THE ARRAN BOATS BLOG

I have just collected a 2000 Warrior 165 with a 2013 Mercury 80hp 4 stroke outboard which is sat on a Indespension trailer.It was in quite a state so I thought it a good idea to run a blog on its progress.
Upon collection I tested the engine to ensure it would start, run, select gear and pump water as it hadn’t been run in some 18months.As its not my first barbecue I took a fresh tank of fuel and a new 75ah battery.It went first flick of the key however little more than a dribble came out the tell tale with the muffs on despite good water pressure so I quickly turned it off.

On the way back I pulled over after a few miles to check the bearings which had been done.The nearside wheel was nearly on fire as the brake had come on during the journey and not released due to a seized brake cable.Once it had cooled down I was able to free it and continue on my way.
I emptied everything out the boat and took a power washer to it.

It takes a couple of passes to get the thick off and then its elbow grease and a scrubber to get the rest.
Once cleaner and I could see what I was doing I checked the engine over.
The water intake on the lower leg was actually covered in long dead crustaceans so I turned the washer on them.
They simply melted away so I restarted the engine with a water supply and this time even on tick over a strong tell tale flew across the carpark.One less job to do although I will drop the leg off to see if anything else is growing inside.
It was plain to see from all the steering cable bent up inside the boat that it was too long.

I disconnected it straightened it out and saw that it was a 16ft cable a good two feet over length.

While I could still use it the thing would annoy the hell out of me and not operate as smoothly due to all the extra bends in it taking up the slack.
The hull is very solid as is the floor it is in very good condition with just a few marks and scratches.
I cant say the same for the top deck however as its not faired so well.
There is one crack about 3 inches long on the port side which is the worst of it.The rest of the damage consists of spider cracks in the gel coat and a cracked cuddy in the middle of the top edge.

All this is cosmetic as its non structural well above the water line.I haven’t decided what to do about it yet.
The trailers getting a new breakaway cable, winch strap and two new brake cables.
I have removed the aux engine brackets wooden pad as it was snapped in two.
Other than that I ripped out all the electrical cables out took the transducer off but left the fuse panel in place for now.

The above pics show hull staining before and after cleaning.
It is clear that the boats antifoul waterline was either not high enough or it sat for some time with water in it making it sit lower in the water.
When I tried a cleaner on it it simply took too long to get the stain off.I then used a cutting compound G3 in liquid form which wasn’t harsh enough to touch it.
All your trying to do is remove the very top layer of oxidised gel.Its like T cutting a faded paintwork on a car.
Wet and dry was my next form of attack and 1200 grit took it off this time but took a bit too long.I moved down to 600grit and that did the job in record quick time.
Any scratches will come out when I machine polish the hull.

Heres a few pics of the boat before and after the cleaning process.

Spent the day drilling out the rivets holding the turn buttons for the cover in place.They are 4mm rivets so I use a 2.5hp drill which takes out the centre of the rivet without damaging the fibreglass around it.

It then collapses in on itself allowing you to push it in and out the other side.
The forward bollard cleat is bolted onto the bow roller with a 10mm bolt.
Its prevented from twisting by a circular locking pin.
Mine was loose and rusty so I took it off and found it was a plain nut not a nyloc nut.
Simply cleaned it up sealed it with sikaflex 291i and rebolted it on with a nyloc nut.


While I was in the forward anchor locker I swapped the nuts on the back of the winching U bolt to nylocs larger washers and sealed them with 219i sikaflex to prevent them from coming loose.


Just another shot of the G3 cutting compounds effect on the boat.

I have ordered up a new cover in blue from Warrior together with two new Warrior logo stickers as mine are faded.
Bought a cover from warrior which comes without the turn buttons fitted so you can line them up and put them in the right place.
Mine was a different length at the stern so I ordered some large lacing hooks.These covered the original holes the turn buttons left and I then punched some circular fittings in the back of the cover.
The stern of the cover now uses hooks and elastic which keeps it under tension without drilling any extra holes in the boat.