1993 Lund Pike Rebel 16 Boat Restoration Project

[LundPikeRebel16]

I began restoring my Lund in 2012 due to a rotted floor caused by waterlogged factory open cell foam floatation. The original factory paint and decals were toast as well from dock rot. I made a lot of progress that 1st summer, then became burned out and quit before the project was finished. I wrapped the boat in plastic and figured I would get back to it someday. I am starting up again now and am determined to complete the project. I will post some of the original pictures I took back in 2012 to bring you all up to date as well as the new pictures as I finish up this project. This post is about how I restored my boat, but is not intended to tell you how to restore your boat. I am not a certified marine mechanic or boat builder. My post is for entertainment purpose only.

[Shellback]

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[LundPikeRebel16]

1993 Lund Pike Rebel 16
I will start off with some of the tear down pics, these date back to the summer of 2012. During the gutting stage I inspected the original foam floatation. Most of the foam felt like it was cemented in place due to expansion. I managed to pull one piece free from between the stringers. The 1st thing I noticed was the foam floatation was very heavy, due to the fact that it was about half full of water. The water was inside the foam yet it was not running out when i lifted it out of the boat? I let the foam sit in the sun for a couple weeks but it still felt heavy. The foam is called urethane open cell foam and it takes on water over time and once the water gets inside the foam it can't escape, especially with a wood floor over top. This constant wet environment under my floor caused the rot. I'm really not sure if I got a bad batch or if this foam was just poorly engineered from day 1 but what I saw was failed waterlogged floatation and a boat that was well overweight.

[LundPikeRebel16]

After removing all the waterlogged floatation, I ran water through the bare hull interior and scrubbed it with dish soap to get all the rotted wood chips out. That night I left the drain plug in and left some of the water in the boat overnight...no leaks were found. Some of the stains from years of use did not come out, but the interior paint seemed so durable that I decided to leave it alone. After leaving it a day to dry I began replacing the original floatation with hand cut polyethylene foam blocks. Before installing this foam I tested it. I was concerned about floatation value and resistance to gasoline and lubricants. I tested this new foam by pouring gas and oil on it, and it did not deform. I also took a small piece to the lake and went swimming, using it like a float under my chest. It did not absorb water and weighed about the same wet as dry. It easily supported my body weight, aprx. 200 lbs. I was using a small square about the size of a seat cushion.

Adding this type of foam to my boat was labor intensive. I had to measure each piece, then cut it outside the boat so the little shreds of plastic would not end up in my bilge pump later on. Then I put the new foam blocks back where Lund had installed the original foam thus whatever calculations or testing they did for level floatation were not changed or compromised in any way. In fact if you look close at the pictures, there is more foam over all in the boat now than when it was new and the original foam was waterlogged so had little to no floatation value at all. I am 100% better off now with the new foam. (Information is for entertainment purpose only, I am not a certified boat builder).

[LundPikeRebel16]

Once the floatation was installed, I measured and cut the wood floor, lund supplied the marine plywood, marine vinyl floor covering and aluminum rivets. I had to purchase 6 containers of waterproof glue. Lund shipped the newer type "green marine plywood". I was told this type of wood has a lifetime warranty if purchased with a new boat. I will not get the benefit of this warranty, but the new marine wood should never rot in my lifetime. I also got a deal on some HD marine carpet on ebay and used that for the casting deck and the side cabinets.

[LundPikeRebel16]

As I made progress I started laying some of the finished pieces in place to check for fit, I snapped the lund seats in place momentarily, mainly because I was excited to see what my new boat would look like when finished. The mounts felt strong and stayed true even when I leaned back on the seat. I like the hardware Lund used to make the seat mount secure. If you look back at my tear down pics you will see some large metal plates off to the side. Those plates mount under the wood floor and rest on top of the stringers. When the round metal pedestal mount is screwed into the floor the screws go through wood and then grab the metal under the floor to add strength. Lund was very helpful when I called them for advice and explained some of the key elements that add strength.

[LundPikeRebel16]

I removed all the original paint and decals, wiped the boat clean with acetone and applied metal etch primer before painting the boat red. it was right around this time in 2012 that I stopped working on my boat. The project seemed endless. I was working full time all day and then another 4-5 hours in the evening on the boat. A lot of the heavy work was done, but the trailer tires were rotted flat, all the wheel lug nuts welded/rusted to the axels, the spare tire mount rusted in place, the keel roller totally gone, the lower hull was dirty, the floor, casting deck and side cabinets were not riveted in place and the rod locker was not installed. I also realized I had made a crucial error. The carpeted wood panel you see over the side live well is supposed to have a cut out for lund's original carpeted live well door. I mistakenly carpeted the wood before considering the live well door. By now I was burned out on the project and just quit, wrapped the boat in a huge plastic tarp and figured I'd get back to it again someday, maybe after I retire...

[LundPikeRebel16]

4 years went by and now in the summer of 2016, I decided to roll up my sleeves and endure some more punishment. I kicked off the project by installing a quality marine hatch over my live well. The original hatch from Lund was aluminum covered in carpet and had no latch, so in rough seas the door would flop open and closed...which was annoying. This new marine hatch has a latch that will keep it closed and is vented. My live well is fully functional but I don't intend to use it as a live well anymore. I'd rather take a picture of my catch and release it. I'll use it for storage or maybe as a cooler.

[fishin10]

Nice looking job! I redid my 1988 Alumacraft Lunker this past winter. Completely gutted it, leak tested,rewired,upgraded the plumbing,lighting, new flooring,carpeting,seating, etc. I now have a completely functional fishing boat for a fraction of a new rig.

[MN_Moose]

I like the progress I have a similar project upcoming.