Glen-L.com

I found out my inlaws have a Sea Knight in their barn that was left by the previous owner. The registration on it is from 1968 so it has been stored for many, many years. I was curious if anyone thought it might be worth my time to make it sea worthy again. If so, what kind of repairs will I have to make? I have attached a few pics so you can get "some" idea of what the condition is. Currently the boat is still surrounded by items they have collected over the years. In a few weeks/months I should be able to get closer and inspects things better. It looks like the hull is plywood that has been painted, it does not appear to have been fiberglassed (estimating it was built around 1965) What would I have to do to the exterior to make it safe/useable if the rest of the hull is ok??

Possibly a great find!

First step is to get the stuff out and see what you have.

Is there a title?

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Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

My mother-in-law said she might have it. If not, is it THAT hard to register a home built?

The fact that it's been sitting in a barn and not outside is a very good thing (assuming the barn didn't leak terribly).
Looking at the checking I can see in the pics, the first thing I'm thinking is it could use a good paint stripper...

But Pirate is right, you really have to clear all the junk out, get a closer look, and see what you have.

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Jeff

My Celerity build.

The barn didn't leak so I think I'm good there. My biggest concern assuming the wood isn't rotted is, how should I treat the exterior. Do I HAVE to fiberglass it or is there an alternative??

You may have an advantage here since you already have hull numbers. If the boat is indeed still in the family that had the boat registered in the first place, I bet New York still has it in the system and you could probably just renew it using those numbers. Then just transfer the paperwork after you get the new sticker. There may be some small hoops to jump thru like if they collect personal property tax on the boat or boats in the area. If for some reason that is the case, they may require a fair market personal property tax in the process since its not been renewed in such a long time. So check on that in the preliminary and informal search early on.

Assuming there is no rot I would strip all the paint and put two or three coats of epoxy on the bottom, transom and sides before painting. However, fibreglass cloth would give it more impact protection. Check the keel, stem, chines and transom area as well as any place water may have accumulated and sat at any time to rule out any rot. This will give you some peace of mind. If the hull is sound, Go For It.

As far as registration is concerned, if it is still in the system in NY you would need to try to contact the previous owner to get a release. If you don't know who it was, good luck. The state won't give you any information about the owner. See if you can find a hull number as well as the numbers. I have a Glasspar in the yard that was still in the system. I stripped it down and it's going to the dump. I also have a 1950's Whitehouse that had no numbers or HIN and had no trouble getting it registered. On the other hand, if you do a complete restore and make it look new you can call it homemade and contact the DEC to get a HIN. Make sure you remove the numbers and any other identifying marks. They just want to see some receipts for purchase of materials. The officer came to the house at almost dark, took a quick look at my Squirt, came in the house and looked a little bit at my receipt folder and gave me the HIN.

How expensive is it to fiberglass it, and how would I do it properly if the boat is on a trailer??

If there is no cabin on it you can definitely turn the hull if you want. At 700 lbs or more it might be a task. You can check the listing for the fibreglass kit to use as a guideline for cost. It might be just as well to just encapsulate without adding cloth now.

Wow! What a great find. Be sure to take lots of pictures and post them. Its easier to give good advice with good reference pictures. The Sea knight is a GREAT BOAT!

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Built the 17' Glen-L "Sea Knight"

i have to agree If the wood is in good condition remove all paint and other finishes then sand down carefully then apply filler mixed epoxy then I would fiber glass the boat. then use good marine bottom paint and marine upper area paints. I great fine could be a good boat. hopefully they didn't have chickens in the barn. they can ruin wood there discharges are very corrosive ( calcium nitrate the same stuff they make fertilizer and c4 out of)

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Don't be afraid to attempt anything. You might surprise your self in the attempt.
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Modified Jubilee-"Wild Flower" 40' house boat
14' Mr John-Wild Flower 2
32' Supper Huck- Wild flower 3

Rod H

Before I spent a lot of time or ANY money I would want to check to be sure you can indeed register it. The procedure varies state to state and some are very sensitive to registering homebuilts. Seems some less than honest people have stolen factory boats and applied for registration as homebuilts. When laws were more lax with minimal requirements for proof of ownership they could get away with this. But now without current registration some states may want documentation for the build such as receipts for materials. In my home state, Illinois, they also check the materials receipts for sales tax. If stuff was purchased "online" with no sales tax paid you have to make the appropriate contribution to the Dept of Revenue before a certificate will be issued.

Just need to check to see what the situation is in NY.

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So Many Rivers,
So Little Time....

Here is the HIN application form for NY State.
http://nysparks.com/recreation/boating/ ... cation.pdf