rbcoomer
Well-Known Member
Introduction
Ok, as promised here begins what I hope will be an interesting and rewarding project.
For those who don't know, we acquired our first boat just over a year ago. A 1981 14' Fletcher ArrowFlyte which has proved great fun, but been a bit of a challenge on reliability and room - hence the desire for something a little bigger. I wanted another 'classic' style speedboat rather than a newer 'Sportscruiser' and as most of the use will be coastal and being a co-founder of the SWFBR, a bigger Fletcher was an obvious choice. During the early days we had the ArrowFlyte, I spent a lot of time researching the history of Fletcher and the various boats.
I looked around for a while at Arrowbolts, but either funds or distance (or both) were an obstacle. I much prefer the lines of the early inboard (GTS) variants and a small cuddy would be a major plus for the kids. Eventually a deal was reached on the one furthest away (thanks GordMac
) - which I had spotted for sale almost a year ago! August Bank Holiday became an arduous 1100 mile, 26 hour road trip to collect her with a friend sharing the driving and providing encouragement!
Bigger boat = bigger engine = bigger fuel bill, so a 4-stroke seemed in order. Newer stuff was going to be an issue based on price vs budget, so older inboard seemed a good option and known quantity if a little thirsty.
So here begins my first 'big' boat project - still a few bits to do on the little 'un, but she'll provide the sanity check and the boating relief we'll no doubt need over the coming months...
Before I started out, I knew that floor and trailer were issues, plus she has been laid up uncovered for around 3 years but was described as complete but tired. A pretty accurate description taken on trust. She has a Volvo Penta 5L V8 - which I currently believe to be the AQ231A, coupled to a Mercruiser Alpha 1 sterndrive. Seating is complete and largely intact, she has a small cuddy with hatch (non-window type) and a great sundeck. Most of the boat is complete and to my surprise, the camper cover is included (more about that later). I'm anticipating a spend of around 3-4K over the next 2-3 years as and when I can afford - to include trailer (repair or replace second hand perhaps), electronics and basic equipment. I'm hoping to have her on the water (not completed) by SWFBR 2012 (in June!) - A little optimistic maybe, but a date to aim for nonetheless.
I'm very much at the prodding around, 'how bad is it' phase currently and I'm not in a hurry, which is probably a good thing as funds will no doubt delay progress, but I want to do a good job and preserve a bit of history, so it'll be done when it's done!
The back-end of the boat seems to have fared better than the central section, perhaps because that big sundeck served as a hood, or perhaps simply because the air space and, originally engine heat, kept her dry. The bilge in centre section is full of crud, which is holding moisture, so cleaning this and generally drying the structure is the current priority. The Cuddy is perhaps a concern as it's all fibre-glassed floor - so will be difficult to establish what's below. I don't want to rip it out for the sake of it because it is molded with storage areas etc. It could be ok because unlike the later 19' and 21' Sportscruisers, the hatch is overlapping and seals well. There is also no anchor locker, so apart from the join between top/bottom molds (covered by rubbing strip), and any water running forward under the floors, there is nowhere for water to get in there. It doesn't smell damp in there and there's no signs of water. Ironically, the older design may have limited the water damage to the central cockpit area - or is that wishful thinking on my part?
I established that the central cockpit floor crunched and moved underfoot, as did that by the helm. This is going to need ripping out and replacing - probably stringers too. I've already removed the glued down rubber floor and determined the crunching was the top ply laminate - now mostly removed. The floor appears to be of a hardwood, blockboard construction where strips of hardwoods are glued together (approx 15mm profiles) and sandwiched between two thin layers of plywood. The plywood and rubber floor have trapped moisture and thus the ply is rotten and brittle - pulled up with fingers. Surprisingly the block-board section, although saturated with water is not rotted! It will however need to come up as it has sagged and distorted - plus the layer of ply below is rotten. After 24 hours exposure to the air, it's already drying out.
The floor of the battery bay seems solid and could be stood on, but the other side (starboard) contains a hole and is clearly rotten. The ply is very thin, so may replace both sides anyway. What can be pulled out with fingers has been in order to expedite drying of the foam beneath.
The bulkheads between the engine and fuel tank (under rear seat) and the fuel tank and cockpit are also rotten - particularly at the base. They were never glassed over, but new ones will be.
Engine bay floor/stringers seem solid, but won't really know until cockpit is stripped, fuel tank and bulkheads removed etc. Core samples from here will be taken along with the transom, and if solid, refilled with resin.
The camper cover had shrunk and the 4 sections of frame are clearly missing some bits and appear to need attaching somewhere - not obvious! In order to prevent water/leaf ingress and aid drying, I have fitted the cover (by soaking and stretching parts) and initially 'propped up' using the rear seat as a tent pole! I've now used part of the intended frame however and I'm starting to determine what elements are missing/lost. It is however a major bonus to have even a quite tired cover as it is complete and will suffice as a template for a new one if needed.
Gauges are all present except for tacho, but from attempts before leaving Scotland, we know that the hydraulic pump and 'up' relay don't work. The propeller is quite pitted with a few dings, so will get that off and sent for refurb as this isn't something I'll be able to do. The sterndrive was a replacement and a new gimbal bearing and gear selection cable have been fitted. The engine was claimed to be rebuilt when the previous owner purchased, but as he said, he saw no evidence of that, although it does look fairly 'clean'. The oil in the rocker casing and dipstick does show signs of partial emulsification, but too early to say if this indicates a problem. Having sat outside through the last couple of winters - and in the Highlands - it could just be from condensation/freezing etc. New oil, plugs, belts etc will be done before starting, so all will become apparent no doubt! If a partial rebuild is needed then it will be done, but will obviously delay the completion. I'm mechanically minded and have changed head gaskets on Land Rover V8's, so a rebuild would be partly DIY and partly machine shop or exchange, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
General exterior condition isn't as bad as I thought it might be but it has been resprayed at some stage a long while ago. The supports for the stainless rail around the sundeck have blistered beneath the black coating so I may need to get some made from stainless if they are not 'standard' bits. Some of the gel coat has flaked away and some crazed, but these sections are quite small and manageable.
I've not connected a battery yet to check the wiring, bilge pump, blowers, horn, lights etc but will probably rewire anyway due to age.
The fuel tank is stainless and this plus fuel lines appear in good order visually as does steering (power steering).
Trailer is marginal as to if it's repairable. Although quite rusted, it is mostly solid apart from the nearside central spine which has rotted away on the rear 24-30" (holes!) and the leaf springs are very rusted. It's a bunk with some rollers. Hubs are an unknown, but bits were rattling inside on the journey home! :shock: The wheel bearings seem good (no heat in 550 miles non-stop!) and only one has a little amount of play. Two were replaced recently and the other two greased I'm told. I purchased two new wheels and tyres to collect it, but the other two could do with replacing soon unless I replace the entire trailer with a new one!
I've not yet found an identification plate/number so as yet unsure of year still, but believe her to be late 70's or early 80's.
Continued...
Ok, as promised here begins what I hope will be an interesting and rewarding project.
For those who don't know, we acquired our first boat just over a year ago. A 1981 14' Fletcher ArrowFlyte which has proved great fun, but been a bit of a challenge on reliability and room - hence the desire for something a little bigger. I wanted another 'classic' style speedboat rather than a newer 'Sportscruiser' and as most of the use will be coastal and being a co-founder of the SWFBR, a bigger Fletcher was an obvious choice. During the early days we had the ArrowFlyte, I spent a lot of time researching the history of Fletcher and the various boats.
I looked around for a while at Arrowbolts, but either funds or distance (or both) were an obstacle. I much prefer the lines of the early inboard (GTS) variants and a small cuddy would be a major plus for the kids. Eventually a deal was reached on the one furthest away (thanks GordMac
) - which I had spotted for sale almost a year ago! August Bank Holiday became an arduous 1100 mile, 26 hour road trip to collect her with a friend sharing the driving and providing encouragement!Bigger boat = bigger engine = bigger fuel bill, so a 4-stroke seemed in order. Newer stuff was going to be an issue based on price vs budget, so older inboard seemed a good option and known quantity if a little thirsty.
So here begins my first 'big' boat project - still a few bits to do on the little 'un, but she'll provide the sanity check and the boating relief we'll no doubt need over the coming months...
Before I started out, I knew that floor and trailer were issues, plus she has been laid up uncovered for around 3 years but was described as complete but tired. A pretty accurate description taken on trust. She has a Volvo Penta 5L V8 - which I currently believe to be the AQ231A, coupled to a Mercruiser Alpha 1 sterndrive. Seating is complete and largely intact, she has a small cuddy with hatch (non-window type) and a great sundeck. Most of the boat is complete and to my surprise, the camper cover is included (more about that later). I'm anticipating a spend of around 3-4K over the next 2-3 years as and when I can afford - to include trailer (repair or replace second hand perhaps), electronics and basic equipment. I'm hoping to have her on the water (not completed) by SWFBR 2012 (in June!) - A little optimistic maybe, but a date to aim for nonetheless.
I'm very much at the prodding around, 'how bad is it' phase currently and I'm not in a hurry, which is probably a good thing as funds will no doubt delay progress, but I want to do a good job and preserve a bit of history, so it'll be done when it's done!
The back-end of the boat seems to have fared better than the central section, perhaps because that big sundeck served as a hood, or perhaps simply because the air space and, originally engine heat, kept her dry. The bilge in centre section is full of crud, which is holding moisture, so cleaning this and generally drying the structure is the current priority. The Cuddy is perhaps a concern as it's all fibre-glassed floor - so will be difficult to establish what's below. I don't want to rip it out for the sake of it because it is molded with storage areas etc. It could be ok because unlike the later 19' and 21' Sportscruisers, the hatch is overlapping and seals well. There is also no anchor locker, so apart from the join between top/bottom molds (covered by rubbing strip), and any water running forward under the floors, there is nowhere for water to get in there. It doesn't smell damp in there and there's no signs of water. Ironically, the older design may have limited the water damage to the central cockpit area - or is that wishful thinking on my part?
I established that the central cockpit floor crunched and moved underfoot, as did that by the helm. This is going to need ripping out and replacing - probably stringers too. I've already removed the glued down rubber floor and determined the crunching was the top ply laminate - now mostly removed. The floor appears to be of a hardwood, blockboard construction where strips of hardwoods are glued together (approx 15mm profiles) and sandwiched between two thin layers of plywood. The plywood and rubber floor have trapped moisture and thus the ply is rotten and brittle - pulled up with fingers. Surprisingly the block-board section, although saturated with water is not rotted! It will however need to come up as it has sagged and distorted - plus the layer of ply below is rotten. After 24 hours exposure to the air, it's already drying out.
The floor of the battery bay seems solid and could be stood on, but the other side (starboard) contains a hole and is clearly rotten. The ply is very thin, so may replace both sides anyway. What can be pulled out with fingers has been in order to expedite drying of the foam beneath.
The bulkheads between the engine and fuel tank (under rear seat) and the fuel tank and cockpit are also rotten - particularly at the base. They were never glassed over, but new ones will be.
Engine bay floor/stringers seem solid, but won't really know until cockpit is stripped, fuel tank and bulkheads removed etc. Core samples from here will be taken along with the transom, and if solid, refilled with resin.
The camper cover had shrunk and the 4 sections of frame are clearly missing some bits and appear to need attaching somewhere - not obvious! In order to prevent water/leaf ingress and aid drying, I have fitted the cover (by soaking and stretching parts) and initially 'propped up' using the rear seat as a tent pole! I've now used part of the intended frame however and I'm starting to determine what elements are missing/lost. It is however a major bonus to have even a quite tired cover as it is complete and will suffice as a template for a new one if needed.
Gauges are all present except for tacho, but from attempts before leaving Scotland, we know that the hydraulic pump and 'up' relay don't work. The propeller is quite pitted with a few dings, so will get that off and sent for refurb as this isn't something I'll be able to do. The sterndrive was a replacement and a new gimbal bearing and gear selection cable have been fitted. The engine was claimed to be rebuilt when the previous owner purchased, but as he said, he saw no evidence of that, although it does look fairly 'clean'. The oil in the rocker casing and dipstick does show signs of partial emulsification, but too early to say if this indicates a problem. Having sat outside through the last couple of winters - and in the Highlands - it could just be from condensation/freezing etc. New oil, plugs, belts etc will be done before starting, so all will become apparent no doubt! If a partial rebuild is needed then it will be done, but will obviously delay the completion. I'm mechanically minded and have changed head gaskets on Land Rover V8's, so a rebuild would be partly DIY and partly machine shop or exchange, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
General exterior condition isn't as bad as I thought it might be but it has been resprayed at some stage a long while ago. The supports for the stainless rail around the sundeck have blistered beneath the black coating so I may need to get some made from stainless if they are not 'standard' bits. Some of the gel coat has flaked away and some crazed, but these sections are quite small and manageable.
I've not connected a battery yet to check the wiring, bilge pump, blowers, horn, lights etc but will probably rewire anyway due to age.
The fuel tank is stainless and this plus fuel lines appear in good order visually as does steering (power steering).
Trailer is marginal as to if it's repairable. Although quite rusted, it is mostly solid apart from the nearside central spine which has rotted away on the rear 24-30" (holes!) and the leaf springs are very rusted. It's a bunk with some rollers. Hubs are an unknown, but bits were rattling inside on the journey home! :shock: The wheel bearings seem good (no heat in 550 miles non-stop!) and only one has a little amount of play. Two were replaced recently and the other two greased I'm told. I purchased two new wheels and tyres to collect it, but the other two could do with replacing soon unless I replace the entire trailer with a new one!
I've not yet found an identification plate/number so as yet unsure of year still, but believe her to be late 70's or early 80's.
Continued...
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Con grats on your new purchase, what a great project, what a classic boat that deserves bring back from neglect.
I'm hoping to do an evening course on welding and then I might assess if I'm competent enough for DIY job! 
