new2boating 1986 Harris Flotebote "I/O" Rebuild

Well I had never owned a boat before until a couple months ago and we bought a cheap fish-n-ski to see how we liked boating. We were out at least once a weekend, but always wishing we had more room. So, I began searching for a Pontoon and came across a 1986 Harris Flotebote with a 2.5 L Chevy inboard. I was really wanting an inboard, so definitely wanted to take a look at it.

The pictures didn"t look too great and I was warned that the interior needed work. However, after getting there and seeing it I felt that I couldn"t go wrong for the price. He was asking $2,500 and I bought it without trying to bargain at all. The trailer looked like new with the exception of the tires being dry rotten and the engine started and run nicely. I was a little concerned about it running out well, but still never got too concerned as I felt that I could likely sell the trailer and part it out and get my money back if needed.

After getting it home we removed the seats that were totally rotten and tried to clean it up at least some. We have had it on the water several times and it has run out great. The only complaint was that it was hard to get out of gear. I just dropped it off at a boat shop on Friday and they were saying it was likely the interrupt switch.

We have been getting some enjoyment out of it and plan to rebuild it when it starts getting cooler. We did go ahead and buy new rubber as I didn"t want to get stranded on the side of the road. It was almost just as cheap to get new wheels as well, so happy to have the new look to the trailer now.

Sure seems there are a lot of nice helpful people on here, so definitely glad to have found this forum. I look forward to starting a rebuild thread once I start down that path. 

 

 

 

Removed the front seats as they were rotten down to the frames. 

 
My temporary captain seat  


***resized pics to 800x600 for best viewing***

Edited by Wildcat Dude

looks like a good deal to me...john

Thanks all.

Wildcat Dude,
I did find one soft spot in the floor when removing the seats. Part of the rebuild plans included all new decking and carpet. I will take a closer look, but haven"t seen any rust at all. This could be the original decking as someone had good intentions of taking care of it as they had put aluminum underneath to try and keep water off the underside. Again, glad to have found this forum since when I went to put new decking down I probably would"ve just went down and grabbed some treated plywood if I hadn"t started learning from you guys already

I"m lost on what you are talking about on the "below the waterline repairs (gimbal housing, etc)". I"ve got a lot of learning to do. Personally I was happy to get an inboard as I felt I could likely do most of the work on the engine if needed myself.

I do need to get the wheel bearings replaced as soon as I get it back from the boat shop. That is something that was on my "to do" list that I haven"t done yet.

I"ve got some (5 gallons) aluminum brite and plan to start trying to clean the toons up before it gets too cold. I"d like to get them to shine like some of the others I"ve seen on here. I need to get to reading some of the other posts again.

One thing I want to do on the rebuild is add an additional fuel tank. It has one (think 12 gallons) under one of the rear seats. I was hoping to relocate it on the back of the toon and add another one on the other side (on the toon). When replacing the back seats I was planning to go with some of the ones from PontoonStuff and was afraid the fuel tank may not fit inside of it anyways.

If I don"t run out of money this winter the plans include new decking, carpet, all new seats, new fishing seats on the front deck, and trolling motor. Need some better anchors and may try to put one or two on a winch. While working on it thinking I might as well replace the console also. The one now isn"t too bad, but if the rest of the boat is going to look like new then don"t want it to be the only thing left.

The trailer has a Nationwide Trailers sticker on it. I don"t know anything about any of them, but it seems to be built very well. It also has a nice ladder on the front, good jack, etc.

An inboard Harris i"m very envious right now I really hunted for an inboard and couldnt find any around here so I settled for an out board Harris around the same year.Looks like a good toon and a great price congratz man.

Thinking about going to Joe Wheeler this weekend as its suppose to be pretty nice. Probably leave Saturday morning, come home that night. Moved your post to rebuild now, lets see you Get-R-Done

I thought they were required for all boat, but I am almost positive that the 1972 bass boat I got with older controls doesn"t have a kill switch but I know that Force motor is equipped to handle one, so I"ll replace the controls with a newer set I have that I didn"t sell. Its easy enough to wire in a kill switch lanyard and if you need a lanyard kill switch kit and can"t find it, let us know and we"ll point you to it. I remember the one time it saved me - I had a bass boat down in Louisiana bayous and was hauling back to the dock from a day of fishing. I was in the main channel going like gangbusters when suddenly I came to a screeching halt and I was thrown over the console. Motor stopped and I got up to find that I had hit a wooden pallet that someone tossed overboard and was floating just beneath the surface and I couldn"t see it. Had I been turning just a hair, I could have been in the bayou and be gator bait instead of landing on my back up in the bow of the boat.

I"m thinking on an 86 you wouldn"t have the kill switch. I have an 85 fiberglass boat that does not have one. I think the table would be cool for an engine cover. Not sure of what material you would use but would be nice to insulate it for sound as well.

Well, didn't do the rebuild in the Winter as intended. After starting to get out on the water this Summer the fever has set in Finally been on the phone with PS and got a price on shipping for the new decking.

Been thinking too much and looking at pics of the new boats, so now need to do some more measuring before ordering to see if I need another sheet. I've been wanting to extend the deck out on the back and saw a picture of a new Harris that also has an inboard that gave me some ideas. Since my boat isn't at my house trying to find time to get down there and measure everything again...might be this weekend before I can. The engine cover idea may be back to a seat now, but will wrap around the back as well.

We may be distant kin , seems like we both spend a lot of time thinking, and not much time doing . I suggest you think, think, think - and then fix it the way you want it. Personally, I like the table over the motor. That's what I have planned for mine, I think .

geez, kinda waiting for the heat wave thats coming ain't ya  Its gonna be a scorcher next weekend so have fans blowing on ya - good luck and hey, post pics of that progress, that's what we love to see

WD, very good point. Today was a very LONG HOT day and it wasn't too terrible hot today. Did try a fan, but waited too long first and was already beat. Got it all striped down and one round of acid on it. Also tried some aircraft paint stripper on getting pin stripes off the panels. It worked really well, so thinking may just paint what I have and see how it turns out.

Thanks 2ltime, will try to search for that and see if I can find any. How wide is it?

I took pictures, but will have to try and post tomorrow. Got to get in bed so that I can try to get in to work early so I can leave early to go work on the toon some more

Rub rails off and most of carpet.



Shot in back where floor was rotten the most.



Front wasn't as bad, but of course replacing it all. Funny how the front was in the best condition, but it is the part that wasn't under the hard top while it was sitting out in the middle of the field where I bought it.

When I was taking off the panels the previous owner had put on to cover the gaps on the side there was an odd ball screw. When removing it I heard this hissing noise and it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. Wife was asking if there was a snake somewhere

This odd ball screw was longer than all the others and happen to be on the bottom where it had went into the pontoon. Guess with all the hissing I know the pontoon doesn't have any other leaks...that is the one other than the one left after removing the screw

What is recommended to seal this? At least it is near top of pontoon and won't be submerged in the water.

Today finished cleaning out old screws from cross members and tried some polishing with Mothers. Saw real quick I need to order some Nuvite that I have seen others using. Wildcat Dude, seems you have particularly recommended this.

What size jars of F9, F7, and S do you recommend ordering for a boat with 24 foot pontoons? They are in pretty good shape after the acid washing. Not sure if I could skip the F9 though.




Edited by rickdb1 - 10/30/2011 at 2:23pm

Robert, couldn't get your link to work - but I got my nuvite directly from nuvitechemical  I haven't used it yet, but based on what I read in other threads I ordered 1/4 pound of each - F9, F7, and S to do my 24' Landau. Everyone says that a little goes a long way ... and delivery was about as "fast as a speeding bullet", so if I need more, it won't take long. By the way, the customer service folks at nuvite are sharp. I got a call on my cell phone the day after I ordered online - seems that I had dulpicated part of the order, and they wanted to verify what I actually wanted. That just don't happen everyday - anymore! Looking forward to your progress.

Edited by rickdb1 - 10/30/2011 at 2:23pm

TeeHee65 is spot on for the recommended amounts and the link but your link works just as good. Remember that 3 fingers of polish dotted on every 3 square foot, F9 will take the longest to do but if done right, makes F7 looking good and S looking like a mirror, it'll take getting use to, and a different pad for each grade of polish - DO NOT MIX THEM UP. To clean the pad, a edge of a flat blade screwdriver does the trick with the pad spinning.