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Interior Refurbishing

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When I began this project in late 2017 my first priority was to rebuild the transom so I could get it on the water the next summer and evaluate my suitability to motor boating. Even then I was thinking of project phases (yes, I was a project manager for part of my career). After the transom, Phase 2 would be getting the outside of the boat presentable, which I did in 2018-19. It turns out there was a Phase 2a, which involved troubleshooting and fixing the outboard, which came very close to stranding me. Twice. Phase 3, which I began in October 2019, was to get the interior looking decent.  I'll document that process below, probably in more detail than most want to read. I started this blog as a potential resource for those contemplating or beginning a similar restoration. I hope it will be of some use in that regard. Interior of the Offshore when I first looked at it in the fall of 2017. The Skagit 20' Offshore model was apparently not very popular. Product...
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Painting the Hull

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Looks like it's been about 15 months since my last post, so you could say it's past time to update! I want to make sure I carry this blog through to the end (if there really ever is one on a project like this). We've probably all seen blogs and forum entries where people are all excited about their projects and post progress then...nothing. Did they lose interest in the project, or their audience, or circumstances changed, or die? I don't want to be that guy. Here's what I've been up to with the boat since June 2018. Took her out 5 times in 2018: twice on fresh water and three times in the Salish Sea, and had a blast. During the last trip, in October 2018, I launched at Anacortes and the motor pooped out about half a mile from the dock; I was able to nurse it back to shore after multiple stops and starts. Spent some of the winter troubleshooting the motor and replacing pretty much all of the ignition parts. Tested the boat on Lake Stevens three time in...
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Offshore Outboard Today I went to Bruce B's house to pick up his old outboard. By old I mean 54 years. He and I formed a gentleman's agreement back in October that he would hold the motor until my transom was completed. Well it is (I'll update that soon) so we successfully mounted it this afternoon. To back up a bit, my first vision for power was to get a couple of matched 1950's-era 40 hp motors for propulsion. This was quite common in the 50's because the biggest outboard you could buy was about 60 hp; not really enough for water skiing behind a 20' boat or going much faster than 20 mph. I soon found that finding good twin engines would be very difficult, and likely involve too much time and money. So I searched eBay for engines built into the mid-60's, but found mostly junk or fully restored examples for big bucks. Enter Bruce. His father, who picked up their 1958 Skagit Express at the factory and trailered it home to Spokane, bought a 60 hp engin...
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Trailer

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It took some doing, but the trailer is free of the boat. The following steps were involved: 1.      - Lower the trailer tongue to raise the stern 2.      - Build a cradle to support the stern 3.      - Raise the tongue and pull the trailer out from underneath o     tie the transom to a tree conveniently located about 20' behind the boat o     jack up and block the bow of the boat o     slowly pull the boat forward until the bow cribbing meets a trailer crossmember o     repeat until the trailer is about halfway out 4.      Build another cradle a bit aft of amidships o     Repeat above until the trailer is nearly free of the boat 5.      Block up the keel near the bow The numbers and bullets make it sound easy, but it was tedious and a bit nerve-wracking. Here is the story in pictures: ...
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