I picked this up earlier this week. 1960 14' Alumacraft w/ 6.0 HP Mercury.
I am not new to boats, but I am new to aluminum boats. I got this boat strictly for duck hunting and taking the kids out for small fishing excursions on resident lakes/ponds.
I will add more pictures as I start the tear down to make it my own.
Motor cranked first pull, no leaks and runs excellent.
I have taken the front deck, trolling motor and lights off currently and will be redoing that since I like the idea, but the previous owner completely half assed it.
The kiddo's were excited.
My concerns..
1-When I got it home and it sat overnight, I noticed gear oil leaking off the prop and puddling below. How hard is it to change out the prop shaft seals? I have great mechanical skills, just concerned that I don't know enough about boat motors to make sure everything is up to par and with labor rates here @ $95 an hour, I'd like to learn from you all and do it myself.
Here is the puddle. It is thick gear oil even though it looks rather clear in this picture.
You can see the shimmer of the oil on the bottom of the lower unit.
2- The hubs. I cleaned them up a bit (believe it or not) and removed quite a bit of rope/twine from around them. I am repacking them this weekend. I pulls straight and no strange noises. Does the gap between the hub and axle in this picture look correct?
3- I don't have pictures currently, but across the front there are 3 rivets missing. Not a big deal since I don't plan on jumping wakes, but water can get in. Is it worth riveting again? The boat has no leaks what so ever.
Any information and knowledge would be awesome! I look forward to hearing from all of you.
I am not new to boats, but I am new to aluminum boats. I got this boat strictly for duck hunting and taking the kids out for small fishing excursions on resident lakes/ponds.
I will add more pictures as I start the tear down to make it my own.
Motor cranked first pull, no leaks and runs excellent.
I have taken the front deck, trolling motor and lights off currently and will be redoing that since I like the idea, but the previous owner completely half assed it.
The kiddo's were excited.
My concerns..
1-When I got it home and it sat overnight, I noticed gear oil leaking off the prop and puddling below. How hard is it to change out the prop shaft seals? I have great mechanical skills, just concerned that I don't know enough about boat motors to make sure everything is up to par and with labor rates here @ $95 an hour, I'd like to learn from you all and do it myself.
Here is the puddle. It is thick gear oil even though it looks rather clear in this picture.
You can see the shimmer of the oil on the bottom of the lower unit.
2- The hubs. I cleaned them up a bit (believe it or not) and removed quite a bit of rope/twine from around them. I am repacking them this weekend. I pulls straight and no strange noises. Does the gap between the hub and axle in this picture look correct?
3- I don't have pictures currently, but across the front there are 3 rivets missing. Not a big deal since I don't plan on jumping wakes, but water can get in. Is it worth riveting again? The boat has no leaks what so ever.
Any information and knowledge would be awesome! I look forward to hearing from all of you.