Here's a look at a boat I restored

While I waited for the weather to get warm enough to paint, I stocked up on accesories. Finally, some sunshine. Back out with the HVLP sprayer to finish the inside.

I wanted to cover the floor with something, but I didnt want to deck the bottom with a floor on the ribs because I would lose 2+ inches of depth in an already small boat. I decided on Neo Mats, in Mossy Oak Shadow Grass, from Styx River. I cut them to fit in between the ribs.

After that I started the camo process. I ordered stencils and Parker Coatings spray from Cabelas. Black for the bark pattern, and Sand Tan for the grass.

I ordered some halogen flood lights for the front deck from Gator Trax. I found some 10g Marine Grade duplex and ran the wires last night. I wrapped the wire with 3/8 black plastic flexible conduit and ran it in a V channel along the bottom of the boat, and it's concealed by the Neo Mats.


Tonight I plan to mount them to the front deck of the boat. I will try to add more pics tomorrow.

Paint job is lookin good. Are those stencils easy to use?

Thanks Tenpoint.

The stencils are easy to use. They work best on a flat surface. So far, I've only done the inside. I'm getting ready to do the outside of the boat. My boat has some rivets and stuff so the outside will be a little challenging to get the stencils to lay flat. I'll continue to post pics as I progress.

The stencils do begin to collect paint as you are going, and they get heavy. You can just lay them down on a flat surface though and clean them off with some paint thinner and then you are good to go again.

My only complaint was the cost. They were $80 at Cabelas! Kind of expensive for 2 plastic sheets? I guess it's cheaper than paying someone else to do it though.

I mounted the lights last night and I'm happy with the way they turned out.

Heres some better pics of the Neo Mat and interior camo

Nice project. You've got me thinking of doing the same thing. I know where there are a few hulls not being used.
What size motor are you putting on that?

cmiller73 - thanks

I'm planning on adding either a 16 or 18 hp GD long tail......unless someone here can convince me of something better.

at least an 18. put the BIGGEST motor you feel comfortable with on there the first time. looking good man!

No doubt put a 18 or better yet a 23 LT on the back. Good job on the re-work! One problem I see though....it's way too clean

thats what im talkin bout
looks real good, i really like how you didn't stencil soem parts.

for the motor you oughta make it a real home built rig and build a longtail.
not hard at all, any questions, i got ya.

Your rig looks real good. Watch those mats... I hear they are real bad about holding water and getting heavy

Thanks for the heads up Marsh. That was one concern I had with them. The manufacturer claims they will absorb less than 5% of their own weight in water. I guess we'll see if thats accurate.

Finally got some sunshine and some temps in the high 50's this Saturday. I was able to get the camo paint finished!

A few more

One of the challenges I have with this boat, since it is so small, is that there is NO storage anywhere. In Texas, I dont have to have a throwable or a fire extinguisher since the boat is only 14', but I still need SOME kind of storage for things.

I ordered a 7" x 14" hatch cover that I found online. I made a template and cut the hole with a skill saw. I removed the flotation in the front and installed the door. I think it came out pretty good. Now I have at least a little storage.

Finally, I added some rollers to the trailer to help with loading. My 3 yr old inspected my work and gave his stamp of approval.

I've got the boat registered and I will add the tag numbers to the side tonight.

Other than that, the last piece to this puzzle is the motor. Still cant decide what to get, but I'm leaning towards the 18hp GD longtail.

Just a suggestion...Try several different motors, if you can. I have an old Polarcraft with about the same v bottom as yours, and I tried a 23 mudbuddy LT and a 23 Mini Lite and couldn't get it to go the way it should. I ended up putting the small outboard back on it.

Dam fine job on the boat by the way.

looks great
nice job

i had a 14x40 lowe that was just about the exact same as that hull. first i had a 9hp gdlt and that didn't last long. it went 11mph max and so i switched to a 23 gdlt and it ran 22mph till i tore that bottom up. the hooks slowed it down to 17mph and i got a gd hull. be careful with the stumps but you did a hell of a job! brought it back from the grave!

Couple more pics of the finished boat. I ordered an 18hp GD longtail from the factory and I'm supposed to recieve it today via freight truck. I'm planning on hanging it tonight and taking it out for the first time this weekend.

The Eagle just landed.

Great looking rig! You did one hell of a job on Her!

Well, I finally got the motor hung and took her out for a spin this weekend for the first time. We were able to hit 19mph at one point and averaged about 17mph. Thats with a slight chop on the water and 2 guys. Me at 175lbs and my buddy at 210lbs. I'm very happy with the speed and performance. Also wanted to give a plug for GD. I'd spoken at length on several occations with Warren, Debbie and others and they were super nice, answered all my questions and I couldnt be happier with the customer service and the product. Now time to practice getting comfortable with the boat/motor and get ready for next season.

Here's a few pics.

Awesome job dude......Actually it's quite amazing.

Great looking rig...it is nice to see something like that take form and become such a good looking boat

Nice boat hoss. i recomend you add some PODS from beavertail. my 15 42 express has a 20 hp gd lt and they help out alot.

Man that looks good. A project boat is a blast, I almost miss getting mine right. Almost...

I missed this thread somehow ..... oh well ....

Dang Nice Job you did there fo-sho !!!! Mines boathull that I'm runnin' now ain't but 3 years old and it needs one of them "MakeOvers" !!

Just found this site also. What a great job on this project. I do have a question. As I scrolled down I did notice that you seemed to have a box with both a battery and a gas tank. I would suggest not to carry that combination as the battery could ignite the fumes from the gas tank in that storage box. Just a suggestion.

awesome transformation

great project rig. The paint job looks clean and simple i like it alot for being a quickie

very very nice work!!!
one suggestion (as I've used mylar stencils extensively) is get a big rubbermaid tote from walmart, big enough for the stencils to lay flat in. pour in some lacquer thinner just enuf to cover the stencil, then when they get paint under the edges and get heavy, lay em in there and slosh em around a bit. take it out and lay it on cardboard and dob it with a towel. theyll be ready to go in a few mins. I usually alternate between the 3 stencils that mossy oak uses (paint the spots when the bark is in the thinner and so on). again great job!!!