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Photo 1
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This is the photo I saw for the "old boat". It was 1 hour north of Tampa. I needed a break from working on my other boat so i thought a road trip would be good. It looked good when I drove up, but I could tell it would need work. i had no idea what engine was on it, but the owner said it was an "old 40 horse that runs". The hull looked ok for it's age, but the bottom is slightly deformed where it sits on the trailer roller. The windshield needs to be polished up, but it is not cracked. I felt kind of sorry for it so I decided to rescue it.
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I needed to get a 1 7/8" ball to hook it up. It still would not hook up, so I had to take the ball retainer out. It was rusted and bent so it would not allow the ball to slide in. Next it was time to check the trailer. Tires? Yea, they were inflated but had weather cracks. The owner said one tire was inflated with that fix a flat stuff. Wheel bearings? They were not loose and had grease, even though one cap was missing. I crossed my fingers, said a prayer and left for home. About a mile away, the bump in the road made me think I better pull over to strap it down to the trailer with some good cargo straps. I am used to big heavy boats that stay on their bunks, not a 400 lb little one that leaps about 2 inches on every bump. Thank goodness I brought some heavy duty straps with me.
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Cell phone photo
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Made it home
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After 49 miles of back road and 65 MPH highway miles, it was home with no problems. It pulled very good for a questionable trailer, but I was sweating the whole time. Visions of a wheel falling off did not happen.
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Everything is still here! It was smart to take the cargo straps. It turned out to be a great day.
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Nothing fell off
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Sale flyer
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I found this flyer on the Fiberglassics website. I now believe this is the 14' Rocket model. Looking at brochures from 61-63, it seems my boat looks more like it a actually newer. Sears also carried a line of boats around 1965 that looks exactly like mine, but with a Sears name on it. Why does my boat look worse than this one?? It seems they also only came in one color: White.
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And here it sits. Waiting for it's time in the garage.
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Out in the back yard
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Interior
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It had seen better days. The rear bench seat is there, and the newer front seats are just sitting there with nothing to bolt them down. The deck appears to have been replaced before with fiberglass cloth. The floor does have some soft spots, so it will have to come out. Typical of these old boats.
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I have no experence with outboards so I went searching the net for information. I found the numbers and found model # 40353D. This is an Evinrude Big Twin 40 HP unit from 1963. It appears I can still get parts. It will need spark plug leads and a fuel pump. Everything seems to be here.
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Big Twin power
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Rear
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I am not sure if the transom will need to be replaced, it seems solid.
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Here it is next to my '86 Chris Craft 178 BR. It looks tiny compared to the 17' bowrider. Well, since it sold today, this project has gone to another person who hopefully will get it running soon.
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2 boats in the yard
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