TOPIC: FIRST TIME BOAT/MFG OWNER! 63' MFG Niagra!!!

Hey Guys,

I'm Jon, 25 yrs old. Got into boats and fishing by my dad. I found this on Craigslist and brought it home. I'm excited to bring her back to life!!! It is a pleasure to join the Fiber Glassics community!

Welcome aboard !! looks to be in great shape , good luck!!

Looks pretty good. Check for evidence of water intrusion below the floor. The second drain plug (on right when facing transom) should be removed and see if any water runs out. If none, that's a good sign. Your boat has fiberglass stringers, so no rot possible there, but the foam under the floor can get saturated if the boat has been left outside uncovered.

Also, almost for sure your boat is a 1966 Niagara base model like mine. MFG started using splatter paint the same background color as the hull, rather that the off-white or gray used before 1966 models.

Have fun and welcome aboard! The Niagara is a great boat for this terrific hobby.

Hey Thanks for the replys!

Davnau6345, First off, I admire the work done on your boat seeing it online and has helped me visualize what the end result of my project could look like ! When i bought it the plug was out and felt dry. Im not to sure how long it has been sitting (uncovered). Since i brought it home i have kept it covered with an old boat cover. i scrubbed and washed the hull with the seat holes uncovered so some water has got in. plug has been kept off and boat is uncovered during the day to help dry. I used a wet vac to get any sitting water and now have a rag stuck half way in the bottom drain that you've mentioned. how do i know if i have a problem? I'm sure ill have plenty of questions as i go through this project

Thanks Again,

-JL

As far as the year the title says 63' but based on your knowledge of these boats you might be right

J Lorente,

WELCOME ABOARD.

Looks like a NEAT project, too.

yours, satx

A couple of things. The seats are mounted with well nuts, which have plastic sleeves with rubber to seal them off. After so many years, the rubber often deteriorates, allowing water to get in below deck.

Depending on how much water you used washing it, you may be OK. I would remove the transom plug for the below deck area on a hot, dry, sunny day, and let the boat bake in the sun to help it dry out any water left below deck.

On my Niagara. It's not restored! That's how I found it. It sat in a garage almost unused, for over 40 years (1969-2012), except for yearly maintenance on the outboard. Everything is original. The transom, wood in the seats with original upholstery, and wood behind the dash are all perfect. Not a single spider crack anywhere, and absolutely no pitting on any of the chrome hardware. There are some small stress cracks in the top corners of the windshield, but that's it. It's not fancy, being the base model, but just a good example of what an entry level family boat from the mid-60's looked like.

I even have complete MFG-branded TaylorMade canvas (convertible top, side curtains, and aft curtain) is like new condition. The canvas alone would cost me over a $1000 to reproduce.

It's a survivor. All I've used to shine it is spray Turtle Wax. Going to paint the trailer this summer. I was just plain lucky to find one in this shape.

I paid $2600 for it in October 2013, including the canvas, but to me, it was well worth it. I plan to keep it for the rest of my life. It won best non-wood boat at Clayton last August, even beating out a gorgeous 1955 Arena Craft Barracuda. Mine had the original gelcoat, while the Barracuda had been painted, plus I had the original canvas. Made all the difference in judging, and edged it out.

For a picture of it at Clayton, see:

www.woodyboater.com/blog/2015/08/05/clayton-o-smith-jr-part-deux-and-it-just-keeps-getting-better/

My brother still has our dad's last MFG, a 1965 Edinboro, in the same green as yours. It, however, is a bit of a mess, having had hard use its whole life. Was going to cost too much to restore it, so I looked until I found my Niagara.

Yours is in real nice shape too, just needs a little TLC. Keep posting questions as you go along.

Welcome aboard !

Hi, great boat! I have not seen many of the greens, the blues and "coral pink" seem to be more common, I really like the green though!

Have fun with it!