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Starting Over - Part 1

Bringing an old boat back to life takes time.

And imagination.

And money.

When done well, the money and the time are quickly forgotten.

After all, it's a boat.

Renovating a boat isn't about the money it costs as much as it's about reaching into the past and saying "it still works...sorta." But the money part comes up pretty soon thereafter.

Boat renovations are taking place all over the country. It's happening in garages, in warehouses, in boat yards, on trailers, on jacks, from trees and to a (hopefully) lesser extent, on kitchen tables. For the next three issues of BoatUS Trailering, we're going to watch the renovation of a 1970 18-foot Sutphen Gran Sport ski boat powered by a 318 Chrysler with a Volvo outdrive. The boat is owned by the family of BoatUS Trailering's Associate Publisher Beth McCann. Her husband, Bob, says the idea of refurbishing the 38-year old boat had its start during a reflective moment a few months ago.

"I was remembering my first ride in the boat back in Massachusetts where I grew up and thinking 'Yes, this is what I want to do!'" he recalls. "My wife and I are hopeful this same boat will provide that same genuine excitement for our own children."

The first question that has to be asked isn't, of course, about money, but "Why"?

Bob McCann: This boat has had more lives than a cat. It's been in my family since 1971. My father owned it and I remember how it sank at a dock on Buttermilk Bay on Cape Cod, Massachusetts after being left uncovered as a huge severe thunderstorm rolled through. It sank and wasn't brought back to the surface for more than a week. But we got it running with no problem and that's how I knew this boat was something that connected me to something bigger.

After being used by my family to tour Boston Harbor, it was trailered to Florida and my dad and his wife made a few trips to the Keys. He gave it to Beth and I as a wedding present. It's been trailered from Massachusetts to Chicago to Virginia and, most recently, to Florida where it was parked under a tree. Hurricanes Wilma and Frances knocked down the trees it was under and in both storms, the boat was untouched. It sat for two years. After much too long, I pulled the cover off the Sutphen one day and realized I had sinned and let that old boat go to hell. I was mortified! Well, anyone with half a brain would have sold it and hoped someone else would have as much fun as I had over the years with the old Sutphen. Then I got to thinking, a little paint, upholstery, some engine work and an addition to the garage and all would be right with the world (and I realized the old man would be very disappointed if I sold it).

The second question to be asked is "Who?"

Bob McCann: Word of mouth is a big factor. We had a larger boat at a dock, a 34 Wellcraft, (which is why the Sutphen sat on a trailer for so long), that needed some mechanical work.

So we asked fellow boaters for recommendations and one company stood out when it came to doing good work. The repairs were made and we had a relationship with the company, Supreme Marine, and were familiar with their boatyard. But having a relationship isn't always the only factor to be considered: Seeing the work performed is just as important. We had seen other renovated boats in their yard and were impressed. My advice is to take the time to get a number of quotes from potential boatyards and keep in mind that the lowest price never guarantees the best quality work.

So I invited Tony from Supreme to come out and take a look and give me an estimate. He was very thorough, looking at areas of the boat I would have never guessed had any bearing on whether the boat floats, runs, idles, or as had been the case of late, sits properly on a trailer. Tony knew what he was doing. He even called in people he would be using for the work he wasn't going to do himself, (i.e. upholstery), and got quotes from them for the job. He looked at the engine and saw the proverbial white powder that indicates pitting from corrosion. We came up with a plan for the first stage, second stage and so on, as well as an anticipated completion date.

Note: Always have a completion date in any agreement. Sometimes you can get a discount if the date is missed. At the same time, understand that weather can be a factor if the work is done outside (or in Florida, it's always a factor during hurricane season even if the boat is inside and the job is put on hold to deal with securing and protecting other boats).

The third question to be asked is "How much?"

Bob McCann: He gave me an estimate followed by a warning: "As we take this boat apart, we may find other things." I said "Yeah, sure, OK, no problem." We had a deal and I knew I had pleased the Boat Gods by following through with this idea to rebuild. In fact, my wife and I began thinking about how cool it was going to be to pass this boat through generations (we have two daughters ages 14 and 11). That's when the phone rang. It was Tony. "I think we have a little transom rot." I started hoping I had misheard his warning about "finding other things" and that he had actually said "thing," meaning singular.

Starting Over - Part 2

Bringing an old boat back to life takes time.

After 38 years it was time.

The outdrive wasn't replaced. It was renovated.

The boat, a 1970 18-foot Sutphen Gran Sport ski boat, was trailered to Supreme Marine & Exports Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for work on transom rot, repairing stringers, new upholstery, striping, repainting the engine and replacing mounting hardware. Bob and Beth McCann, owners of the boat, say the decision to spend the money was easy; the boat had been in Bob's family since 1971 and was given to them as a wedding gift. When they looked at their 11-and 14-year-old daughters, the idea of passing the boat to yet another generation became the motivating factor.

But there was a lot to do before that could happen.

"When I first saw the boat," says Tony Fernandez, owner of Supreme Marine & Exports Inc., who was given the job of bringing the Sutphen Gran back to life, "I looked it over and knew this was going to be a lot of work. But then I looked at the McCanns and I knew this boat had a lot of sentimental value for them besides money."

Tony inspected the 318 Chrysler engine with a Volvo outdrive. In his mind, he knew a different combination would work fine and that meant a complete replacement of both. It was one of his first suggestions and it went nowhere. The McCanns wanted to keep the engine and outdrive for nostalgic reasons "I understand that keeping a boat's originality makes it interesting," he would later say. "But the Volvo/Chrysler setup was a joint venture and getting parts was going to require a lot of work." Tony knew a couple of people in the area who "have been around forever and usually had a handle on where old parts could be found." Phone calls and faxes went back and forth and, after a week or so, the parts they couldn't locate, Tony found on the Internet. Once the search was completed, it became a matter of waiting for the parts to be delivered.

"I also saw the heavy oxidation on the aluminum valve covers, the carburetor and the engine block. All of this was going to have to be replaced because the moisture had made these engine parts unusable." Usually, the first hint of oxidation can be fixed with a few squirts of WD40 or a corrosive block product on the metal surface. But because the boat had spent a few Fort Lauderdale summers outside, the oxidation was extreme. The fact that the engine, transom, stringers (long beams that support the floor) and flooring were all sitting under a canvas cover for a long period of time required a lot of attention to make them right again.

Too much oxidation because of a canvas cover that wasn't removed.

"It's a common mistake people make," observes Tony who has seen all too many repair jobs caused by excessive moisture from a boat cover. "Covering a boat in the summer can make it like an oven. It becomes a steam box because the humidity is trapped inside, the temperature is changing, mildew is formed on everything and the interior is sitting in a sauna for a long period of time. I can't stress enough how important it is to occasionally let the boat air out if it's sitting for a while. Take the cover off."

"I noticed the transom had a lot of weak spots," Tony said. "The bulkhead in front of the motor had the same problem as did the stringers and the floor. It's called wood rot and it's the result of moisture getting inside past the fiberglass." One of the first tests Tony does on a boat is to lightly tap the hull with a small hammer, taking note of where supports are located but listening for any changes in the sounds of the taps. A hollow sound indicates "a soft spot in the wood" and requires "digging it out" or replacing the entire section. Like a surgeon removing cancerous tissue, all of the rotted wood has to be removed because leaving even the smallest piece will begin the decomposition all over again.

The transom was rebuilt using 3/4-inch marine plywood that was reinforced with fiberglass, then bonded with a second piece of plywood and re-glassed again. "I make it stronger than it was when the boat was built," Tony boasts.

Replacing the transom, the stringers and flooring would typically take about two-and-a-half weeks of work alone. Tony and his wife Elena have two other workers in this family-owned business. He could hire more people and increase the boats being worked on at the same time but that's not something Tony wants to do. "By having more people, I lose quality control." This part of the job took almost a month.

Tony brought an upholstery expert with him during the first inspection of the boat as it sat in the McCanns' yard. Discussions were held about color and materials and all agreed it would be a mistake to use the same pattern and fabric that had been on the boat since it was built in 1971. But before the upholstery color could be selected, there had to be agreement on the hull color. It is always a moment that makes Tony look back and remember a few customers and, worse, their selections of colors, inside and outside the boat.

"I remember a guy who brought his small sailboat in and wanted it painted. I gave him a book with colors that were available and he went through it and when I came back to see what he'd picked, his finger was on a single color-flat black. That's what we did. Flat black. He's the customer."

The McCanns selected a mix of red and white for the upholstery because they had already decided the hull would be red with a white deck and white below the waterline.

"Back when this boat was built, red was red and white was white and that was it," Tony recalls. "Today, there are so many different shades available. There are lots of choices and combinations."

Tony has always been attracted to older boats. He's been in the boat repair business for 33 years and, as he is quick to say, "I'm just starting to learn." He owns a 1962 25-foot Bertram that was completely restored in his shop during down time. "It had a baby blue color on the hull and I didn't like it at all. I just did not like that color at all, despite the fact it was an original color. So I repainted it with a lighter shade. Now, I can't tell you the number of brand new boats that are being built with that original baby blue color!"

So Far

If all goes according to plan, and in the boat repair business that never happens, the McCanns will have their restored boat in the first week of August. Tony says he's in the business of "building a new boat in the shape of the old one." He becomes attached to the boats being brought back to life. And once they go out the door, the best reward is seeing them out on the water.

Starting Over - Part 3

Third in a series about bringing an old boat back to life.

A new steering system was installed including shift cables along with new gauges. The upholstery was replaced as was the floor of the 38 year old boat.

An idea that hit Trailering Club Member Bob McCann earlier in the year to restore his 38-year old Sutphen Gran Sport ski boat has now come full circle. The finished product is turning heads-wherever it goes now. Here's Part Three of Trailering's series about Starting Over.

Last Spring Bob McCann and his wife Beth (Trailering's Associate Publisher) took a look at their old trailer boat that had been sitting under a canvas cover beneath a tree outside their home in Florida and decided The Time Had Come. Avid boaters for all of their lives, the McCann's trailered boat had been relegated to second fiddle since a larger 34-foot Welcraft was docked outside their home. The boat, a 1971 Sutphen Gran Sport had been in Bob's family since he was a child growing up near Boston (its design is still being used by Donzi today). When he married Beth, the boat was presented-in much better condition than now — as a wedding gift.

"It is a physical thing that connects us over the years, "Bob recalled when making the decision to have the boat brought back to life. "I am very lucky to be able to accomplish it financially and I am lucky to be able to do something like this for my father as he is getting on in years. Both he and I, his wife Rose, Beth and my girls have had a lot of memories of the times we have been boating with that boat."

The plan being hatched that Spring day was to have the boat completely renovated and then give it as a surprise to Bob McCann's father. "Surprise" may be an inadequate word to describe what happened in their driveway last August when his father came over for a visit.

"He got out of his car, saw the boat and just stood there," Bob said. "He was speechless. As the realization of what he was looking at started to connect with what we had done, he asked if this was new or that was new? I responded everything is new and if it isn't new, then it's been rebuilt. He did a complete walk around the boat, smiling and shaking his head at the same time."

The Chrysler 318 engine has been overhauled along with the Volvo outdrive. The bottom paint and the hull color were picked to match the upholstery.

There was a lot to see. The restoration project by Tony Fernandez and his crew at Supreme Marine & Exports just a few miles away in Ft. Lauderdale had taken more than two months to complete. When Tony first saw the boat, he knew all too well the amount of work that was going to be required. "But I looked at the McCann's," he remembers, "And I knew this boat had a lot of sentimental value. I'm in the business of building a new boat in the shape of the old one so that's what I did for the Sutphen."

That work included restoring the original power train that included a 318 Chrysler engine with a Volvo out drive — a topic that had been debated back and forth among the McCann's along with a few observations offered by Tony. The McCann's decided they wanted to keep the original drive train because they had no plans to use the boat on a daily basis and because they both enjoyed older cars as well as boats and, when possible, took pleasure in restoring them as well. Tony, on the other hand, had suggested a new Mercury power plant that would be low maintenance and no doubt more economical to run. But when the McCann's told him to keep it original, "original" was the way he went.

New steering and shift cables were installed, the upholstery was redone, the hull was repainted, the transom and stringers were replaced as a result of severe wood rot from sitting in humid Florida summers under a canvas cover. There were also a few modifications to the original design: an electric hatch cover was installed to open access to the engine instead of manually sliding covers, new style gauges were put into the cockpit along with a new steering wheel, battery switch, a blower (not required when the boat was built and an oil change hose on the bottom of the oil pan. Plans are set to add an automatic fire extinguisher. The boat now sits on an aluminum dual axle trailer (with mag wheels).

Three generations of McCann's, Bob's father and his wife, Bob and Beth and their two daughters have plans to take the boat to nearby Mt. Dora next month. This small town on Lake Dora northwest of Orlando is home to an antique boat festival and the re-knowned Renninger's Antique Extravaganza held on selected weekends in January, February and November. Chances are good, real good in fact, the boat will be turning heads there too.

McCann, B (yr. ,month of publication) Starting Over, Trailering Magazine, Retrieved from https://www.boatus.com/magazine/trailering/archives/starting-over-part-1.asp