Eldo-Craft Paint Project

I picked up what appears to be a 1980 14x43 Eldo-Craft this week. It's big, it's sturdy, it doesn't leak; but it's got a fairly obnoxious camo spray job, some worn paint spots, and a questionable transom. Not to mention some non-stainless hardware that should not have been attached to the boat.


I don't intend to do a deck or big rebuild, I just want to clean it up, give it a new coat of paint, and take the missus out fishing. She likes to row(!) I have a 45-lb MinnKota that moved us right along during our on-the-water, is-there-a-leak Voyage of Discovery, and it will have to do until we get a motor at some time in the distant future. Which brings me to the transom.


It's got some issues, but the center is still very strong and good enough for the electric motor. But it makes sense to replace the wood now, while I'm sanding and painting and replacing all the rusted non-SS bolts holding the wood on. However; I'm not entirely sure I can unbolt the wood and get it out without removing the braces, which are riveted into the floor, and seem very strong.


There seems to be some significant room to drop the wood panel down, and then angle it up and scrape it out from behind the supports. Does that ever work, or am I engaging in wishful thinking? Since I'm not having to replace any rivets at this point elsewhere in the boat, I am trying to avoid putting any new holes in an otherwise good hull.

So...the answer was no. The transom could not be angled out. Given that most of the wood is OK, especially in the middle where the motor mount is located, I decided to leave the wood as is for the moment, until I have time to spend a moment with my mechanical genius friend who lives for this kind of challenge. I did replace all the old zinc screws with SS fasteners, both in the transom and mostly around the boat.

One way to tell if you are rushing the season is washing out the inside of the boat, and then finding this in the scuppers the next morning:

To prep for the paint, I went through about 3 packages of 150 grit sandpaper on a palm sander, followed up with a soft matrix wheel and a wire wheel on a power drill for polishing up around edges and rivets. I elected to only go down to the bare aluminum in the few places where the paint was flaking or weak, followed by a good diluted vinegar scrubbing and several rinses.

Instead of going with a full strip and Steel-flex on the bottom, I'm using Gluvit inside and out on the rivets and seams, followed by self etching primer and Rustoleum Topside marine paint. My quart of Gluvit arrived later afternoon yesterday, but it was still 70+ degrees, so I mixed up a cup's worth of material (guessing at the half ounce of catalyst) and covered all the rivets and seams. The Gluvit had not set up at all by midnight, and was still wet to the touch. I resigned myself to scraping it all off this afternoon when I got back from work...but much to my delight, the Gluvit had hardened 24 hours later, and looked pretty much good to go.

Now we've got cooler weather here for a while and I have to go out of town this weekend. If it warms back up next week, on goes the self etching primer on the bottom, then a flip and wash for the inside, and a batch of Gluvit for the interior.

So. Took a couple of weeks to get work and weather to cooperate. Got the bottom primed with self-etching primer, and then three coats of Rustoleum Topside paint.


Next, a lovely time spent with a pad sander and 150 grit sandpaper, plus hours of wire wheel on the non-flat surfaces of the interior.


I used the rest of my quart of Gluvit to coat the inside seams of the boat and the livewell, cover all the interior rivet heads, and sealed up the somewhat challenged transom board. Six rattle cans of Rustoleum self-etching primer later (one decent coat) the inside looks ready for painting.


Then came the hardest part. I had been able to roll on much of the exterior bottom paint with 4-inch foam rollers, but the interior of the Eldocraft was festooned with inside edges, ribs and small pass-throughs. After the first coat with both brush and roller was pretty much a fail...I finally took an older HVLP paint sprayer and loaded it with the Topside paint, cut it about 15% with Xylene and stirred it thoroughly. Between the paint and the Xylene, even with an hardcore filter mask and painting outside, it was seriously, seriously fumey. The paint was also still so thick that it took full pressure from the air compressor to spray it out, and I had to wait for the compressor to catch back up to 75 pounds pretty often. Even then, it took a couple of hours to get a decent smooth coat on all the interior. After that, I masked off under the rail, and repainted the blue areas of the railing that I couldn't get to when the boat was upside down. When I peeled off the tape, the Oyster White and Navy Blue went together well!




To fix the missing live well lid, I cut two pieces of 1/2-inch exterior plywood, and gave them a heavy triple coat of Spar Varnish, then mounted the lid and hinges with stainless steel parts. Hopefully this will keep me or the next owner from having to spend a couple of grueling hours cutting apart the rusted, corroded connectors like I had to in the beginning. This will also be padded and serve as the rowing bench.


From there, I made another piece of Spar-impregnated wood for a mount for the jon-boat seat clamp. Since there is a 3/4 in lip on the front edge of the seat, it kept the seat bracket from engaging. Because almost every review I've seen on these seats recommends they get fixed to the boat as much as possible so you don't go a$$ over heels right out of the boat during an over enthusiastic hook set, I tied the plate in with SS washers and self tapping screws.


Last bit was reaming out the existing oarlocks to take the 5/8+ shaft of the oar pin and sleeve, and I'm good for both the electric motor and some oars repurposed from my Creek Company inflatable pontoon boat.


That was pretty much it. The Eldocraft is ready to put on the water.


Total materials for the 14 x 43 boat:
4 Packages palm sander 150 grit sand paper
1 soft wire wheel for a corded drill
11 rattle cans of Rustoleum Self Etching Primer
2 quarts Rustoleum Navy Blue Topside Paint
3 quarts Rustoleum Oyster White Topside Paint
2 brushes
6 four-inch foam rollers
Scrap 1/2 and 3/4 inch exterior plywood
Pint of Spar Varnish
Small bag of SS screws and hinges
1 spray painter deep-sixed, after I couldn't even remotely get it cleaned out. The Topside paint on a brush or in a sprayer just turns to gum-like gunk when a thick amount gets hit with the Xylene or acetone.

So for less than $600, including the Craigslist purchase price, I've got a nice stable boat that looks like it's ready for some catfish slime!