XST 18 Restoration

Freebird

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Gonna be restoring my late brother's boat this winter and hope it'll be finished by warm weather. Long story short, unknown to me, it was left outside for the past 3 1/2 years or so with no cover whatsoever. Somebody trimmed up the motor to the point it dented the transom cap and pulled it away from the transom. Mother Nature took over from there, and the transom is now totally rotten. Made me absolutely sick when I saw it as that boat was a cream puff and my brother's pride and joy.

Going to be taking it to Kevin Bryant (his dad owns Stroker Boats) at Smokey Mountain Boat Repair in Vonore, TN as he seems to know his stuff and has seen the boat. We're going to pop the cap off it and see what we have, then I'll know for sure exactly what I'm getting into. No doubt I'll have more in the boat than it will be worth, but it will make a nice memorial to my brother that I'll never part with. Might even put new gel on it and match it to my GT20.

If anybody has any better ideas of how to do this, I'm all ears. Lord knows I can't do it.
 

Jed

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Call Bill at Allison Boats. He was very helpfull when I did my GT20...
 

Freebird

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Call Bill at Allison Boats. He was very helpfull when I did my GT20...
Sorry, haven't been on in a while and just now saw this. I talked to Bill first, and he basically told me he could sell me a new boat for what it would cost to get this one back into shape if I had them do the work. He hadn't seen it, but I just asked about replacing the transom. Still haven't gotten started yet but hope that will happen next week.
 

Jed

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Well, I wouldn't say that. A new one is at least 30k with trailer. I'll have about 18k in mine by the time I get finished. That's all new gear, new custom trailer with the exception of the motor. Basically a new boat. A lot of money for an old boat, but then again, you don't see too many of these around anymore. You definately don't see these around here. There's just not many left.. We have to keep them going...
 

Jed

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Just an FYI on popping the cap. When I was inquiring about doing mine, I didn't get too much feedback from here. So I got hold of some other folks on multiple other forums, and Bill at Allison recommended that I didn't pop the cap. So fast forward, I took mine to a local guy down here and he wanted to pop the cap. I talked him out of it based off what Bill had said. After they got into the restore, my boat guy said that it was a good thing we didn't do it. He could of done it, but it would of cost somewhat more after the labor. All worked out well, and I'm exceptionally pleased with the work. One of the best boat guys in the Houston area...
 

Freebird

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Just an FYI on popping the cap. When I was inquiring about doing mine, I didn't get too much feedback from here. So I got hold of some other folks on multiple other forums, and Bill at Allison recommended that I didn't pop the cap. So fast forward, I took mine to a local guy down here and he wanted to pop the cap. I talked him out of it based off what Bill had said. After they got into the restore, my boat guy said that it was a good thing we didn't do it. He could of done it, but it would of cost somewhat more after the labor. All worked out well, and I'm exceptionally pleased with the work. One of the best boat guys in the Houston area...
I know Kevin is planning to pop the cap off this one, so why is that a bad idea?
 

Freebird

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Well, the first step is complete in that I dropped off the boat today. Kevin and one of his guys gave it a good looking over and commented it was in much better shape than the average '77 XST, short of the transom. They're going to remove the fuel tank and a few other things to get an idea of how things are. He said there was a XST at his dads with the cap off, so that would give him a better idea about how things lay out. Could be he'll just make a couple of cuts on the cap at the back of the boat and replace the transom if the stringers look okay. Again, I don't know (and neither does he) if the wetness in the transom transferred into the stringers. Stay tuned.
 

Freebird

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Boat is a '77. Ran the numbers on the motor, but I can't remember what year it is now. Motor looks like new.
 

Jed

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Man, looks a lot newer than a "77". They were definately way ahead of the times.... When you get a chance could you give me a call at 713-447-9035. I have a question about the specification tag on your GT20..
 

Freebird

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Man, looks a lot newer than a "77". They were definately way ahead of the times.... When you get a chance could you give me a call at 713-447-9035. I have a question about the specification tag on your GT20..
Called last week and left you a message. If you're worried about your max horsepower rating of 120, don't. That's Allison's recommendation (aka liability insurance), not a USCG rating. Once you hit 20 feet, USCG horsepower ratings go out the window. Had to remind my insurance company of that when I did an engine swap on my GT which I bought and insured with a 200. Funny thing was the 225 Pro Max that raised their eyebrow when I put it on the GT and changed the insurance was already on my SS20 which they had insured for over a year at that point! Gotta love the clueless pencil pushers at the top! LOL
 

Freebird

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IMG_8862.JPG IMG_8866.JPG IMG_8867.JPG IMG_8868.JPG Got some pics from the repair shop today. Never knew these old gals didn't have stringers, but from a restoration cost standpoint, I guess that's a good thing. Looking forward to having her on the lake again, looking better than ever.
 

Freebird

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IMG_8924.JPG IMG_8929.JPG IMG_8927.JPG

Checked on the old gal yesterday, and she's coming along nicely. Transom and floor is in, and she's wood-free now. Looking forward to taking her fishing before too long.
 
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Barry Joye

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I'm new here guys but I'm starting a 78' XST and never saw it addressed why it's a bad idea to remove the cap....I'd appreciate it if anyone could answer that.
 
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Freebird

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IMG_9369.JPG
I'm new here guys but I'm starting a 78' XST and never saw it addressed why it's a bad idea to remove the cap....I'd appreciate it if anyone could answer that.
Sorry, I haven't checked in lately. I'm guessing it's not a bad idea if it's done correctly. They're glassed on. Mine was removed and glassed back on, even more than before. It's now all composite, so there will never be a reason to pop it again.

It's just about ready along with the original trailer that's being refurbished by SMP. Everything should be lake ready next week.
 
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