I got this 16' 6" Ebbtide Bass Bandit with a recently rebuilt 70 hp Evinrude from a friend who's father passed away.

The hull is in good shape with very minor dings from normal use. The interior is in rough shape from not being covered. I am in the process of doing a complete hull up restoration to make it a bass/duck hunting boat. The interior and all electrical has been stripped.

I have already got the magic-tilt trailer about 80% redone.... new winch, pin, & minor metal repair. It was stripped to bare metal and primed with two coats of Krylon flat black and getting two more coats of Krylon gloss black. I need to replace the bunks and side rails, install new lights, and new fenders (this next week).

If anyone is interested in this I can update with photo's and details as I go.

Happy New Year to all,  FL Dave

Ah the good old days, bomber hull bass boats, Abu Garcia 5000, Heddon rods, H & H Spinner Baits. I think it's a fine boat fished out of one many times, keep us up dated.

Ditto and good luck on your project.

Thanks Guys,

I have spent a lot of time sanding the hull down and patching every ding and stress crack. I have a gallon of Ranger Boats black acrylic resin paint for the bottom to put on soon. There is one place on the bottom in the pic that needs final sanding where I put more glass for reinforcement because I fish a lot of shallow water.

The carpet, stereo, 2nd fishfinder, pedestals, seats, rodholders, etc... have been ordered. I have all the new lights for the boat and trailer & all new wiring, breakers, & fuse box on hand.

It's a lot of work but I believe it's working out well so far.

FL Dave

It's done except for the side rails and fenders on the trailer. A true Florida Cracker boat now

Every part, piece, wire, and screw on the whole boat and trailer is either new or rebuilt to new. Runs like a top and looks better than any 2 year old boat I've seen in person.

Fun to do but I wouldn't try to do a complete restore again if I had a budget........... over $2K in parts and pieces in it not counting the trolling motor or gas motor work.

But they can be done and I wish all who do the very best!

(camera date was messed up, these were taken 2/24/07)

Looks like you did a good job.  Now post some bass from your first trip in it....

Looks amazing!! Congrats to you and have fun with her!! 8-)

Jason

Very nice I'm sure your friends dad is looking down with a big smile on his face. Wouldnt surprise me if you had a special guest with you on your maiden voyage.

Thank You all for the kind remarks!

Re-doing this boat compared to the aluminum boats I've done in the past has taught me a lot and gave me more appreciation for the work that others do or have done to their boats.

Bassn Blvd - If the weather holds out like it is I hope to atleast catch a few........ if not I may have to settle for a shiner out of the livewell. Off to my home lake as usual Friday = West Lake Toho

That Camo job is awesome.

You really did the old girl proud.  She will take good care of you too.  Did you keep track of the man hours you put in the project?  

You mentioned repairing stress cracks.  My old Orlando Clipper has stress cracks in the bottom.  What did you do to yours?

how'd you do that camo job? looks amazing

TD - Thanks

Clipper - I didn't keep track of man hours. I just worked on it when I felt like it since December. There are still minor things left to do (wax, mount acc., and a couple items on the trailer).

On the minor stress cracks on the upper part of the hull (edges and top rails) I cleaned out the cracks with a razor knife to get a good clean edge then filled them with "EVERCOAT Formula 27 Filler". The filler was not very expensive and can be found about anywhere. Very easy to work with A++.

On the stress cracks anywhere below the water line I ground the fiberglass out with 40 grit sandpaper on a Dewalt 5" orbital sander. Then I re-fiberglassed the area. I used 120 grit sandpaper on a 4 1/2" palm sander to sand close to smooth, then 220 grit wet/dry to finish sand.

I wish you all the best with your boat and I will be glad to answer any question that I am able to.

how'd you do that camo job? looks amazing

I used Krylon Fusion camo paint (blk, brn, grn, and tan). Painted the green base first. Then the designs in blk, brn, and tan (in that order). The patterns are just randomly drawn on posterboard and cut out with an exacto.

Then it was sprayed with 3 coats of matte finish clear enamel. Today it got buffed with a mix of Carnuba wax & rubbing compound twice. Mixing the wax with rubbing compound will keep the shine to a minimum and still allow the protection of wax.

FANTASTIC restore!!!!

look how "NEW" that thing looks, the only give-away that it didn't just come from the dealer is the hull shape!!

Excellent job!

Good luck with her, I'm sure she'll be good to you after what you've done for her, karma is a great thing.

Totally awesome  

I have seriously considered getting into the boat refurbishing business; down here one could find numerous vintage boats.

I even know where there is an old stick steered Skeeter

LBH and catt Thanks

Does anyone know a company that sells liability insurance at a reasonable price for older boats?

All of the companies I have looked into so far stop insuring boats @ 20 years of age.

Thanks, FL Dave

Totally awesome  

I have seriously considered getting into the boat refurbishing business; down here one could find numerous vintage boats.

I even know where there is an old stick steered Skeeter

Trust me, there is no way to get into business doing that.  I am restoring an old '74 Lund, and I frequent a restoration site.  You would be hard pressed to make a profit.  Most people feel extremely lucky just to break even.  

I agree that you would lose money doing boats like this one. It would be a poor business choice.

All I wanted was the shallowest running fiberglass hull I could get to hunt and fish out of on smaller lakes. But if you want a boat rigged exactly as you want and have tons of time it can be fun

I wish everyone well and a 10+ lb'er on every cast.

I finally took this boat out for a test run yesterday and was very surprised how smooth it rides and how stable it is. The gps showed it topping out at 37-38 knots and cruises along at 30 knots like a fine car. It will also run at idle in 2' of water without the prop touching bottom.

Not a drop of water when the plug was pulled and everything else worked fine. I'm very happy with it so far.

8-)