Few Questions about my Boat (Pic Heavy)

I bought this boat yesterday from my Father-in-Law for $800. It's a 1992 14' Lowe with a 1968 20HP Johnson. The trailer...I have no idea, never seen one like it. My questions are:

1. What are these holes with the pvc pipe in them for?


2. Can I remove the square part there with the hole and the boat still be safe? My gas tank doesn't fit and I figured I could remove that part and move it over and put the battery there also.


3. Live well? Never seen one like this if it is. There's no water input, just an output.


4. The flooring and deck will need to be redone soon, what should I use that will be cheap but still hold up well?


Some more pics of the motor:





And:


Thanks in advance 8)
Sorry for so many pics...

Hi J. Cool new toy you got there. Welcome to the club. Well, the PVC pipes are most likely rod holders. You lay the rods flat and run the tips into the PVC and support the butt of the rod at the other end. You probably shouldn't remove the box you're talking about. It's most likely filled with emergency flotation foam, which will not only help to keep your boat afloat should you get swamped, but it often performs a structural role in reenforcing the strenght of the hull. If you do remove it, make sure you add flotation elsewhere to compensate. Sinking is bad. The bink/blue/green closed cell foam home insulation board available at lowes/hd works well and is easy to find. Not sure about the live well. You see all kinds of configurations, but there may actually be a plug in the bottom that you pull to allow lake/sea water into the well, then replug once full. The bilge pump is then used to recircualte the water within the tank, rather than drawing fresh water from outside the boat. It looks like he (tried) to seal it with silicone (aka "silly cone") which is a no-no on a tin boat. I would get all the old silicone out and replace it with a bead of 3M 5200 marine caulk/adhesive, also availabe at lowes/hd. Of course you could always just use a 5 gallon bucket with a little submersible pump too. As for the decks, rip them out and replace them with NON-PRESSURE TREATED EXTERIOR GRADE PLYWOOD. NEVER, EVER, EVER use PT wood on an aluminum boat. It will eat right through the hull. Instead use quality non-PT, exterior grade plywood and seal it with either 2-part epoxy (nice, but pricey), fiberglass mat & wax-free polyester resin (nice, but messy), or Spar Urethane (not quite as durable perhaps, but awesome, cheap, readily available at Lowes/HD and easy to use). After all wooden components are sealed, you can either paint, or carpet them as you like and mount them to the hull using STAINLESS STEEL hardware dipped in 3M 5200 throughout. You can also use aluminum rivets and or SS sheet metal screws to attach the decking. The motor is almost identical to my own '66 20 hp, but yours has the tell-tale dark green paint job of a '68, I believe. It appears to have a brand new starter installed too. Great all around motor, with lots of cheap parts still available, but the '67 and later models are sometimes prone to dropping the top cylinder, if it does, let me know and I'll tell you how to fix it. Otherwise, should be a great little 2-stroke. My 20 hp pushes me along at about +/- 20 mph with 2 people in an old 14' semi-v runabout. Very lightweight and reliable too. Plus, the old timers get a kick out of it at the dock. All and all you have a great little rig. Just take your time and ask lots of questions.

https://www.marineengine.com/parts/johnson-evinrude-parts.php?year=1968&hp=20&model=FD-22M

https://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/columns/max/index6.htm

+1 to above & and Welcome to the Tinboats group

kfa4303 said:

.... Great all around motor, with lots of cheap parts still available, but the '67 and later models are sometimes prone to dropping the top cylinder, if it does, let me know and I'll tell you how to fix it.

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Not to hijack thread, is the above--dropping top cylinder covered anywhere on board? There are times my motor gives me about half of what it should do.


Back to OP, you got a great boat. Start reading posts on how to fix it up. Maybe take it out a few time so you know how you fit using the boat. Good luck.

Nice, Thank you for the replies. Bookmarking this post so I can get back to it :wink: I forgot to post a pic with the trailer, as I said I have never seen one like it with the fenders in the shape they are:

About the Live Well, There is a plug in there but not one that leads outside of the boat. It's more of a drain than an inlet...?

The fenders on that trailer tell me that it's older than the motor.

JGibson said:

About the Live Well, There is a plug in there but not one that leads outside of the boat. It's more of a drain than an inlet...?

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Dear JGibson,

I think if you pull the plug in the livewell while the boat is in the water it will fill up. You then use the recirculating pump to aerate the water to keep the fish lively.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

JGibson said:

Nice, Thank you for the replies. Bookmarking this post so I can get back to it :wink: I forgot to post a pic with the trailer, as I said I have never seen one like it with the fenders in the shape they are:

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Dear JGibson,

Go retro and paint those fenders black with flames and ad some "Baby Moon" hubcaps to the rims for a fabulous '50's look. :idea:

If you don't you'll still have a nice rig that should get you into plenty of fish.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

+1 That is definitely an old 50's era trailer. Nice and funky. I like it. Keep us posted on the boat and your plans.

Here's the link regarding the potential dropped cylinder in the late 60's era Johnsons. I guess I got lucky. My 20 hp is a '66 and does not have this issue. The good news is that it's a common and curable problem.

https://www.aomci.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1342111052

Tim Murphy said:

JGibson said:

Nice, Thank you for the replies. Bookmarking this post so I can get back to it :wink: I forgot to post a pic with the trailer, as I said I have never seen one like it with the fenders in the shape they are:

Dear JGibson,

Go retro and paint those fenders black with flames and ad some "Baby Moon" hubcaps to the rims for a fabulous '50's look. :idea:

If you don't you'll still have a nice rig that should get you into plenty of fish.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Click to expand...

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Cool idea, I like it, just so happens I do a little airbrushing and this would be a cool project to work on 8) I had planned to repaint the motor cover and replace the decals with some vinyl (Which I also do)...may airbrush them as well.

@kfa4303:
Thank you for the link, bookmarked it for future reference.

Another question...this boat doesn't have a front Nav light for night fishing and I don't want to drill holes into the rib around the front (It's rounded), any ideas on mounting one? I bought a small one that fits flush on the deck but mine is like 3 inches below the rib... [-o<

Hey J. Sounds like you have two different issues. One are the Navigation lights, which are the little red and green lights you see on the bow of most boats. Along with the white stern/anchor light mounted in the rear of your boat you're required by law to use your Nav lights anytime you run your boat after sunset. Nay lights are to be used while underway, and the stern line is used anytime you are anchored up. There are 1000 different types/styles of Nav lights out there. Some are clamp on, battery powered jobbers, others are fancy chromed out pieces of boat bling. You'll probably want something in between. They come in both LED and conventional bulb configurations and can often be found at swap meets, ebay, etc...for pretty cheap. They generally run off of 12V battery power and you'll need a proper switch so you can have any configuration of Nav/stern lights on possible. You want to be able to turn either or both lights on/off at will (i.e. just nav, just stern, both at once, or none). You could also just put each light on its own dedicated switch. Generally speaking, you don't want/need to have "running lights" on a boat that function like headlights on a car. On the contrary, you want dark out conditions as much as possible so that the Nav and stern lights of other vessels can easily be seen. Pilots do the same thing when they dim the gauges in their cockpits. As for "fishing lights", lots of folks in my neck of the woods go bowfishing and/or founder gigging at night by simply mounting regular garage shop lights on the bow and running them off of a dedicated battery and/or using a small onboard gas generator. However, they are always pointed down into the water and never up over the water where they would not only be useless, but blind other boaters. If you need light to see by at night use lower powered red LED, or colored bulbs just like in the military. Watch Deadliest Catch sometime and you'll see the same thing. They try to keep the wheelhouse as dark as possible and allow their eyes to adjust, and one of the first things they do if an accident happens is ask the camera crew to kill their camera lights so they can see, which seems couterintuitive, but is true. Do a search here in the forums and you'll find lots of threads for rigging NAV lights. It's an easy DIY job.

kfa4303 said:

Hey J. Sounds like you have two different issues. One are the Navigation lights, which are the little red and green lights you see on the bow of most boats. Along with the white stern/anchor light mounted in the rear of your boat you're required by law to use your Nav lights anytime you run your boat after sunset. Nay lights are to be used while underway, and the stern line is used anytime you are anchored up. There are 1000 different types/styles of Nav lights out there. Some are clamp on, battery powered jobbers, others are fancy chromed out pieces of boat bling. You'll probably want something in between. They come in both LED and conventional bulb configurations and can often be found at swap meets, ebay, etc...for pretty cheap. They generally run off of 12V battery power and you'll need a proper switch so you can have any configuration of Nav/stern lights on possible. You want to be able to turn either or both lights on/off at will (i.e. just nav, just stern, both at once, or none). You could also just put each light on its own dedicated switch. Generally speaking, you don't want/need to have "running lights" on a boat that function like headlights on a car. On the contrary, you want dark out conditions as much as possible so that the Nav and stern lights of other vessels can easily be seen. Pilots do the same thing when they dim the gauges in their cockpits. As for "fishing lights", lots of folks in my neck of the woods go bowfishing and/or founder gigging at night by simply mounting regular garage shop lights on the bow and running them off of a dedicated battery and/or using a small onboard gas generator. However, they are always pointed down into the water and never up over the water where they would not only be useless, but blind other boaters. If you need light to see by at night use lower powered red LED, or colored bulbs just like in the military. Watch Deadliest Catch sometime and you'll see the same thing. They try to keep the wheelhouse as dark as possible and allow their eyes to adjust, and one of the first things they do if an accident happens is ask the camera crew to kill their camera lights so they can see, which seems couterintuitive, but is true. Do a search here in the forums and you'll find lots of threads for rigging NAV lights. It's an easy DIY job.

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Am I required to run both sets of these light while I'm moving or only the front? Then only the back when I'm not?

JGibson said:

Am I required to run both sets of these light while I'm moving or only the front? Then only the back when I'm not?

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You use both front and back when underway. and only the back light when not moving or anchored .. There are some really good online courses for boating rules. Illinois and Missouri both print boat rules that are easy to understand. When you start talking bow, stern, port, starboard, and give way vessel, you make yourself a safer boater.

really cool fenders on trailer. I wish my big jon was a semi vee, but I love her anyway.

Another option for your bow nav light would be to install one of the sockets like the anchor light uses on a flat surface at the bow. Then all you have to do is plug one of the pole elevated nav lights into the socket when you are out at night. I have a similar setup to this on my boat.


https://www.basspro.com/Attwood-Stowaway-Bow-Light-with-Base/product/21664/73815

Found the maker of the Trailer. Tee Nee. From the ads I have seen it is a 1956-1958 model. Gonna do some work to it...unless something bigger in a boat comes along...has alot of layers of different color paints on it (I'm talking like 6-7) so alot of prep to strip it down is in order...

Welcome to Tinboats buddy! Picture heavy is what we like to see!

The first comment hit the nail right on the head! Good job man!

JGibson said:

Found the maker of the Trailer. Tee Nee. From the ads I have seen it is a 1956-1958 model. Gonna do some work to it...unless something bigger in a boat comes along...has alot of layers of different color paints on it (I'm talking like 6-7) so alot of prep to strip it down is in order...

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Sandblast it and order some commercial rust converter, white can with red lettering (not the rustoleum crap) its a spray can but I just used it as paint on a 14' HEAVY duty trailer I rebuilt three years ago and it's still clean and looks like it was painted yesterday.

Ill post a photo tomorrow of the can im talking about and the trailer I painted with it. It's weird stuff though, it goes on clear and you're wondering if it's a dud and you go out in the morning and voila you've got a black trailer!

You gonna paint that thing orange and blue kp? lol