Beginning my 1987 Fisherman 20 Restoration

[Myfathersson]

What a wealth of information on this site! I purchased a 1987 Fisherman 20 last weekend from a young lady who was granted the boat in her divorce. According to the HIN search she started her life in Florida, then moved thru Georgia and South Carolina before landing in Indiana where I found her and dragged her back to Kentucky. I've started digging into her to assess what all I need to do.

The trailer is woefully under sized and in terrible shape but it survived the 20 mile trek from Indiana to Louisville without incident and will serve to jockey her around while I focus on the more important aspects. I'll replace with a tandem axle bunk when she's closer to being seaworthy as I plan to trailer her up to the Lake Erie Islands to visit family on a fairly regular basis.

The 1989 Yamaha 200ETXF doesn't run and best info I have is that it hasn't since 2017 or earlier. So far I've discovered it has three broken head bolts on the starboard bank that I'm fairly certain I have the tools and ingenuity to remove and repair. The #3 cylinder has some aluminum deposits so I'm also rather confident the rings went and that's what prompted a PO to attempt to pull the head. I think the cylinder can clean up but I haven't mic'd it yet. The port side head came off cleanly with the assistance of a little carefully applied heat and that bank looks in great condition, I just need to separate that water jacket so I can attempt to replace those zincs and descale the passages. There wasn't a trace of carbon on that head. After that I'll investigate why the #3 cylinder's ring took a I've got a realistic idea of how much effort and cash I'm willing to sink into this engine before I part it out and look for a solid used replacement in the 150-175hp range. This will be my first time working on a two stroke that doesn't cut weeds so it should be interesting, but it is well within my comfort zone, I've got a small machine shop in my basement so must anything short of boring a cylinder myself is at least plausible.

The transom is surprisingly solid. I can't flex it one bit by tilting the motor and bouncing on it, and the couple abandoned screw holes in the transom I've explored don't show any signs of mush. The stringers and the floor haven't fared as well. The open tops along side the coffin...my screwdriver just dove right on thru. I knew the floor was bad when I got her, the stringers were a minor surprise, though by no means unexpected. My plan is to build a couple wood gantries, hoist off the outboard to continue evaluating and then I can pull the cap to get full access to remove the tank and all the foam, replace the stringers and bulkheads and recap them with glass (I've had more experience laying up epoxy than polyester but I haven't decided which I'll use for this project yet.)

The gel coat on the hull below the seam shows a little oxidation that I think will rub out nicely, and all the OE graphics that remain will be fully removed and I'll probably upgrade from the OE rope rub rail. The forward portion under the flare is still shiny and quite reflective, so hopefully I can bring the rest of the hull up to a similar level of lustre. The cap will require painting though. The fish locker and live well lids both appear to have been painted at some point and of course every bit of non-stainless hardware needs to be replaced, along with a nice new leaning post and a T-Top.

I don't expect this will be a speedy project, I'm gonna do it as right as I can and I really enjoy long complex projects. So wish me luck! Here's a little introductory boat porn:















Sorry the pics are all on overcast days. Like most of the US, Louisville has been waterlogged of late! Thanks for looking! - Greg

[Cam]

Welcome aboard. You will find a lot of info on this site and we have quite a few people here that have done what you are doing. Help is just a question away. Thanks for the boat porn.

[Pipe_Dream]

Welcome! And thanks for a proper intro. Kudos to you for bringing this girl back to life. I'm a Kentucky native 30 years removed south, so I've been watching the state become another great lake this spring. Hope it dries out for you soon and best of luck with your project. Keep us posted and there are a lot of knowledgeable folks here (not me so much) to help you.

[phatdaddy]

nice project looks like a good one to restore. if the transom is solid and just deck is soft, might want to cut out rotten deck to see how much of the stringers will be exposed, possibly address that issue and leave cap in place.

also while your on the engine, i think that vintage yamaha is the one with the shift shaft coupler that gives problem. make sure its ok before going too deep in that motor.

looking forward to the build

[Myfathersson]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

also while your on the engine, i think that vintage yamaha is the one with the shift shaft coupler that gives problem. make sure its ok before going too deep in that motor.

I've read about shift shaft corrosion issues on the models prior to the switch to stainless steel. Is that the problem or something altogether different?

[phatdaddy]

Yeah, that s the issue. The shaft would corrode at the adjustment turnbuckle. I m not positive on the years, but i remember they had the old style decals. Maybe ferm or spare will chime in

[Myfathersson]

Gotcha. Thanks phat. I'm sure the shaft will need replacing - it looks quite thin between the cowl and the drive and sure ain't shiny like SS would be. After the little bit of further inspection this evening, I've determined the powerhead is going to have to come off anyways if I do in fact rebuild this motor - the sleeves for the 1, 3 and 4 cylinders are spun - their ports are IMHO badly out of alignment with the passages in the block. So once I get the motor off the transom middle of next month following next week's vacation up north I'll focus on the hull structure while the weather is "nice" and leave the OB for the winter - if I can get the powerhead free without mangling the drive. It's clear it saw salt for much of its life, and clearly was allowed to run hot so the outlook is grim. I'm fine with the labor of tearing it apart to see if it's possible to salvage but I'm not spending another dime on the motor (already ordered a Yamaha Service Manual though it hasn't shipped yet) until I'm positive it's a wise course. Worst case I can part out the good bits on eBay.

Cyl 1:


Cyl 3:


Cyl 4:

[Destroyer]

WELCOME TO THE SITE!!! Looks like you have the right outlook for her restoration. Too often a person will try to do the whole thing in one huge bite and get discouraged when they see how large the job is. Remember, it is possible to eat an entire elephant if you do it in several meals. The same holds true for a restoration... take small bites. Concentrate on one problem at a time, solve it completely and then move on to the next one.

Some thoughts:
The shift shaft used to be a major PITA to repair, but some enterprising engineers came up with a 2 piece fix that makes the job much easier. Look for it online.
Not liking the spun sleeves, nor the alum scuffing on #3. I think a new block or engine is in her future.
Soft decks are most often caused by the wood that's glued to the underside of the deck rotting out. Caused mostly by not properly venting the underside after usage and during storage. Ditto for the stringers. Not really hard to fix, just time consuming.
All foam, including closed cell, will, over time, absorb and become water logged. At 8.34 lbs per gallon it's amazing how many pounds it adds to the total weight of your boat. Check it carefully... Take core samples from several different places, and if it's waterlogged remove or replace it.

Good luck with the restoration and we look forward to seeing more boat porn in the coming months as the job progresses.

Welcome aboard Capt.

[Myfathersson]

Slowly plugging away. I've got all the wiring removed except for the running lights and the bilge & live well pumps. Removed the outboard yesterday and started power washing and stripping off the well worn vinyl decals today. More power washing on tap for tomorrow. Then I'll start fabricating 2x4 supports for lifting the cap off. I plan to get a half dozen guys from the office and feed them lunch one day to lift the cap up and roll it upside down. The gel coat is looking even better than I thought as I get it power washed. A number of spots where I'll have to spot repair the gel but paint might be limited to the floor itself.

Outboard off!


Outboard parked behind the Harley:


Freshly naked transom:


Transom cap removed:


Found this penciled on the back side of the aluminum transom cap:


Just before power washing started:


Side by side comparison of the dirt coming off:


Results of day 1 of power washing:

[Pipe_Dream]

Making sound progress!