro.com/C-E--Smith-Bunk-Board-GuideOn-Kit/product/1071/115296


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## samzerelli (Jun 4, 2012)

I have been rethinking my deck plans. With having young kids on board, I want to have as much low-level standing area as possible. So now I'm thinking of extending the front bench back about 17" to give a little more space there for a pedestal seat, and then making a little storage compartment beneath it. Something like this:


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## Lowe Rider (Jun 5, 2012)

looks great, i am looking for a similiar project. if you dont mind me asking, about how much green backs you got wrapepd up into it?


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## gillhunter (Jun 5, 2012)

samzerelli said:


> I have been rethinking my deck plans. With having young kids on board, I want to have as much low-level standing area as possible. So now I'm thinking of extending the front bench back about 17" to give a little more space there for a pedestal seat, and then making a little storage compartment beneath it. Something like this:



Your build is looking good! Is something like this what you had in mind?


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## samzerelli (Jun 5, 2012)

Lowe Rider said:


> looks great, i am looking for a similiar project. if you dont mind me asking, about how much green backs you got wrapepd up into it?



I'm afraid to come out of denial and add it up :lol: I went pretty overkill.

I spent $200 with the welder, and bought the following (at least this is what comes to mind):
Rivets
JB Weld Industroweld (x2)
Gluv-It
Lots of paint remover
Lots of self-etching primer
Lots of Rustoleum paint
Trailer parts - bearings, bearing buddiestires, winch, coupler, chains, grease, primer, paint, guide-ons
Wood, screws, glue
Wire wheels, paint brushes
Fire extinguisher
Seat posts, bases, pedestals

Like I said, I'm afraid to add it up, I could have probably bought a new one :lol:

I paid $725 for the boat and motor, so I probably still ended up coming out ahead, plus I have the satisfaction of doing it myself.


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## samzerelli (Jun 5, 2012)

gillhunter said:


> Your build is looking good! Is something like this what you had in mind?




Exactly! Except I might put a little door on mine. Is yours removable or did you bolt it down?


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## gillhunter (Jun 5, 2012)

samzerelli said:


> gillhunter said:
> 
> 
> > Your build is looking good! Is something like this what you had in mind?
> ...



It is fastened down with SS screws.


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## Ictalurus (Jun 5, 2012)

=D> =D> 
Looks great so far man. One thing though, the u-bolts on the guide ons should cross over each other instead of side by side.


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## samzerelli (Jun 5, 2012)

I put a little paint on the outboard motor to cover up some of the pitting.


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## samzerelli (Jun 5, 2012)

Ictalurus said:


> =D> =D>
> Looks great so far man. One thing though, the u-bolts on the guide ons should cross over each other instead of side by side.




Thanks Ictalurus. Someone else pointed that out as well, it's fixed now. It is definitely much more secure with them crossed over each other.


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## Ictalurus (Jun 6, 2012)

You're going to love the grey. I've done my last two boats in grey, stays much, much cooler in the warm southern sun. Green boats will burn you pretty bad, the grey stays cool. You're motor cleaned right up too!


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## samzerelli (Jun 8, 2012)

Ictalurus said:


> You're going to love the grey. I've done my last two boats in grey, stays much, much cooler in the warm southern sun. Green boats will burn you pretty bad, the grey stays cool. You're motor cleaned right up too!




Well, so much for the cool temperatures of the grey paint. :lol: 

I decided to forgo the deck until maybe next season after I've fished in the boat with the kids for a season and have a better idea of what I want.

Instead, I cut some MDF plywood to cover all three benches to mount pedestal seats to. I decided to paint those pieces with Plasti-Kote Bedliner that I got on clearance from Tractor Supply. I'm really pleased with the first coat so far:


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## samzerelli (Jun 8, 2012)

I did a test and this bedliner seems to accept spraypaint, so I painted all the pieces the same color as the boat.


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## samzerelli (Jun 9, 2012)

The seats are in.


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## fool4fish1226 (Jun 9, 2012)

looks great, the blues is nice with the gray =D>


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## samzerelli (Jun 9, 2012)

fool4fish1226 said:


> looks great, the blues is nice with the gray =D>



Thanks! I swiped two of them off my old boat and then found the mismatched one in the rear for cheap on Craigslist.


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## samzerelli (Jun 9, 2012)

I added some aluminum angle to the edges of each bench to keep the wood from getting crunched under foot. I also removed some of the excess marine sealant from the wood. I'll paint over that and make it pretty in a few days.


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## catsmith (Jun 9, 2012)

You are doing a great job!


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## TheMaestro (Jun 9, 2012)

Nice detail work!


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## samzerelli (Jun 10, 2012)

My son and I took the boat out today. The boat was great, dry as a bone. Unfortunately I couldn't get the gas motor to start. I'll solve that puzzle this week.


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