1993 Voyager Rebuild

[VaGent]

Just a few pictures of my Voyage rebuild. I got a good deal on the pontoon & my son & I have decided to do a rebuild & turn it into a fishing boat to be used for fishing ONLY. Planning on using 4 fishing chairs, center console with "T" top & rocket launchers, aerated live well & Minn-Kota trolling motor. Power will be a 2006 Evinrude E-Tech 90 engine. We will under skin it, replace the deck & are "thinking" about going with a vinyl deck covering. Nothing fancy just a simple enjoyable dependable fun filled fishing boat. Everything will be new as far as all the electrical wiring, gauges, lights, decking & deck covering . I"m reusing a center console I built for another pontoon I have that I switched out & we are looking for possibly a good used "T" top. I'll also use my 597ci HD DI Hummingbird fish finder to locate the world's largest large mouth bass. lol

Hope the pics turn out as this is my first time trying to post pics on the forum. I will post more picks as I go along. The weather here is COLD & they are predicting SNOW in my area so not sure when I can get back outside to work on it.

[MPosey519]

Should be a blast, father son projects are awesome, I definitely have been having a blast working on mine with my dad

[VaGent]

Here's a couple more pics I took before the rain started of what we got done so far. The gas tank will be mounted in the stern on the left side inside the horseshoe with a hinged cover going all across the stern to the right side that will have some cup holders & rod holders mounted in it. Planning on putting the aerated live well right in front of the engine so I don't draw water very far plus it would make for a short discharge of the live well. The live well will have a light inside for night fishing. Planning on having lights mounted on the "T" top as well as on the bow & stern for night fishing. Removing the bimini top as my son thinks it will just be in the way for fishing so the boat overall will be much lighter in total weight. I bought the trailer separate & installed new bearings, grease seals, hubs & bearing buddies as well as replaced the tires to low profile 8-ply tires load range "E". Also installed a new winch as the old strap was frayed in several places.

[redbeard]

Have fun with the rebuild, looks like you had the toons acid washed looks good for a start keep the pics coming.

[VaGent]

Believe it or not but I have NOT touch the logs as of yet. This is the way they were the day I picked it up & brought it home. I plan on acid washing them with AC coil cleaner when it warms up & maybe????????????????? trying my hand a polishing them. I"M really not sure about that because at my age it's hard enough just to climb the ladder to get on the boat. But Thanks for the compliment on the logs. They are in excellent shape with very minor hard to see dents. We are also going to under skin the pontoon after replacing the deck. I got a real deal last summer on 9 sheets of .053 5052 aluminum 4X8 sheets & I under skinned my 1984 24ft JC that I rebuilt & have 4 sheets left over. Will also be adding a transducer so we can use the Hummingbird 597ci HD DI fisher finder I have on the JC pontoon boat. Really looking forward to warmer weather so we can get back to "butting heads" & trying to get it finished up. My son has some great ideas but his pockets are like mine, shallow & nearly empty. I told him he has a champagne appetite & a beer income. That's a bad combination to have.

[redbeard]

WOW they look better than my toons after I had them done. Understand the beer income I'm in the same boat.

[curtiscapk]

Looks Great VA!!!

Same but too... Well so I switched to a LUCKY BOAT!! Otherwise I am there with you.

[Texoma Toon]

Your off to a good start.....looking great!

[VaGent]

It sure makes me feel better that I am NOT the only who has shallow pockets. LOL I've always wanted to do a "father & son" project with my sons but they were always interested in their "friends" & what they were doing but as time went buy they have now started showing interest in fishing, working on their cars/trucks & wanting "DAD" to show they how things are done because their pocket books weren't thick enough to have it done. It's funny how those things work isn't it? LOL Back in the day when I was a young man you either learned how to fix your care yourself or you started learning how to walk all over again. But it's really nice to be doing something together that everyone can enjoy & say: I built that. I know I get on his nerves because I don't take an "short cuts" & I want it done RIGHT the first time. I spend a lot of time "planning everything out" in advance. Ya got to have a plan first. And folks on this site & some others have been very good at sharing ideas & helping out in many ways. I hope one day we can all meet up somewhere & have a good time.

[VaGent]

Just a short update. The weather here yesterday was BEAUTIFUL so my son & I got a LOT of tearing down done. Got the steering cable, engine control cables, engine electrical harness plus all the old wiring & the plumbing for the existing live well removed. Started tearing off the deck & was concerned as the deck screws where rusty as could be. I decided to us my sawzall to cut them & lift the plywood off & while I was getting the saw ready my son used an 18" Craftsman screwdriver & pryed up on one edge & discovered the the entire plywood deck was really just "laying" on the cross members. The wood was far more rotten then I suspected it was & water soaked really bad. Some had "glued" automotive carpet on top of the original factory carpet. I first tried to scrap the old carpet up with a large flooring scraper & it was tearing of the top layer of plywood. So we cut the carpet at the plywood joints & pryed it up with the screwdriver & got 2 sections removed. Will go back at it today or Monday & finish clearing everything off & hauling it to the junk yard. Hopefully if the weather holds up I can acid wash the entire frame & logs with pink coil cleaner & get ready to re-install the new wiring harness & get the deck ready to put down & sealed. Got a few pics of the tear down below.

[HandymanHerb]

[VaGent]

OK FINALLY got it all off & loaded for the trash dump!!! Now the fun really begins. Got a gazillion rusted screws to grind off & then start applying the acid wash & get it all cleaned up & ready for the new decking. Taking a break now to watch NASCAR & RELAX a little bit.

[buzzardbeak]

Looking good.

[HandymanHerb]

Remember your not under any pressure to get them clean

[VaGent]

Ya really know how to hurt a guy don't cha? Hows about you coming up & show me how its REALLY done? I'll fire up the grill & cook some good ole southern BBQ ribs with all the fiixins & keep the "ice tea" COLD so you have a good meal after you are all done. I got some really good "homemade lemon aide" that will make you think you know everything there is about shining pontoon logs make you want to polish everyone's logs.