New member Skagit 20 project

[aguynamedchris]

Hi Everyone

As you might already guessed my name is Chris and I'm fairly new to boating - started with a Fathers Day gift last year from my wife - an old 14' foot Sangster and became immediately hooked. I sold the 14' foot to buy a 16' foot bowrider with a 1979 Johnson 70 which I then sold at the end of last season to buy a cool 17' ski boat with a late 70's Merc 1150 that needed a complete overhaul. I've nearly finished that boat and am ready to start my 4th and first really true restoration - this Skagit 20 which I found in a tow yard of all places.

[ame="http://s1065.photobucket.com/albums/u382/SNAP_Victoria/Skagit%20Boat%20Restoration/"]Skagit Boat Restoration pictures by SNAP_Victoria - Photobucket[/ame]

I guess you could call it a classic case of two-foot-itis but this is the boat I plan to really take my time with and restore and own for a good long time. I found this forum because I have a lot of questions about this boat which I'm hoping some of you might be able to help with. For starters I'm wondering if any of you might be able to tell from these photos what year this boat is? I'm also interested to know if this is a factory hardtop that you see or if it's something added after-market.

I'll post my other queries in the appropriate areas but from what I've seen there appears to be a lot of knowledge about these Skagit's here and I hope I can tap into a bit of that. I'm located in Victoria, BC and I hope to participate in some of the classic boating events that happen in the Pacific Northwest once I get this baby seaworthy again.

[Bflaherty]

Welcome!!!

Looks like a pretty nice little package... Although what is with the cabin windows? Are those tinted glass that someone painted white on the inside??

[aguynamedchris]

Not exactly what the last guy did was paint the plexiglass entirely inside and out with black paint. It's really quite frustrating because it's hard to scrape off without scratching the plexi so I'm probably going to have to just replace all the plexiglass windows. The good news is that the glass winshield is nearly entirely intact except for a small crack in one corner

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

'59 Skagit 20

Chris -

You were lucky to find one with a factory-original hardtop...desirable for Northwest cruising.

You might want to consider ditching the original fiberglass fuel tanks, though, since modern fuels tend to dissolve some of the surface inside the tanks, sending a nasty jello-like much through your fuel lines...clogging filters or, worse, killing your engine by gumming up carbs. New plastic saddle tanks can be used as direct replacements for the old FG tanks.

If you replace the cabin windows, consider using polycarbonate (Lexan is one of the brand names) rather than acrylic ('plexiglass'), since you can bend thinner sheets of polycarbonate cold...whereas you have to heat-bend acrylic--a tedious and problematic exercise. (Too much heat and the acrylic sags/distorts; too little and it breaks upon bending.) We've used a lot of 3/16" polycarbonate on windshields and cabin windows.

Good score!

- Marty

[aguynamedchris]

Marty - thanks for the advice on the windows and the gas tanks too. I was wondering what most people did with these old fibreglass tanks. My first thought was to just cut the tops off and have new tanks made to fit inside the old tanks then reglass the tops. I'd lose a bit of volume but keep the original look. Part of the reason I was thinking this way is because the tanks have an subtle curvature to them that must be nearly impossible to replicate with a steel or plastic tank. I am curious to know what other people have done with this problem.

[aguynamedchris]

Hi Marty - I just took a minute to check out your website and it looks like you did an incredible restoration on a boat just like this - wow! In the cabin it looks like there is no porta-potty or sink is that because you decided to remove them entirely in favour of more room for lounging or is it because the boat did not have those features originally. I'm just dying of curiousity to know what one of these looked like when it rolled off the line...

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Skagit Cabin Interiors

Chris -

On the gas-tank subject, you could fit some kind of new tank into the old shell, but as you say you'd lose a fair amount of volume in the process. The best thing is to chisel them out and go with new tanks. (It's common to hide the tanks altogether with a panel of marine-mahogany plywood--see photos below--that extends from the underside of the side deck to the cockpit floor. In going with a new tank, you might have to fur-out just a bit to clear the tank, but it's a nice-looking approach.)

Another way to deal with dual tanks is to hide them under plywood boxes that support your new seats. We used squarish-shaped plastic tanks in Charlie and Pat Johns' 20' Skagit (see the last photo, below).

If you're looking at website photos of the 20' 1958 Skagit we worked on recently, owners Charlie and Pat wanted a clean approach to the interior...and they didn't feel a need for galley, dining table, built-in porta-potty or other such items. The boat features several lift-out deck lids to access storage cubbies under the generous forepeak berth, but I really liked their clean, straightforward approach.

Most of the original Skagit 20 Express models came with a cabin interior that included molded-fiberglass sink against the bulkhead, with water tank mounted on the outside of the cabin bulkhead; marine head under a hinged lid; pop-up dining table that became part of the forepeak berth when not in use, and a few storage cubbies for dishware and miscellaneous. They were never 'fancy,' just functional, but the nice thing about restoring old classic-glass boats is that you can do whatever you want: Nobody's going to descend on your boat with a list of original specifications and a tape measure to be sure you reproduced a factory-original interior! (By the way, if you want to see a totally original/virginal Skagit 20 interior, get together with Bruce Bridwell at some future boat-club event and look at his gorgeous 1958 Express...just the way it was 54 years ago.)

Photos below show a few different approaches to cockpit arrangements, side panels and cabin interiors...not all Skagits, but similar.

Have fun,

- Marty

[aguynamedchris]

Wow those are some beautiful restorations - good inspiration for the job ahead. I've got a million other questions but I'll start new threads for them so this one doesn't get too cluttered. Thanks for the warm welcome

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Welcome

Hello Chris,
Can't see your picture of your Skagit 20, but that is a great boat to own and restore. I restored one for a couple here on San Juan in 2000.

I'm just a stones throw from you in Friday Harbor. I grew up with the Skagit 20's, but have never owned one.

I have what is the only restored Skagit 31 in existence. Picture attached. Was a twenty year project. Worth it!

You'll have to stop over to Friday Harbor some time and I'll take you and yours for a spin.......

Welcome to the club.

Cheers,

Tim Jones aka McSkagit

[strobee]

Check out Bob Bobbers article on page 3 of Boat Restoration called "How to save your fiberglass gas tanks"

[aguynamedchris]

Here are some direct links to photos

[aguynamedchris]

Good lord Tim that boat is about the coolest thing I think I've ever seen. I can't wait to take a trip over to Friday harbour - Even though I've lived in Victoria for about 12 years now I am new to the idea of owning a boat and it really opens up a bunch of opportunities of places to go that I've never been. It's like exploring your own backyard for the first time.

This boat was a funny find. I actually knew nothing about Skagit's or anything when I found it. I was actually looking for a bigger truck to tow my 17 foot boat and went to a local towyard because they often have inexpensive vehicles for sale from people that decide not to pay their fines and tow fees (the new drinking driving laws in BC are pretty tough and can cost you a few thousand dollars just to get your car back). Anyways they had a full size pickup for sale that I bought and when I went down there to complete the sale I noticed this odd looking boat among all the vehicles. I got to chatting with the manager there and asked him about how they ended up with a boat in their tow yard. He told me the boat was seized by the police because it had been used to store a bunch of stolen property (hence the black windows). The police seized it as evidence and then later released it to the towing company. The owner of the boat then left it there for nearly 7 months and accumulated quite a lot of fees. I asked him if they were going to sell it and he said if I was interested they'd make one more effort to get in touch with the owner and if that didn't result in anything I could make an offer on it. Needless to say, they didn't come to any resolution and I ended up buying it. We have a 2 year old and I really wanted something that was a little more safe on the ocean - it's quite exposed in our little 17 foot Sangster and the deep hull and cuddy made this a very attractive prospect (and ultimately sold my wife on the idea - phew!)

I had no idea what I'd got - I just knew that I thought it really looked cool but what a mess. The interior was piled with garbage and clothing - about 16 garbage bags worth of stuff which we cleaned out, sorted and disposed of once it was in our driveway. As part of the cleaning I came across the chromed Skagit 20 tags and did and internet search which ultimately led me here.

Anyways I hope I can make the time to get her on the water this summer - if only it would stop raining....

[Helmar]

We keep talking about how each Skagit was, well, almost a custom order as each one might have something different about it.

Like yours for instance.
The Helm window layout looks the same that is used on the 59 Skagits.
It has that solid glass helm window and some side windows to it.

Another one of a kind classics in the workings.

[aguynamedchris]

I've read that these boats were made with foam or fibreglass stringers so does that mean what I'm looking at here are stringers that don't have a wooden core? What about the transom - I'm assuming they used a wood core in that part right?

[Helmar]

I've read that these boats were made with foam or fibreglass stringers so does that mean what I'm looking at here are stringers that don't have a wooden core? What about the transom - I'm assuming they used a wood core in that part right?

Stringers are a heavy fiberglass roving. Some had a small wooden strip under the ridge for screws to imbed into.
Transoms were wood, several layers laminated up together.:Skipper1: