First step was to clean it up and see what i was dealing with.
Turns out the boat was more of a baby blue than sea foam green!
Also took off the windshield getting it ready for the fron casting deck

 

I've always wondered what one of these would like look redone as a skiff.

 

While i didn't have high hopes for the ~1955 33HP motor i was very surprised the power head looked to be in great shape! ...But alas the lower unit was full of water and a write-off.
(making the motor not really worth saving)
This being the case am leaning towards a 25HP Yamaha Tiller Power (The only thing i can find new locally)

 

No surprise the floor was water logged and rotten in a couple of places.

 

Naively i was REALLY hoping the transom would be solid...not a chance and it needed to be removed one little piece at a time!
Sadly this was caused by some poor "upgrades" made in the last 65 years...specifically a kicker motor mount, three nails in the cap and a hole under the motor (no idea what that was for)

 

Just because there is water in the lower unit doesn't mean you can't fix it. It looks like the gears and what not are still in good shape, and 33 hp is a good amount of power for a boat that size, just food for thought.

 

I could probably clean up the gears with a hand file and coerce the races off the shaft but unfortunately the shaft has suffered some damage that will likely haunt getting any seals and while it is the perfect HP and weight really don't want to an older 2 stroke.

 

That has cool lines.

 

It would be interesting to weigh the bare hull, and weigh again once finished. This looks like a cool build!

 

Cool, no worries then, just a thought.

 

Are you getting rid of the deck and putting your own on there?

 

Interested to see this come along. I had the same Idea with a 60ish hull that had good lines and looked like when it was cut down it would make a good skiff, but the guy wanted WAY too much for it and wouldn’t answer my emails (as usual on Craigslist). Good luck with it.

 

Well another thought you can prob part out that outboard or sell it as is, because they don’t make parts that old anymore. You might be able to sell her for 500 600 bucks for someone to part out

 

Holy Cow removing the old transom was a LOT of work!
Tomorrow will epoxy in the first sheet of 1/2" plywood and seal the bottom with a layer of glass and epoxy.
To answer the questions:
1. While i would love to get a weight i dont have any scale suitable
2. Happy to regift the engine to someone needing the parts
3. Yes i plan to build my own decks....like mold in legs for the rear casting platform while i am at it

 

First sheet of plywood laminated on with west system and cabosil!

 

You’re not wasting anytime 👍🏻

 

Yep i am definitely on a mission!
I plan to start driving the truck with boat from Seattle to Little Torch Oct 28th.
Really hoping to have the transom and sole (lower deck) done by then.
The bow casting deck, center grab bar, electronics and any other rigging can wait until i get to Florida.

Fwiw just ordered the motor: 25hp short shaft, battery-less EFI, electric start, manual trim tiller control 2020 Yamaha....it gets here Friday!

 

Can't wait to see it finished

 

I always wondered what a bass boat would look like turned in to a skiff. Yours is close enough

 

Added the knees for the transom and left them long to repurpose as rear poling platform legs.

Question:
For a tiller controlled boat that is around 14' long with a 25hp outboard...how long should the rear deck be?

Looks like other boats are running from 30" to 36".

The challenge is i dont know how long the tiller is and dont want the deck so long that i need to lean back or force a tiller extension while sitting on the forward edge of the rear deck.

Hopefully tomorrow i can glass with epoxy all this exposed wood

 

I guess that would depend on the length of the tiller and how long your arms are, it would be easy enough to mock it up to fit you once you have the outboard to see where you are most comfortable.

Good idea on the poling platform, man you are wasting no time at all

 

Don't put wood in the transom, use solid glass. You only need about 5/8" - 3/4" thick total for 50hp or less. It Will raise the value of the boat, because it will never need replacing.

 

Filled the bottom with foam and laying out chopstrand to soak up the 2 gallons of epoxy

 

Filled the bottom with foam and laying out chopstrand to soak up the 2 gallons of epoxyZ

Have you already done this? If I were you, I would use 10oz instead of CSM with epoxy. CSM isn't really bringing anything to the table other that added weight.

 

Yep already done....i had this chopstrand already laying around is the only reason i used it.

 

I recently built a 14’ tunnel skiff. Things to consider. If you add a platform that far back, along with the weight of the engine, it is going to squat quite a bit and at minimum you will need to shift your fuel to the bow. I moved it forward and added a giant tank in the bow to counter balance it. You are already starting heavier than me and just added 25+lbs of resin and more of foam.
Have you considered a tiller and getting rid of that cap totally? You could go with 1/2” foam and build a new flat deck without a ton of effort. You would have to have an extension to shift your weight forward which is likely why the wheel is so far forward now.

 

I recently built a 14’ tunnel skiff. Things to consider. If you add a platform that far back, along with the weight of the engine, it is going to squat quite a bit and at minimum you will need to shift your fuel to the bow. I moved it forward and added a giant tank in the bow to counter balance it. You are already starting heavier than me and just added 25+lbs of resin and more of foam.
Have you considered a tiller and getting rid of that cap totally? You could go with 1/2” foam and build a new flat deck without a ton of effort. You would have to have an extension to shift your weight forward which is likely why the wheel is so far forward now.
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I would love to see some more pics of your build.