Uh oh. 1958 Skagit 20 Hardtop

[Kelly]

Hey Bruce! It's an Express, same cabin size and same layout. I forgot to snap some pics of the interior after I spent the day cleaning it. The wood is definitely not as solid as the blue one, so the hardtop will get the restoration attention first.
Good to know info on the hatches. I looked at a ton of pics before posting that to make sure I was on the right track with regards to early vs. late 58.

Look at the difference in the transoms as well. While I know they can be modified at any time, I don't see where the blue one has been changed, at least in the width. <disregard that outboard that's on the hardtop...it's a 10hp Johnson>

[bruceb]

The blue boat has a more normal transom width in my just completed viewing of numerous 1957-58 20 footers. However, the notch downs are not factory, meaning done by marinas/previous owners. The hardtop boat transom is different, don't know if I've seen one that narrow, but had to come from the factory like that. As a general set-up, these were powered by the twin longshaft versions of OMC motors which were 22 inches. Your hardtop had the twin Johnson Golden Jubilee 35s, like 17"shafts. Tim Jones is more of an expert on these motors. I'll attach pic of your boat, about 8 years ago.
Our transom was cut down by the dealer to fit a 20" longshaft single 50hp Johnson(fat fifty). Many times this dealer "notch down" alteration was less than factory in quality of sealing and sped up the deterioration of the transom.....
My next question is, does your keel continue to the stern, or does it end 4.5 feet from the stern ? ( curious about both boats)

[Kelly]

I'll have to look the next time I go out to my in-laws as I currently have them both at their place. Why is that significant?

[bruceb]

The Skagit factory made 2 20 foot hull molds, one for inboard, one outboard. Think from conversations with factory workers, the idea came out that they had a production crunch, so they built outboard boats with inboard mold, hence the keel ends forward of the stern to accommodate the driveshaft. The lack of a keel at the stern on this particular hull gives it a neat cornering characteristic.

[Kelly]

Great info! I like factory stories like this!

[Karl]

Kelly, I like it!

[Karl]

Kelly, I like it!

Forgive me if I've missed it. What are the power plants? Do they run?

[Kelly]

As of right now, 0 hp. That will be the last thing I do for the hardtop. The blue one may get power soon, depends how expensive this all becomes...ha!

[Karl]

I assume that they are both outboards?

[Kelly]

Sorry, yes both outboard models. The "plan" is to give one some Honda power while the other may get an older tower of power.

[Kelly]

So after spending some time under the boat <putting the new trailer under it...making sure nothing got damaged> I noted the keel does go almost all the way to the stern, stopping short by a few inches.

I forgot to snap a few pics of the boat on the "new" trailer but will post up when I can. For now, here's a quick shot of it dipping it's keel in the water for the first time since at least 2001 but perhaps maybe even 1999.

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[John Nelson]

There is a white 800 {merc} in c list Bellingham boat parts. I wouldn't bet its any good but if that's what you want to get into its worth a look.

[Kelly]

Thanks John, I'll take a look!

[Kelly]

Been busy the past few days/weeks trying to get things in order on this boat. It started with getting another boat to get the trailer it was sitting on which means at one point I had 4 boats!!??!! I'm certifiably insane. The good thing is I'm an optimist for the most part and knew I could get rid of the other boat via CL. My father-in-law and I towed the other boat and this boat to the lake to do the trailer swap (that's a whole other story!) and was for the most part successful.
I'd say the cool part about the whole trailer bit is the person I was buying it from told me to just take it. Take it? The whole boat and galvanized trailer? I couldn't do that as she was a recently divorced school teacher, so I gave her some cash and told her I would return the next day to retrieve it.
So after a little elbow grease and some new wheels/tires and bearings/bearing buddys here's my nearly free trailer:
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20160908_174008.jpg
oh and I swapped out the winch stand. I picked one up on CL for $20 that was the exact height I wanted as the one that came with the trailer was way too low for my liking. I'll clean it up some more, I just wanted to make sure it all lined up how I wanted it to.
20160908_174114.jpg
Eventually I'll convert this trailer into a bunk trailer as I most definitely dislike roller trailers.

[Kelly]

Oh and yes, I got rid of the other boat in less than 24hrs by giving it away even though I put a little money into the old trailer...I don't consider that a loss.