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View Full Version : In the process of restoring an '89 30' Black Widow



pputkowski
05-28-2013, 01:26 PM
First post on this board, hello to all.

I purchased this boat about 3 months ago in pretty rough shape. The original owner purchased the boat new in 89 and sold it to the 2nd owner last year. He had it about 6 months and then I purchased it from him. I did moisture meter readings on the hull and transom and all was well - no real damage/stress marks on the glass either. It's obvious it was very well cared for up until it's later years. The boat has 330hp Merc 454s with Bravo Ones, hour meters read 370 and are still functioning. First thing I did was a complete mechanical overhaul - the port motor ended up having poor compression on the #5 cylinder due to a stuck valve. Beyond pulling the cylinder head to fix that most of the other stuff was minor. We had to rebuild 3 of the trim cylinders, replace the trim tab pump, rebuild carbs, plugs/wires, distributors/cap/rotor/etc. Next up came the exterior cosmetics.

The day I bought it (it looks WAY better in this photo than it did up close in person):

http://i.imgur.com/jjnFqU2.jpg

Original idea was to color-sand and buff the original red gel but after getting into and realizing it was dead and not worth saving I decided to paint. We used Interlux AWL-GRIP and I could not be happier with the results. A super slick finish that will not fade, ever. We wet-sanded and buffed the original white gel and it came out great.

Paint process:


http://i.imgur.com/QF6ftpj.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/ghwudIo.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/fWInmNT.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/oVReCUK.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/T49e0Ez.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/n3eeGuw.jpg


Finished product with new rub rail and decals:


http://i.imgur.com/gJPYaEG.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/4VN0KmW.jpg

Next (and last) step is to completely rebuild and re-cover the interior. This may have to wait until the end of the season.

http://i.imgur.com/gn2mHrE.jpg

A couple of photos from Memorial Day Weekend:

http://i.imgur.com/y2svZrl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9ckFAZh.jpg

Ghost
05-28-2013, 01:57 PM
Very sharp, nice work!

MOP
05-28-2013, 03:12 PM
Nice job!!! I had a ride in one years back at the 1K run, talk about a wave crusher!

Greg Guimond
05-28-2013, 06:06 PM
Looks great, thanks for ponying up the pics!