Brother's old duck boat, now mine very pic heavy

[mello_collins]

Got this from my brother. A one off prototype. It had sat for 12 years after he burnt up transmission. He had ordered the replacement trans but, due to life issues didn't have time to fix it. Then hunting partners moved on etc.. he kinda lost interest in the outdoors.
Finally he gave it to me. Heck the motor was in the floor of the boat.

IMG_6470.jpg

IMG_6469.jpg

The motor had water in it because the exhaust kinda points up. Drained it and filled with atf and wd40. Rotated it by hand for a while. Repeated that a couple of times and let it soak. Replaced fuel lines, tank, etc.. Finally replaced plugs and started it. I let it run for about 30 seconds and was like dang, it ran. Started the process of changing oil & filter and then running several times. I'll be damned it has good compression. About this time the old mikuni fuel pump took a crap, got a replacement and a rebuild kit. So at this time I figured I had a running motor and it was on to the next part.

The motor has an adapter on the shaft with a marine damper, rusted all to hell. I am no boat mechanic, it took me a bit to figure out what it was. Apparently used to "dampen" drive line shock and is used on inboard boats. Darn thing was expensive and a pain to replace.

IMG_6492.jpg

Next was the transmission.
Damn it the shaft is to long and hardened. No machine shop would touch it. Crap. I filled it with ATF and stuck it in freezer for two days. Then I cut the shaft with a diamond blade, constantly cooling it with ice water. I didn't ruin the seals. hurray!

IMG_6526.jpg

Next was the steering. Replaced the steering cable. The bracket was rusted and bent all to hell. Cut the base off.

IMG_6474.jpg

The way the cable was mounted to the back of the boat caused it to bend the steering cable sharply and didn't have much leverage to move outdrive. I welded up and extension to mount bracket further aft and one to the outdrive to give the steering more leverage.

IMG_6525.jpg

Had to have hydraulic cylinder and new lines rebuilt / made. The hydro tank had cracks and had to be replaced. Flushed the whole system several times.

Trouble shot all the electrical and replaced the bilge pump.

Moved on to assembly. Thank goodness for the chain fall I installed in shop years ago.

IMG_6542.jpg

I had to do a bunch of other things but, you get the idea. Here she is, kinda cleaned up and ready for the water. Still need seats.

IMG_6578.jpg
IMG_6582.jpg
IMG_6585.jpg

[Drylok]

Heck yeah! Throw that thing in the water and let us know what you think.

I am sure your brother would be impressed!

[Kirk]

Very cool project. Let us know how she runs and drives!

[Sasha and Abby]

Awesome build. You are rather proficient in the shop. I'd have chunked it.

[mudflat]

Cool looking project. Interested in performance.

[mello_collins]

As to performance I can’t wait to test. It is not a fast boat. True flat bottom displacement hull. It’s not going to plane out. It has jumped so many beaver dams, logs, and stumps it is not funny. The stories my brother has told me about it just make me shake my head. It was built by Legend boats with hull bracing length wise and cross wise. It is also very thick and heavy. It looks like a waffle underneath. Not built for speed but, as a sherman tank on the water.

[Black Bart]

Awesome build. You are rather proficient in the shop. I'd have chunked it.

Indeed. Your skill set is impressive.

[DRDUCK]

I saw a much smaller version of a boat with the motor in the floor yesterday up the river. Looked like a little tank on the water.

[Whaler_Dave]

Good job bringing it back to life! Make a video when you take it out.