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I believe the vintage 75hp Johnson or Evinrude weighs about 245 lbs and the 6 cylinder Merc 850 is about 270 lbs. I have the Merc 850 on a 1961 17ft Grady White Hatteras and it sits in the water level and handles just fine. In a modern outboard, a 60hp Evinrude Etec should provide plenty of power at...

Hi Peter - I do not know the original construction of your boat, but if I am seeing the photo correctly, it looks like there is already a spacer board between the bottom of the ribs and the bottom of the boat located halfway between the inner keelson and the stringer. Do you know if that is original...

Hi Bill, I bought a new Venture trailer for my 17ft Grady and I love it. 2 main bunks extending beyond the transom plus 2 guide bunks further forward angled together to center the keel and provide support on either side of the keel very close to the keel. There is only one keel roller, located in fr...

I like the last idea. Sounds practical enough to make an array of measurements from straight at each fastener location and make custom shims based on each measurement. With the ribs being white oak, it seems logical to me to make the shims from white oak as well. I would need to shim between the inn...

I am looking to add power tilt to my 1965 Evinrude Starflite 75hp. Any ideas on where I might find one would be greatly appreciated!

You are very welcome. 3 tubes should be more than enough but as Andreas said, you are better off with too much than too little on hand. If your intent is to leave the keel cap installed permanently after your test run, I'd lean toward letting the caulk cure before launching. I think the water pressu...

That's a tough call. I once did a test run with a new to me boat that was missing just a few inches of the keel cap at the transom, and by the time I launched, parked the trailer, and drove about 100 yards from the dock there was water over the floor boards in the stern. I was really surprised at ho...

Thank you for all the input. I'll throw out and an idea I'm considering to try and pull the hog down. After removing the outer keel and blocking the hull upright, including blocks on the keel line at the transom and just forward of the hog, I am considering anchoring a fixture to the concrete floor ...

The 19 ft Grady I am working on has a moderate gradually curved hook that peaks at about 3/8" about 2.5 feet in front of the transom. How important is it to have water in the hull during the time that force is applied to gradually work the hook out? Could keeping water in the hull for weeks or ...

The deck came off easily once I removed the dashboard. A total of 8 screws, a zillion staples and dried out glue. There is a 1/4" riser below the deck around the outside that is rotted. Any guidance on where to get the material to make new deck boards and this riser would be very helpful. Thanks!

I'm starting the restoration of a 1963 19ft Grady White Pacific. The deck needs to be replaced. I'm not sure how the deck is secured to the framework, and would appreciate any insight on removing the deck. I'm hoping to not destroy the boards as I remove them so I can use the old decking as a patter...

My vehicle was totaled in an accident Thursday and I need to decide on a replacement quickly. Although this would not be my primary towing vehicle, I would like to get something that I can use to tow my wood boats from time to time. I am looking at the Mazda CX5 with a manual transmission for a numb...

Thanks both of you for your help. I will definitely sand with course sandpaper before applying the epoxy primer this time. This primer is designed to stick well to gelcoat, so I think it should also adhere well to sanded CPES treated wood. I'm working on stripping the bottom paint that I put on just...

Also, I have been considering using a topside paint on the bottom since the boat is trailered and rarely is in the water more than a couple of days at a time. Petit Easypoxy has a color I would like, but does not recommend immersion for more that 2 days. Does anyone have any experience immersing Eas...

Last winter I applied Interlux bottom paint directly over wood treated with CPES. The bottom paint started peeling after the first use and the folks at Interlux recommended that I go back down to bare wood and use Interprotect 2 part epoxy primer under the bottom paint this time. Has anyone used thi...