Newbee with a Lund rebuild

Hello all. Great site. I just bought a Lund and plan to resore it. Paid $1500 for it. I have seen them fully restored for near $5000. I had a friend clean the carbs and it runs great. Got the steering unlocked and working good. Lights, trolling motor, trim, bilge and livewell all work. It came with 2 new unmounted seats and 3 used mounted seats. Plastic on kingpins is brittle. 1 alreay broke. I have already guted the decking and am looking for ideas on new deck. I am leaning towards aluminum but it would probably be $500. If I go the plywood route I am thinking 1/2 BC, epoxy seal all edges and suface, glass the top and coat with Tuffcoat. I might raise the front casting deck but not sure yet. And by the way, I just jacked my river house up 8 feet to get above the 100 yr flood. I jut finished a 550 sf composite deck on the 2 sides you see. I already installed siding on the other 2 sides and will start the siding on the deck side next week. I own a small construction company if any needs help in that field. I lack the boat restoring expeience so need help.

It sat uncovered for a couple years.

Here is a restoed one for sale on craigslist for 5k. Gives you an idea of what the deck looks like.


Looking for ideas!

Lunds are awesome boats. I like what the redone one looks like in that last picture. I would do it exactly the same. It looks like it has a nice open floor, storage areas...everything a hardcore fishing boat needs.

You raised your house 8 feet? Post some pics up in the watering hole so we can see what it looks like when done (If you don't mind) I seen them try to move an old historical house once....guess what happened? It fell over to one side and became a pile of scrap wood. #-o

Welcome to the site! That is going to be a great boat for you. I think if you are going to do it, do it just like you want. My personal preference on the front deck would be to raise it up about half the distance and give yourself some more storage. Those boats are really sturdy and you should notice much difference by bringing up the deck.

Just let us know what you need help with. We are here to help and all love working on projects like these and troubleshooting fixes!

Dave

Welcome to the site. That's going to be one nice looking boat. Good Luck with the project.

welcome to TB!

Awesome boat

Here are a couple pics the boat gutted. It's all alum stringers and very solid.



It had the same plywood configuration as the one restored pictured above. The casting deck seems a little low. I can play with the elevation and see what feels right. I had 3 people in it 175 plus and 2 of us leaned way over one side and it barely tipped. I don't think raising the casting deck will be a problem with balance. I also considered a rear deck. The hull supports are already there. But, I'm plan on doing some salmon trolling on the great lakes and that might make it hard to get to the down riggers and rods.

The foam is a little wet in places but not bad. Some of it has no access to remove and replace. I might replace some down the middle at the low spots. That is where it is mostly wet. I would use a 2 part marine foam. I just hate the idea of putting plywood back in after taking the old out in 5 gal buckets. Especially when I know water is gonna end up at the bilge and can flow back and forth to the bow. It also doesn't help that I have made a living replacing rotten wood for the last 27 years. The white wood I see people on here using for deck supports make me cringe. I also have a connection for 1/4" or 3/8" inch 4'x6' foot fiberglass panels. They are a little heavy but have great flexural strength. The can be glassed over to make one solid piece.

Keep the ideas coming. I would like to hear from someone who used alum. decking. What thickness, does it flex bad, what coatings, costs etc... Proven track records of compatible materials are alway a plus on a new project for me. Thanks all!

Here is pic of a boat I like and might model mine after. I would love a center console

WOW! Look at all that foam....NO wonder they say that Lunds are unsinkable.

Rairdog said:

The white wood I see people on here using for deck supports make me cringe.

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Me too. I've had all of the rotten deck replacement that I care to do in my lifetime.

I guess if you consider it a hobby it's no big deal. I'm all about the no maintenance. That's why my newest has a spray in liner instead of carpet too.

Those Lunds are very solid boats. Got one we stripped and are in the process of rebuilding right now. Course, we have been "working" on it for 3 years now. Something about the lack of free time is holding that off.

The boat that you pictured used to be owned by a fairly good friend of mine, and I can get any answers for you, if you have any questions about it. It has since been sold to a guy down in S. America, so you probably won't be seeing any more of it. It is an 18 foot Spectrum Blue Fin.

He is very no nonsense about his boats, so everything on there is going to have a good purpose, and be a good use of space.

Got yourself a great project boat there, and Welcome Aboard! 8)

bassboy1 said:

Those Lunds are very solid boats. Got one we stripped and are in the process of rebuilding right now. Course, we have been "working" on it for 3 years now. Something about the lack of free time is holding that off.

The boat that you pictured used to be owned by a fairly good friend of mine, and I can get any answers for you, if you have any questions about it. It has since been sold to a guy down in S. America, so you probably won't be seeing any more of it. It is an 18 foot Spectrum Blue Fin.

He is very no nonsense about his boats, so everything on there is going to have a good purpose, and be a good use of space.

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I stole that pic from **** on iboats. He has some great talent and pics to prove it. He is still active on iboats and has a great deal worth of knowledge. If I could just pick his brain more!

bassboy1 said:

Those Lunds are very solid boats. Got one we stripped and are in the process of rebuilding right now. Course, we have been "working" on it for 3 years now. Something about the lack of free time is holding that off.

The boat that you pictured used to be owned by a fairly good friend of mine, and I can get any answers for you, if you have any questions about it. It has since been sold to a guy down in S. America, so you probably won't be seeing any more of it. It is an 18 foot Spectrum Blue Fin.

He is very no nonsense about his boats, so everything on there is going to have a good purpose, and be a good use of space.

Click to expand...

Bassboy1...Get him to join here. :wink:

Jim said:

bassboy1 said:

Those Lunds are very solid boats. Got one we stripped and are in the process of rebuilding right now. Course, we have been "working" on it for 3 years now. Something about the lack of free time is holding that off.

The boat that you pictured used to be owned by a fairly good friend of mine, and I can get any answers for you, if you have any questions about it. It has since been sold to a guy down in S. America, so you probably won't be seeing any more of it. It is an 18 foot Spectrum Blue Fin.

He is very no nonsense about his boats, so everything on there is going to have a good purpose, and be a good use of space.

Click to expand...

Bassboy1...Get him to join here. :wink:

Click to expand...

Duh! #-o #-o

Will do.

Ok, It's time to make a decision. I have priced alum. at 5 $/sf for .125 (1/8"). After looking at several lumber company's plywood selection I'm leaning towards 1/2" plywood. Here is a good article to sum up the ratings of plywood.
https://www.messing-about.com/weekender/woodFAQ.html

Pressure treated is out! Its only 3 ply, lots of internal voids, inferior grade wood and warps like a banshee! And...it will corrode alum. That would mean separating the wood from the alum. stringers. The fasteners would have to be galv. instead of alum. When I stripped the boat most of the upper decks were stainless steel bolts with galv. locknuts. All the locknuts were corroded to a point that a wrench was worthless. I had to drill the heads off. So...galv. is out.

The best plywood I have found is AC grade from a reputable non-depo cheapo company. BC would work but I like footballs in front of the couch and not on the water. If you are looking at plywood for your boat and the first 3 sheets on the top of the stack are warped, thats a problem. If there are also voids on the edges of the internal plys thats a future weak spot. There are more that you can't see that will result in spongy spots and delaminating when moisture gets in. This is from years of house building experience.

The next topic is sealing. I am leaning towards epoxy and mat. I have no experience here and could use some help. Who has done it and what products? From my net research I think West epoxy (thinned the first coat for soaking in) and 1 or 2 layers of mat. What mat? I don't know yet?

Then the fasteners. All alum. rivets. I have a bunch already but the mandrels are steel. So I need a good supplier. I plan on drilling oversized holes and filling with epoxy, redrilling smaller hole for rivet and then sealing rivet after installed with 3m 5200 (I think thats the product). The question here is do I glass the entire bottom in one piece or in removable sections?

The last step would be tuffcoat or similar product. I think I have this step figured out.
Please feel free to step in and give your input! I have $400 budgeted to get the boat painted and ready for water. The alum lower deck would have been $300 alone.

I have a problem with using the epoxy and mat for your sealant. They are great quality materials.....



....in fiberglass boats. The joys of aluminum boats are to not have to mess with that stuff. I would suggest some sort of water sealer or spar varnish. Some of the other guys on here will tell you which is best - I have little experience with that stuff, as I prefer to work aluminum.

If you find a good rivet supplier, tell me, as I have been paying through the nose for Home Depot 50 packs. Those are going to be some pretty long ones, to go through 5/8 or so thickness. Your idea of drilling large hole, filling with epoxy, and then drilling smaller ones would actually make me lean toward stainless countersunk screws.

Are you still going with the center console? If so, you will need new steering cables, and control cables. I sure hope you can do a bit better than a 400 dollar budget. These projects will NEVER cost as little as you planned, or take as little time as you planned. You have to at least double both figures, from my experience. How are your hatch lid hinges? Those aren't exactly cheap, and are often forgotten about in budgeting. Same goes for electrics, and wiring, and anything else.

Good luck! Seems like you are off to a good start.

Hey Bassboy1
All aluminum woud be nice but not in the budget. Alum is up too high
The only sealer for plywood I would trust is epoxy and say 6 to 8 oz. mat for a 15 year fix on plywood. I wasted way to many gallons of deck sealers over the years. I have considered spar varnsih.

Do you know anything about glass stop rivets. I have about 180 of them that are alum with plt. steel mandrels ( I don't know what plt. stands for). My girlfriends ex husband left them in her garage. I wonder how much steel would be left after they popped. They are 1/4 x 1" and heavy duty with a nice 1/2 head. HP376 Glass Stop Rivets. The mandrels look like alum but are magnetic. Must be zinc coated.

Center console is out. The only way I could reuse the cables is to drill a hole down the middle of the stringers and run a pvc conduit. They are 12" tall and would probably not hurt the structural integrity but it would be a gamble on length.

Aluminum hinges are in good shape. The will stick up a little without the carpet wrap. They mount underneath the plywood unlike piano hinges. I was figuring 1/2 AC plywood with a little build up of glass and epoxy would be close to 5/8 thickness and be stronger and lighter than 3/4".

I know the original 1/2 marine plywood did not work. The original owner replaced some hatches and just overlayed wrapped carpeted pieces of plywood over the weak spots. You can see all the rotten holes from screw penatrations where the seats were mounted. That is my epoxy hole solution.

As for countersunk screws. I don't think any wood screw works in a boat. They always vibrate loose or strip out. I fixed them since I was a kid on my parents boats and my other boats.

From experince I know my boats are gonna get wet. No garage. $500 custom made cover doesn't make sense on a $1500 boat. Tarps fail. Wind is wicked. The way I figure it is let the deck get wet, run to the bilge and pump or drain. Trick is let it breath under the deck.

So... I'm at 4 sheets of 1/2 AC plywood at 30 $/sheet, $100 in epoxy and mat, and $100 in tuffcoat and misc...

From what I understand, glass stop rivets have very good holding strength. The mandrel needs to stay in the rivet tube in order to maintain its sheer strength. The plt. steel mandrels means the mandrels are zinc plated.