New to me 85' 24' Offshore (Project)

[jbrinch88]

Have been looking for a 24' Offshore for awhile and finally found one locally, go figure. It's setup for an outboard, no motor, no fuel tank. Transom is solid, floors are solid, and the hull is in decent shape.

My plans are to gut the whole thing give it a much needed steam bath, and basically start with a clean "shell". I may end up painting the whole hull with awlgrip if I'm not able to match the gelcoat the previous owner used on some of his repairs. Probably better off but we will see.

Going to rewire the entire boat with some blue seas goodies, all new stainless thru hulls, new fuel tank, going to try and setup an electric head with holding tank, all new starboard trim inside and out including the main bulkheads, new gauges/switches/lights etc, new bimini w/ full enclosure although I will begin looking for a used hardtop, some nice electronics, and eventually a used outboard.

Previous owner said he had a 200 on it and it moved great but I think I'm going to shoot for a 225 or 250.

Here she is, not pretty in the least but definitely has potential (sorry about the pictures, been awhile since I used photobucket):

 

[jbrinch88]

Not sure why the pictures are cutoff, I will work on it in the future.

 

[Grady282owner]

Wow! Looks like a big project. Love the boat though. Please keep up the posts and good luck! I am sure she will turn out beautiful, I will be following along and admire you for the hard work you are about to entail.

 

[jbrinch88]

Put in a full day today, got the boat pretty much 95% gutted. Still have to pull all the thru hulls, all hardware on the front of the boat, finish pulling the headliner and the rest of the blue fabric material. Got to steam wash her for a good hour, not finished by any stretch. Still have to do the bilge, fuel tank wells, and some spots i missed here and there. Not a bad day though.

Not sure how far I plan on going with this project. There are a lot of holes and cosmetic things to address inside the boat from previous owners which annoys the hell out of me. Not sure why someone would put giant speakers into each baitwell, those should be fun to fill. I don't know if i want to invest all that time in making a 30 year old boat look like new.

Painting the hull is no problem and I will most likely be doing it, but painting the top of the boat is a pain. Lots of prep work involved. Gonna be hard to keep on this boat while still flipping other boats on the side. Not enough hours in the day!

 

[jbrinch88]

Not sure why my pictures keep getting cut off, in my photobucket they look fine?

 

[jbrinch88]

Pulled the cockpit windows and all thru hulls after work tonight. Still have to pull the cabin windows, rub rail, all hardware on the front of the boat, decals, and bow rail.

Decided to commit to this boat 100%. Going to paint the whole top/inside and hull with awlgrip, redo all the non skid, and paint the bilge/fuel tank wells. Not sure on a color yet. I really like the look of a light blue color hull with the original color on top. I'm excited because in my 5 years in the business so far, I've never dabbled with any fiberglass work. This is going to be a learning process for me. Fortunately we have a really talented fiberglass guy where I work, so I will be working with him alittle.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

You doing great. It is not gonna happen over night, believe me, but when you done you will be so glad you did it.
Which marina you at ?

 

[jbrinch88]

Crows Nest Marina, in Oceanside.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Crows Nest Marina, in Oceanside.

I thought so, i was there Saturday, spoke to Joe about a boat you guys have there.

 

[jbrinch88]

Oh yea? A boat you were interested in buying, or a customers boat?

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Looking to buy.

 

[shauncooper]

Great boat and great project, keep at it.

I have an '87 Offshore Pro that I have just finished with a very similar restoration. Have a look at this photobucket link for some inspiration (also might help you with color change ideas on the hull).

http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/shaun ... 9778321504

Keep the updates and the pictures coming.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Great boat and great project, keep at it.

I have an '87 Offshore Pro that I have just finished with a very similar restoration. Have a look at this photobucket link for some inspiration (also might help you with color change ideas on the hull).

http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/shaun ... 9778321504

Keep the updates and the pictures coming.

What paint did you use and did you applied it?

 

[jbrinch88]

Great boat and great project, keep at it.

I have an '87 Offshore Pro that I have just finished with a very similar restoration. Have a look at this photobucket link for some inspiration (also might help you with color change ideas on the hull).

http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/shaun ... 9778321504

Keep the updates and the pictures coming.

I've actually looked through your photobucket before, and I admire the amount of time, effort, and work you put into it. It really came out great and looks like a new boat. I'm hoping that I have enough patients to finish this project. I tend to get frustrated and lose interest in things quick especially when I don't see any progress happening.

We have a 33' Pro Line down at the marina that we painted last year and I really like the way it came out. Light blue hull with a dark blue stripe on the bottom and a white stripe under that. Came out great, but I really do like the way an original CLEAN Grady looks. We'll see, I have more than enough time to decide. I'm hoping to start doing some glass work this weekend, I'm still finishing up some odds and ends on my 22' Grady I have up for sale.

 

[jbrinch88]

Found a guy selling a pair of 99 250hp yamaha ox66 that said he is willing to seperate the motors for someone local. Fortunately he's 10 minutes from me. He's asking 7500 for the pair everything included to repower gauges controls etc. They look to be in great shape. I'm not ready for a motor yet but I might jump on this since it's local. Can someone verify for me that an 85 24 offshore setup for a transom mounted outboard had a 25" shaft. Gonna call the guy later.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Yes, 25" transom and 280 HP max.

 

[jbrinch88]

Thanks, I figured it was. I'm going to call this guy tomorrow and hopefully check them out.

 

[shauncooper]

I used the Interlux Brightsides in a Sapphire Blue over the Interlux pre-kote. In hind site, I think it might have been better to go for a 2-part paint as it does scratch and scuff up relatively easily, but I certainly don't proclaim to be an expert painter so it could be partly my application.

Regarding the motors you are looking at, I was under the impression that the Offshore Pro's had a maximum HP rating of 300hp so aren't the twin 250's going to be a bit much?

 

[shauncooper]

Oh sorry, I re-read your post and see you were planning to seperate the motors, so no problems with HP rating then. I can confirm my Evinrudes are 25' shafts.

 

[jbrinch88]

Boats fully stripped, ready for sanding and glasswork. Decided to pass on the motor, I'm not ready to drop 3-4g on a motor thats most likely going to sit in the shop for a year. Rather have the cash available for other expenses. I'll start looking for a motor when the time comes.

Tomorrow hoping to steam wash the bilge and fuel tank sumps and maybe paint them.