# Wind River Challenger Rebuild



## skinnywater3 (Feb 8, 2009)

Wow! That looks fantastic. I love threads like this. Keep the pictures coming


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

That boat looks beautiful so far. What i wouldnt do to get my hands on one...


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## Recidivists (May 9, 2011)

Good job keeping her alive and beautiful.


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## cusnooking (Jan 17, 2007)

Eric the boat is looking great keep the pictures coming, I finished my 57 Challenger a year ago and run it every week in tampabay, just love the classic lines. Chuck


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## hillcharl (Feb 7, 2011)

She's a beauty!


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Really cool. Mad props for working on a great old boat.


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## EricY (Mar 24, 2008)

Hmmm, looks like some of the pix went poof.  I moved them to a different site.  If the others come back I'll just delete this post.


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

Very NICE! I have some pictures of your boat in my "favorite boats" folder. I hate to see that sweet grey hull go away but I will say that you are doing a great job with the retro conversion. That Teak rail turned out PERFECT! Is it built up from laminated pieces to get that curvature right? I like the color...or atleast what I THINK the color is. Looks like a really light blue with a creme deck?


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## EricY (Mar 24, 2008)

Thanks. Yeah I debated for quite a while on the color. It's hard to get a good picture of the color. The shots in the garage are probably pretty close to the true color of the ice blue. The non-skid is actually a light grey.

The teak spray rail was probably one of the more nerve racking things. Had to cut the taper in the board, then rip the strips. They were then laminated back together on the hull to get the curve.


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## oysterbreath (Jan 13, 2009)

> Thanks.  Yeah I debated for quite a while on the color.  It's hard to get a good picture of the color.  The shots in the garage are probably pretty close to the true color of the ice blue.  The non-skid is actually a light grey.
> 
> WOW! I'M impressed! That's some tedious work but it sure did pay off! Boat color is always a big issue! I guess it's as unnerving for us guys as picking out shoe color is for women! lol Thanks for sharing!
> 
> The teak spray rail was probably one of the more nerve racking things.  Had to cut the taper in the board, then rip the strips.  They were then laminated back together on the hull to get the curve.


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## EricY (Mar 24, 2008)

Been going at it pretty hard with rigging.  Seems like a million things to do though.  Hardest part is remembering were I put all the stuff I am re-using...LOL

Here is the console with everything mounted. Well, almost.  The mount on the back of the Tach was too short, so I guess I will need to make a shim to get it secured.  Always something...










Wife was taking pix, so we had to do the "Where do all these wires go" shot










Still a lot to do, but I'm getting there.  If it doesn't kill me first...


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Looks awesome!
A white rubrail with stainless insert will really set it off


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## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

very sweet, build nice work


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## jonathanglasser71 (Apr 22, 2012)

Very nice boat !! I saw my first one about 6 months ago in the bone yard behinde hellsbay . Love the old ones .


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Awesome rebuild. Be proud.


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## junglerules (Sep 14, 2011)

Great job. Cool rig!


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## floridanative1028 (May 30, 2009)

Sweet rig man. That is by far my all time favorite hull design. And that Kiwigrip is some awesome, easy to work with stuff too!


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## EricY (Mar 24, 2008)

Finally dropped the boat in the water this weekend.  I still have some work to do to finish up the teak, and mount the push pole holders, but other than that she's pretty much finished(not sure you every really finish).  Looking forward to getting back out on the water and doing some fishing.  It's been way to long...  Here are a few updated pix...

Wiring's a pain...or was it installing the trolling motor.  Either way, not fun.









Getting ready to launch.









It floats!!









We have forward motion.









We made it back


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## cusnooking (Jan 17, 2007)

Eric the boat looks killer !!


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## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

Sick!!!!!!!


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## silverking91 (Feb 23, 2007)

Beautiful boat... great job!


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

Awesome job Eric!

You should be very proud that you brought a old classic back to life. It is a ton of work to restore these old boats and you had the perserverance to stay with it until she was finished... 

You are the owner of a rare skiff and I congratulate your efforts!

Bob


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## EricY (Mar 24, 2008)

Thanks Bob

It's been quite a while ago, but seeing your skiff was very inspirational.


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## Sheremeta (Nov 29, 2010)

What a beautiful boat.


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