87 Saltare rebuild

[mapleleaf]

wow, that is some incredible work... Mrs. Mapleleaf already sent the boat to grandpa ML's farm, would love to go that far, but with the boat 2 hours away not sure...it looks great! Enjoy...

[87sunsport454]

I just put a new floor in my boat, but i didn't take the boat apart. I am wondering how you took it apart? The next time I put a new floor in it I would like to split the boat in half.

[Salty87]

I just put a new floor in my boat, but i didn't take the boat apart. I am wondering how you took it apart? The next time I put a new floor in it I would like to split the boat in half.

the last pic on the first page....i used 4x4's to make a big sling, backed the trailer into the spot, pulled the rub rail and drilled out the rivets, started prying the top off. it was mostly manual lifting/prying then i used the sling to hold it in place. took about 4 people to get it lifted into place and it was heavy. i was able to put it back together by myself though, it worked pretty good. i left the top cap hanging there for 8 months or so, supported from below by additional 2x4 bracing.

[87sunsport454]

I see....... I wonderd how it was held together. Is it a bunch of rivets going around the hull. The other ? how about the wiring, was that a bear to tackle?

[Salty87]

the wiring is really easy...disconnect the main harness under the dash, depth gauge, stereo...that's about it. with the boat in a sling, it's also really easy to clean up factory wiring, tighten hand rails, run new ventilation hose, buff interior walls that will make a mess when it's back together...all sorts of stuff.

the rub rail is screwed but the top cap is riveted to the bottom. drilling them out is pretty simple.


your stringers were in good shape? i tried to do it the easy way but there was nothing worth saving.

[Blackntan90]

Don't know if I have said this before, but you are a brave man, Salty. My kind of people- GIT ER DONE!!

[87sunsport454]

Yea, my stingers were in good shape except were the drivers seat was and in the back were there is a drain hole ,it was plugged. So what I did was cut out the routen stuff and patched it with plywood and more fiberglass. The tricky part was right upagainst the interior wall. I used (grey) FIBERON decking,it is like trex decking but more improved, and used that so I have no carpet for water to soak in to and rot. It gives it a original look and the fiberon will never rot.

[csuggs]

Yea, my stingers were in good shape except were the drivers seat was and in the back were there is a drain hole ,it was plugged. So what I did was cut out the routen stuff and patched it with plywood and more fiberglass. The tricky part was right upagainst the interior wall. I used (grey) FIBERON decking,it is like trex decking but more improved, and used that so I have no carpet for water to soak in to and rot. It gives it a original look and the fiberon will never rot.

I would like to see this material you are talking about.

[87sunsport454]

Yea, I will take some pics of it this weekend. We keep the boat at our summer house on the Columbia River about 130 miles from where I live. So i will post them on Monday.

[Salty87]

Don't know if I have said this before, but you are a brave man, Salty. My kind of people- GIT ER DONE!!

thank you, sir