I was actually thinking about doing that last night. since it has been raining here the past 24 hours. today when I go over there I was gonna take them off and see what happens. and Kevin you may be totally right. it would be cool if it were some rare thing but actually it doesn't matter to me. I like the boat for what it means to me.
Trey, Do you do fiberglass work? It is nice to have some activity here, even if we are in the wrong forum area. I have tried to stay neutral on this purchase because it could lead to a lot of work. However, if you are emotionally attached to the boat, you could buy it a store it until you can restore it. Take your time and watch for parts. A Mastercraft is a totally different animal. jim
Go ahead and move it. It's not like it will get lost among a bunch of posts. You could leave a link here for the new guy. jim
well mr jim you were right it is an 18 but she is now my 18. im excited to get started on it. as yall can tell by the pictures it needs it some serious TLC. how do you like the fishing boat seats? so anyway I guess this will be my before pictures in this process of restoration. now the fun begins. Bust Out Another Thousand. oh and if my day couldn't get any better did some research and looking and found the ski pylon. God Bless America and Roll Tide. and sorry for being in the wrong forum if you delete it or move it whatever that's fine. this is first of hopefully many post of updates and im sure questions
Hey Trey: Welcome to the community. Yes, your boat is an HD i/o 18 and not a 20. I've owned 2 HD 18 i/o's (73 and 75) and can provide some advise. Current boat is an HD i/o 20, see the attached link, they are rare as in they really don't exist. looks like you have some things to sort out but ignoring the seats (they need to go), not a basket case. Had the same issues with the 73. Really cool that you are up to the task, Kevinb- Here is the link but you will have to read everything to get a feel of how many 20 i/o's were built: http://www.hydrodyners.com/forum/index.php?threads/20-i-o.1093/
No worries at all. We don't delete useful posts. I did go ahead and move it down to the general section though.
Trey, The trailer your boat is sitting on is also rare and very desireable. It is the original "Bat Wing" style trailer . If the fiberglass sub structure is still sound you've got a real nice unit there. Bob
Congratulations Trey, The boat looks better than I expected. As you can see, there are members here that will help you. The pylon is a major find. The reason people install aftermarket seats is that they are much cheaper than reupholstering the I/O seats. The I/O seats are complex to repair. I own two walking foot industrial sewing machines for that kind of work. One is here and one at my daughter's place. I make my own covers also. I will by happy to show you how to reproduce those original seats if you like. There are also some mods you can do to the outdrive to make it steer better. Keep the questions coming, we will help you jim
