BIG.SMOKE's (attempted?) classic speedboat restoration

[BIG.SMOKE]

Project updates on pages 1,4 (latest)

Hi All,

I thought I would start one of these as I will probably be asking for advice as I go along ha ha.

Anyway, after cruising through all the usual boaty for sale places for the last month or so, I finally found exactly what I was looking for on a rather popular auction website, which was a relatively small wooden, twin bench ENGLISH speedboat. After some research, I found the boat in question was a 14ft Yarecraft sea swallow (happily to be corrected though), Yarecraft being a small English company based in Lowestoft.

I picked the boat up last week, and upon arrival I was informed the current owner had had the boat from new! And was a 1966 model. I was very pleased to see the hull was solid and for the age of the boat the entire craft was in excellent condition along with all the fittings still in place!
So, I have heard pictures is the way forward around here so....

these pictures are from the previous owner, and to be fair, make the boat look a hell of a lot worse than what it is, then again, if a proper description and detailed pics had been uploaded I probably would of had to outbid a few more people!

Im planning a white hull, dark red mahogany looking deck with white caulking and chrome plated fittings "cloud9" (and if theres time, an engine )

All the best & to be continued....

 

[vas]

well done,

looks very 'clean' and from a restoration perspective (I'm soon going to be embarking in a project but on a much larger scale) I think it's a two week full time job to get it to the water! Doesn't look it's missing something, doesn't look it needs more than sanding, preparing, varnishing, painting and a bit of upholstery work...

good luck!

V.

PS. the two weeks means you work two weeks straight, no booze, no sleep, just a few snacks to keep you going

 

[U4]

Looks like a really fun project and I wish you all the best with it!

I think that you should keep the union jack!

 

[chi-girl]

will look great if you can find an outboard from 1966 aswell in mint condition

 

[duesouth68]

Speedboat Restoration

When all the dusting is done,what size outboard are you going to put on the back? 20 or 25hp that should make it plane....

 

[Firefly625]

Do join the CMBA, they are the guys with a weath of knowledge and I believe certainly one or two members have Yarecraft boats. You can also get on the water with a load of fellow classic boat fans which is great fun.

I have restored a couple of boats, last was my Winner Cobra with a lovely 80hp Mercury... loads of work, but so worth it. Good Luck!

 

[BIG.SMOKE]

Do join the CMBA, they are the guys with a weath of knowledge and I believe certainly one or two members have Yarecraft boats. You can also get on the water with a load of fellow classic boat fans which is great fun.

I have restored a couple of boats, last was my Winner Cobra with a lovely 80hp Mercury... loads of work, but so worth it. Good Luck!

I'll do just that.

Appreciate all the other comments as well.

Thanks,

Brad.

 

[Firefly625]

I'll do just that.

Appreciate all the other comments as well.

Thanks,

Brad.

Brad

in fact just a quick look and ;

see;

http://www.cmba-uk.com/index.html




...and in fact this was the Winner Cobra I restored! now owned by fellow CMBA member

http://www.cmba-uk.com/gallery/winner.jpg

 

[BIG.SMOKE]

Brad

in fact just a quick look and ;

see;

http://www.cmba-uk.com/index.html




...and in fact this was the Winner Cobra I restored! now owned by fellow CMBA member

http://www.cmba-uk.com/gallery/winner.jpg

Holey Moley that looks good with a classic outboard, Im guessing these are very rare and expensive!
Cobra looks like new!

Thanks FireFly.

 

[Warpa]

Brad

in fact just a quick look and ;

see;

http://www.cmba-uk.com/index.html




...and in fact this was the Winner Cobra I restored! now owned by fellow CMBA member

http://www.cmba-uk.com/gallery/winner.jpg

What a lovely boat and engine, i do like classic things in most aspects of life (hi fi for one)

Back to the OP, i would stick with the paintwork and graphics as it is (re done obviously) In the same way you wouldnt restore a Cortina Gia X and spray it gun metal grey as its a colour that the car was never painted in.

 

[Firefly625]

Holey Moley that looks good with a classic outboard, Im guessing these are very rare and expensive!
Cobra looks like new!

Thanks FireFly.

well the Winner looked similar to your Yarecraft when I got it... as I said a lot of blood sweat and tears and it can look like new!

a classic Merc would always be my engine of choice. A white Mercury outboard is something a bit special, but they are out there. Parts alas are a struggle but they can be obtained. I would aim my sights at something a little newer, for your size of boat a Mercury 50hp blue band probably would be more than enough. Make sure you see it running before parting with any money, around £500 - £700 should buy a good running example, Then get it stripped and painted... should look something like my old 80hp after restoration...

or if money no object then get yourself to the USA and buy a restored one of these, ...;

the people you go and see are;

http://classicmercuryoutboards.com/

(in all honestly, I dream of buying one of these for my sitting room!)

 

[BIG.SMOKE]

Love it firefly!

I had a mercury blueband on my first boat 6 odd years ago!

 

[Warpa]

if you ever want a proper paint job on an engine then drop me a pm, a chap i use for my truck works at a motorcycle racing/painting specialist, even the graphics they do are painted, not stickers unless you want to save money.

They also have a lovely artictic lady to do any airbrush art, not that its needed in this case (unless you want the union jack in 3D effect

You will probably have to register to view the pics, but i cant be bothered to transfer them to imageshack and upload here, lets just say the work is good and he also knows about the paint types to use on marine as some paints contain parts that dont help protect against corrosion.

http://www.nissan-navara.net/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13059

 

[Firefly625]

Love it firefly!

I had a mercury blueband on my first boat 6 odd years ago!

excellent, you are probably more knowledgeable than I, but to be honest I just use these sorts of threads as an excuse to dig out pics of my old toys... if only I had a big barn to store them all in, then I would never have had to part with them!

 

[Captain Coochie]

She looks sweet !
The older mercs dont look too bad on them ......

I think the newer ones just look silly ........

Dont loose those brackets that are holding the windscreen on . I cant find new ones anywhere

 

[Firefly625]

Dont loose those brackets that are holding the windscreen on . I cant find new ones anywhere

You won't find new ones, but you have found the next best thing! ...speak to bigsmoke and see if you can borrow them to get a pattern & get them re-manufactured..

 

[Wavey]

What a blast from the past. My Dad had a Yarecraft way back. Have very happy memories of playing around in the Thames estuary with it. Be great to see it back how it was.

 

[Captain Coochie]

I still have mine although they are quite pitted . I was just saying not to mis place them as i have looked into getting new ones and you cant .

 

[Firefly625]

I still have mine although they are quite pitted . I was just saying not to mis place them as i have looked into getting new ones and you cant .

... sounds like you just need to get them re-chromed. That can be cheaper than you think.

 

[Captain Coochie]

No one will rechrome them because they are made from errrrrr what ever metal it was that gets pitted .
I really have looked into it . Thats why i am saying to the op not to lose his