1988 Fisher Marsh Hawk 3v & Evinrude E28ESLCCR Restoration/Rebuild

[CharlieH]

Hi all! I was recently given an '88 Marsh Hawk 3v (16ft) by my father, purchased by my late grandfather a few decades back, my buddies and I have been very interested in making it a project boat for us to work on (and hopefully fish on!) over the next few months. I've always enjoyed project threads and figured I could throw my hat in the ring, at the very least be a good opportunity to learn some new skills. I'm not the most experienced in the realm of boats/hulls and outboard motors, so input is both needed and appreciated!

I reckon the most important thing to know is that it sat in a yard (on its trailer) for ~8 years without being moved, so I'm unsure what sort of state the motor is in. The stern of the hull (battery compartment I believe) was full of water when I initially cleaned it out, so I can only assume that portion is watertight. The main portion of the hull I am less sure about, I want to say it also is watertight, but the plug (?) may be gone. I am unsure if the holes at the transom are for drainage or have something to do with the live well. That's about all of the major stuff I've checked that isn't discernable via the attached pictures. Also in regards to the photos, the rust on the trailer is largely superficial, in the time since these pictures were taken I've put new tires on it and moved it out to a place where I can better work on it. Also cleaned out anything that wasn't boat related. (Found a Pflueger President in the life jacket storage, which was a nice surprise.)

Visiting it this weekend for the first round of work, here's our current plan, input appreciated:

1. Empty it out, remove batteries, seats, anything that isn't bolted down.
2. Tear/cut out carpet. Possibly remove the console if needed.
3. Try to make sense of the wiring, so we can get a head start on ordering parts for that.
   1. Unsure how to do this, but I figure making note of wire colors will be helpful enough for now.
4. Gauging what state the motor is in, as well as the trolling motor.
   1. Entirely unsure how to do this, initially I figure we remove the spark plugs and check the carburetor, maybe try to flush the engine? I'm not sure how complicated that is.
   2. No clue where to start with the trolling motor, unsure if it's just plug and play with a working battery. My father seemed confident that it'd work when I mentioned it to him a few months back.
5. Try to start a deep clean, get some of that deep grime/mold out of the innards.

That's basically the highlight for this initial visit, planning on taking LOTS of photos to document and share. In the long term I'd really like for it to be a good river or lake vessel, get the engine in solid condition, make the hull all pretty. That's about all I can think to mention for now, some other miscellaneous notes:

• I love the layout of the hull, not planning on modifying the platforms or anything like that.
• Not sure what to replace the carpet with? I recall the carpet being very annoying in regards to hooks, although that's probably more of a product of it being looped carpet rather than cut pile.
  • I've read that EVA foam is good and cheap, anyone have experience with that type of modification? Thanks!
• I'm unsure how much the boat weighs, but something I'm curious about, what would the maximum occupancy/weight be for a boat like this be?
  • (Ideally) At maximum it'd be me and three others, weight totaling somewhere in the area of 600-800lbs, which feels a bit high for a boat this size.
• Probably the easiest question I've asked that could be answered, is the HIN and hull/motor serial number in any way sensitive information?
  • Blurred them out on the chance that it is, but I feel like it isn't.
• Also one last question, is this hull a flat bottom, or a modified V?
  • It feels awfully flat to me, but there's a slight angle there so I'm not entirely sure.

That's about everything I can think of, excited to start this journey and will hopefully update frequently and prosperously!
- Charlie

 

[Axhammer]

Nice boat package, and it all looks like it is very salvageable. Congrats!

Your boat is a semi-v.

Does the motor turn over? If it does, that’s a good sign.

Take the spark plugs out and do a compression check.

Check for spark.

If you have compression & spark, it should run.

Looking forward to following this build.

 

[CharlieH]

Nice boat package, and it all looks like it is very salvageable. Congrats!

Does the motor turn over? If it does, that’s a good sign.

Take the spark plugs out and do a compression check.

Check for spark.

If you have compression & spark, it should run.

Looking forward to following this build.

Haven't tried to turn her over yet, wanting to make sure there's no ridiculously old gas left in there or anything like that - Also need to go buy a new battery (or two) since those two have sat in there submerged on and off for lord knows how long. The one thing with the motor I am certain is broken is the steering cable, as that's why my grandfather quit taking it on the water in the first place. But I'm confident that's the only thing that was broken prior to it sitting for so long.

 

[Axhammer]

Take the hood off the motor. You should be able to turn the flywheel by hand if it isn’t seized.

 

[CharlieH]

Take the hood off the motor. You should be able to turn the flywheel by hand if it isn’t seized.

Gotcha, I'll make sure to do that tomorrow. That reminds me, got a couple more pictures of the motor, didn't realize these weren't included in the initial post. Thanks for the help!

 

[CharlieH]

Some mid progress photos from Saturday - after these were taken the remaining leaves were blown out, tackle salvaged or tossed, and put under a carport. Flywheel turns, engine is looking promising - hoping to give it a good test this next weekend. Next step with this hull is figuring out how to get this adhesive from the carpet off... Been using razors and a paint scraper so far, pressure washer didn't seem to cut it. Also pressure washed the trailer & motor, looks a lot nicer with some of that grime gone, just gotta repaint it eventually.

Reckon next week I'll properly strip it down and begin the itemization of everything that needs some work. Need to clear out this carport, maybe get a shop fan and make it a little work space, which'd allow me to come out here and work on it at night. After the sun cleared it started to get real miserable out there lol.

Getting more and more excited to get past the cleaning stage, wanting to keep the same colorway on the hull, probably put in a red floor and seats to match with the old colors. Need to get the dimensions and pictures of the older decals so I can remake 'em.

 

[Striper57]

Don't know if you've gotten the carpet glue off yet, but if you haven't, an oscillating multi-tools with a scraper blade combined with a glue remover/thinner like xylene or similar works well. (Doesn't have to be specifically xylene, that's just the first thing that came to mind)

 

[wmk0002]

I just bought a 1989 model of one of these today in fairly similar condition. I plan to restore to more or less what it was like when new so probably replacing the carpet with a neutral gray and then getting some seats that kind of match. I already have a flatbottom which is carpetless so I figured this could be the "bass" boat lol.

My hull rating plate is very worn but I could make out the ocuupancy limit was 4 people but I didn't pay attention to the overall weight limit. It does say rated for 70hp which seems far fetched lol. Most of the used ones I've seen for sale have 25-40hps. A guy I messaged with on Facebook said he runs a 15hp and still does 17 mph. My ultimate goal is to put a 25hp outboard on it. My light 1648 flatbottom with a 25hp does about 28 mph swith two people so if this one could run in the low 20's I'd be super happy. Given all that, I think its a pretty light hull. I know the deck framing, decking, and floor are all aluminum. The tops of the hatches and the transom are made of wood, but I believe that is all that is in the boat.

Keep us posted on the restoration. I may try to document my work as well but that project will probably be shelved for a while.

 

[wmk0002]

Took another look at the plate. I think the 4 person weight capacity is 560 lbs. The total capacity of people, motor, and gear is 990 lbs.

 

[CharlieH]

I just bought a 1989 model of one of these today in fairly similar condition. I plan to restore to more or less what it was like when new so probably replacing the carpet with a neutral gray and then getting some seats that kind of match. I already have a flatbottom which is carpetless so I figured this could be the "bass" boat lol.

My hull rating plate is very worn but I could make out the ocuupancy limit was 4 people but I didn't pay attention to the overall weight limit. It does say rated for 70hp which seems far fetched lol. Most of the used ones I've seen for sale have 25-40hps. A guy I messaged with on Facebook said he runs a 15hp and still does 17 mph. My ultimate goal is to put a 25hp outboard on it. My light 1648 flatbottom with a 25hp does about 28 mph swith two people so if this one could run in the low 20's I'd be super happy. Given all that, I think its a pretty light hull. I know the deck framing, decking, and floor are all aluminum. The tops of the hatches and the transom are made of wood, but I believe that is all that is in the boat.

Keep us posted on the restoration. I may try to document my work as well but that project will probably be shelved for a while.

Definitely gonna continue with updates! Got a good little workspace going, though I'm taking some time away from working on it for when it cools down and I'm a bit less broke from college lol. Hopefully a good chunk of progress will get made once December rolls around and classes are out.

 

[wmk0002]

Definitely gonna continue with updates! Got a good little workspace going, though I'm taking some time away from working on it for when it cools down and I'm a bit less broke from college lol. Hopefully a good chunk of progress will get made once December rolls around and classes are out.

Awesome. Maybe down the road you can help me out.... mine did not include the console or steering system. I like to somewhat match the original console so maybe you could get some measurements for me sometime.

I'll probably get to gutting mine before you dive in so I'll try to document that as it will probably be helpful to you.

 

[wmk0002]

Any updates? I have not been able to work on mine. Have some welding issues I need to get evaluated before fully committing.

 

[CharlieH]

Any updates? I have not been able to work on mine. Have some welding issues I need to get evaluated before fully committing.

Still working on 'er! Progress has been slow (and sadly will probably stay that way for now) as I edge towards the end of my degree and course-loads get heavier. Since my last reply in here I believe I've finished removing most all of the carpet, scraped away a majority of the adhesive, and was in the process of removing the console for cleaning and photos when I last had the chance to work on it a month or so ago.

Next time I'm out there I'll grab some measurements and photos of the console/steering wheel and
whatnot for you. (If you still need any of that stuff) Should be within the next month or so. If there's anything else you're interested in I can check that out too. Good luck with your build!

 

[wmk0002]

Still working on 'er! Progress has been slow (and sadly will probably stay that way for now) as I edge towards the end of my degree and course-loads get heavier. Since my last reply in here I believe I've finished removing most all of the carpet, scraped away a majority of the adhesive, and was in the process of removing the console for cleaning and photos when I last had the chance to work on it a month or so ago.

Next time I'm out there I'll grab some measurements and photos of the console/steering wheel and
whatnot for you. (If you still need any of that stuff) Should be within the next month or so. If there's anything else you're interested in I can check that out too. Good luck with your build!

Thanks. I'd still like them, but it's not a big deal either. Don't go out of your way for me. But I'd love to see some progress pics for sure!