New OLD boat day

Picked up a project this weekend, an ’83 Alumacraft 14-footer. Paid a whopping $20. Other than 15 years of back-yard crud on the hull that came out with elbow grease and a soapy brush, the boat looks to be in good shape. Transom looks sound. Going to replace the outboard plate on the exterior and do new hardware & fresh 5200 on the transom all around. Came with original oars & oar locks in great shape. This afternoon will do a quick float test and try to identify any leaky rivets so I can use the downtime this winter to get it all ready for spring.

I think this boat lacks a proper Hull ID. There is no stamp on the back of the transom like you’d expect. There are two plates on the interior of the transom, one says it’s a model “AZ” and the other has weight and horsepower ratings. I have the previous owner’s last DNR registration cards, dated 2003. On the bottom of the card, the Hull ID field is blank.

There is a stamp in the bow casting that reads AZ#-#### — but I’m assuming this is a serial number, too short to be a HIN.

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Looks a lot older than 1983. (I’m guessing pre 1960.) Do you have a pic of the boat?

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Looks a lot older than 1983.

That’s my thought, too. If it’s pre-1972, it didn’t need a hull ID number.

HULL ID NUMBERS

Jon Jordan wrote:

Looks a lot older than 1983. (I’m guessing pre 1960.) Do you have a pic of the boat?

-J.

Hecks yeah, where the boat pic at!?

Strongly suspect you are off by a few decades on the age of this boat.

I’m going from memory here, but I believe the AZ series boats were made in the 1960s? Sometime between 60 and 65?

That tag is almost certainly not from the 1980s. Alumacraft, I’m almost certain, was long out of Minneapolis by then. Also, any boat made in 1983 would have had a hull ID number,.

Grouse

Thanks guys. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was older, and that would explain lack of HID. I got 1983 from the DNR registration documents, the registration numbers match the stickers on the boat and the boat is identified on the documents simply as “1983 14ft ALUMACRAFT.”

I attempted to attach photos but they were too large. Down-sized and trying again!

I’m gonna take a wild guess that it’s a 1963 and someone at the DNR office way back made a typo and entered an “8” instead of a “6.”

This makes me nervous. I am going to attempt to do a standard registration transfer without addressing the error. Once I get it registered in my name, perhaps getting the error corrected is possible in the longterm.

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Who cares what year it is, that things sweet!

My dad has one like that in his yard. Alot more narrower, and when he told me it was 14′ I called em a liar and went measured myself, sure enough! Much easier hauling around.

That’ll be perfect for all those skinny metro waters around here. Enjoy.

nhamm wrote:

Who cares what year it is, that things sweet!

My dad has one like that in his yard. Alot more narrower, and when he told me it was 14′ I called em a liar and went measured myself, sure enough! Much easier hauling around.

That’ll be perfect for all those skinny metro waters around here. Enjoy.

Thanks man. I gotta develop a good roof-top system. I put that sucker on top of my 2-door explorer all by myself, which was a good laugh. Some nice mustard yellow paint left over on my truck but whatever, I strapped it up there just like a canoe

Think it will be great for metro electric lakes, but I’ve also got some pool 1 plans for this bad boy.

That will make a great electric lake boat.

1963 would make a lot more sense judging by the looks of it. It’s certainly not a 1983.

Nice find. Clean that bad boy up, do a leak check and get her back on the water.

Grouse

I’ve transferred ownership on 2 old boats similar to that one. No problems. Do it in person at the DNR office downtown St Paul.

-J.

Thanks for the tips! Given the wind today I’m going to be putting water in and testing for leaks at home this afternoon.

pool2fool wrote:

Thanks for the tips! Given the wind today I’m going to be putting water in and testing for leaks at home this afternoon.

Come pick my 14′ Alumacraft up and test that while you’re at it! I solely use it for duck hunting and always assumed the water in it was from wet waders…until I didn’t step foot in the water and it still filled up…It’s funny how little has changed from 1963 to 2002 on these boats…even my transom plate looks similar!

Nice find, should clean up nicely.

I put the boat up on blocks and filled up the hull so all the bottom rivets and seams were submerged for a while. The drain plug still holds perfectly. Got under it and inspected, no major drips or anything but a little seepage to keep an eye on. I’m not going to sink too much into it before getting a real float test and all the small lakes nearby are icing up so it might need to wait til spring. Til then it’s clean and dry and tucked away.

pool2fool wrote:

Thanks man. I gotta develop a good roof-top system. I put that sucker on top of my 2-door explorer all by myself, which was a good laugh. Some nice mustard yellow paint left over on my truck but whatever, I strapped it up there just like a canoe

Back in the late 70’s – early 80’s I had a 14ft lake boat something like that…..I made up a carrier from some scrap steel that worked great….
I welded a square piece of flat (about 3”) to the bottom of a section of 3” pipe,then welded the lower part of a bolt as big as a ball mount to bottom of the square……removed the ball and bolted the pipe into the hitch….
I then took a smaller dia. pipe (just small enough to fit in the 3” section) and welded a 4ft piece of angle iron V side down toe the top of the smaller pipe…..I would slide this piece into the 3” pipe so it would spin……
I would put the transom into the V, strap it down……grab the bow and walk it around to the top of the car which had a roof rack and strap the boat down and go…….
That boat spent all summer on the top of my 1968 Chevy wagon with a 10hp and electric motor in the back…..
I could launch anywhere I wanted to….:)

I thought I’d post a follow-up on this. Had no idea when I got this boat in November that it’d become my primary (only) boat by this summer. I wanted to call out @Mudshark because my setup isn’t much different than his. I’ve been able to take this boat pretty much anywhere I would’ve taken my glass boat, conditions just need to be right. Been in the Croix, Miss, lakes on Gunflint trail, Grindstone, local electric-only lakes.

I finally got my motor running this week so took the little boat out for a couple quiet hours on pool 2 last night. Not many boats out, so despite the strong flow and high water it wasn’t bad. Went out of Hidden Falls and just spent some time tooling around and getting used to the motor. The motor trolls pretty well and is more than capable of pushing me around. Certainly sips the gas.

BUT, I couldn’t quite get the boat on plane. I’m not surprised from what I’ve read, but wondering if it’s worth trying a few adjustments. My top speed down stream was about 9mph, against current about 5.5. My stern seems to be dragging and the wake doesn’t look “right.”

The boat weighs maybe 120 lbs on its own. It’s rated for a 7.5hp and a total weight of about 650 lbs. I think I’ve got it loaded at about 450 pounds with motor, 6 gallon tank, TM/battery, my fat butt, and fishing junk. Ideas:

– Tiller extension handle, and sit at middle seat?

– Carry less fuel? ( foolishly filled it up )

– Trim is set all the way down and missing the pin. Might need to be adjusted up a tick?

– Prop is in pretty laughable shape, looks to be the original. I’ll try to get a pic tonight.

– Ditch the TM & deep cycle (more of a safety thing though…)

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Prop is essential.
I’ve gotten mine at propmd in Plymouth and always been very happy with CS there.

Nice rig P2F, I threw a few thoughts to your questions below.

– Tiller extension handle, and sit at middle seat?
I don’t know that it will help you much, just sit where you like to use the boat the most.

– Carry less fuel? ( foolishly filled it up )
A three gallon tank or half full 6 gallon should provide a lot of run time

– Trim is set all the way down and missing the pin. Might need to be adjusted up a tick?
No sure about that 6hp merc but my old 14 ft didn’t do a lot more with a 8hp, maybe just a few more MPH and I often had less gear/weight. Any weight savings can sure help.

Thanks for the thoughts Nick & Chris.

I may not be able to get it on plane, and that’d be fine really. I’d just like to make it feel a litte less like I’m plowing when I run wot.

I had an Alumacraft F7 for many years, 14 footer with a 15hp Evinrude on the back. I had a long gas line for my six gallon tank that let me move it around to redistribute the weight depending on how many people were in the boat. It helped a lot to put some of the weight forward and get the bow down.

You might have to do some experimenting to see what works best for you. That’s a great boat!

S.R.

Steve Root wrote:

I had an Alumacraft F7 for many years, 14 footer with a 15hp Evinrude on the back. I had a long gas line for my six gallon tank that let me move it around to redistribute the weight depending on how many people were in the boat. It helped a lot to put some of the weight forward and get the bow down.

You might have to do some experimenting to see what works best for you. That’s a great boat!

S.R.

Good point with the fuel line Steve, I did the same thing with my little 14′ growing up.

Maybe move the gas can as far forward as you can(length of gas line). In all our 12-14′ boats we have the gas can between the back bench seat and the second one. When you are in them alone it helps a lot to distribute the weight more evenly. You can move the trolling motor battery as far forward as the wire lets you also. Tin boats loaded heavy in the back and empty in the front take a lot of HP to get planed out.

Cinder block on the front seat!

my buddy puts sand bags in the bow of his 14′ Ridgeline to allow him to get on plane. he has a 6hp on the back. without that he wouldn’t get on plane with just himself in the boat

My first boat was exactly like this, except with a bit larger bow cover. It had the same transom plate, rated for 16 hp. Mine was a 1955. A friend had one just like yours, from 1964. I’d guess yours is somewhere in between. Great little boat. Mine is still in use by a young guy, his first boat. 63 years old and still fishes like it did in ’55!

I had a 14 foot A1 with a 9.9 that would do 13 mph GPS.
weight and balance is essential.
I had the gas can and the TM battery mid ship.
Keep moving things around to get the best performance.

Move your trolling motor battery up front and extend the cables. Be mindful of wire gauge when doing so. That may help you plane out.

My 14V with battery, tank and me in the back looked like a SpaceX launch when I was alone in the boat. Moving just the battery to in front of the first seat made all the difference in the world.

Thanks for all the tips guys.

The tank is currently as far forward as the hose length will allow, which is just in front of the middle bench seat. I could get more hose but it’s already middle of the boat.

The TM battery on the other hand could make a big difference as that’s sitting way back with me at the moment. I’ll look into that, as well as other weight distribution options.

Here’s a link to the 1964 Alumacraft brochure. Check out page 8. http://online.anyflip.com/jtji/yavq/mobile/index.html#p=8

blackbay wrote:

Here’s a link to the 1964 Alumacraft brochure. Check out page 8. http://online.anyflip.com/jtji/yavq/mobile/index.html#p=8

Very cool!