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boat restoration

I just finished most of my boat restoration project and thought a few of you might like to see the photos. I started with my well used and abused 1986 Ranger 373V. The carpet, while still in tact, was faded, stained and raspberry pink. It may have been nice looking in 1986, but is gross by today's standards. It all came out, as well as the torn seats and the useless little love seat in the front. The biggest issue I always had with this boat was the complete absence of storage in the front of the boat. So my fishing partner, Mark Mrzna drew up plans for a deck extension and we went to work. After two days if scraping glue from the old carpet, we began lying down new stuff and building the box. It took a week to get it done, but it looks amazing! Way better than I ever hoped. Thanks Mark for all of your work!

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:49pm

And it begins...

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:51pm

Scraping glue!

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:52pm

Cutting carpet

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:54pm

Putting in hatches.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:56pm

Building the box.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:57pm

Sealing the box and lids.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 8:59pm

New storage in my new 86 Ranger!

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 9:03pm

More finished shots. I ordered seats from gander mountain. Should get them before next weekend.

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Permalink Reply by Travy Miller on February 26, 2012 at 9:39pm

this is great! i want to find a boat to restore and make my own

Permalink Reply by Aaron Christel on February 26, 2012 at 9:45pm

It's a lot of work, but it's very rewarding and a fun project. Took maybe 50 hours, plus maybe 8 trips to home depot as parts were needed and plans had to be adjusted. There are no square angles in a bass boat, so what you think will work always has to be modified to actually work. It would be very frustrating for someone who doesn't like problem solving. I am just thrilled by how it turned out though. It's not perfect, but it's a custom boat now and is gonna fit my needs for a long time. (Unless someone has $7000 burning a hole in their pocket.)

Permalink Reply by Travy Miller on February 26, 2012 at 9:57pm

ive modded a few jon boats before so i understand, but i'd like to step up into the big boy boat world

Permalink Reply by rzone on February 26, 2012 at 10:36pm