New owner of a rebuilt 1972 170

[SnookHunter]

I just purchased a '72 flatback that I found on ebay that's in surprisingly good condition. It has a completely new console and has been recoated. The deck and transom are solid, but after finding this website and looking through some of the rebuilds I'm wondering if they could be problem points in the future. All of the electronics are new and the Evinrude 140 has recently undergone a major rebuild. All in all I feel like I got a great deal on a boat that's well suited for inshore fishing.



Now that I've brought it home and had the chance to take it out on the water once, I'm looking at adding a bait well and some more dry storage capacity. I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of wasted space under the front deck, with only one hatch and seeming unused space to the sides and ahead of it where you would see more compartments in a modern boat. Has anyone had experience with getting more storage out of this area?



Thanks for any input.

[RickK]

Welcome Aboard SH - nice looking boat.
I think you're right about the unused space around the front casting deck.  Unfortunately, I think the rigidity of the casting deck relies on this unused decking. You would need to reinforce it after cutting into it, I'd guess, otherwise you'll have/cause problems down the road.

Again, Welcome Aboard.

[scott_gunn]

Later Aquasports had the bow storage divided into 3 sections.  A big one in the middle and two smaller ones on each side.  The dividers between the sections allowed for plenty of support.

[Mike Answeeney]

One of the cool ideas that the guy who rebuilding my '73 222 is doing is to put a hatch within the hatch.  My casting deck has three hatches. The most forward largest compartment will have a covered hatch in the bottom of the compartment to access the area between the compartment and the hull. Since he's torn it down to the stringers and rebuilding it, he's adding walls to stop stuff from sliding all the way down under the deck.  Lots of space down there.

You could probally cut a hatch & add a cover in to the bottom of your compartment and attach a net under there to keep things in one place.

[RebelYell]

Nice lookin' boat.

But Dude....I wouldn't touch that front casting deck. You can only expect so much stowage for a 17' boat anyway. I would avoid cutting into glass at all costs; especially on what looks like a pretty nice rebuild.

Pick up a dry bag and lash that somewhere for storage...I used to use dry bags when I was a river guide in WV and have found they work great for all types of boating, especially smaller boats where stowage is limited.

I would spend my money on beer, bait, and gas; your boat looks ready enough to fish with....don't worry, you'll have plenty of time in the future to fix more critical stuff as it arises ( hopefully not ! ) :twisted:

[SnookHunter]

With a fishing trip under my belt, a carry-on plastic storage box thrown in the back will take care of things nicely. I will probably add a strap-down livewell though. The boat needs a little bit of work, most notably a lot of the hardware needs to be replaced. It seems like no two screws match in certain areas, and some of them aren't even stainless. Other than that, I'll probably leave it just as it is.

It is a very clean boat for its age, I actually got several complements as I idled out from the ramp, and people were surprised to hear it was a '72. Hopefully it serves me well for years to come, and if anything arises this looks to be a great site for help.


:)

[RickK]

SH - I re-read your topic title and it dawned on me - are you sure your boat is a flatback and not the 10-12degrees that I have on my 170?  I'm pretty sure they didn't make a 170 flatback. (But I've been wrong before   )  Maybe the seller was confused?
Here is what the bottom at the rear of a flatback looks like

darn near flat.
Here's the back of mine

10-12 degrees.
Got any pix of the back of yours?  I'm interested to see what it looks like.

[SnookHunter]

I think you're right, I'll see if I can get a few pictures later.

Edit: Yep, as a matter of fact it's just like yours. The shape back there hadn't really registered clearly in my mind because the bottom paint is black and doesn't draw your attention. Thanks for clearing that up, and my complements on your beautiful boat.

PS: I don't see many pictures of that boat in your photo gallery. Do you have any more?

 :)

[RickK]

Thanks, she's been in my family for 19 years and will be passed on to my daughters more than likely.
I have quite a few pix in my gallery of her - covers about any angle - I'll look around and see if there are any more on my drive.  Does seem like the 230 has monopolized my picture taking time though, doesn't it

[capemaychef]

I am very curious of the performance numbers with that 140...must be pretty fast....

I have been looking on Ebay daily and never saw it....missed it:)  great looking boat you have there.

[SnookHunter]

The 140 isn't running at its best at the moment, it looks like it may have a seeping headgasket. However with two people we got it up to 45mph with the motor trimmed up a bit. Drop it down to about 30 and you get a perfectly smooth ride.

[RickK]

With the 140, she must sit pretty low in the back though, huh?
Anyway, welcome to our 170 family.