OBX Connection Home > OBX Connection Forum > 100 dollar boat project...Update 3/18/23
100 dollar boat project...Update 3/18/23

100 dollar boat project...Update 3/18/23




Up next is a crazy craigslist find that cost me 100 dollars. It's a 17ft 1975 Reinell tri-hull with an Evinrude 85hp 2 stroke motor on a trailer. A real estate agent was trying to sell a house that had this thing in the back yard covered in mold, filled with leaves and bird poop and rotten chicken eggs from back yard chicken roosting in it etc. He didn't have the paperwork for anything except an old beat up registration card from 1996 which was the year on the hull sticker and said I could have it for 100 bucks. I opened up the cowling and the engine looked surprising clean and I could turn it over by hand no problem. That was good. Next I got up inside and the floor was solid! Next I yanked on the transom and she didn't budge...I thought Hmmm, if the hull looks good she's comin home! I checked it out and she was pretty much perfect. I handed the man a Benji, went to tractor supply and picked up two new tires for the trailer and brought her home. She sat for a year on the farm before we moved down and she's been on Knotts Island for almost two years just sittin. I ripped out the nasty old seats, pulled out the plants growing inside the cockpit blew all the leaves and crap out and pressure washed the whole boat.




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RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Cool find at a great price. As long as the hull and transom don't have any rot you might be in luck. Change the fluids on the engine, put in some new plugs and try to fire her up


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




The crazy part of all this was getting the paperwork. I looked up the name of the registration and found the phone number at the address listed in Allentown PA I called and left a message on the answering machine that had a very elderly sounding woman's voice on it. a week later I got a call from a a younger woman who was the older lady's daughter. She told me that it was her fathers boat but that he had died in 1996 and that they moved out of their house and left the boat behind because they had no way to move it. So apparently it has been sitting untouched in the new owners back yard since 1996. I asked if they would mind signing the boat over to me and explained how it came to me. I sent them a picture and the elderly woman was sad to see the state it was in and asked me if I could fix it up again and I promised her I could so they agreed to meet me at Burger King where I bought them lunch and heard all the old fishing tales about the old man who passed away and how much he loved the boat which was pretty cool. They signed the paper work and the elderly woman made me promise again to "fix it up and catch a big fish" in honor of her husband and she got all teared up....I admit I got a little choked up too. She was a real sweetheart and had to be in her late 80's. a little tiny old lass. So I got the paperwork and the Titles...THAT NEVER HAPPENS...hahaha.


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Cool find at a great price. As long as the hull and transom don't have any rot you might be in luck. Change the fluids on the engine, put in some new plugs and try to fire her up

Laszlo
\\

Way ahead of ya brother..(; I took out the plugs and ran a compression test on all 4 cylinders. C1-115 psi, C2-130psi, C3 120psi, C4-115 psi. Not bad at all. Then I trimmed the motor all the way up and poured some Marvel Mystery oil into the cylinder heads. I let em sit for several hours , got new plugs and installed em when I got back. Would you believe she fired right up and idled perfectly, went into gear perfectly forward and reverse!!! Only problem is that I'm not getting water flow. Next step it taking the lower unit off and rebuilding the pump with a new kit and changing the impeller.




RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Cool find at a great price. As long as the hull and transom don't have any rot you might be in luck. Change the fluids on the engine, put in some new plugs and try to fire her up

Laszlo
\\

Way ahead of ya brother..(; I took out the plugs and ran a compression test on all 4 cylinders. C1-115 psi, C2-130psi, C3 120psi, C4-115 psi. Not bad at all. Then I trimmed the motor all the way up and poured some Marvel Mystery oil into the cylinder heads. I let em sit for several hours , got new plugs and installed em when I got back. Would you believe she fired right up and idled perfectly, went into gear perfectly forward and reverse!!! Only problem is that I'm not getting water flow. Next step it taking the lower unit off and rebuilding the pump with a new kit and changing the impeller.

Beach Farmer


Excellent! That impeller if its still their will probably just fall out. My guess is it dry rotted to powered Lol


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Cool find at a great price. As long as the hull and transom don't have any rot you might be in luck. Change the fluids on the engine, put in some new plugs and try to fire her up

Laszlo
\\

Way ahead of ya brother..(; I took out the plugs and ran a compression test on all 4 cylinders. C1-115 psi, C2-130psi, C3 120psi, C4-115 psi. Not bad at all. Then I trimmed the motor all the way up and poured some Marvel Mystery oil into the cylinder heads. I let em sit for several hours , got new plugs and installed em when I got back. Would you believe she fired right up and idled perfectly, went into gear perfectly forward and reverse!!! Only problem is that I'm not getting water flow. Next step it taking the lower unit off and rebuilding the pump with a new kit and changing the impeller.

Beach Farmer


Excellent! That impeller if its still their will probably just fall out. My guess is it dry rotted to powered Lol

Laszlo


No doubt. I'm just stoked I didn't have to rebuild the carbs!


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




The crazy part of all this was getting the paperwork. I looked up the name of the registration and found the phone number at the address listed in Allentown PA I called and left a message on the answering machine that had a very elderly sounding woman's voice on it. a week later I got a call from a a younger woman who was the older lady's daughter. She told me that it was her fathers boat but that he had died in 1996 and that they moved out of their house and left the boat behind because they had no way to move it. So apparently it has been sitting untouched in the new owners back yard since 1996. I asked if they would mind signing the boat over to me and explained how it came to me. I sent them a picture and the elderly woman was sad to see the state it was in and asked me if I could fix it up again and I promised her I could so they agreed to meet me at Burger King where I bought them lunch and heard all the old fishing tales about the old man who passed away and how much he loved the boat which was pretty cool. They signed the paper work and the elderly woman made me promise again to "fix it up and catch a big fish" in honor of her husband and she got all teared up....I admit I got a little choked up too. She was a real sweetheart and had to be in her late 80's. a little tiny old lass. So I got the paperwork and the Titles...THAT NEVER HAPPENS...hahaha.

Beach Farmer


What a great story. Is there any way of sending her a picture of it cleaned up and you working on it? That would make her and her daughter's day!


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




How is the gel coat looking? Looks pretty good from the photos. Might need just a good compounding


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




How is the gel coat looking? Looks pretty good from the photos. Might need just a good compounding

Laszlo


It looks really good for it's age, pretty dull but like you said some elbow grease and some polishing compound and she might just look pretty.


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




The crazy part of all this was getting the paperwork. I looked up the name of the registration and found the phone number at the address listed in Allentown PA I called and left a message on the answering machine that had a very elderly sounding woman's voice on it. a week later I got a call from a a younger woman who was the older lady's daughter. She told me that it was her fathers boat but that he had died in 1996 and that they moved out of their house and left the boat behind because they had no way to move it. So apparently it has been sitting untouched in the new owners back yard since 1996. I asked if they would mind signing the boat over to me and explained how it came to me. I sent them a picture and the elderly woman was sad to see the state it was in and asked me if I could fix it up again and I promised her I could so they agreed to meet me at Burger King where I bought them lunch and heard all the old fishing tales about the old man who passed away and how much he loved the boat which was pretty cool. They signed the paper work and the elderly woman made me promise again to "fix it up and catch a big fish" in honor of her husband and she got all teared up....I admit I got a little choked up too. She was a real sweetheart and had to be in her late 80's. a little tiny old lass. So I got the paperwork and the Titles...THAT NEVER HAPPENS...hahaha.

Beach Farmer


What a great story. Is there any way of sending her a picture of it cleaned up and you working on it? That would make her and her daughter's day!

Fossilridge


I have her daughters cell number so when it's done I'm gonna send some shots off with maybe a video cruising up the ICW.


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Great story BF!
I got a free boat once and I said there's no such thing as a free boat...
It looks like you paid something for yours so I expect you'll have better results than I!


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




How is the gel coat looking? Looks pretty good from the photos. Might need just a good compounding

Laszlo


It looks really good for it's age, pretty dull but like you said some elbow grease and some polishing compound and she might just look pretty.

Beach Farmer


Thats great! I've found 3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Heavy Compound 36102 to work fantastic on heavily oxide gel coat and fiberglass. Followed by a coat of Collinite

Click to follow link...


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Your detective work to get the title, and your work to fix up the boat are both impressive!


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Great story BF!
I got a free boat once and I said there's no such thing as a free boat...
It looks like you paid something for yours so I expect you'll have better results than I!

Squid Pro Quo


Yep, that's 100 bucks well spent...beats going out and buying 20 gallons of gas.


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Great find! As long as a motor turns over and isn't seized, you can do a lot with it. Amazing there was no rot after sitting in the environment it was in for 25+ years. Also amazing that you didn't need to rebuild the carb after sitting so long. You see boats like that from the '60s through the '90s abandoned in fields and marshes all along the Chesapeake. Most are rotten hulks, but your story shows that every now and then there's a gem among them.

It's cool you were able to find the previous owner and get the history of it. Not something easily done, especially after so much time has elapsed. I know for cars and motorcycles you can register them in the state of Vermont with just a bill of sale if they are over 15 years old. Not sure if it's the same for boats and trailers.. A lot of people I've known have used this method to get paperwork for their "barn finds" so they can transfer them back to their home state.

And whatever you do, don't let a drop of this overpriced ethanol-infused elixir touch it!!



RE: 100 dollar boat project...




I might have missed it in the replies, consider changing out the thermostats along with the impeller.


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Cool find at a great price. As long as the hull and transom don't have any rot you might be in luck. Change the fluids on the engine, put in some new plugs and try to fire her up

Laszlo
\\

Way ahead of ya brother..(; I took out the plugs and ran a compression test on all 4 cylinders. C1-115 psi, C2-130psi, C3 120psi, C4-115 psi. Not bad at all. Then I trimmed the motor all the way up and poured some Marvel Mystery oil into the cylinder heads. I let em sit for several hours , got new plugs and installed em when I got back. Would you believe she fired right up and idled perfectly, went into gear perfectly forward and reverse!!! Only problem is that I'm not getting water flow. Next step it taking the lower unit off and rebuilding the pump with a new kit and changing the impeller.

Beach Farmer


Excellent! That impeller if its still their will probably just fall out. My guess is it dry rotted to powered Lol

Laszlo


No doubt. I'm just stoked I didn't have to rebuild the carbs!

Beach Farmer


Check the intake vents on the lower unit, (You probably already have) because I’ve noticed bugs like to make their nests in there. I know you’ll see trough them when you get at the impeller.



RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Nice project BF, I am sure you will get her going for years to come.


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




I love your story, BF, and you know the widow will be thrilled to get a video from you. Good for you!


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Great find! As long as a motor turns over and isn't seized, you can do a lot with it. Amazing there was no rot after sitting in the environment it was in for 25+ years. Also amazing that you didn't need to rebuild the carb after sitting so long. You see boats like that from the '60s through the '90s abandoned in fields and marshes all along the Chesapeake. Most are rotten hulks, but your story shows that every now and then there's a gem among them.

It's cool you were able to find the previous owner and get the history of it. Not something easily done, especially after so much time has elapsed. I know for cars and motorcycles you can register them in the state of Vermont with just a bill of sale if they are over 15 years old. Not sure if it's the same for boats and trailers.. A lot of people I've known have used this method to get paperwork for their "barn finds" so they can transfer them back to their home state.

And whatever you do, don't let a drop of this overpriced ethanol-infused elixir touch it!!

Mountaineer


I gotta say that when I first climbed up into her I thought maybe there was ice under the floor because I did NOT expect it to be so solid. I was really thinking that this was going to be a motor salvage. Well, we aren't in PA anymore in the dead of winter and it was 80 degrees out the day I shot this video and there isn't a single soft spot on the floor. I wasn't familiar with Reinell boats before but it certainly is a testament to the manufacturer. The hull is solid fiber glass and heavily built. I just looked up the motor and based on the model number it is a 1973 which is strange because the title says the boat is a 75. I found a youtube video of one of these things in mint condition. I'd love to get her looking like this one!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p...


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




It means a lot to some people to know items will be fixed or cared for. When I was newly married, a woman with Cancer sold me her cherry wood dining room set because she wanted it to go to a young couple starting out and not 2 antique dealers waiting in the wings. Her family let her redecorate the whole house, whatever she wanted to do , I still have the dining room set. that was a good boat find and probably meant to be.-


RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Got the lower unit off today and found 25 years of muck and carbon. Impellar housing is shot. No gaskets left to speak of, etc. New pump rebuild kits comes tomorrow with all new shiny hiney parts. Hit everything with the pressure washer and then some carb cleaner. Everything gets grease, gasket compound, all the bolts get anti-sieze, etc. Then we will button her back up and see what happens.




RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Corroded housing is shotski ..




RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Took a screwdriver to get the old impellar out but amazingly it was not dry rotted




RE: 100 dollar boat project...




Lower unit off




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