# Islamarine rebuilds my HB Waterman



## castawaycustoms (Jan 27, 2008)

The boat is a 2001 16 Waterman.  I bought the boat with intentions to basically gut it and start from scratch in building my dream skiff.  While I am somewhat capable of doing quit a bit of work myself I unfortunately don't have the time so I turned the project over Tom Gordon and Brian Floyd down at Islamarine.  For those that don't know Tom, he has been in the industry for a long time and basically ran HB before opening up Gordon boatworks and building the 16 and 18 Waterman models.  After a brief stint back at HB he opened up Islamarine as rigging and repair shop down on US 1 in Islamorada.  Brian Floyd is basically the Macgyver of boat rigging and there isn't anyone I would rather have work on my skiff.  It also helps that both Brian and Tom have built and rigged about every HB Waterman out there so it was a no brainer.  When I originally bought the skiff it has a 25 Suzuki on it and the boat was all cream.  The only thing I wish I would have done was take more pictures of the project prior to rebuilding it and during the rebuild, but here is the one shot I have on the first test run.  









I was going to slap my 25 Merc on it, but at the last minute I came across a 40 2 stroke short shaft Merc which is about impossible to find so I snatched that up for power.  










I love tiller skiffs so I was set on keeping it that way.  One of the problems with tiller skiffs though is they aren't very accommodating for passengers.  Most end up sticking a cooler in the floor which works well, but I decided to cut down a console and basically put in a coffin box with a grab bar on it.  This allowed for me have a nice comfy seat for a passenger as well as have a cooler seat, mount my switches, and also put my cranking battery.  It also allows me to keep all the weight on the center line of the boat which is nice since small skiffs are very weight sensitive.  I first saw this setup on one of Flip Pallots Ambush that Tom built for him.  The only problem with putting my battery and switches in the console is the boat doesn't have a sub floor so there is no place to run the wires.  I did want to add the weight or go through the hassle of putting a floor in so Brian came up with a good idea.  We basically routed a channel through original core on the floor and then heated a pvc tube and made it flex enough to fit.  After glassing it in you could never tell it was done and it provided just enough room to fit all the wires we needed.  Here is a shot where you can see where the chase tube is mounted and a shot of the console after everything was finished.  I had Bluepoint Fabrication do all of the aluminum work for the grab bar and the platforms and had to black it all out.  




























Another cool feature which I incorporated into the console is a cable shifter.  Since the 40 Merc doesn't have the forward and reverse in the handle like the 25 does, Brian came up with this little push pull shifter.  This makes docking a little easier since you don't have to reach back and shift on the cowling.  The original idea was mount it underneath the grab bar where all of my other switches are mounted, but we couldn't get the cable to make the bends so we had to mount in on the console.  It ended up working out perfectly.










The wiring on the boat is incredible.  As far as electrical things go I added a Garmin 546s which isn't in the pictures, but mounts on the grab bar.  While the majority of my time is spent poling, I decided to add a trolling motor.  I went with a Minn Kota Ipilot 55lb 12V setup with a removable mount.  I had Tom glass in a battery shelf in the front locker and went with a Odyssey 1500 for the trolling motor battery.  I added a Stealth Charger in the console so all I have to do is plug it in at night and the trolling motor battery and the cranking battery, a Odyssey 925, charge up.  I also added led lights in all the hatches and a bubbler in the cooler seat so I can keep crabs and shrimp alive when fishing down in the Keys.  Here are some pictures of the wiring, rigging, and electronics.























































For some reason I have always loved dead grass green.  I'm not sure if it is because a bunch of the old Glades Skiffs use to be that color or what, but I have always been fond of it.  I went with Awlcraft for the hull so it can be repaired easier and repainted the entire cockpit and decks with Awlgrip.  I stuck with the cream color on the deck and painted the console to match the hull.  The boat originally only has 1 rod tube per side so I had Tom redo them.  We added 3 oversized tubes on each side which is plenty for my needs.  




























I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things and pictures just don't do it justice.  I added a color matched Line-x keel guard from the guys over at Line-x of Sarasota and will be putting a faux teak SeaDek floor kit in when I get a chance.  I will post some more pictures of things as I get them all dialed in and if anyone wants to see any other specific pictures or have any questions let me know.  Kudos again to the boys down at Islamarine, they do very nice work and are great to work with.  For those who live up in Central Florida like myself or far away from Islamorada, having a boat down there is a great excuse to go down to the Keys for the weekend to "check on it".


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## nate. (Nov 12, 2009)

badness. get some seadeck in that baby!


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Beautiful skiff, Tyler. Tom and crew did a hell of a job. Nice to see it complete! Want to see it with the SeaDek on there.


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## castawaycustoms (Jan 27, 2008)

I will get my SeaDek done as soon as everyone else has theirs. So it might be while haha. Hopefully work on it after the Lauderdale boat show.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

> I will get my SeaDek done as soon as everyone else has theirs.  So it might be while haha.  Hopefully work on it after the Lauderdale boat show.


Lol. It may be a while then! I've been waiting for my yeti pad since the Miami boat show! Lol. It's cool though. I'll have you scan my new boat in a few weeks and get it all at once.


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

Too cool! Wish HB would go "old school" and offer a more affordable skiff like the old Watermans. Light, functional, no frills all skills! 

Love the ride Tyler!

Cheers


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## SClay115 (May 18, 2009)

Big fan of that color too, great looking boat. 

Love the detail work on that cable shifter. Any of those pieces available to the public? That is an outrageously elegant solution to the wanting to be able to shift while standing.

Steve


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2011)

It came out great!

I had a 2001 Waterman and after seeing yours torn down at ECC I knew I was going to dump a bunch of money in mine and sold it.


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## tgaud11 (Sep 30, 2008)

Great skiff and good write up...I enjoyed reading and checking out the pictures.


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## castawaycustoms (Jan 27, 2008)

Brazilnut, this was not the same boat that was at ECC. I have another 16 Waterman tunnel hull which is completely gutted. I had HB build a new cap for it and it is currently sitting down at Islamarine. Now I have this one finished up I'm not in a hurry, but will get that one finished eventually. This one is my baby so I will probably sell the tunnel hull once she is done. SClay, the all of those parts are just standard, the cable is a teleflex I believe and forget the make of the actually handle and mount.


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## tguasjr (Mar 9, 2009)

Tyler, it looks awesome! Congrats!


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

[smiley=y-10.gif] Very Nice


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

WOW, they really did an awesome job on your skiff. I too love that color, especially on those spartan no-sole watermen. I think VERY highly of that model and your boat is great example of it.


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

Tyler,

Where did you get the "Darkside Association" decal? I would like to get one for my Gordon Waterman 16'...

Let me know if you have info on the decal or the artwork, so I can have one made.

Thanks,

Bob


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## JBAILBOND (Sep 20, 2011)

who made that coffin box/seat/grab bar that thing is sweet!!!!!!!


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## castawaycustoms (Jan 27, 2008)

The coffin box was a HB console that Tom Gordon cut down and was going to put in his personal Ambush. He ended up not using it so I bought it from him. The welding for the grab bar was done by Blue Point Fabrication. I have my trim tabs, engine trim, and a pre wired switch for a jackplate if I ever decide to put one on. My bubbler, led lights, bilge pump, and running lights are mounted underneath the grab bar along with a 12v plug in. I will post some pictures in a bit.


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## IRLyRiser (Feb 14, 2007)

It looks great, but can sasquatches catch fish out of it?






















yes


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## junglerules (Sep 14, 2011)

Awesome job! Beautiful boat! Enjoy


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## jboriol (Jan 2, 2010)

Tyler,

Beautiful job on the skiff, love those watermans.  When are you going to tow it to Delacroix, Louisiana for some fall redfish action?  That boat would be sweet in the marsh.  The redfish are insane right now...had some friends up from Ft. Myers and caught 30+ yesterday in Venice, LA.  PM me (your friend from Mississippi) next time you and Willy get back up this way and we can hook up for a trip. Enjoy the skiff!


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## castawaycustoms (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm actually towing it out to Louisiana next week. Staying away from Delacroix though since they have the IFA championships. Going to be fishing out west and around Venice. I will put up some fish porn shortly hopefully.


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## jboriol (Jan 2, 2010)

I'll be in Hopedale the 4th, everything is booked up down there. The fish are starting to move inside but are not in full force yet until some fronts move through. We fished the east side of the river south ot Flatboat Pass. Most of our fish were caught where at the mouths of passes to the outer bays, Flats adjacent to cuts/broken cane lines were the trick for us. Water has been clearing up for sight fishing, we had a few nice sight cast blowups.

Have a safe trip, look forward to some pics.


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## skinnywater3 (Feb 8, 2009)

>


Excellent saturation. You should submit that to saltywhores


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## gfish (Jan 14, 2009)

Thats good stuff Tyler! Gives me some upgrade ideas for my waterman!


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## TidewateR (Nov 11, 2009)

> I'm actually towing it out to Louisiana next week.  Staying away from Delacroix though since they have the IFA championships.  Going to be fishing out west and around Venice.  I will put up some fish porn shortly hopefully.



I'll be down that way too. I'll keep an eye out for that boat.


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## castawaycustoms (Jan 27, 2008)

Here are a few more pics.  One shows a little overview of me from up on the platform.  In the one picture you can see the grab bar setup with the GPS hooked up and other picture shows the underside of the grab bars.  I'm debating putting something else on top of the grab bar to fill the space above the switches.  A cup holder is always nice for the coffee in the mornings and to throw random junk in while running around.  Brian installed LED livewell well lights on the underside  so they were slim line and also they aren't blinding bright when I turn them on.


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

Tyler, the skiff looks amazing!!


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## Punkrawqer (Dec 26, 2009)

> .  When I originally bought the skiff it has a 25 Suzuki on it and the boat was all cream.


I recognize that Zuke, hmm...


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

such an AWESOME skiff man!
I really dig the center console too!
I'm saving these skiff pics!


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