March 2014:   Back at it…

Don’t forget to read PAGE 1 first…  Spring is in the air.. and soon the snow will be all but a memory..  I do need to get the Bazoo 6×6 finished and out of the shop..  Set up the Costco garage again..  and get the boat done..

Delays Again:

Never got to move the boat out of the shed.. there was other things that were more pressing to do.. There’s always next year..  But I did get some prep done this fall..  The Sabercraft  boat that I got for free.. was kind enough to donate a few bits.. before getting cut up for the landfill.  First was the motor well ..This Motor Well is prefect… and I’ll make it work.   The other important stuff was the side trim..

It’s aluminum trim in the perfect shape I want for the side..   Also saved the bow light.. and a few other bits.

New Power :

As well this year I decided to pass the Chrysler 55 ‘s on to a new person.. and go with the 50 hp Merc I was given…  Supposedly it runs !  We’ll see.   I’m going to make it one of my winter projects this year.

Jan 2017:

It saddens me to think I’ll never get to see this boat finished..  But so many things keep me away..   The latest is the cost of finishing the boat.. I’m living on fumes here… yes by choice.. but I’m not able to do any projects that will cost money..   So I’m going to part with the boat.. and move on.. I’m also realizing that I have a lot of toys to play with and hard enough to use them all… one more is too much..  there would be litte time to even use the boat..   And my storage is filling up and since the Fifthwheel takes up so much room the boat got kicked out of the nice cozy place it’s been for a few years now..

So it’s up for sale..

Sold to a guy who will love it to…

March 2013..

This is the new post for the restoration of the Performer.. And this is page 1 dedicated to the work done in 2013. Page 4 is for work in 2014  I decided to start this new post and the pages cause I thought the old post would grow too big.. A fresh start..and..so  I had been determined to complete the boat by the summer of 2013.. but that did not happen.. But look at what I did get done..

She’s a good looking boat !  And I’m naming her after our much loved and sadly departed Kitty “Bessy”  We had Bess in the family for a long time… Boats should have names and this seems fitting.

Today I made some support blocks up and dropped the boat onto them.. It’s easier to work on the boat when it’s low and not tipsy.  This weekend I’ll set up the garage over her.. and put some lighting in there.

Look I can just step over the stern to access the boat..cool. When I went to Kelowna to get the garage I also picked up some fiberglass supplies ..including white Gel-coat for the hull.  I’m getting a price on solid teak hardwood flooring too. And I decided to completely strip the boat’s inside down to the fiberglass.  Yes that means new cabin walls and rebuilding the berths too. There’s just too many holes in stuff..  And the rear bulkhead for the motor well will be raised higher and moved back a bit for more room.

Just once more I thought I’d show the plans for the boat.. I haven’t changed anything except give myself a bit more room at the stern..

This photo is my inspiration for the color scheme I like.. it’s a 50’s car color and the boat is also 50’s so it just works for me. It’s going to look great with the teak interior too.  We’ll see if this all comes together.

You can see in this photo that the floor under the cabin is in bad shape.. at least the part you can see.. The 1/2″ ply bulkhead walls are in good condition..  But they need to be firmly attached to the floor.. so maybe instead of removing them I’ll cut them up an inch or so and then add a piece back on the bottom after the floor is in.

The roof of the cabin will get some Finnish as well. To make it look nice and to hide some wires.  The wood beams are in perfect condition so I will probably just paint them..

Day 1

Got the garage up today.. so the boat is safe & dry. Dave & I removed all the windows ,fittings… and stuff from the boat.

I Bought my own oscillating multi tool today and gave it a try.. going to make short work out of removing all the wood. It flush cuts very nice.

The plan is to clean out most of the interior of it’s wood parts.  Then rebuild the stringers , ribs and the floor.  Also replace the rear bulkhead and some of the transom.  Everything will be glued and fiber glassed into place.  This puts the strength back into the boat.  Then I plan to roll the boat 45 degrees to one side and re-gel-coat that side of the bottom..  Then do the other side. After that the top of the boat will get its fresh blue paint.  And then it’s time to start putting things back together.. and finishing the interior.. Wow all before July.

I Had Help for the day… it takes two to undo the bolts holding things on.  Now it’s stripped down.

Here’s the pile of parts. They will need cleaning up..

In two days I’ve got a lot done.. All the floor right to the front is gone..  I’m not touching that chamber in the bow.. there’s no floor there, there’s no ribs or stringers .. The bow doesn’t need support.  You can see I cut the cabin walls about a half an inch above the floor. There’s no rot on them.. but there was lots under the floor in the cabin.. bad !  All that’s left is to grind it all flat. And I need to remove the inside layer of the transom..

Today I scrubbed in inside of the boat.. You can see a stick I’ll use to locate the floor level.  I also cut out a new transom piece from 3/4 ply.

Here you can see one of the many ribs I removed ..  not much left.. and just bands of fiberglass holding them down..  I’ll do better..

Here’s the new 3/4 inch inner transom.. Glued..screwed.. and clamped.  This has hopefully taken the bow out of the transom too. I don’t want to remove the clamps for 24 hrs.  I’m using Polyester construction sub floor adhesive..  Waterproof and strong..  I’m gluing the four stringers into place with it as well.. using big concrete blocks for weight.

So far so good.. The glue is holding good.  The resin and mat with be the real strength in the end.  The bottom of the boat takes a real beating with the water & waves.  So the only thing that is strong enough will be multiple layers of fiberglass.  Here it’s all in.. ready for the mat & resin..  Using foam to fill gaps.  Today I got the resin & mat out and was determined to get that part done..  4 Litres of resin and a lot of mat.  Got it done.. after it’s all cured I’ll put a 1×4 down the middle for the floor to join on.. I’ll need to get the 1/2 ” ply for the floor..

The floor is now in and very solid. It turned out good..  I used lots of PL Premium glue and coated deck screws. Today I glassed in the outer edges to the hull.  I’m also taking the time to plan the cabinets and seats.. and so I’ve made a few adjustments to some measurements on the  plans.  Nothing to much just a tweak here and there..

Nice place for the tank & battery box.  The aluminum tank is 18 gallons.. lots for a long day. We tested the fuel gauge too. Works great.  Next is the inner wall for the motor well.

My Friend Dave had a great Idea !  Two braces are better than one .. So I made these up and fit them so the fuel tank fits nicely in there.. Glassed them in and now a much stronger transom..  I like.  And before I install the motor well wall I’m going to rebuild the berths & lockers in the cabin.  Much easier when you can just step over the stern.

But Summer is coming and other stuff to do …  so the Boat got put back on it’s trailer and moved to the franknport.. I’ll bring it back out in the spring and continue then. In the mean time I’ve added goodies from older campers to my pile of parts.. I have more stoves and sinks and pumps …. etc to choose from.

Continued on Page 2…

Oct 2011

They need a little love…

Today it was raining hard .. so being the non-coastal person that I am.. I hid in my shop.  I built a stand out of wood to hold the running 1975 Chrysler outboard.. the older 1972 one is on a stand I bought at Princess Auto. The 1975 motor will be the one I use on my Seven Seas Cruiser.  The other will be my spare.  No Dave I’m not doing the twin thing on the boat.. One should do the trick and be less complicated.  If you checked out my blog on the Seven Seas you will see a link to a video of a bigger boat running great on a 75 hp Chrysler.. So I’m inclined to think my 55 will do just fine.  I’m not out to break speed records.  As per usual I’m ordering the shop manual for these motors so I’m not guessing how to tune them up.. Why these old motors ?  Well I got one for free.. and the other was very cheap.  They aren’t as old as the boat , but they are still nostalgic.  And they are very simple to work on.

4 Cowls….

That’s because I’ve got two more parts motors !  Ok ones a 45 hp cowl.. but they are all the same size.   I have two 1975 and two older ones.

This is where Rob has fun…

Painting stuff…pimping stuff… This is where I shine.  I’m going to choose two of the cowls that are in the best condition and repaint them .  One I will keep the white & gold scheme ,  the other I will custom paint .. white & light blue to match the boat… Just watch me go…

I’m not sure what to call them but they are a pain in the butt..  Those little circle clips.. they are easy to install but hard to get off.  But after I take off all the trim I’ve got a naked cowl..

This will be the one that gets the hammered gold paint job..

Holy Cowl !

Thanks to the great way they put things together I can mix & match the badges with the trim to get the best.  I’m going to chose the chrome “Chrysler” letters to go with the custom lt blue paint.  And I’ll redo the “55” in blue .  I’ll keep the red numbers for the restored gold trim cowl.

I changed my mind … I tried different combinations , and the chrome badges look better with the gold.   This is the newer cowl ,and it has a new hammered gold finish.

Here’s the blue cowl.  That color is a perfect match to the top of the boat.  I painted the badges all black because they were quite scratched. Now I’m trying to decide on blue letters or white.

White letters it is..  So this is my custom cowl, with the blue that matches the boat.

And here’s the (original ) looking cowl.   As soon as my service manual arrives I can get to work on the motors.. they will get a fresh white paint job too..

May 2012 :

Reality bites …  and the motors got wheeled over to the corner last fall for other projects.  But soon I’ll be wheeling them back out.. there is a new bigger Chrysler 70 that came on the Glasspar that will get the run first..  and then these will get their chance at fame..  Stay tuned !

 Bring out the BIG guns first…

Once this 70 hp has been run a bit (on the lake too)  then it will be a dolly queen till the Performer is ready for power..  Looks like I have another cowl to paint.

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Oct 2011:

They are called “FiberGlassics”  the boat equivalent of a cool old car…

After the dust settled from all my boat dealings. I was left with a repairable outboard and a good trailer.  Then I saw an ad for a older cabin cruiser for sale in Creston.  He wasn’t asking much, and it included a very cool video depth / fish finder.  I went to have a look.. What a cool older boat.. A classic !  When I showed interest he said nobody wants this boat.  If you give me $50 bucks for the finder.. You can have the boat..  Wow.. It’s perfectly what I’ve always wanted.  Not to big, outboard powered,  all fibreglass with some wood inside.  Needs a bit of work , but I can handle that.  The cabin was full of wasp nests.. Once I got it home It took  me awhile to clean them out.  We weighed the boat at the scale in Castlegar, and found it to be 1234 lbs. wow that’s more than the claimed 950 lbs.  But it still towed very nice.  A little concerned about the 55 hp being enough to power the boat.  But I’ll try it before I go looking for a different motor, because I like the simplicity of the Chrysler.  I’m thinking I’ll remove the floor panels and then store the boat over the winter in my new RV carport. That way the bilge will have time to dry out.   Old boats don’t have to die.. This old girl is way to pretty to let that happen……

About This Boat :

There’s not a lot of info on Performer boats.. in fact I could only find one other on the web.  But here’s what I’ve learned so far… Seams Performer made seven models of boats from 1958 to 1962. The factory was in a LosAngles  California industrial suburb of Bellflower / Paramount.  Nobody bought them out like other small boat builders, so they just disappeared.  They are rare to find.  This was the era of outboards.. and this model could accommodate twin motors.  Rated for 100 hp, they commonly had twin 40’s.  Completely fiberglass with only glassed over wood in the bulkheads and floor stringers.  Plexiglass  windows with good rubber seals.  The hull is designed to give the most interior room possible.

Note: I’m finding more of these boats as time goes.. and I’m trying to contact the owners..

Wow I found an ad for a Performer boat…

Note:  I found a you-tube video of one of these Performer Tropicana’s .  It’s the same blue as mine. and it was zooming along with a 75hp Chrysler motor on Silverwood Lake in California..So Cool  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcfDg6ZC0zo&feature=player_embedded

The good stuff :

Well for starters it’s a small boat you can actually spend the weekend on.  But  what’s really good…..The gelcoat only has the smallest of hair cracks.  With a good wet sand and polish you won’t see them.   The cabin is in very good shape and the berths are plenty big enough.  I can sit up without banging my head.  There is a cool hatch up front you can crawl out, or use to access the anchor with ease. The flat bottom hull and straight sides give the floor area lots of room.  And lots of wood is embedded in the fibreglass  for safely attaching to.  At 17 feet the boat is not too big, not too heavy.

 I have plans already :

For now I’m measuring up everything and I’ll make some plans to create a functional cockpit.  And I have a few neat ideas to incorporate.  This will document the whole process and perhaps encourage someone to do the same.   In the spring when I have the time to work on her I plan to drop the boat onto a low dolly and push it into the shop.  Hopefully it will be only eight inches off the ground and I won’t need a ladder to get in and out  of the boat while working ..   The debate is ongoing as to how far I go in the restoration.  This is a boat I would like to keep for a long time ..so I don’t want to redo anything.. Do it right the first time.  For instance the windows have cracks.   Dave thinks I should just glue them up.. I think that making new ones is the only way to go.  They are Plexiglas so bending them to fit is not hard.  I’m inclined to remove everything anyway so I can do a proper polish and reseal  stuff and replace rusty screws.

Here’s the plans I drew up for an improved interior.. Giving the boat more “stay onboard “ appeal by adding a Galley, Cooler and a table.  More cubbies and storage as well.

In this photo you can see that the weight of the  100 hp motor has caused the transom to bow out a bit.  I will try to pull it back and add a brace & some aluminum plate to make it stronger.   I’ve cut the bottom panel in the well to have a look at the wood under there.. and that wood should be replaced. after 50 years it’s very soft.  I was careful to leave a lip around the outside to reattach a new floor.. and I will glass it in good.  This well will get wet.

Today Oct 23 I finally got a chance to get the floor ripped up.  It was chip board screwed down with drywall screws..no good..  And as I had suspected the floor supports were replaced.  And they are still in good condition… But I’m not liking the workmanship..   We will be rebuilding this all the way to the transom.  For now it can sit like this for most of the winter.. and dry out good..  I will be removing the stringers and glassing in new ones that are taller to make the hull bottom stiffer.  The old seat , foot rest and the chip board floor went to the dump.  I have two new seats, and they will be on top of useful cabinets.

Note:  I did not use this tank , because I acquired a very nice aluminum tank.

In the mean time I’ll keep busy on some of the parts for the boat.. like this gas tank.  I favor this over the portable one ..because it’s bigger !  And it will fit nicely under the port-side rear seat.  This will also give me a fuel gauge on the dash.. The catch is that it had a leak..  I’ve repaired it and freshened the paint up.  So it’s ready to install.  I have the nice chrome filler cap and the boat has a vent already there.  All these parts came from the Reinell that I parted out.  That boat also donated a very nice horn, a wiper motor, a nice steering wheel and lights.  I’ve done well.   So for the winter working on the two 55 Chryslers will all I do..boat wise..  Work on those is covered in it’s own posting.

I’m doing the compliance thing !

Which means I took and passed the boater course, so I have my operators card. .. 94% not to bad..  And I’ve mailed away a” transfer of boat licence ” form to the government.  So the BC # on my boat will be in my name.   Being all legal is easier than trying to explain why your not !

I’m doing the compliance thing !

We’s a Seven Seas that’s being used.. regularly ..  A few years newer than my boat  (white panel on cabin)  but still very much the same boat..  It’s home is Colorado.  And I presume that’s Jeff’s daughter in the photo.  I hope to meet Jeff & the boat this summer.. but that’s quite a distance for us to travel.hich means I took and passed the boater course, so I have my operators card. .. 94% not to bad..  And I’ve mailed away a” transfer of boat licence ” form to the government.  So the BC # on my boat will be in my name.   Being all legal is easier than trying to explain why your not !

Other Performer Seven Seas boats:

But soon to be Big Aqua !  He is repainting it blue like mine. But this is an Admiral Boat made in Florida ?  It’s identical to our Performers.. We are trying to figure that one out..   Also this boat had extensive damage done to the top-side ,  and Wayne has been repairing that fiberglass.  He needs an upper windshield as well.  This boat is a lot closer to me in Northern Idaho.  The plan is to get all three together for a photo..  Yes !

Today another boat came home with me.. traded a lawn tractor for it…  Glasspar Citation.  I want it for the 70 hp Chrysler and the bigger trailer..  Both of which will be for the Seven Seas.  The 70 hp motor will take away my worries of enough hp for the weight.  And the 16 ft Glasspar will fit nicely on the trailer that’s under the Seven Seas now.  And this new trailer means I won’t have to modify the other one .  it’s too short for the 17 ft Seven Seas.  Win Win…

As well I was checking the Seven Seas out and found that my plan to dry out the bilge is working great.  The weather here this winter has been very dry. Come spring when I can start work on the floor it will be easy.

May 21 2012 :

While the Seven Seas is nice and safe in the RV port.. there is no panic to get at it..  I need to make sure the motor runs good..

And here it is .. I’m hoping this works out good for the boat.. In my mind this is the perfect size motor.  We’ll use it this summer on the Glaspar  so it will be ready for the Performer..

Someone was selling a bunch of boat parts as a lot.  It was a good deal , included was a steering system, two 12 gallon steel tanks, running lights and these very nice gauges.

Here’s the gauges new still in the boxes..  they will look very nice indeed.

Fall 2012:  The boat got set aside for other things,  Hopefully this coming spring I can get at it..

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