53 ft Bobby Sullivan repower project

[JD5652]

I can't get enough of these projects!..... what kind of powertrain is going back in her??

[Captain Jay Kavanagh]

The Boat Yard Blues

"Lawd, I gets Itchy in da mornin, and I gets sticky in da afternoon."

Looks like you are gonna sister the side frames and glass the whole bottom is that right?

Whatcha gonna sister the ribs with?

What power?

[Capt.Troy Crane]

Jay,
we are going to sister the side frames with 3/4 fir plywood and glass over them, the bottom is already glassed between the frames. Because the bottom frames are not cracked and are in such good condition there is no need to sister them. Bobby recommended just glassing them so we are planning to cover them in glass and put a second layer over the bottom which will tie it all together. We are also going to glass the sides between the frames down to the chine blocks. We finished cutting and dry fitting the sister material today. We are also going to add some material to the engine stringers and glass them just to beef them up a little.

Again, the bottom of this boat is in very good shape and all of the wood looks great. We are just cleaning it up and adding a little strength to her.

I'm not sure about the speed she made before but she had a pair of 450 C series Cummins in her. He's going back with the newer Electronic Cummins, QSMs, I think the 600s maybe larger.

[rarhomes]

Man, I wish I knew more about boat building. I would love to have a project like this. What a beautiful rig. Keep us posted.

Thanks.

Capt.Rick

[shoefish]

This is going to be such a cool thread. Thanks for taking the time to do this Capt Troy!

[Capt.Troy Crane]

I have always enjoyed being around these boats, they are truely a work of art. Refurbishing one is a tuff job but it's very rewarding to me to see the finished product.

What is really special though is to see these guys on the Outer banks who have been building these boats for years still doing it. It seems such a crude way to do something in this day and time with all of the modern technoligy we have at our disposal but thats what makes it a work of art. Each and every part is done by hand, no machines or robots, just hard dirty work but to watch it being created is to me, just awesome.

I stopped by Capt. Bobbys boat shop this morning at 6:30 to borrow a tool for our project and they were already working. Watching the 42 footer that they are building for Keith (pics on this page) starting to take shape from a pile of rough cut juniper is not something you can see just anywhere. I hope this art form stays alive for ever but not many people have what it takes to work like this anymore and thats too bad.

If you ever come to the Outer Banks, look up one of the "old school" boat builders, there are several and let them show you what they do. It's worth it just for the stories they will tell you.

Stay tuned and keep an eye on Keiths post about his new boat, between he and I, we'll try to keep some pics up so you guys can see the progress.

Troy

[flatbottom]

this is another great thread I will enjoy. Thanks Troy

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

Bobby builds a hell of a rig always liked the 55 marlin fever that is in mhc now would love to get my hands on that rig someday.

[fishskipper]

Good work Cappy. Looks like things are going well. If you need some more elbow grease, let me know and I'll go up with you.

[Capt. Brian Daley]

Any up dates on this rig yet looking foward to this thread