1975 22' FF rebuild

[knot done]

Anyone have any advise for the newbie.
Father-in-law gave to me with a Merc. 115 (it runs)
but underpowered.
Would love to restore her to original.
Never rebuilt a fiberglass boat before.
Any suggestions on books or manuals to read?
Anyone else out there have photos of a similar rebuild?
Floor is soft, transom all cracked.
Was thinking of installing a full transom and a gill plate.
Is this a doable project?
thanks,

[RickK]

Welcome aboard KD  :!:  :!:
We can help you do almost everything you need to do on her.  Let's start by posting a few pics in this topic to show us what she looks like today.

[knot done]

sure thing Rick, here are some pics.

I did a total rebuild/customization on a 16' open '89' Starcraft into a saltwater inshore striper machine back in 2001. I,m ready for a new challenge. oops here is another.

Im geting the hang of this.

If you would like to see any particular part of the boat, let me know, I have many on file getting prepared for this project.

[Curious]

I have the same boat, same year, same problems.  I was planning to do a partial rebuild/fix the main problems this winter.  Although cracked, my transom is pretty solid so I think I am going to put a little bit of money and time into it this winter, get it bare bones water ready and play around with it next summer.  If that works out maybe I'll go to town on it in the off season after that.  Here are the issues I plan to address:

Fuel tank:  It might be ok but it is encased in saturated open cell foam so I don't want to chance it.  Remove and preplace.

Transom:  cap is cracked and there is a little flex when jumping up and down on the motor cavitation plate but not too bad.  If I do the transom rebuild next year I plan to do the chain saw/repour method.  If you research it here and on other sites (thehulltruth.com) there is a ton of info on it.  I have a carburated 200 Yamaha that is going on the boat.  Mine is a 20" transom so make sure you double check that.

New gauges/rewire:  Again, too old to rely on so I will probably start from scratch.

[Curious]

If you do a search under "1975 22 Family Fisherman"  you'll see my old thread with pics of my boat.

I see you have MS numbers.  I'm in Nantucket, where are you located?

[knot done]

Looks like a solid boat curious. These are great little boats for striper and cod fishing up here in the north east. I'm from Salem and have since moved to Saco, Maine.
Just got off the phone with a paint and glass guy from Portland Marine and talked me out of the full transom with an Armstrong bracket idea. Too much reconfiguring and way too much time and money.
Guess I'll be restoring her back to original (but with a 30 gal. live well). Will need some much needed guidance from experianced members here. I am a machinist by trade so I'm comfortable with fabricating and building but fiberglass is foriegn to me.

[Curious]

I thought about that too because I like the idea of a full/enclosed transom but I just can't see investing the money and time on such a project right now.  New tank, wiring, bolt on the motor and go.  See what comes up for issues and if I really like the set up and then put some more time and money into it.  That's my plan.

[Curious]

There are a couple of good archive brochures, advertisements and spec sheets in the photo gallery if you have some time to do a search. One thing to keep in mind-  if I'm not mistaken, most or all of these boats were built with a fiberglass/foam stringer system that, in theory is a great idea but 30 years later the foam has the potential to get saturated.  I wouldn't get too crazy about poking around under the deck and opening up the stringers unless you are prepared for a complete restoration project.  Again, check some of the photo galleries here and take the time to search the rebuild forum.  Guys have basically cut the deck and top cap off, dug all the old foam out of the figerglass stringers, refoamed, reglassed, redecked, etc......

[knot done]

Good idea.
Will look around the photo gallary and forums this weekend to get an idea for what I may be in for.
What would you say your boat is worth as is right now?

[Curious]

I just realized that I missed your last question about the value of the boat.  Quite honestly, I have no idea what it is worth as is.  To some of the guys on this site who are into these boats it might be worth something.  Otherwise with no motor, a cracked transom cap, the fuel tank cover off and wet foam all over the place....It needs a new door to the cabin, the seats need to be replaced, the bimini that was on it was basically falling off.  I paid $1500 a few years ago and it's sat ever since.  I was hoping to be tearing into it by now but work picked up and I figured I'd make some money to throw into the boat.

Any progress on your end?