Just Picked Up a Twin-Engine Fish Nautique

Some of you will recognize this one from the boats for sale on this site, and may be familiar with some of the work the previous owner did on it. I can't wait to get started on this thing!

This one is a 1981, and the previous owner says that it was the first one built. I have not been able to verify that yet, but I am working on it. I think one of the others is a 1980, but I am not positive.

The previous owner started a very nice restoration. He removed the floor and replaced the stringers with all new composite stringers, and gelcoated the entire bilge. This work looks great!

He also installed a custom-made 75 gallon fuel tank that will be under the floor (instead of at the transom), and modified the deck a little to open up more space behind the console. He installed dripless shaft seals, and part of a hydraulic steering system. This work looks very good!

The original 3.8L V6 engines were completely remanufactured, and it looks like the work was very nicely done.

The bright work is removed from the boat, but most of it was stored in a shed and is in decent shape.

Now for the bad stuff...

Unfortunately, the previous owner got sick and was unable to complete the restoration. The boat sat outside since 2014 just south of Ft. Lauderdale. It was not covered, and someone removed the carbs from the engines and tried to cover the intakes with plastic bags and rags, but that didn't work. The bags deteriorated in the Florida sun, and the rags offered no protection from water. The engines have zero hours since rebuild, but they are both completely locked up now, and will need to be rebuilt again.

The center console is complete, but in need of restoration.

So, the plan is to get the engines rebuilt again, install the floor and spray new gelcoat on the floor and entire top deck, restore the console, mount the gauges, rewire everything, and get it in the water!

Here are some pictures from the restoration work the previous owner did. I'll add some current pictures in the next post.

My gelcoat/fiberglass guy is going to squeeze it in over the next two to three months (he gave me a much better rate if I didn't need it done immediately).

We're doing the following:

    Complete new floor (in sections, removable)
    Rework the entire top deck, which is pretty messed up. Lots of holes and raw fiberglass patches.
    Rework the entire center console
    Sand and buff hull sides
    Repair bad exhaust hole in hull (fiberglass and gelcoat) and install SS exhaust tips

Here's a shot of the bad exhaust hole.

If that bad boy were mine I find 4 3" stainless exhaust tips from parted out 80's boats and put all straight out the back instead of those Y's

Jeff,
I'm with Gary on the exhaust. As long as your glass guy is working on the hull, I'd sure consider going back to the original. Maybe when the PO installed the hydraulic steering, he thought the exhaust routing would interfere?

Very good point on the two tanks. In fact, the PO had planned to install two tanks, but he must have changed his mind at some point. Here's his original layout plan. It definitely has some flaws (like engine placement for one), but it would have allowed for two tanks.

Nice find, these are cool boats and with twins. Whoa.
Yoy have a hell of a lot of planning and work to finish but it can def be worth it in the end.
Not a lot of room under the deck of these things. First thing i would wonder about the exhaust is if those 45s are design3d to stop surge or if it is just an open junction to combine exhausts. Usually people dont do stuff like that for no reason. It may have been done to fix a past issue. I know my fish the waterline was very close to deck height at the motor and those motors having logs instead of risers i would be really thinking about that.
It was one of the things that kept me up at night when i owned my fish, or when i was drift jigging in rough seas or leaving the boat on anchor and going diving. I always worried i would go to start and hydrolock one of these days.

Dual tanks wouldnt be my biggest worry though. Get 2 Raycor filters, one for each engine and like stated. Carry spares.
And thats a nice steering system. closed hydraulic so it doesnt use a pump off the motor, the helm and piston are a closed loop. Is it a big upgrade? Yes, is it a necessary upgrade? Def not. But it is there so keep it and be happy!
Look forward to seeing this progress.

Definitely a cool addition to your fleet of CC's Jeff. You gonna keep the 81 Fish once you get this one completed? Seems that Pinkham Point has some sort of Home Port of infectious disease. Anyone who spends a bit of time there seems to always end up with a Fleet of Correct Crafts and with that being said. I'm sure you can always upgrade those V-6's and go with a pair of V-8's and that thing would fly! Keep us informed on her progress.

These are Chevy 3.8 (229) 90 degree engines. From what I can find, these are the approximate specs:

110 hp (82 kW) at 4,200 rpm      170 lb·ft (230 N·m) at 2,000 rpm      3.736 x 3.48 inches       8.60:1

One thing you might want to look into is to see if the marine parts from those engines will let you use a 4.3 Chevy V6 block,some are rated at around 200hp and are used to replace 302 Fords.

Jeff,
Are the original engines counter rotating?

I was curious so I just did a on line search for 4.3 marine engines. LOTS comes up including RR. LOTS of remans too.

I think we're all living vicariously through Jeff...

effit, twin LM4's!

Jeff,

I've been following this on PN too, and this is such a cool find. I can't wait to see it all come together, looks like a fantastic starting point.

In the Supra (boat) world, there was a guy with an Allegro, which was a VERY limited production cuddy cabin 20' inboard direct drive, like, maybe as few as 10 ever made. He searched for this boat for years, having spent time on one as a kid, and he finally found one - it turned out to be the actual boat from his childhood. Sadly, it burned up in a forest fire maybe as recently as last year, so he's back on the hunt again.

This seems like a similar needle-in-a-haystack find, and I'm sure you will take good care of it. Congrats.

I had no idea Supra made a boat like that. Very cool!

I wonder how big of a tank would fit in the center section in front of my 4" bulkhead...

Well, I have some good news. After filling the plug holes with PB Blaster for a couple of days, the port engine now turns freely! I haven't tried to start it or anything, but I'll count this as a win for now!

Hopefully the starboard engine will free up soon as well. We'll see!