1982Baja16SS
07-29-2019, 03:22 PM
Hi guys (& gals). I've seen a bunch of really impressive and special boats in this forum, so I'm not bringing much to the table here with my new-to-me boat. But I've got a bunch of time into this "restoration" and I'm very proud of what I've accomplished with her. This was my first boat purchase and my first rescue/restoration. I will totally do this again with a bigger hull next time (hopefully soon). Here is my story with this Baja:
3 years ago I found this hull sitting in a field. The only things it came with were a ratty filthy carpet set (that I quickly tossed into the trash); the steering wheel; the seats covered in mold & mildew and just loose in the passenger compartment; the mounting base for the stern light; the pair of transom hooks and the bow hook.
The clearcoat was 90% flaked off, the stringers & a couple other wooden frame parts were rotted and part of the transom had some severe damage at the bottom. I'm not too good at remembering to get pictures, so I unfortunately don't have any of what she looked like sitting sad in that field. But I had to have this boat because it was black and I figured the factory metal flake paint job could be salvaged. Plus it was super cheap (of course it was, it was practically a wreck).
Over the 3 years I reinforced/replaced all the soft wood; I fiberglassed everywhere that was needed; LOTS of wetsanding; clearcoating; cleaning the seats; buying & installing all the remaining stainless hardware/lights/cables/gauges/fuel tank/batteries/stereo and of course the motor. The motor is a 1985 Evinrude VRO 90hp. My understanding is that the exact same motor was rated as a 115 the model year before because the hp was measured differently - please correct me if I'm wrong on that.
Anyway, this past Saturday I took my wife and son and dog out in it - it was great. I still have to paint the motor and apply the white bedliner to the cabin area which will both be done this week. Here are a couple of my favorite pics I remembered to get this past weekend.
445669445670
3 years ago I found this hull sitting in a field. The only things it came with were a ratty filthy carpet set (that I quickly tossed into the trash); the steering wheel; the seats covered in mold & mildew and just loose in the passenger compartment; the mounting base for the stern light; the pair of transom hooks and the bow hook.
The clearcoat was 90% flaked off, the stringers & a couple other wooden frame parts were rotted and part of the transom had some severe damage at the bottom. I'm not too good at remembering to get pictures, so I unfortunately don't have any of what she looked like sitting sad in that field. But I had to have this boat because it was black and I figured the factory metal flake paint job could be salvaged. Plus it was super cheap (of course it was, it was practically a wreck).
Over the 3 years I reinforced/replaced all the soft wood; I fiberglassed everywhere that was needed; LOTS of wetsanding; clearcoating; cleaning the seats; buying & installing all the remaining stainless hardware/lights/cables/gauges/fuel tank/batteries/stereo and of course the motor. The motor is a 1985 Evinrude VRO 90hp. My understanding is that the exact same motor was rated as a 115 the model year before because the hp was measured differently - please correct me if I'm wrong on that.
Anyway, this past Saturday I took my wife and son and dog out in it - it was great. I still have to paint the motor and apply the white bedliner to the cabin area which will both be done this week. Here are a couple of my favorite pics I remembered to get this past weekend.
445669445670