TOPIC: Restoration 1957 18' Bell Boy Explorer

Started cleanup and inspection this weekend. That alone is going to take a while since the boat's over at my daughter's place about an hour away.

Motor is disconnected except for wiring harness. I'll have my wire markers with me the nest time I head over.
Found the label plate and managed to chase down the numbers. Motor is a 1985 85 HP US Marine / Mercury Force. Motor turns over with rope starter. Good sign!

As you can see from the pics, the interior is a mess. Good news: what I can see of the stringers looks good. Nice and solid. Bad news: I can see the stringers without pulling the deck.<g> Looks like the entire interior will need replacement. Next step on the interior will be to pull the seat pedestals and then the main deck.

I understand that an Express is supposed to have onboard fuel tanks, but I have yet to locate them. Makes me wonder if they were removed for some reason, or the 18" model didn't have them.

Still need to get a pressure washer on the hull so I can start inspection.

Enjoy your clean-up and restoration. Take a lot of pictures so you can show us all your progress.
And may I make a suggestion ?
During you clean up and tear down phase, pick a reference point on the boat mark it and lay a tape measure to front edges of everything and snap a pic. Because once you rip the floor deck out there are no more mounting holes to show where stuff used to be. Don't ask me how I know this ? Ha-Ha-Ha !