80's Arrowbolt 21 'Project'!

[rbcoomer]

Ok, been meaning to do this for a while so here goes...

Here starts the tale of boat number 2...

Choosing brand was easy, as said friend and I had started the SWFBR - and to not have a Fletcher myself would be obscene! That and I love the classic 'speedboat' lines of the old Fletchers. It didn't take much searching of old brochures and eBay to discover what I wanted - an early ArrowBolt! I set about finding one, and with a limited budget, really wanted a project that I could refurbish over a few years. Surprisingly few came up and an early one that did was in Scotland - some 550 miles away! It seemed improbable and price plus travel was a little high given age/condition, so I delayed whilst saving up a fund. One then came up on eBay just 4 miles away - a 22' around 1989 starting at £200. No engine, sterndrive or trailer however, but went to see anyway - sodden and tired... Set myself a limit of £500, having arranged 'loan' of a trailer if required and watched the auction... almost £900!!! Back to the drawing board.

Then by chance, had an email from the guy in Scotland, Gordon, who was still trying to sell his! He offered a much better price if I could collect soon, too good to pass up so we agreed a deal (unseen) and a friend and I trekked off to Scotland to collect her over the August bank holiday... A long and arduous journey, but we did a shared driving, non-stop round trip in about 26 hours and made it home early the following morning with boat, trailer and car still all in one piece!



So here begins my first 'big' boat project - still a few bits to do on the little 'un, but she'll provide the sanity check and boating relief we'll no doubt need over the coming months...

Before I started out, I knew that floor and trailer are issues, plus she has been laid up uncovered for around 3 years and was described as complete but tired. She has a Volvo Penta 5L V8 - which I currently believe to be the AQ231A, coupled to a Mercruiser Alpha 1 sterndrive. Seating is complete and largely intact (albeit sodden) and she has a small (dry?) cuddy with hatch (non-window type) plus a great sundeck. Most of the boat is complete and to my surprise, the camper cover is included (more about that later). I'm anticipating a spend of around 3-4K over the next 2-3 years as and when I can afford - to include trailer (repair or replace), electronics and basic equipment. I'm hoping to have her on the water (not completed) by SWFBR 2012 (in June!)

Continued shortly - initial assessment and pictures...

[jokaboat]

Wow, great write up. Looks like Fletchers are becoming the brand of choice round here

Keep the info coming

[rbcoomer]

Part 2 - initial assessment

We established that the central cockpit floor crunched and moved underfoot, as did that by the helm. This was going to need ripping out and replacing - probably stringers too. I've already removed the glued down rubber floor and determined the crunching was the top laminate - now mostly removed. The floor appears to be of a hardwood, blockboard construction where strips of hardwoods are glued together (approx 15mm profiles) and sandwiched between two thin layers of plywood. The plywood and rubber floor have trapped moisture and thus the ply is rotten and brittle - pulled up with fingers. Surprisingly the block-board section, although saturated with water is not rotted! It will however need to come up as it has sagged and distorted - plus the layer of ply below is rotten.





The floor of the battery bay seems solid and can be stood on, but the other side (starboard) contains a hole and is clearly rotten. What can be pulled out with fingers has been to expedite drying.



The bulkheads between the engine and fuel tank (under rear seat) and the fuel tank and cockpit are also rotten. Cuddy floor is glassed and seems both dry and solid at this stage.

Engine bay floor/stringers seem solid, but won't really know until cockpit is stripped, fuel tank and bulkheads removed etc.

The camper cover had shrunk and the 4 sections of frame are clearly missing some bits and appear to need attaching somewhere - not obvious! In order to prevent water/leaf ingress and aid drying, I have fitted the cover (by soaking and stretching parts) and 'propped up' using the rear seat as a tent pole! It is however a major bonus as although quite tired, is complete and will suffice as a template for a new one! Will have another shot at figuring the poles over the weekend...







Gauges are all present except for tacho, but from attempts before leaving Scotland, we know that the hydraulic pump and 'up' relay don't work. The propeller is quite pitted with a few dings, so will get that off and sent for refurb. The sterndrive was a replacement and a new gimbal bearing and gear selection cable have been fitted. The engine was 'refurbished' when the previous owner purchased, but as he said, he saw no evidence of that, although it does look fairly 'clean'. The oil in the rocker casing however does show signs of partial emulsification, but too early to say if this indicates a problem. Having sat outside through the last couple of winters - and in the Highlands - it could just be from condensation etc. New oil, plugs, belts etc will be done before starting, so all will become apparent no doubt!



General exterior condition isn't bad, but the supports for the stainless rail around the sundeck have blistered beneath the black coating so I may need to get some made from stainless. Some of the gel coat has flaked away and some crazed, but these sections are quite small and manageable.

I've not connected a battery yet to check the wiring, bilge pump, blowers, horn, lights etc but will probably rewire anyway due to age.

Fuel tank is stainless - this and lines appear in good order visually as does steering (power steering).



Trailer is marginal as to if it's repairable. Although quite rusted, it is mostly solid apart from the nearside central spine which has rotted away on the rear 24-30" (holes) and the leafs are very rusted. It's a bunk with some rollers. Hubs are an unknown, but bits were rattling inside on the journey home! The wheel bearings seem good (no heat in 550 miles non-stop!) and only one has a little amount of play. Two were replaced last year and the other two greased I'm told. I purchased two new wheels and tyres to collect, but the other two could do with replacing soon unless I replace the entire trailer with a new one!

More pics etc over weekend...

[rbcoomer]

Wow, great write up. Looks like Fletchers are becoming the brand of choice round here

Keep the info coming

Thanks, this a first for me so might take a while!

[Ed]

Nice start to the project. I really like the Arrowbolt 21. Looks like you have your work cut out.

So whats first, totally strip the hull bare/engine out and go from there? I'd not be too surprised if the transom was shot too..

Looking forward to the updates

[rbcoomer]

Nice start to the project. I really like the Arrowbolt 21. Looks like you have your work cut out.

So whats first, totally strip the hull bare/engine out and go from there? I'd not be too surprised if the transom was shot too..

Looking forward to the updates

Hi Ed,

Just been catching up with your Quantum thread - hadn't looked since June

Yes, I think probably back to bare boat!

I'm very much at the prodding around, 'how bad is it' phase! I'm not in a hurry however, which is probably a good thing as funds will no doubt apply the brakes, but want to do a good job so it'll be done when good and ready I think!

The back-end of the boat seems to have fared better than the central section, perhaps because that big sundeck served as a hood, or perhaps simply because the air space and, originally engine heat, kept her dry. The bilge in centre section is full of crud, which is holding moisture, so cleaning this and generally drying the structure is the priority. The Cuddy is perhaps a concern as it's all fibreglass floor - so will be difficult to establish what's below. I don't want to rip it out for the sake of it because it is molded with storage areas etc. It could be ok because unlike the later 19' and 21' Sportscruisers, the hatch is overlapping and seals well. There is also no anchor locker, so apart from the join between top/bottom molds and any water running forward under the floors, there is nowhere for water to get in there. It doesn't smell damp in there and there's no signs of water. Ironically, the older design may have limited the water damage to the central cockpit area -or is that wishful thinking?

[Ed]

Take some core samples and find out! That's probably the easiest thing to do.

I know what you mean about funds applying brakes. I hate cutting corners my fuel tank alone cost a damn fortune. In fact with what I have spent so far I could have got a pretty reasonable boat lol. Still it wouldn't be as fun!

[baasboat1]

Great post and looks like a labour of love for the project, I wouldnt be so brave as to even try this but it sounds like you have the skills and commitment to deliver it to the budget. I wish you all the best and look forward to the progress reports

regards

Baasboat1

[rbcoomer]

A few more pictures now that I've had a chance to resize them to sensible proportions...

I've not yet found an identification plate/number so as yet unsure of year still, but believe her to be late 70's or early 80's.

General hull state - a selection to show various bits - good and bad plus many original fitments etc.












Swim platform - surprisingly more solid than it appears. Not sure if this was original or not, need to find more pictures of Arrowbolts of this era perhaps



This is probably the worst area of gel-coat (or lack of...)

Shame cover hadn't been on the last few years, but it was at least preserved dry in the cuddy - needed some soaking/stretching to fit!


Some cockpit pictures...
It's not every boat has a lawn to mow...









Original floor before rubber mat and ply laminate removed - some give and crunchy!

Rear seat back not fixed and tends to lean forwards - coverings in pretty good nick for age, but suspect bases etc will be rotten and thus new seats will be almost certain.






Console is mostly complete with just the tacho missing...

Nice, low mileage example guv, one careful lady owner...


Under the hood...

No fire suppression, so that will be a must and in in budget anyway - ample space to install.

Surprised to find bilge blower given age, unsure of condition as yet.

Bilge pump isn't going to pump what's down there, perhaps a macerater?

Battery bay seems solid and clear of rot - but nothing taken for granted. Will fit a couple of big leisure/starters in there and wire a split charge. (Apologies for fuzzy pic - must have had one too many coffees.. )


The Cuddy area is clean and dry...

Headroom is 'limited' as illustrated by my son!

Floor is fibreglass and doesn't appear to be wood beneath, but there must presumably be stringers supporting? I'm hoping not to have to cut this out, but that may be optimistic and if necessary it will be done!


That's about it for now, a busy couple of weeks, so apart from the odd bit of cleaning up, removal of seats, tank and floor, not much will happen for a while. It will give the boat a chance to dry out and depending on weather, I may put a tarp over and put a dehumidifier in there once floor is up.

[Brit Rider]

What an awesome project! Best of luck I say! Can't wait to see the pics and hear the updates

two things worth noting:

Firstly, I know one of the chaps who built this boat (You'll be amazed to hear he STILL works at Fletcher to this day! - albeit a very different company now!)... So if you want to know the answers to questions such as where the stringers are in the bow, grab a few pics for me and I'll wave them under his nose! He may also be able to identify it and find factory templates for certain items like trim and fittings etc.

Secondly, shameless plug for myself but when it comes to parts and supplies, do give me a try - I'll try and give you a top deal in exchange for your on going updates on here! I know I'm not the only person that loves to see these kinds of projects coming back to life!

Mike
Maven Marine
http://www.MavenMarine.com

[Ed]

+1 Mike is a top bloke, I always forget to ask him for stuff I suspect others do here too!

One thing Robin, you have A LOT of guts. The amount of work needed on that scares me!

[rbcoomer]

Cheers guys!

Mike, I will certainly look you up - it's always nice to use the independents rather than the corporates so I'll have a look at your site and send you my shopping list as soon as I start!

Ed, that's a rather worrying comment from someone on their third boat project!!!

[baasboat1]

Dont forget Steve Walker has refurbed one of these and still has it, so that may be a useful reference point for dimensions and photos etc. No doubt he can advise on certain fittings/ fixtures suppliers

regards

Baasboat

[H20]

Wow - what a project. I really think that if we are talking about boats from the 80's the words Fletcher and Classic are totally interchangable. I think they give anything on offer today a real run for their money. When you look at how cars have changed, these boats are so obviously timeless.

Best of luck with the project - it does look like a massive job now but you can see the potential, look forward to seeing the updates

[Brit Rider]

Cheers guys!

Mike, I will certainly look you up - it's always nice to use the independents rather than the corporates so I'll have a look at your site and send you my shopping list as soon as I start!

Ed, that's a rather worrying comment from someone on their third boat project!!!

I do my best!

I certainly agree on the 'timeless' comment - this vessel, put back to original but with a few personal touches will be a real belter! Genuinely excited to see your progress on this

And thanks for the nod Ed - Always apreciated!