TOPIC: Just purchassed a 1960 Owens 15 FT

Njangler,

WELCOME ABOARD.

NO photos though.

yours, satx

Could not upload. I set up a flickr account and will be loading the link in few minutes. Any feedback on how to repair gel coat cracks.

Here is a link to my 1960 Cutter pictures.

www.flickr.com/photos/107643075@N06/sets/72157637315034733/

welcome,the pics of the red topside looks like paint blisters,it looks like someone painted it before.
as for gel coat cracks I would suggest grinding the cracks into a v groove with a rotary tool,then I use fiberglass gel,its a lot like bondo to fill,then use filler primer,and sand smooth.
its just my opinion though,im sure there are other methods that the guys have here,all of them good,john

Thanks John. You are correct someone painted the top with some kind of paint that looks like splatter. I am going to try to sand and see if I can get to the Gel coat.

As far as the cracks thanks for the valuable info.

Welcome aboard. You will get lots of information here and make hundreds of new friends who will help in every step of your project. Looks like a good find.
Cal

Yes welcome aboard. Nice find, she should be a fun boat when done. I'm with John, grind the cracks, fill, sand, prime and paint. Strip that topside and see what the gel coat looks like underneath. you may be able to bring it back if it isn't cracked anywhere like the hull. If it is, same procedure as the hull. I would check the transom real close, it's probably rotted but can't tell very well from the picks.

Bob

Thank you all for helping. The boat is still in the yard of the previous owner. Unfortunately one of the tires went flat . Upon inspecting both titters I realized that they are dry tired. So I am in the process of getting 2 new tires the size is 4.80 x 8b. I am sure will get more pictures when I get it over here. The previous owner had it sitting back out of the trailer a foot out. Also the trailer winch is a rope that is probably frail. The engine is a 50 hp evinrude with the select shift. According to him the last time he used it was 8 y ago and ran good. Unfortunately hd did not winterized it. I took the cover of and attempted to turn the flywheel and not moving an inch. I am not sure if it needs a battery because of the select shift to be able to engage in neutral. Not very familiar with these engine.

I will keep on posting updates.

Nice to see you have a complete boat! Only thing is I think your seat backs are reversed- you should have the walk thru part in the front so you can go between the seats. It originally used small brackets, not those huge ones.

Agreed that it does look like paint on top, but it could be a sign of things underneath as well. I have a few random spots on the top of mine like that (but much smaller). When I sanded them off, I had some small holes there, like the fiberglass bubbled up and was very fragile to sanding. I haven't tried filling these yet.

I had a few spots on the hull like the other pic you had and they were small enough that some marine filler filled them over without a major repair.

I am not sure which model it is. They are good looking boats but not enough info. On them. I found : tags on the boat. Front dash says Owen but one in the transom are and it says Cutter 9897.
Hopefully I will get better pictures of the spider cracks when I get it home. If you do not mind can you pist pictures of your floors? I want to see if they look the same as mine.

Cutter and Owens boats were basically built on the same line from what I understand, so it's possible the mold for your boat was a Cutter mold and had a number stamp on it.

The difference in these small boats was just like Ford and Mercury a couple years ago- same product, different badges.

What do you want to know about the inside of the boat/floor? It's just white with red/black splatter paint like in your pic. My boat isn't at home, so I need to know what to take pics of when I do go out there.

If you look at the floor you can see the fiberglass weave. I wanted to see if they all look the same. The other thing the seat risers do not have any flotations in them. They sounded hollow. I will post new pictures by the end of the week. Don't go out of your way to take pictures.

DMV what a nightmare. Got the transferable registration from the owner and went to DMV in NJ. They wanted a bill of Sale Notarized. Went back today and they stated well that is not enough you need to traveler the serial of the boat and trailer. What about s picture? The answer is no. Ih the bill if sale you need to do separate for trailer and boat. But they are separate. Same DMV asked another person I think she is a supervisor and she agreed with me that they can take the bill if sale but I need to trace serial. The trailer serial tag is do worn out that can not read the number. What a mess go figure that is NJ for you. I am going to try to go to another location and see what will happen. Took the day if today and tomorrow with the hope that I will pick up the boat. Waisted
2 days on DMV crap.

hey njangler i'm over here in lodi. if you want to stop over i can answer just about any question you have and i'll show you what i did with my 60 cc mantaray. ron 201-8431347

Pictures of my floor for you. It does have texture to it despite being splatter painted, so it wore off on the high spots.

I see. Same as mine like the 1st and the 3rd picture you can see the woven Fiberglass. I Finally got all my paperwork done an transferred to my name today. So I can say that I am the proud owner of a new Owens project lol.

I will be picking up the boat tomorrow. I will be posting more pictures.

Thank you

Finally towed it home this afternoon from Long Island To NJ. Will post more pictures tomorrow.

Here is a picture from today.

Good looking rig.

Good luck w/ the motor.....

Congrats on getting it home safely. Now the fun begins!

It has been a hectic week at work and finding out that I need to have a hernia surgery that slowed things. Have not had a chance to work on the outboard or the Boat. I got new Johnson Gear oil Premium Blend for the electric shift. hope will be able to change the fluid this week. I washed the boat to see what was hidden underneath the dirt. I have taken some pictures and Is see a lot of cracks in the gel coat. Also the keel gel-coat is gone due to the roller rubbing in the wrong place. The whole boat is not sitting correctly on the trailer. I got to figure out a time to lift it of and adjust the trailer pads.
Here is my plan since we are getting into winter and cold weather:
1-remove the outboard. Going to try to salvage. In the same time I have been talking to a guy that have a 1969 Johnson outboard running that I might end up buying for $150. He stated it ran great the cosmetics on the outside of the outboard are not the best and needs to be refinished. He is a technician by trade and have done all the work on the outboard.
2- Start sending the areas with the cracks and prepping them for repair come the spring.
3-Sand the top paint with and orbital sander and 80 grit paper to get to the Gel Coat. Any better ideas on how to strip the paint?
4- I am concerned about the transom. Seem solid but have 2 sunken bolts. I will have to drill couple of holes to determine if it needs replacement. I looked at the hull and it seems with owens the top and the bottom are fiberglassed together. So I am not sure if the transom needs to be replaced from the outside.
5- Going to cut new boards for the seats and get them redone.
Attached are some pictures from today.

No time now, but I'll catch up here or over 'round the other joint..................

Looks like typical vintage gelcoat craze & cracking......

Here are some pictures showing how the hull is fiberglass end to the top part.

Another question is that I took the steering cover and the nut and washer out. I am not able to pull the steering wheel out. Am I missing a step tom pill the steering wheel out?

Also if any Owens or Cutter owners out on this forum
That have done a transom replacement please post.

It's a tapered shaft with a key way, but they can be a real bugger to get off. I've found that if you soak the shaft area with penetrating oil for a few days it may help. Thread the nut back on just to cover the threads, leaving a little room between the nut and the wheel. (This prevents you from mushrooming the shaft and damaging the threads, hopefully!) Pull outward on the wheel while someone "whacks" the nut/shaft with a (rawhide?) hammer to help loosen the connection. Some have had better success by standing with their legs between the wheel and the dash, using your legs to pry the wheel outward off the shaft. (While using the "whack" method mentioned above.)

Ok will try. Would wd40 work? Wondering if their Is a puller for that kind of steering wheel.

Njangler wrote:

Ok will try. Would wd40 work? Wondering if their Is a puller for that kind of steering wheel.

From looking at the photo I don't see any threaded holes to attach a steering wheel puller.

I loosened the steering unit behind the dash then put the nut back on the shaft (all the way onto the end) and whacked the shaft with a hammer a couple times and it popped loose.

Mark S wrote "Some have had better success by standing with their legs between the wheel and the dash, using your legs to pry the wheel outward off the shaft. (While using the "whack" method mentioned above.)" Yeah just don't miss it!!!!!!!!!!!!! OUCH!!!!!!!

Bob

I used one of these and it still took a tremendous amount of force to get her to break loose...


I had to adapt it a bit but I got it to attach and work.

I saw those on Harbor Freight website. I spayed the bolt and shaft with wd40. I will go get one tomorrow and see if it will make a difference. After removing it I want to work on fixing all the cracks with a dremel/ file and will be using epoxy.

No luck pulling mine from the front. No good way to grab the wheel and didn't want to risk destroying.

My grandpa looked at it and found a small pin through the shaft on the rear pulley. Like a keyway pin. He was able to hammer out that pin with a drift and then slide the wheel and steering shaft complete out the front.

Yep, the Pulley system on the rear is usually held on by a C-Clip or a compression Rolled Pin. I discovered that AFTER I struggled like a Crazed Lunatic to get mine of the other way!!!!!!

So I got to take it out with the hub, shaft, and the steering cable out? By the way it is a Teleflex rack and pinion steering.

OHHHHH that's another kettle of fish. Nope, no shaft removal.

I guess will have some delays lol
When it clears will be also pulling the windshield to polish and fix the cracks on the bottom of the olexiglass next to the tabs. Someone used Weldon with success so will try.

I had a incredibly difficult time getting my wheel off. I soaked, went to advanced and rented a gear puller, NOTHING!! I was about to light a match and walk away when I decided took a small disc air grinder and cut it off. I easily could have damaged something but got lucky.

It has been long since I last posted. Have not had a chance to work on the boat at all. The only thing that I tried to do with no luck is trying to get the steering off with no success. So I might work on restoring it without being out of the boat. Another thing is that I am trying to get rid of the outboard that is currently on the boat and decided that I want to replace it by a 1958 or 1959 Evinrude 35 HP lark. I foud couple that I am looking to buy. One was working till the guy tried to start it and jamed the bottom gears. Still tryong to get it for a good proce since he had the wiring Harnedd and the control. The other outboard is a 1959 golden Jubilee and the guy is asking $200 or Best Offer without a wiring harness. I am thinking like more in the $100 range. Same situation it is stored in a shed and was used 15 years ago. The guy stated that he will run it as a prove that it will work. Both outboards are short shaft and the transom on my boat is 16 1/2. let me know your thoughs.

Are you measuring the transom vertically or along the angle of the transom?


And a 16.5" transom is still a short shaft transom.

If you like the look of the Lark or the Jubilee, either motor would look great on the back

Thank you for the reply. I measured and olso looked at the cutter specs which is the same boat in the library section.