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This 19'Classic started life in 1973 (HULL #00074) but was destine for the dump when found swamped in back of a Virginia harbor in 2013. As expected, there was significant water intrusion and everything below the water line was blistered beyond repair. After stripping, grinding the hull and coring the foam, the hull sat in a metal "hotbox" for two years of Texas heat to dry.
South Texas requires special characteristics in a boat to be effective in the bays. Shallow running yet stable in a wind and an elevated console to see those shell mounds that can ruin your day if not avoided. To retain some of the classic lines, the side "Bananas" were re purposed to shape the raised console sides. The fuel cap and vent area of the rear step moved to the back of the raised box which covers a 36 gallon fuel tank moved forward, under the console to shift weight forward.
The front structural steps were re fashioned into a continuous deck which will support a two step casting platform now under construction. The non skid was mostly delaminated, so was resurfaced then covered with Nautolex. The jury is still out on this flooring since gluing it to the epoxy base was almost impossible.
Batteries, oil tank and the jack plate pump were moved into the console, again, to shift the weight off the stern.
The 150 Opti is jack lifted with a 4" setback and is pushing a 19" four blade stern lifting prop. Theoretically it should run in wet grass but I'll keep it under 50mph and over 10" of water to be safe.
Heading out Saturday to chase red's out of Port Mansfield but as most maiden voyages go, I expect a few tweeks to get it running right..
