Roofing tar..... Fix or Fish?

I picked up a 14' semi V a few days ago. It's been spray painted an Ugly shade of Blue and The bottom is coated in roofing tar. I leak tested it today for 6 hours not a drop... So, being that I'm a do it once, do it right kind of person do I leave it alone and Fish this season as is or do I keep my 12 footer and do the 14 properly? I do not have a lot of time or money to devote to a boat project so I don't know if it would take me 2 months or 6 to do it right.

I mean, it's going to get done just I know if I tear into it I won't be fishing any time soon.

I'm really leaning towards using it as is and restore it this winter just wondering what others think

Fish first, fix it later when your really bored and richer.
Tim

The fish don't care if you have roofing tar on your boat so I vote for fishing now and redoing later.

screw it, and go fishin'! that's what i did...

I went the other way, I tore into it and did not get it onto the water until about two months later. That resulted in me tearing into it all over again so heed the advice and fish first! You will loads of time this winter and it is hard to gauge what you want to do without using the boat first - Chris

chris has a great point. my modification plans changed after only 1 trip out. some things that look great on paper, aren't that great for everybody..

if theres nothing structurally wrong that they used it for then i would just paint over it. if its covering damage then i wouldnt take a chance

fish first, find out what you like about the boat and what you think may and may not work. then when you have digested it, saved up money and accumulated the stuff to do the mod tear into it in the winter and do it right. Did I mention Its april and you should be fishing. :roll: :wink: :mrgreen:

I'd try it at least once, and closely monitor for leaks. Honestly, though, roofing tar is not really an acceptable fix. I've welded on boats that were patched with this stuff, that was fun trying to get it down to clean metal so it could be welded....what a PITA!

The best course of action would be to take all that tar off there, clean the bottom really good, then, have something more durable applied.... perhaps rhino-lining, or some other coating. The guys on here should be able to advise on that.



Getting into a boat project is best reserved for winter, when there's nothing going on. I've been fooling with my Triton 1650SC for the past week.....kinda wish I would have done all that over this past winter.

Last year, at the beginning of summer, I was installing the High Output engine in my jetboat. That went from June to August.


So, that's 2 years in a row that I have fooled with boat modifications during the spring or summer, which has cost me some fishing time...not to mention, this is the time of year that welding starts to pick up for me, and it's hard to work on other people's stuff when my stuff is taking up the whole shop.

Next year, when I do "Season 3 of American Jetboat....Supercharged" it's going to start in January, and hopefully, I'll have a completed jetboat with an intercooled supercharged engine BEFORE the start of good weather.

Sold my 12' after about 1 hour on Cl bought pedestal seats and a gallon of paint going to get it on the water this year and strip it down over the winter Thanks for the comments!

Has the middle bench been removed too?... or were they smart enough to leave that in?

Fish it.

You need to get some good mojo on board before anything