1958 richline ...help please

Ok, I have what a previous owner registered as a 1958 richline runabout. I am unsure how he went about this as the hull is without any identification. He converted the runabout to a fishing boat mostly. The boat has a 1971 johnson 60 hp motor on it, but the transom has around 1 inch flex which worries me. I checked the transom for rot but seems solid, just weak for the weight on it. The transom has what looks like 1 sheet of 1/2 inch ply (raw painted-uncoated) on inside of transom and same on exterior of transom. The top rear of boat has molded tin for runabout shape.(unsure what technical terms are for this area of boat)...I would like to change setup of the boat..ie..change inside decking to allow for floor storage, strengthen transom, and make actual fishing boat out of it. I'm unable to find answers to my search on net. Links, tutorials, or general help would be great..

What is the length of the boat?

Sorry about that. The boat actually measures out at 15'7" long..width at widest part of top is 5'10"..the width of full rear is 5'5"...the center height of transom 16"..the full height of rear of boat is roughly 21"

Can't tell from the picture, but you might benefit from a knee brace or 2 on the transom.

unsure of what a knee brace is...i am good with wood and fiberglass, but don't know much about terminology ob boat specifics.. :mrgreen:

What you have is a hull with a "splash well". Usually they are on deep v hulls, like you have, with high sides. They provide a way to have a lower transom, but still keep water out of the boat. They normally have drains. They also may be important structurally to the transom. The knee brace that Brine suggested would be like a triangle piece that would go from the "floor" of the splash well to the inside of the transom to stiffen it.

Thank you for the picture. That was exactly what I was inquiring about. The majority of the runabout is gone as you can tell from my pictures. Do you have any ideas for changing it around. The last owner has a long shaft motor on it, so i have to raise the transom up a few inches. I was thinking of getting an aluminum plate welded on the whole back...kinda like replacing the rear face plate but more like just adding to it. Then i was going to place the new transom wood inside of the rear of boat, reinforcing it of course.

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but is the piece of metal that forms the floor and front of the splash well just riveted in? Is the original transom in good shape? I would probably remove that splash well floor just to see what what condition the transom is in and take off the piece of wood on the outside. Once I had determined the condition and construction I would determine the best way to to stiffen and raise it. There are a bunch of threads on here that deal with transoms, and a bunch of people that are more familiar with Richlines than I am. I must have looked at a hundred projects on this site before I started mine. There are lot of really knowledgeable people here.

The splashwell and surroundings are rivited on. I just had an aluminum welder out here to look at it. He felt that after removing the exterior wood, I should have a 1/4" sheet of aluminum put on the rear of boat to my specs because I need to raise the transom up anyway. The transom wood is solid but weak in comparison to the weight of the motor. I was thinking that after i installed the outer skin with new height, I would glass 2 sheets of 3/4" oak hardwood ply, (after i water seal it)...then brace it in place on inside of transom interior. Any thoughts?...or am i on right track?

It sounds like you are absolutely on the right track! Keep us posted!

Thank you. I will definately keep posted. By the way...I am new this site. I've seen a lot of great ideas from the members. Believe it or not...in the full john and v mod area of this site...I went through every post because I couldn't believe the ideas and mods that the members have brought into reality. I just hope as i get the money, I can creat something atleast half as nice...We'll see =D>