# Project Commando



## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

So when I moved to eastern NC from central MN for college I had to leave my old boat, ever since I have been saving up for a project to call my own that would fit my mixed interests. So that's where this thread begins, I found this 15' 1970 Chrysler Commando with a matching original 1970 55hp outboard. I picked it for its low cost and surprisingly well performing hull. After a few months of saving up for the project and talking with the owner I managed to get this hot mess of a vessel for $300 with the trailer. So the project really started with the trailer, With rotted tires and lights that didn't work meant i was sitting in the parking lot of lowes with some random tools I found in the bed of my friends pickup installing new ones. Considering I had about a 150 mile trip from Southport to Morehead City I wanted to make sure things would go well. Bearings were replaced, lights installed, and spare tires in the pickup bed I rolled out. I got about 60 miles when I found a pothole and noticed the bow dropped about a foot. Come to find out that the underside of the tongue had exploded and worn away on the road. After about an hour of roadside ziptie surgery and a 3 hour trip turned into a 12 hour escapade I limped it home. So it begins, I got the boat to my friends place where it was going to stay the night before heading to its long term home on another friends waterfront property downeast.














I had originally intended to weld in some reinforcements where the trailer had broken before but after seeing the damage in the daylight I discovered that the old support was thoroughly rusted but the actual trailer frame was largely solid and the tongue had only surface rust about 10" up from where it broke before. I ended up cutting out all of the mangled steel from the frame and cut the tongue back to relatively good metal. I then loosened the winch stand and slid it back so that I could move the good steel back into the frame where it would support the trailer along the Y axis. I then drilled through both the frame collet and tongue and installed a pair 1/2" transport bolts rated to 120,000lbs. One goes directly through the tongue to support the X axis and the other went under the tongue where there was a second Y axis support. Now I do intend to either get a new trailer or possibly media blast and fully restore this one at some point however for right now this trailer is just a platform to hold the boat while I address the rest of this project.


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## trekker (Sep 19, 2015)

She's a beauty.


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## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

Well It's been almost a year and this project has been a series of interesting discoveries leaving me with little idea as where to go. First of all I finally have gone through just about everything and have at many points debated leaving her to be a good roadside planter or maybe a home for some raccoons. However this past fall she managed to float her way through hurricane Flo without a scratch on her, despite the fact that I ended up having to leave her tied to a tree like a junkyard hound while I evacuated to the Shenandoah. Now once I got back and saw that she was still in well, not good, but not worse condition, I felt kinda bad letting this hull go to waste. Especially since after some research I found these center console 151s weren't the most common and I have struggled to find many in reasonable condition today. Now there may be a very good reason to that, however I am determined to get her to a point where she can be enjoyed for a little while longer.








Now to what I've found. First I will start with the good. The outboard is in surprisingly good condition for how it was stored. Good compression, the fuel system was very clean and I have only had to replace some fuel lines, plastic linkages and both a carb and fuel pump gasket kit. I bench tested the points to CD type ignition and have yet to find a fault and the wiring loom is in good shape, I've got to add an ignition switch and replace some starter brushes. I do plan on giving it a good degreasing and a full paint job along with updating the steering from a rope and pulley system to a much simpler and safer teleflex system to hopefully bring things from 1970 to at least the mid to late 80s















Now for the less amazing. I know the plywood deck under the interliner is rotted to the point I can push a pocket knife through it and the transom is not much better. Now I assumed that since the deck and the transom were going bad I was in for a stringer job. Well that's where things get interesting. This vessel has no stringers. She is built somewhat like a whaler with a solid core of foam covered with a painted non glassed plywood deck, then a cap/interliner thrown on top to hold all the rigging with the exposed plywood showing below all of the storage areas. The way I see it I've got a few options. 

Option 1.) Pop off the cap and deck, drill some holes in the transom, tilt her up, and see how much water I can get out of it. Then reassemble.

Option 2.) Pull all the foam and try to make a stringer and deck system that will support the hull.

Option 3.) Pull all the foam, then refill with expanding foam once again, then add the deck and cap.

I realize option 1 would more than likely going to fail. Here in eastern NC its just about impossible for anything to dry, especially in winter with constant rain and temps in the 40s but it might be worth a shot while I get the outboard restored. I am currently partial to option 3 as it would be the most likely to get me on the water in time for the shad run and the beginning of the inshore cobia season however I am currently struggling to figure out how much it would actually cost to fill the hull with foam. Now option 2 feels a bit experimental but I've done some glass work in the past and I know I could tab in some stringers however I just want to be sure I won't be clinging to a split chunk of hull the first time I have to cross the wake from a 50' Jarrett Bay.















So this is where I'm at. Its mid January and aside from a few speckled trout and puffers there's not a whole lot to do so it's high time to get on this. Any input is appreciated, and if anyone is aware of either a prestolite 11 tooth MGD starter or a teleflex helm and cable rolling around in someones garage somewhere I would greatly appreciate a message.


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Check your PMs.


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## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

About time for a progress update. I have spoken with some local boat builders and have come up with a plan. Will be ripping all the old foam and it will be replaced with a series of juniper and ply ribs across the floor and up the gunnels. I also went ahead and got the old interliner cut and removed to start with the foam removal. I am still debating what to do with the stern area. I will be removing the splashwell but am debating if I make a pair of storage boxes. I am currently loosely basing this off of the old Swan Point Skiffs that were built just a few miles north of here (photos attached for reference). If I choose to go with a front deck I plan on keeping it small. In such a small boat I want to keep the usable cockpit space to a maximum for the type of fishing I generally do.


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## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

Quick update. I've been ordering supplies and working on a final floor layout. In the meantime I've been gutting all of the old foam. Amazingly the majority of the foam is dry however there is about a 1/2" layer of soaked foam everywhere it touches glass so its gotta go. I plan on tabbing the old front deck in after a bit of trimming and adjusting to help support the bow. I will also be adding some serious supports along the sides in the form of juniper and ply laminated ribs. Once I get all of the foam out I will be installing the ribs, then I will remove the cap to add supports and patch some holes from the last owners accessories. I will also be doing a complete transom replacement.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

If you fill this entire area (red circles) all the way around the hull you will never have wet foam again. It will also stiffen the hull sides.


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## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

Im planning on backing the entire thing in juniper and glass to stiffen the hull. I will also be glassing in 2" juniper and glass ribs every 2 feet or so with one 8" support in the center to fight flex. Im working with a friend to draw up a final bracing plan in CAD to figure how much support the hull will need.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Are you saying you are going to glue wood together to get 8" and the the length of the hull?


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## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

Sorry for the late reply. I will be adding juniper ribs that will be a sandwich of 7/8" juniper and 1/2" ply. I've attached a very rough diagram below to clarify. I've currently got the hull stripped down to bare glass and cleaned up. I will start adding the ribs this week. After the hull has sufficient supposed I will remove the cap and replace the transom, followed by installing the new deck, console, interior paint etc.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

What about stringers?


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## Sam8fish (Jul 30, 2017)

When I talked with one of the local boat builders he said I won't have to worry about adding additional stringers. The hull already has a pair of solid glass stringers that run the first 8' of the hull. So far today I have gotten all of the ply sandwich portions of the ribs cut. I'm headed to the boatyard right now to go pickup the juniper.


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