From a Wreck to a Beauty
From “Sea Nimph†to “MOST WANTEDâ€
Roughly about 2 years ago I got a phonecall from a friend telling me that a nice and fairly big cabin boat was for sale in Uitenhage, the asking price was R 6000 (I think), but the boat had work on it.
Well I wanted a nice boat, didn’t want to pay a fortune and had no problem with a fixer upper.
I’m not a fan of these new 2 layer of fiberglass boats at all, yes they are a lot lighter, but you know what, I prefer to have another 2 layers of fiberglass thank you very much. I prefer to have the odds in my favour.
Adding another 2 layers will add weight yes, but that’s a compromise I’m perfectly happy with.
That was one of the reasons I wanted a Fixer Upper.
Went and had a look at the boat, was told that the boat was ex NSRI and was reefed at some stage, the hull was “repaired†by someone (ever heard of spoeg en plak – spit and stick), this was a PERFECT example of how NOT TO DO IT.
It was an absolute bargain, a Wreck of a boat, a trailer without any papers, 5 life jackets and a compass, how could I say no, and I got this “bargain†for R 5000.
Towing the excuse for a trailer with HEAVILY WORN wheelbearings from Uitenhage to PE was to say the least VERY SCARY. Well I eventually got IT to PE, and then into the workshop.
Here IT stood for a few months, until a “friend†arrived and basically begged me to fix the hull and deck for me, making promises of making the boat look brand new, and willing to do it at a very low price. I foolishly agreed, and gave the money for some of the material.
Well a year passed and NOTHING was done to the boat, I eventually decided enough was enough and went and fetched the Nymph and my money.
Late last year (can’t remember exactly when) I reversed IT back into the workshop and that’s when the work began …
Looking at this photo the boat doesn’t look too bad, but I promise you, THIS photo makes THIS BOAT look like a masterpiece. The one thing that made my buy this boat …. POTENTIAL !
Here is a photo of the deck, what you can’t see is the holes in the front and the spit and stick fiberglass that’s peeling off in the area in front of the cabin.
In this picture you can see the hull a bit better, put it this way, go buy the ROUGHEST grain sanding paper you can get and pull your hand over it, well that sanding paper feels as smooth as a babies bottom compared to this hull.
Another view of IT.
Another view of the hull
Well that’s about it of as IT looked before IT was prepared for an Extreme Make Over
Well the boat was in really bad shape, and most of IT had to go. You will notice that I keep on saying IT, well that’s because the way it looked it was definitely not a SHE. IT makes a Blue Bull supporter look like a beauty queen, that much I can promise you.
First thing to go were those UGLY hatches that was built with chipboard.
Just look how good the Transom looks and how well the floor was fibre glassed with something that looks and feels more like tar than anything else. Maybe the person that “fixed†IT was a road building contractor !
Out with the floor, big angle grinder and all.
And the Wood used to build the Transom was also rotten, very badly.
As you can see in this pic, well the floor is out completely, including those ugly hatches.
Next to go were all the supports that is still visible in this pic, ALL OF THEM.
The idea was to remove everything till just the hull was left, and then to rebuilt the boat from Scratch.
Easier said THAN DONE hey.
While 2 people were working on the inside another 2 were hard at work on the outside, with my brother being “project leaderâ€, he just loves feeling important and loves it even more raising his voice …
Fibreglass, let it dry, grind, and repeat the process, lovely …, with the new transom in the background.
Here the new supports are in and fibreglassed in place and work on the base for the deck has already started.
A new front piece has also been added between the hull and the cabin. The wood used was meranti and then it was sealed with fiberglass and resin, the rest is Ply wood, treated in the same manner.
Here the fish hatch is starting to take shape and everything else seems to be in place, well almost.
Here a new Transom was added, after most of the old one was removed due to rotting wood. Fibreglass flakes were forced in between the new and what was left of the old, making it VERY STRONG.
Deck is in and the hatch is built, on both sides you will also notice the “self made†rod storage bars, 3 rods/gaffs per side, ya right, not putting my rods there for everyone to kick them. That is the perfect rod storage place for OTHER PEOPLES RODS.
Here the boat is on it’s side, giving you a “top view†while everyone’s working on the hull
After A LOT of Sweat and Blood the one side of the hull was made “smoothâ€, while the other side is still in pretty bad shape. I’m scared to think of how many disks and hours was used and spent on getting the hull in a better condition. The cream colour you see is a filling primer, the primer was applied, then sanded down to reveal any uneven areas, then that was sorted out and the process repeated again and again and again.
A view of both sides, beauty and the beast ? Just look what the “other†side looks like.
Another view of it ! Looks bad doesn’t it.
Well not to make a long story even longer, lots of work was done, the skeleton was stripped out, a new one was put it, a new deck with a very big hatch was built in and the hull was PROPERLY repaired, the way it should have been done in the first place.
Now for the “finishing touchesâ€, and adding some colour to it.
The deck was painted with white flowcoat, the cabin and top shell with yellow and the Hull with red.
A “custom†hatch lid was built so that fish can be put into the hatch without having to open the hatch every single time. This hole can accommodate fish up to about 10kg, fatter and the hatch has to be opened.
Behind the hatch is another small hatch, made to accommodate 2 heavy duty batteries, with drainage holes on both sides should the boat ever take on a lot of water.
Another view of the battery hatch and a inspection hole with screw in cover, this hole houses 2 bilge pumps which are already fitted. I’m not a fan of one bilge pump, they have a way of breaking when you really don’t need it, the chances of both stopping at the same time is A LOT smaller. I prefer to have the odds in my favour !
A better view, wood trimmings and door added after being sanded down and varnished.
2 “waterproof†hatches on either side of the door, perfect for phones, smokes, keys and so forth.
NOW SHE’S LOOKING A LOT BETTER.
Well that’s not quite it yet, as you know the trailer was also a wreck (just like IT was)
In this pic, the old trailer frame in the background and the new trailer (built in-house) in the front
A better view of the trailer, they still busy adding the tow coupler and the rollers, another roller was also added on the back of the trailer, so that you hit roller before hitting trailer.
If you wondering why the wood, you can only understand HOW EASY wood makes it riding onto your trailer until you’ve experienced putting a boat on a trailer, first without the wood and then with the wood. The wood and the shape of the trailer pushes your boat onto the rollers and in the correct position onto the trailer, even in quite bad conditions. I consider this a necessity on every boat trailer. Put it this way, if it takes 2 people longer than 2 minutes to put this boat on this trailer in “not so good conditionsâ€, well then they really should not be operating boat nor trailer.
Sideview of the boat on trailer, with varnished wood to keep the boat in place while towing, looks very good even if I have to say so myself.
The V in the front of the trailer must still be welded on, but that’s coming in the near future.
View from the back, drain plugs in, scuppers installed, tow hooks installed and busy installing the Hydralic steering Helm on top of the checkered plate, LOOKS NICE …
Now this is what the hull should have looked like in the first place, and this is before we’ve even polished it, after that’s done it will look even better.
These 2 babies are destined to go onto the back of MOST WANTED. Will make going to sea a breeze.
Very strong and dependable motors, and I have to say, they both take small sips out of the petrol cans !!!
Both the motors and the boat is EX NSRI, so I basically just brought them back together, NSRI Boat and NSRI motors.
Well that’s it for now, after many hours, lots of swearing (by everyone) and quite a bit of money MOST WANTED is starting to look like something.
Now it’s time for the nice to haves like Trolling Bar, Bar on top of the cabin for 6 rods (like you see on the expensive boats), Furuno Fishfinder, Garmin GPS, lights and all those other “extrasâ€, but that’s another story …
Till next time …
From “Sea Nimph†to “MOST WANTEDâ€
Roughly about 2 years ago I got a phonecall from a friend telling me that a nice and fairly big cabin boat was for sale in Uitenhage, the asking price was R 6000 (I think), but the boat had work on it.
Well I wanted a nice boat, didn’t want to pay a fortune and had no problem with a fixer upper.
I’m not a fan of these new 2 layer of fiberglass boats at all, yes they are a lot lighter, but you know what, I prefer to have another 2 layers of fiberglass thank you very much. I prefer to have the odds in my favour.
Adding another 2 layers will add weight yes, but that’s a compromise I’m perfectly happy with.
That was one of the reasons I wanted a Fixer Upper.
Went and had a look at the boat, was told that the boat was ex NSRI and was reefed at some stage, the hull was “repaired†by someone (ever heard of spoeg en plak – spit and stick), this was a PERFECT example of how NOT TO DO IT.
It was an absolute bargain, a Wreck of a boat, a trailer without any papers, 5 life jackets and a compass, how could I say no, and I got this “bargain†for R 5000.
Towing the excuse for a trailer with HEAVILY WORN wheelbearings from Uitenhage to PE was to say the least VERY SCARY. Well I eventually got IT to PE, and then into the workshop.
Here IT stood for a few months, until a “friend†arrived and basically begged me to fix the hull and deck for me, making promises of making the boat look brand new, and willing to do it at a very low price. I foolishly agreed, and gave the money for some of the material.
Well a year passed and NOTHING was done to the boat, I eventually decided enough was enough and went and fetched the Nymph and my money.
Late last year (can’t remember exactly when) I reversed IT back into the workshop and that’s when the work began …
Looking at this photo the boat doesn’t look too bad, but I promise you, THIS photo makes THIS BOAT look like a masterpiece. The one thing that made my buy this boat …. POTENTIAL !
Here is a photo of the deck, what you can’t see is the holes in the front and the spit and stick fiberglass that’s peeling off in the area in front of the cabin.
In this picture you can see the hull a bit better, put it this way, go buy the ROUGHEST grain sanding paper you can get and pull your hand over it, well that sanding paper feels as smooth as a babies bottom compared to this hull.
Another view of IT.
Another view of the hull
Well that’s about it of as IT looked before IT was prepared for an Extreme Make Over
Well the boat was in really bad shape, and most of IT had to go. You will notice that I keep on saying IT, well that’s because the way it looked it was definitely not a SHE. IT makes a Blue Bull supporter look like a beauty queen, that much I can promise you.
First thing to go were those UGLY hatches that was built with chipboard.
Just look how good the Transom looks and how well the floor was fibre glassed with something that looks and feels more like tar than anything else. Maybe the person that “fixed†IT was a road building contractor !
Out with the floor, big angle grinder and all.
And the Wood used to build the Transom was also rotten, very badly.
As you can see in this pic, well the floor is out completely, including those ugly hatches.
Next to go were all the supports that is still visible in this pic, ALL OF THEM.
The idea was to remove everything till just the hull was left, and then to rebuilt the boat from Scratch.
Easier said THAN DONE hey.
While 2 people were working on the inside another 2 were hard at work on the outside, with my brother being “project leaderâ€, he just loves feeling important and loves it even more raising his voice …
Fibreglass, let it dry, grind, and repeat the process, lovely …, with the new transom in the background.
Here the new supports are in and fibreglassed in place and work on the base for the deck has already started.
A new front piece has also been added between the hull and the cabin. The wood used was meranti and then it was sealed with fiberglass and resin, the rest is Ply wood, treated in the same manner.
Here the fish hatch is starting to take shape and everything else seems to be in place, well almost.
Here a new Transom was added, after most of the old one was removed due to rotting wood. Fibreglass flakes were forced in between the new and what was left of the old, making it VERY STRONG.
Deck is in and the hatch is built, on both sides you will also notice the “self made†rod storage bars, 3 rods/gaffs per side, ya right, not putting my rods there for everyone to kick them. That is the perfect rod storage place for OTHER PEOPLES RODS.
Here the boat is on it’s side, giving you a “top view†while everyone’s working on the hull
After A LOT of Sweat and Blood the one side of the hull was made “smoothâ€, while the other side is still in pretty bad shape. I’m scared to think of how many disks and hours was used and spent on getting the hull in a better condition. The cream colour you see is a filling primer, the primer was applied, then sanded down to reveal any uneven areas, then that was sorted out and the process repeated again and again and again.
A view of both sides, beauty and the beast ? Just look what the “other†side looks like.
Another view of it ! Looks bad doesn’t it.
Well not to make a long story even longer, lots of work was done, the skeleton was stripped out, a new one was put it, a new deck with a very big hatch was built in and the hull was PROPERLY repaired, the way it should have been done in the first place.
Now for the “finishing touchesâ€, and adding some colour to it.
The deck was painted with white flowcoat, the cabin and top shell with yellow and the Hull with red.
A “custom†hatch lid was built so that fish can be put into the hatch without having to open the hatch every single time. This hole can accommodate fish up to about 10kg, fatter and the hatch has to be opened.
Behind the hatch is another small hatch, made to accommodate 2 heavy duty batteries, with drainage holes on both sides should the boat ever take on a lot of water.
Another view of the battery hatch and a inspection hole with screw in cover, this hole houses 2 bilge pumps which are already fitted. I’m not a fan of one bilge pump, they have a way of breaking when you really don’t need it, the chances of both stopping at the same time is A LOT smaller. I prefer to have the odds in my favour !
A better view, wood trimmings and door added after being sanded down and varnished.
2 “waterproof†hatches on either side of the door, perfect for phones, smokes, keys and so forth.
NOW SHE’S LOOKING A LOT BETTER.
Well that’s not quite it yet, as you know the trailer was also a wreck (just like IT was)
In this pic, the old trailer frame in the background and the new trailer (built in-house) in the front
A better view of the trailer, they still busy adding the tow coupler and the rollers, another roller was also added on the back of the trailer, so that you hit roller before hitting trailer.
If you wondering why the wood, you can only understand HOW EASY wood makes it riding onto your trailer until you’ve experienced putting a boat on a trailer, first without the wood and then with the wood. The wood and the shape of the trailer pushes your boat onto the rollers and in the correct position onto the trailer, even in quite bad conditions. I consider this a necessity on every boat trailer. Put it this way, if it takes 2 people longer than 2 minutes to put this boat on this trailer in “not so good conditionsâ€, well then they really should not be operating boat nor trailer.
Sideview of the boat on trailer, with varnished wood to keep the boat in place while towing, looks very good even if I have to say so myself.
The V in the front of the trailer must still be welded on, but that’s coming in the near future.
View from the back, drain plugs in, scuppers installed, tow hooks installed and busy installing the Hydralic steering Helm on top of the checkered plate, LOOKS NICE …
Now this is what the hull should have looked like in the first place, and this is before we’ve even polished it, after that’s done it will look even better.
These 2 babies are destined to go onto the back of MOST WANTED. Will make going to sea a breeze.
Very strong and dependable motors, and I have to say, they both take small sips out of the petrol cans !!!
Both the motors and the boat is EX NSRI, so I basically just brought them back together, NSRI Boat and NSRI motors.
Well that’s it for now, after many hours, lots of swearing (by everyone) and quite a bit of money MOST WANTED is starting to look like something.
Now it’s time for the nice to haves like Trolling Bar, Bar on top of the cabin for 6 rods (like you see on the expensive boats), Furuno Fishfinder, Garmin GPS, lights and all those other “extrasâ€, but that’s another story …
Till next time …
