Ok, so , let me start by saying it's not really my boat. I kinda pirated it from my dad, since it has been tarped and sat idle in our backyard for the past 10 years... yes I said 10 years! Needless to say that bitch is mine (apparently I have to share it with my sister...oh well).
During Covid lockdown while in my adobe prison (I'm being overdramatic again), I was suffering from vacation withdrawal. My kids laughed at me when I desperately suggested that we watch a virtual tour of the national parks of the U.S. (I mean, who wouldn't want to watch that excitement after spending months in a house with the SAME people??). I wanted to think out of the box for something fun and vacation-like.
One weekend, after kayaking with my sister on our local lake, we decided to commandeer my dads boat, renovate it and spend weekends on the lake soaking up sun, splashing and fishing living our best life!!
So, let me start from the beginning...
When we uncovered the boat we found that a family of little rodents apparently made a home in one of the seats for the past umpteen years. The vinyl seat had a nice gaping hole chewed out with lots of poop scattered around (FUN!). The little buggers also had a nice stock pile of nut shells ALL over the boat.
There was mold all over the seats and the top of the boat, the sun shade was rotted, the wood sideboards were chipping, and some of the straps on the seats were dry rotted as well.
Time to go to work!! I started by vacuuming the floor of the boat and the inset side areas where some creature(s) obviously slept and pooped some more! I then used Star Brite mold and mildew cleaner, which is absolutely the bomb!
Word of advice wear gloves, it smells like bleach.
I sprayed down all of the seats, let it soak for a few minutes and took a wet cloth and just wiped away the grime and grit of 10 years. I actually used this on the mold and mildew on the fiberglass of the boat around the inside. Yeah, I probably shouldn't, but damn, this took it off like melted butter! At least the boat SMELLS clean!
I also unscrewed the side boards on the inside of the boat, and sanded them down and painted them a bright teal (Yes, I did!!!) Did I mention this was a GIRL boat?
We decided to name her MERmazing... an amazing mermaid!
I also bought teal vinyl to make straps for the seats, and tan vinyl to fix the seat with the hole in.
Next I used 3M Marine Restorer and Wax and used a buffing machine on the whole outside of the boat. That produced a clean gloss around the hull of the boat all ready to cut through the water!
Stay tuned for part 2 of my boat reno and to see the 'after' pictures! I have a few more days till it's finished!
Here's to some home fun berrylicious adventures!
