Restoring a '59/'60 Atom Deluxe |
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mwaller
Newbie Joined: December-08-2023 Location: Kirkland, WA Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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Posted: December-20-2023 at 6:10pm |
Hello Everyone!
My son (13) and I are about to embark on restoring an older Atom Deluxe - I believe it is a '59 or '60. Long story short - a friend purchased this project boat for himself, but was so inspired by my son's enthusiasm for restoring it that he decided gift the boat to my son! This is not something I ever expected to take on, but how could we say no to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?! Wooden boat restoration is well outside the scope of projects I've tackled in the past, so I would love to hear from anyone who has first-hand experience or tips for working on similar vessels. Does anyone know of any blogs or videos of similar restoration projects? My son is most interested in gas engines, so we will probably begin by restoring the Graymarine Four-85. If you know of any media resources related to restoring this engine, I would love to know about them! Thanks for reading! |
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81nautique
Grand Poobah Joined: September-03-2005 Location: Big Rock, Il Status: Offline Points: 5781 |
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Best source of general info for you will be Don Danenberg's book. It's out of print so an actual paperback copy is very expensive but there is a digital download available. Most of this info is for Carvel planked boats and yours is plywood but there's still a lot of good general info and good reading for your son.
Hyper link won't work but go to Amazon and look for Don Danenberg. The Complete Wooden Runabout Restoration GuideI'm working on my 3rd wood Correct Craft restoration and although I've never done anything with plywood sides I still think I could offer some useful info and/or guidance. DM me for my contact info if you want.
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67 ski nat
Platinum Member Joined: July-19-2018 Location: Santa rosa Status: Offline Points: 1194 |
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Awesome boat style
Holy cow tons of work, you sound prepared and committed excellent Should look at collegiate restoration thread on this forum trending now Similar Will be fun to watch you guys vicariously |
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mwaller
Newbie Joined: December-08-2023 Location: Kirkland, WA Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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Thanks so much for your comments! I downloaded the book you recommended, so I will have plenty of reading to do...
My son learned on Christmas that the Atom Deluxe is *his* boat. Now, the cat is out of the bag! We spent most of Christmas day installing a trailer hitch on my Subaru. This was a bigger job than anticipated, thanks to numerous plastic trim pieces that had to be removed before pulling the bumper cover. But the job is mostly done... only the rear flooring needs to be reinstalled now that the wiring harness is in place. Today I purchased a trip permit from the vehicle licensing office, so we should be ready to tow the boat home in the next few days! |
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75 Tique
Grand Poobah Joined: August-12-2004 Location: Seven Lakes, NC Status: Offline Points: 6130 |
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As Alan (81 Nautique) mentioned, his restorations have been planked vs plywood, so some differences, but to give you an idea of what you could be in for, here is a video recap of his first project. |
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“So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
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Mpost
Senior Member Joined: July-05-2018 Location: Monticello, MN Status: Offline Points: 330 |
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Please explain the "Trip Permit" ? |
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84 SN Sold 98 SN Lund Pro V 1975 Alumacraft
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wayoutthere
Senior Member Joined: February-28-2020 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 484 |
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Keyword purchase, as in purchased a travel permit. It's washingtkn state dude.
BLM/ANTIFA & phd's in fem lit non binary neon dyed hair nose ring types can burn, loot, set up barricades around several city blocks and walk around slapjackin people rifling thru there pockets. Totally cool, but you better not tow a boat home without a travel permit or the brown shirts will march over to your place; to cut out the dead wood, to clean up the city, to put on a black shirt, to weed out the weaklings, to smash in their windows and kick in their doors, https://youtu.be/nWOMwHqOTX4?feature=shared |
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mwaller
Newbie Joined: December-08-2023 Location: Kirkland, WA Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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The trailer has expired tabs, and I will need to transport the boat on public highways to get it home.
I doubt WA is the only state to require a permit in this situation, but I could be wrong. Please explain the "Trip Permit" ? |
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67 ski nat
Platinum Member Joined: July-19-2018 Location: Santa rosa Status: Offline Points: 1194 |
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That was awesome WOT
Trip permit = 1day trailer registration |
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mwaller
Newbie Joined: December-08-2023 Location: Kirkland, WA Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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New Year's Eve was big day for us... We drove 1.5 hours South to retrieve the Atom Deluxe!
Here, me and my son inspect his new boat while his benefactor looks on: We secure her to the trailer... ... and make it home, just before dusk! It's a tight squeeze, but she fits in our garage! |
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mwaller
Newbie Joined: December-08-2023 Location: Kirkland, WA Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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On New Year's Day, my son, Andrew, wasted no time documenting and tearing into the engine. All hoses and other external connections were numbered and removed:
Next, he removed the intake manifold and carburetor: He began disassembling the carb, but got stuck at this point. The part with a coil spring seems to prevent the two halves from separating. Does anyone know what this spring part is and how to release or remove it?
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mwaller
Newbie Joined: December-08-2023 Location: Kirkland, WA Status: Offline Points: 12 |
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Last night, we tackled the exhaust manifold. We were unable to remove all the nuts that secure the manifold to the exhaust pipe, so we elected to cut the exhaust pipe to facilitate removal of the manifold. After that intervention, the exhaust manifold was removed without further drama.
We noted a fair bit of ash-like debris in several of the ports... What is this?
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