19 R Rebuild

[Wilson 4165]

Hi Folks

I've been a member for the last 5 years, reading with interest and gaining lots of knowledge on all things boating and fishing from this website, so now I thought I'd share my latest venture with you, and hopefully gain some advice and handy hints along the way (I think I'm going to need them).
I've always been a fan of the old Haines hulls, having owned an old 17R for a few years until we built our house and I had to sell the boat to put the cash into the house build. That was 10 years ago now, and I was boatless for about 7 years until I bought a 16ft c/console tinny a few years ago. Now this boat has served me well, getting the salt back in the gills so to speak, but the constant floggings on choppy days, and nowhere to hide on cold winter nights, has got me wishing for something that will give a better ride, protection from the elements, and the ability to get offshore again. So I was excited to find out that such an opportunity was laying right under my nose, waiting for someone to take on a challenge. I must point out that in my initial discussions with the minister of finance and war, it was stressed to me that if I was to take this on, the tinny has to go, and there is no surplus in the budget to fund such a venture. She is quite adamant that I fund the project from the tinny sale, and whatever else of mine that I need to sell to bring this off. Luckily I've been planning this for some time, and the cookie jar has been reasonably stocked to assist me with my mission. Anyway, enough on the back ground, onto the project. I came across an old Haines V19R in a paddock just around the corner from home, and after a few enquiries, it turned out that I knew it's owner through a friend, and after a few discussions, a (very good) deal was done to land it in my possession. The boat had broken down on its last voyage about 2 years ago, and had to be towed back to shore. Turns out that the water cooling line that goes to the tell tale split, and pumped water into the carbies, and into the block of the motor. A mechanic had a look at it for him and basically told him the motor is cactus and not worth fixing. Rather than getting a second opinion, the boat was left in the paddock to die a slow miserable death. So I've started the job of assessing what I thought would be the biggest issues with the boat, and after a few cuts in the floor, and a couple of holes drilled in the transom, all of my assumptions have been confirmed. Not a spot of dry plywood in the boat to be found. So I'm up for a full re build, which will give me the opportunity to customise the layout to suit what I want. I've posted a couple of photos of the boat in it's as purchased condition, and will attempt to keep the thread updated on a weekly basis as the project progresses. The home made wheel house in the photos is the first thing that will disappear, no opening windows, claustrophobic space, I was nearly seasick sitting in there having a look at what was salvageable. I'll try not to ramble on so much in future posts, now that you all have a back ground on where this is at.

Cheers

Dave

[gofishin]

Damn that is one fugly boat Dave - with that hideous wheelhouse! Is it a Haines or a Bertram 19? (Same boat).

Transom coaming doesn't look familiar, & looks like an integrated pod has been added at a later stage - this Mk1 hull is from when they were still made from a 2-piece hull mold. Anyway, great hull and good luck with the rebuild, she will be a fantastic boat when you are done.
Cheers
Brendon .


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[FisHard]

Oh goodie, another old boat to drain the owners wallet! Haha

[hainsofast]

Damn that is one fugly boat Dave

yeah but look at the sexy lines of that hull, good luck with the rebuild, should be a great boat once finished.

[koastal]

Thats an oldy - Looks even older than my Bertram 20
Unusual that it doesnt have an outboard well.
Massive project - good luck with it

[Alan M]

Nice the wheelhouse is interesting, i presume it will be removed? but hopefully you can bring the skeleton back to life as the hull looks great - keep us updated with photos! I wish i had the guts to tackle something like that...

[Wilson 4165]

She certainly is an ugly duckling with the wheelhouse, and yes, it's going. I am planning to take it back to deck level and build a wave breaker type windscreen, and a hard top for her. It was originally an inboard set up, hence the full height transom, and has been changed to an outboard with an aluminium pod bolted to the transom. I've started to strip out all the fittings, wiring etc. The first bit of advice I am looking for is how to remove the Seastar Hydraulic steering that is fitted to the boat. I've unbolted it from the motor, but am unsure of how to remove the 2 hydraulic lines. Do I just undo them from the helm end or the ram at the motor, should I cap them to try and retain the hydraulic fluid, or just empty it into a bucket? Any ideas would be appreciated. I'm pretty sure it is an old Haines, a mate has the exact same hull except that he has a motor well on his. It is a 2 piece hull, and the hull itself is in quite good nick. I'm going to be doing as much as I can myself to keep the budget as tight as I can, but I do have the assistance of a professional boat builder to help with the critical items such as stringers and transom replacement. I've sourced a 2003 model 225 Mariner with @ 260 hrs on it that a mate has had on his 26 ft Blackfin from new at the right price (he is upgrading to a 300 HP Yammie purely for fuel economy) to push it along, so the transom will require some strengthening to take the weight of the donk. My goal is to be on the water by xmas, and I should have it completely gutted and ready for the new stringers within the next fortnight. I'll post some more photos once I've had a go at it on the weekend.

[scottar]

Undo it at both ends - it will make the removal of the hose easier. You should never re-use hydraulic fluid due to the chance of contaminants that may damage seals so just drain it into a bucket. Also make sure you seal the fittings and hose ends to prevent any contamination while they are in storage during the rebuild.

[Noelm]

yep, remove both ends, replace fluid when reinstalling steering, sure looks like an old Bertram rather than a Haines from that era.

[Wilson 4165]

Thanks for the advice on the steering, I'll give it a go tonight. There's no build plate on the boat anywhere, so I can't be certain if it was originally a Haines or a Bertram. Matters not, they are the same hull back then I believe.

[Jarrah Jack]

It might be worthwhile looking at how Edencraft do their half pod and transom set up. They work well and look better than a full pod. I would run the stringers through the pod and fully intergrate it to the hull. Good luck

[Wilson 4165]

Thanks Jarah Jack. I am toying with doing something like that to the Transom, and will discuss with my builder when we catch up next.
I got the hydraulic steering out easy enough, thanks for the tips.
I've spent 2 days on it now stripping everything out and have started the fun process of cutting out the floor and stringers. What an itchy crappy job that is, I now understand all the comments made on other rebuild posts here about what a dirty job it is. I have a new appreciation of fibreglass now too, it's bloody strong stuff.
As expected, I haven't found a dry piece of timber in the boat as yet, and have found some very agricultural looking stuff under the floor. Both sides of the floor were holding water, as the small drain holes toward the rear of the stringers were blocked with crap. There is a 90 mm round PVC pipe coming thru the hull that was covered up under the floor in the cabin, I'm assuming it was a plumbed dunny at some stage of it's life. Even found an empty Bundy can between the stringers, must have been left by the last person who did some mods to the boat. There was a thru hull anode under the floor in the wheel house too. As for that special looking wheel house, the only thing holding it all together was the fibreglass. All the timber was like paper mache. I've posted a few photos of progress so far, and will put some more up tonight.