J. Kelly's Boat Restoration

Cheers,

visitors since 15 September 2001

I started this project almost two years ago. I wanted (needed) a boat. The boat had to do everything I wanted it to (ski, fish, go offshore). It had to be trailerable. I decided that the way to get what I wanted was to buy a solid old fiberglass boat and completely restore her.

This is the boat I bought. She was in rough shape. She'd been under salt water long enough for barnacles to grow inside. But, the fiberglass hull was in good shape. She's a 23' Uniflite. A good solid design and a classic model. Well worth restoration and a very useable boat.

So, I stripped her down to pretty much a bare hull and started rebuilding. You can find the whole story starting on my main boat restoration page. This page just shows the results...

I really (REALLY) wanted to get the boat launched early this summer. I had a little time off from work and I busted my @ss to finish the installation of all critical components. The boat wasn't complete, but it should have been completely functional. On 23 May 2007 I launched the Miss T for the first time...

I did get all the critcal things done. I hauled the Miss T to our local lake and prepared to launch her. I had renamed her, so a rechristening ceremony was appropriate. I'm not really superstitious, but there's no point in offending any gods of the sea. I think Poseidon should appreciate a bottle of Shiner Bock. With the gods appeased I pushed her into the water...

The initial launch went far better than I could have hoped. (The boat floated!!) She actually floats almost exactly where I expected and handles pretty well. Both engines ran great. The whole restoration was better than I could have asked. The conversion to twin inboard engines worked!!

But, that first trip showed that she really needed trim tabs. Although she planed out without much trouble, at speeds below plane the bow rose up so high that it was hard to see forward (and it was uncomfortable).

I added trim tabs and made two more short trips to the local lake. I thought I had everything pretty much working like I wanted. Then I planned a major weekend trip to Lake Amistad, about 150 miles away. Everyone was expecting a great trip so there was a lot riding on my preparation...

So there I was, my family was expecting a fabulous, fun trip to a really scenic lake with our boat (lots of pressure). I thought the boat was ready, but I couldn't be really sure. We towed the boat three hours and found our lodgings. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived, so we checked out the ramps and the marina, but decided to launch in the morning...

And.. we had a great time. The boat ran great and performed better than I could have hoped for. Everyone had a good time. I think this was well worth the effort put into the restoration of the boat!!

Of course...It's really nice to have a couple of cute blondes in bikinis to drive the boat while you sit in the back and drink beer.