I can't think of many things more satisfying than bringing an old boat back to life. Almost as satisfying watching someone else do it.

I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I would just like to thank you for all the great content. I’ve been watching you for around 6 years. My father taught me so much about engines but what I’ve learned from you about diagnosing a problem is unmeasurable.

Those seat's had supports on them and I'm sure glad that you put the wood on the outside of the motor housing because that stops the motor from slipping upwards. I was raised up at Buckeye lake in Ohio and you wouldn't believe the money that I made in the summer BY diving and recovering boat motors in the summer because the almighty men would remove the outer piece of wood. I'm 71 now and I'm just glad that I'm able to remember my youth!

A parts cleaning brush for painting? A real mechanic! Use what you got! Love it!!!!!!!!

Mustie, I used to professionally wash and stain decks and wood fences, used sodium hydroxide on the wood before low pressure washing, it won't fuzz the wood that way and restores all the natural color. Also to clean the aluminum hull use purple power aluminum brightener, aluminum will look new with no scrubbing. Inside the boat I would paint it with Rustoleum self-etching primer so it doesn't peel. Also pressure treated wood has chemicals in it that will attack the aluminum, not a good choice for a transom. 3/4 inch cabinet grade ply sealed with two coats of polyester resin would be a better choice if marine ply is not available.

AvE gave you a shout-out in his lastest vid. Glad to see he too recognizes a master of engine repair.

Hey Mustie, You live in the coolest place...boats, bikes go carts and you have a real talent for bringing them back to life. Watching your videos is like hanging out with a good friend. Thanks for the content!

A cheap material that one can use on the outside of the transom and other places on boats are plastic cutting boards. There are (at least here in Sweden) these white, (almost a little translucent) cheapo cutting boards that are made out of a plastic that is slightly "bendy". There are different sizes and thicknesses and they are almost indestructible... I have also used 20 of them (screwed down in two rows) on the floor of my snowmobile garage (it's a wood floor, and the carbides tore it up something fierce). And several years later there's almost no deep scratches in them.. I used big washers when I screwed them down so that I spread the load a bit, so the bolt heads didn't creep thru the material.

It would drive me crazy not having that plywood cut properly to length.

Some aluminum boats did have a wooden walkway up the middle to keep you walking on the ribs and not stepping on the area between them which, when the boat is not in the water means the rivets are holding your weight. Most I have seen had slats that ran the length of the boat each separated by a 1/2" or so.

In all fairness, that video is a testament to the toughness and durability of aluminium small boat engineering and construction. For any boat to suffer literally years of neglect and abuse - including at least one collision - and still stay fundamentally watertight and seaworthy is astonishing. Fantastic content, as always. Some notes from a long-time boat guy: The seats may not strictly be teak. Plenty of boatbuilders substitute other woods. Teak is nowadays very costly, and is environmentally protected. Could be any number of tropical hardwoods. Also popular these days is cedar. Before you take the boat out on the water, make sure the Good Ship Mustie is equipped with life preservers, an anchor, mooring and anchoring lines, and at least one oar or paddle. Because, ya know, even the most expertly-repaired marine motors have been known to quit at inconvenient times.

An old Smoker Craft! We used to have one just like that! Also those old bikes are BEAUTIFUL!

Gidday from OZ, those 3 brackets are directly below each of the wooden seats. There originally were 3 vertical supports that went from those brackets to underneath each seat. The screw holes will still be there. This tinnie has no flotation, therefore it must more than 50 years old. If it gets full of water, it is off to the ocean bottom with it. It may have belonged to Noah and came off the Ark.

Transom board should never be made with treated plywood. The chemicals in it eat the aluminum up. And the transom board should cover the whole back panel. This gives you the best strength over the full transom.

Mosquitos my friend, what you are growing in the stagnant water in that boat are mosquitos, tenths of thousands of them and they will come to bite you, so you better get that drain hole opened up and keep it open whenever that boat is out of the water. And the reason why the bottom two bolts were longer is because they originally went through the 'missing' outer wood panel. When someone removed that wood panel, they just put the original long bolts through. I suggest that you take those long bolts out and run them through the outer wood panel too so that they hold the entire sandwich of wood - metal - wood together. Without those two bottom bolts going through the outer wood, you will get a lot of flexing and bending on the rear caused by the force of the motor rocking back and forth in the waves and that can cause wood and metal fatigue in the long run. Those bottom bolts are needed to stabilize and hold the entire back 'sandwich' together :)

If that boat were going to see a lot of water time, I'd have some suggestions. 1) put anchor head (square head) recessed bolts so that the vibration of the motor doesn't work the bolts loose, AND use locktite. 2) seal that transom down low and up top to prevent the water from seeping in any faster than it will 3) wedge some pieces into the sides from the top and glue them in, (The strength of the transom also comes from its rigidity as well as the thickness of the wood) 4) 1" boards from the lip up to where the motor sits to give it more strength 5) Fiberglass or at least seal every piece of wood with silicone 55 years of boating has taught me a few tricks. You prepare for what won't happen and you're ready for what does! JMHO

I noted something very wrong about that boat federal law 1971 motor vessel safety act requires that positive flotation foam.Meaning that styrofoam blocks are supposed to be installed under all the seats. I am a Coast Guard Veteran, this was something we physically had to check for when we did boating safety inspections to make sure it had not been removed. the vertical support between the hull and the bottom of the seat is also missing as you did point out.

I believe it had corner brackets on the rear corners. Sometimes cast aluminum

Many of those boats both aluminum and fiberglass had heavy (thick) die cast zinc corner braces with incorporated handles,they came in various grades of quality,many broke and were removed after 5 years,some though lasted the life of the boat,my grandfather bought a Thomson Fiberglass 16 foot fishing boat in 1956 it lasted 50 years as did all attachments which were heavy-duty zinc die-cast.

I've been watching Mustie's videos for a long time now, mostly because his voice sounds like my father's and I miss him a lot, but this past weekend, I was able to help my friend get her lawnmower running again, at least well enough to get by with for the rest of the summer. Thank you so much, Mustie, for providing both entertainment and education.

You need the transom to go to the corner throughput the entire length of the freeboard, or else the flexing will weaken the aluminum skin and crack. At minimum the edges of the plywood should be sealed with marine epoxy, and ideally the entire surface with some glass matting. Have fun with it.

Good clean up! the transom need to go all the way across or you will have flexing and cracking issues in hull. May want to seal off the wood at the seams to keep water out to prevent future rot. I find it funny that I now look harder at the road sides then I used to lol looking for that one free bee to take home and work on.

Nice to see you working on the boat. It’s looking really good. The brackets on the bottom of the hull. Is for deck boards to flatten out the bottom of the boat. So you don’t slip out. When moving around in it. Great work, keep the videos coming.

hello Mustie . here with us on the Zeeland coast, all the wood of the Transum is replaced by Trespa ( also uest fot making changing boxes for swimming pools ) that stuff doesn't rot or burn . a plastic or composite is also used under the seat of the motor support that holds the bolts to fix the motor support to the transum . now most people do not like that so what you can use very well and cheaply for this in a plastic cutting board , just cut off the part with the handle, 4 holes and screw it on . the plastic is used so that the bolts do not damage the wood every time you tighten or loosen them and so the wood lasts longer . kind regards Hollandduck from the Netherlands ( source of translation : Google translate )

Not poliwogs, those wrigglers were mosquito larvae

Agree with some of the comments. You need to extend the wood to the side tie it in...

I have a 1975 XL350 just like the one at 35:07 except that one is in a little bit better shape than mine! Absolutely beautiful old Honda!

Hey Mustie..this reminds me of my first boat..it had a 50 hp evinrude..it was fiberglass V hull Duo craft...no it didn't run ..it took me a few days it figure it out..it ran really well..i put a water pump on a guys van and 200.00 bucks for the boat.. after i cleaned it up and polished it it looked new ..had it for 3 years..sold it for 1,500,00 trailer had to have new tires and rim's before i could move it..i don't ever wan't another one..lol..Cheers 🍻🍻🍻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Although the “experts here” seem to be getting a bad wrap I still wanted to chime in. Ah, wait - I can say what I like, I am not an expert! Seriously, I agree that the transom should extend to the sides of the boat. Those thin bits of aluminium near the corner are now taking all the force of the motor - the transom may well join you in the dinghy, circumnavigation or short fishing trip. You will also need to replace the bracing in the two corners which can be seen to have been bolted with two screws each for transom and hull each side.

The transom piece not being the full width would just bug the living shit out of me.

Receiving a boat like this as a gift!! Man!!! Your blessed right out of your socks!!

I was just tucking into a bowl of Spinach, cream and olive soup as your video came on. A little disconcerting as it looked about same colour and consistency as inside your boat but mine smelled and tasted delicious! Thanks from the UK for another Sunday treat. Stay safe.

Things not to do with teak: power washer (instead just a soak teak cleaner and the rinse off). Also never paint over teak: teak is oily wood and no varnish will take. Teak needs to be oiled. Varnish will simply flake off.

I think I would have spent the 50$ on a bigger piece of marine ply that reached to the corners of the transom so the aluminum won’t flex and crack

A little different but not much and a lot of fun watching an old discarded boat come back to life. I would brace the transom to stop the Al from flexing which will crack it.

Enjoyed working on your boat Mustie ....made a nice change from engines😎🍺🇬🇧

Big up Mustie 1 greetings from the uk

My aluminum boat has gussets in those two back corners-I'd replace the missing ones on your boat-it will increase the structural rigidity of it.

Mustie1 needs to join Tiny Boat Nation. That boat definitely needs to have some flotation added.

Mustie I agree that you need to build those rear corner braces for a firmer support steel would work fine. Hope you have a Blessed One Sir.

The way that transom was wiggling, I'd say a couple of gussets are needed for some stiffness. Time to put a couple of triangles in the back. Probably what those holes were for...

aluminum plate used to be on the back of the boat with another piece of plywood sandwiched in between at least that's the way my grandfather's was it was built back in the 50s

I'm well impressed by how well those thwarts came back, and not surprising how they soaked up all that lacquer. I'll bet that wood was well washed out after all those years of neglect. Just looking at that transom, I'd say definitely brace those corners. It's not just the raw thrust that can do damage, but the vibration from the engine as well, can cause metal fatigue at those 90 degree junctions. Some decent filets will help to mitigate that by delivering the thrust into the longitudinal structure of the boat. I was surprised at how well the bleach cleaned the crud off of the inside of the hull, and I'll bet the stench of decay would be vastly improved as a bonus - Oh yes, those mosquito larvae - horrible little things. Unless you like mosquitoes, you're wise to get rid of them. I think you'll have yourself a respectable enough boat out of that, even if it was only meant to be a test bed.

For best results you should put a liberal amount of marine bedding compound around all edges and screw holes of the plywood before installing. Keeping mineral spirits and plenty of rags on hand to clean up the squeeze out. I used to do boat repair and we always used 3M 5200 Bedding Compound in a tube.

That boat is missing its flotation foam under the seats! An important safety feature....

yes, those are braces that went up to the seats and also it is missing the corner braces at the transom. They are all needed!

You are a treasure brother, you are such a hard working, knowledgeable human being who motivates us viewers! Thank you! 😍👍🍻

incorrect wood sealer, incorrect transom, no safety floats, no seat braces, no floor rails, etc. That's what I like about Mustie1's restorations. He just uses what he has laying around. It's fun to watch. It's a junk boat and motor that he has brought back to life for grins and giggles. Just like what we would have done as teenagers when life was more exciting. This is not serious restoration, (money and headaches) It's just pure fix it up for nothing fun. Worst to happen is it sinks in his lake and he walks back to shore. Nothing lost. Just lots of laughs and fun along the way.

The rear corners need braces to handle vibration when the motor is running and the force of thrust at speed

Sounds like the power washer needs a little love Mustie.

Thanks for the entertainment. And thanks for never shying away from attempting a fix just because you aren’t a world class expert in everything you attempt. You allow your expertise to translate to differing projects and show that with a bit of skill and determination, anything can be fixed....usually.

Glad you're getting the boat fixed up. Aluminum boats have been getting expensive, so your efforts should be well worth it. I wouldn't put too big a motor on it, unless you make the transom stronger. Maybe keep it under 10HP.

I'm thinking you lose some structural integrity with the plywood not extending in to the corners.

just to remove grain hairs 80 grit is too coarse You'll actually wind up creating more hairs. 220 or even find steel wool is what is normally used for that purpose. before you finish, dampen a cloth and wipe it over the boards to bring up any that remain. Then when you varnsh, put on a light coat, steel wool it, (fine or extra fine only, never coarse) and then continue with several coats of varnish, many thin coats are better than one or two thick coats so I'm told, but I like a nice thick finnish coat that flows out to make a glossy, very smooth surface. you probably won'at want that for a boat seat.

here in florida that trailer is worth 300 in good shape including bearings ,, the boat another 300 if it don't leak to bad and a 5 hp good working motor 700 .. it might not go to the first person but within a week it will be gone .. the corner brackets by the transom are a must .. you can make them out of solid wood or aluminum ..

Cleaned up rather well I thought. Originally it could be called a stink boat but not now unless you do sail boats. Then it still is a stink boat. Should be a great little fishing boat. thanks for sharing.

I noticed that pressure washer sound like it was running a little bit rough I know a guy who can fix that for you he works on Small engines like that. 😂

Must be aluminum boat week. Marty T in NZ found one just like it, although it had a few corrosion hole.

Great video as usual. When I was a kid we had a 14 ft aluminum jon boat. 5 hp evinrude. Lots of broken shear pins over the years made for lots of rowing practice. Very brushy lake shallows. Can't wait to see you on the water in this boat

I need a boat like that to test my 1928 Johnson A 3.5. You are a lucky man👍

Think the board you put in being short, even with a gusset, will flex that sheet metal and it will crack.

You are going to create a stress point where the plywood is short at the top. I would go with the proper size plywood.

Little aluminum runabouts like this are great. I have a 12 footer, it's a great little fishing boat.

There was a piece of wood on the outside of the transom. There was also a couple of triangular pieces of cast aluminum from the transom to the gunwhales. Those are important too and the bolt holes are there and you can see the dark mark on the rear of the transom too.

Wish that i could get free boat like that. In finland everything is expensive even if it is just a piece of turd.

You can say this boat was a little Mustie

Great now I'm feeling like I need to go find a old boat and bring it back to life again! Thanks! Keep up the great work thanks for bringing us aboard!!

Nice score on the boat, I think the anchors are worth more then the boat. I agree with the others the transom board should go all the way across but you are using what you have on hand and the haters will be haters. Do what you want

That scratch on the outside left of the transom is a 3 masted sailing ship.

3:16 Mosquito larvae ! Always put some apple cider vinegar in standing water so the mosquitoes larvae can't hatch and bite you 👍😎

A musty nice little sailing ship on the back of the boat thanks for the video Mike's dad Leroy

Looks great Mustie1. Thanks as always for bringing us along.

Mustie1, I hope I catch you before you apply the poly to the exterior plywood on the stern. The plywood grain, even treated and covered with poly, will check. Generously brush on some antifreeze and let it dry. Then apply any finish you want. The plywood grain will never check and you'll have the satisfaction of using an automotive product on your boat.

Sunday morning Mustie - a tradition!

Yes, put another piece of wood on the back where the engine rests! Transom should be just about 1.5" in thickness. I'd make it larger than the outline suggests, perhaps out to the next set of bolt holes if possible, vs. drilling more holes. Many folks like to put a piece of stainless steel over that to keep the motor from digging into the wood on the back (and front). Might consider SS or aluminum to cover the top of the transom as well (sikaflex it in place) to keep water out since it's likely to get wet all the time. Unless you know what to use to seal the wood to transom and the bolt holes, use SikaFlex. Made for marine environments. Put at least a bead all the way around the perimeter, both the edges and flat where it contacts the transom and sides to keep water out. Haven't watched to the end yet, but please do NOT use steel for reinforcements on a boat. Just really bad practice. You can make the reinforcements you need from sheet aluminum, you have the tools and experience to fabricate them. Or just make them of blocks of wood cut to a triangle. RichE San Diego, CA

Mustie looks like an ole sea captain with the mutton chops !!! Great job on the old boat !!!

Musties’s vids are like a bad relationship I was once in. Oh, sure... she always asked me what I wanted to do. But somehow or other we always ended up doing what SHE wanted to do.

I'd cut out some pieces of treated plywood that fit down in those ends where the big one wasn't long enough, slap some glue on them, and drive them down in there. That would strengthen up those corners a lot.

Always something good to watch . Musti 1 you are the man. Fun to watch. How get some of things to run is beyond me.

Without nowing the exact model of your boat, here is what your boats may be missing, comparing it to similar boats of this vintage: * Corner support brackets at the rear of the boat where you replaced the wood panel. * A small wood panel that goes on the back where the outboard motor clamps on to provide better support and better secure the outward motor when clamped on. * A number of aluminum row boats I have seen have wood or metal vertical cross panels that go under the seat benches from one side to the other the boat. That may be what those broken metal brackets once attached too. In some case the support is directly under the very center of the seat in the form of a square-shaped support. * Many of these types of boats have metal support/bracing pieces the go from the ends of the seat benches up the top sides of the walls. This can be a single brace, a t-shaped brace an h-shaped brace to braces at each side of each end of the seats (4 braces total per seat bench). * Many row boats have 2 handles on the back end where the outboard motor goes, one on each side, to make it easier to pull the boat out of the water and for easier loading/unloading of the boat trailer. * There seems to be a lot of design variations over the decades in this type of row boat but it’s hard to know with vintage row boat pictures just what is a normal design difference (i.e. it was always that way) and what is the result of being very old and thus parts having broken off, rotted/rusted off, or otherwise being missing for whatever reason.

Don't use steel for patching Aluminum. That didn't look like marine plywood! Perhaps some boater will recognize that 3 masted decal on the transom and you can research the boat. Likely needs a centre rib. You must have a 3/4" wood stretcher! Trim off the bottom corners so they clear the sides by 1/2". Cut the outside above that rivet line. 2" x 5/16" SS Fasteners. Angry Birds!!!

Transom needs to go corner to corner with no gaps.

Greetings from down here in Connecticut! We've been hammered by hurricane Isaias. A large part of the state has no power. One of my neighbors came by, and said that he couldn't get his generator to run, but that it had run well four years ago! I said to myself, I know ho to fix it!

Your great with old lawnmowers, bikes and VWs... enough said.

That transom shouldn't be compromised.

Hey Mustie1 you missed a couple of hairs when you were shavin’! Lol

Two things: I would replace the seats and stern with solid wood if possible. Plywood will just de-laminate again over time. I had a similar boat for a short time. I used to carry it on top of a Plymouth Horizon. I would've liked to paint the boat the same as the car so it would look like one big behemoth instead of a blue boat on top of a tan car, but I never got it done. Then I sold it.

Love your Sunday morning videos Mustie! Doesn’t matter what you work on, it’s awesome!

Oil the teak otherwise it will have to be redone every year. Poly was a poor choice

"A three hour tour..."

Aluminum plate was there. Can’t believe you left to top short in width Mustie, give the poor boat a new sheet of marine grade plywood! 😁

every now and then you meet a guy like Mustie, and makes one wish that i could just have a little bit of what he knows..hard work and a desire to learn have done him very well..deserved..

Those little larva swimming in that boat are Mosquito larva, pour some bleach in the water... I hate Mosquito's

I love the "Mustie Chuckle"!

Intersting to see the restoring the boat and the engine. In addition, I would check tha boat trailer. There could be corrosion in the bearings. Secondly, I would put some grease in the bearings.

At the rear in the middle of the boat 🛥. There must be a wooden plate to hold the engine tightened to the boat and also it protects you're boat from any damage caused by the engine. Great vid @mustie Greets from Jur 🇳🇱

Com0n I can’t believe you hacked that plywood. 2 inches short. By a full sheet of plywood

All the experts are on today. It's an old free boat for occasionally testing outboards on a lake. It's not for circumnavigating the globe.

I restored a boat hat looked exactly like yours, I found it in a field being used as a cattle trough. I had to do all the same things you did. Thanks for the video.

I'd probably encapsulate the transom wood in epoxy and put a cap rail on top to prevent water from getting in the end grain. What a great deal!