Project Year 1 - 1998
By the next weekend I had her washed and cleaned out and was considering my options to repair the motor. While relaxing with a beer and talking boats with my brother in-law we both realized as we looked at her flying the American flag from the bow light that she was a classic boat worth saving.
By Memorial Day weekend I had treated the topside with 3M Fiberglass Restorer Wax and had achieved a showroom finish. There were plenty of stress cracks and blemishes, but for 37 years old she looked great! I had also removed the cylinder head from the motor and given it to a local marine repair shop to install an insert to repair the plug threads. Unfortunately my choice of mechanics wasn’t very good. The insert pulled out of the aluminum as soon as I attempted to torque the plug. I wanted to get her in the water that weekend to see if she was worth completing, but no matter what I tried I could not get the insert to seat deep enough to get a compression seal on the plug. The water test would have to wait.
The next month or so was spent searching for a way to fix the botched insert or a replacement cylinder head. One dealer thought he had a new head in stock, but after driving 50 miles to the marina we found the computer inventory to be wrong. The trip was not in vain, however. They had a repair manual for the motor in stock that I purchased eagerly.
With the help of the marina owner who thought he had a head I located a restoration shop near my home that claimed to have several old motors with compatible cylinder heads. A short drive and 12 or so hex bolts later I was the proud owner of an exact replacement head in good condition. Since I had read the repair manual I decided to also replace the water pump impeller before attempting to start her. A few weeks later after painting the used head to match my 1967 “Big Twin” powerhead she was ready to crank.
I stuck the lower end of the Big Twin in a plastic 55-gallon drum filled with water and cranked. I was elated when it fired and ran. I let the motor run for quite a few minutes while I tweaked fuel mix and throttle cable adjustments. I hadn’t noticed that the HOT light on the dashboard was glowing bright red. I did notice the paint on my new cylinder head begin to bubble! I shut down and prayed that I had not fried the powerhead. After another disassembly it turned out that when I attached the lower end I had misaligned the water tube starving the new pump and the water jacket. I was fortunate that it was not run hot for too long and nothing warped. When I re-seated the lower end correctly and started the motor again it ran cool as a cucumber.
The next weekend was the water test. Since I live in Connecticut where a Boat Safety Certificate is required to pilot a motor boat I enlisted my brother in-law for the task. We launched her with much enthusiasm, and an audience of our families. All went well until one of the control cables snapped about 1000 feet from the ramp and we were forced to shut down and paddle back. But we learned from that short test that she was sea worthy and stable, definitely worth saving.
The project continued with replacement of control and steering cables, installation of a horn and outfitting with a proper paddle, life jackets and fire extinguisher. One important step was to complete the safe boating course and earn my certificate so I could pilot her myself. It was August before I was able to do so. Once legal my family and I enjoyed the remainder of the season on Candlewood Lake in our ’61 Bonanza.
I almost forgot the trailer! When I bought the Bonanza it sat on a Sonoco trailer painted an ugly green, probably with a roller. There was some surface rust showing and the bunks were covered with 1970’s shag carpet and rotting. I used a combination of paint stripper and 3M sanding wheels to remove the old paint and rust down to bright metal. I didn’t own a compressor at the time so I primed and painted it with Rustoleum Antique White from spray cans. After the paint was dry I replaced the bunks and rollers. The lights and tires wouldn’t pass safety inspection so they were replaced as well. The job came out quite good despite of being painted from cans, a major improvement over the former appearance.
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