New to Group - New to Boating

Hi Guys, Just a quick HI!
I am Matt, Live in Melbourne, Victoria Australia and have just bought my first boat ever and it needs a complete restoration, (no one said I ever did things the easy way) so probably warn you of LOTS of newbie questions right up front.

Picked up a 1959 Bell Boy Banshee off ebay recently that needs a LOT of work, but I am in no real hurry and will chip away at it, so any info suggestions ideas or help are all greatly appreciated.

I have a fleet of Old EK Holdens (the model with fins - a smaller version of a 57 Chev) and a matching Aluminium 1962 Carapark Astronaut Caravan (with Fins) and fell in love with Boats, with fins of course, and the Banshee certainly has them! I think it will fit in at my place really well!

Looking forward to meeting up with and sharing the journey with any forum members in Victoria
Matt
:boater1:


P.S. are there any clubs or groups I should join, to find info and assistance and get involved with the boating adventure - non competitive ones?? all the ones I can find are racing boat clubs

[Tim McCrain]

Hello Matt, and welcome! We are fortunate to have lots of knowledgeable folks in the club who are willing to share their experience with others, so ask away.

Another good resource is www.fiberglassics.com, lots of nice people there with boat loads of knowledge.

And please post lots of photos when you can, it makes it easier for others to help and also helps folks searching for info. If you'd like, you can create a personal album and upload photos throughout the restoration process, makes a nice record of your progress and shows others that they can do it too.

Let us know if you have any questions,

Tim

[Helmar]

Welcome aboard.

Bring on the questions as there are several of us that do this resto stuff for a living.

Look at it this way, if you can get three or more opinions, you can form your own or think we are all crazy

Thanks for the warm welcome, I will try and set up a photo account and get some pictures up of the boat as it is, however I warn you it needs a LOT of work
and of course me not knowing the first thing about boating will make for an interesting adventure!
Having said that, I got the boat home on Friday and spent Sunday checking it out to see just what I had bought, ripped out the Floors( I have been reprimanded - it is apparently a deck) cause it was rotten, and found the hull and stringers in good shape underneath, the transom is a completely different story and will need to be replaced.
I have decided due to the volume of work required of the cap, I will separate the hull and cap and do each piece separately, so will be calling for tips and suggestions as I go for that!

Also just on a separate note, what size outboard should I be thinking of for the Banshee? it is a pretty light little boat of around 15 foot, and I will be mainly pottering about in it, not really a ski boat, but maybe liek to get one skier up behind it occasionally
Thanks in advance
Matt

[FINS]

Here is a link to photos of the restoration that Rob Dapron did for Ron Stevenson on his 1959 Banshee. Some great pictures of the hull construction once it is seperated. Rob checks this forum every once in a while so you may be able to get some information from him if you run into problems.

Good luck on your Banshee. Can't wait to see some progress pictures!

Dapron restoration gallery

WOW, I have seen some pictures of that boat and it is a delight! a real tribute to the owner / restorer.
The stringers and inside of the hull on mine is SOOOO different it has three main stringers and they are used to support the deck, maybe it was a 58 to 59 change or perhaps the Australian built copies are different, will have to get these pictures up to show you , the cap is the same, but mine makes his look easy to restore, mine is also missing most of the fittings including windscreen etc, btu I am hunting for them and am determined to get it back to showroom condition (one day)

Matt

Well after a challenging weekend, I finally have a couple of pictures of the Banshee..........