77 Sleekcraft Aristocrat O/B

**Ricko** · 07-25-2009, 07:19 AM

Greetings,
I'm the proud owner of a 77 Sleekcraft Tunnel with a 79 MERC Formula 2.4 outboard in need of a resto. My dad and I bought the boat new, but now I'm the sole owner and he watches from above to see that I take care of her. Back in the day, we saw 92 MPH (didital paddle wheel type speedo) with all the passenger seats out and just a few gallons of gas in the starboard tank. Instead of keeping it patched up as I've done over the years, it's time do a resto! I'm hoping to get ideas and guidance here as I go through the long process. Thanks for letting me in and BTW, I picked this community because between the tunnel and the exhaust dumping dry above the prop, that's just what she does. Scream and Fly!

**delawarerick** · 07-25-2009, 07:36 AM

Welcome to S&F post some pictures sound like a great resto. Rick

**RNM018** · 07-25-2009, 07:38 AM

Welcome to Scream And Fly . Is this a project your looking to do yourself or something you would like to have done ? If your looking for advise on how to ,this is the spot . There are several people on the board who can give you pointers on the what to and what not to do .

If you looking for a shop to do the struckural and cosmetic work , then you might want to talk to Jack Barsh at Full Throttle , in Jacksonville Fl. . I see your in Tx. , but it would be worth the trip in the long run .

God Luck !

Rich Martin 018

**Ricko** · 07-25-2009, 08:32 AM

I plan to do it all myself, short of upholstry and maybe paint. I keep it in a hung in a boathouse, the trailer had been stuck in the woods for around 15 years, so I had to do some repairs. I'm going to bring it home today and I'll get some pics posted soon. Between work and keeping my kids busy and off the streets, I don't have much time to give it, so it will likely be a loooong project.

**Ricko** · 07-27-2009, 09:58 AM

First thing I need to do is replace the deck. It looks good but has a soft spot and replacing will give me some seat mounting options. The tunnels have limited seat mounting and have been an issue over the years. Mostly I think I need to take a look at the condition of the core. I assume the keel is a beam of some type, laminated in fiberglass? Does the deck go over the tunnels and will removing it leave just the thin fiberglass that is the top of the tunnel. Over the top of the tunnels it's only (I'm guessing) about 1" from the top of the deck to the water. Once the core is exposed, how do you check for rot under the glass? I thought to remove the deck, I'll cut a hold in the center so I can reach and feel my way to whats under there. Pretty scary.

**Black Lightning** · 07-27-2009, 10:05 AM

Theres a floor over the tunnels. Just be carefull not to cut through them when you take it up. The core, you can see through the fiberglass. Years back the was a guy in Ct. who rebuilt his and has some detailed pics of what he was doing. Go into the search feature and look up pete88venus. This will give you a good idea of what you have to look forward to.

**Ricko** · 07-27-2009, 10:52 AM

Thanks, all I could find of pete88venus was a few mentions of the name. Where the deck goes over the tunnel, is there only the glass shell under it? How do you pop the deck off the top of the tunnel? When I see the core through the glass, if it's black I start digging?

**Black Lightning** · 07-27-2009, 11:27 AM

The floor is glassed to the hull. When I did mine I cut where the center pod is with a circular saw. Set the blade shallow so you dont cut through the boat. Petes thread is called progress report. That shows the pics. As far as the core is concerned I highly doubt its rotted. Those boats were built really well.

**Ricko** · 07-27-2009, 12:56 PM

Okay, thanks again. I'd love to skip replacing the deck, but between getting a look in there and adding something to mount seats and the battery to the new deck, I need to suck it up and just do it. Once the deck's on, I can't bolt through where I need to, so I thought I'd add studs coming through or rails or something.

**Black Lightning** · 07-27-2009, 04:24 PM

Post a pic of the inside of your boat.

**Ricko** · 07-29-2009, 07:41 PM

Do I cut the deck out to take a look? Are there stringers under the center part of the deck? Thats the only void under the deck and I wonder about drainage from bow to stern. It was put up wet many times and left for years hung in the boat house. I worry it might have held water. The deck looks good, with a small springy spot in the front.

**Black Lightning** · 07-29-2009, 11:26 PM

Mine only had one stringer thats pictured in yours running from the bow to stern. You shouldnt have any water trapped unless theres leaves or something that wound up in the to block the flow.

**Ricko** · 08-01-2009, 07:36 AM

I'm going to cut the deck out. It doesn't go across the tops of the tunnels, it's only over the center sponson and layed in flush with the tops of the tunnels. From what I can see by peeking under the front edge looking back, the frame members that butt into the center stringer running crosswise (not sure of the correct term) don't have drain holes in to let water run front to back. I think I'll go over the tunnels with the replacement deck adding support stiffners under it in the center. This will give me some seat mounting options like stainless studs coming up through the new deck. It's time to find some deck material, any suggestions for the deck and seat mounting would be greatly appreciated, it's still not too late to change the plan.

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