Release 21 Tarpon bay makeover.

[dombern34]

this post to is to share this whole process of my boat being completely redone. this has been a great experience and I'm excited to share it with the forum!


March 23, 2016 I purchased this boat from a good friend who wanted to downsize a little and get an aluminum boat so I made an offer and soon after became the new owner.

this is what it looked like on the day I picked it up. it was dirty and the boat was suppose to be "white". my plans where to have this done from the start so this was basically a blank canvas to me.

you can't find these boat's anymore which to me, it makes it unique and different. it'll be a boat that you don't see everyday. of course I could've taken the money and bought a newer boat, trust me it crossed my mind more than once. But the fact of owning a boat that can't hardly be found anymore made me choose this path. I believe when this boat is done, it's going to be something I can be proud to own.

here are some other pictures from the day I got it.

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as you can see, it needed some work. although the boat ran and functioned great, I just wanted to bring it back to life!

I didn't like how the seats where mounted in this boat. it didn't make sense that these seats where permanent and they couldn't be removed.

I've never been a big fan of T-tops on a boat, I believe it limits the amount of people you can have fishing on your boat. it's hard to cast with one over your head. granted on a bid july day, I wouldn't complain about one so much but I wouldn't use one enough to justify keeping it on here.

so march 26th, demolition starts!

I removed the t-top, poling platform power pole and trolling motor.

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now it's time I find a place that can take care of everything I want done, after some research and getting different opinions on who's the best, I chose Mikes Marine ways!

I called Mr. Mike and we talked about the boat as much was we could without him seeing it. with my work schedule, I wasn't able to bring the boat during his normal working hours and with him understanding that, he agreed to meet me on a Saturday morning! I got down there early Saturday morning on April 17th, the weekend before I was leaving for my Louisiana trip. Mr. Mike and I went over the whole boat talking about what could be done, what couldn't be done, his opinions and my ideas. he hit me with a price that make my heart near about stop but knowing that this boat would be done right and it would be the way I wanted it, I painfully agreed.

now here is a list of everything that's being done:

New gel coat bottom and sides
new non-skid with a light shade of grey to keep the glare down on the deck,
console was trimmed 2 inches to sit lower
seats where removed and glassed over to accommodate for a bench style cushion
new upholstery
new lights
all holes from the t top, poling platform, trolling motor, and push pole holders filled in and glassed
new switch and switch panels
cowling on motor repainted
new rub rail
new removable ladder
windshield chopped and painted
new adjusting steering helm
new trim tab switch
added a 6' atlas hydraulic jackplate
jackplate gauge
New Minn kota Ulterra Trolling motor.
new magic Tilt Trailer.
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once the boat is completely done and my casting platform is complete, I'm going to SeaDek the boat and add power poles, I've just currently ran out of money lol

This past Saturday, the 18th. Mr. Mike insisted that I come down and look at the boat! I was excited to see it anyways so I agreed to go down and look! he meets me there Saturday morning and we walk inside where the boat is. I can hardly recognize the boat!! he claims it'll be ready this weekend and it's hard to believe because the boat looks like it has weeks left of work to do but he said everything is basically done he just has to piece it all back together.

here is the boat as of Saturday, once the boat is completely finished I will update this with those pictures!

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[Salty Gator]

Looks great Dom. Mike does great work for sure. Ive considered sea deck also, nice, soft and cool, but it is so hard to keep clean. I have a hard time keeping the sea deck on the yeti clean. If pluff mud gets on it, it's nearly impossible to remove. Can't imagine it over the whole boat.

[dombern34]

yeah I've talked to a seadek dealer because I had the same question!, they said it's just depends on what texture you go with, some hold dirt more than others. Mr. Mike said once he get's done with the non-skid that I'm not going to want SeaDek so we will see!!

[silverking]

Mike and his crew do great work. They've worked on a couple projects for me and it's always done right. You'll enjoy the boat when you get it back and appreciate the individual touch. Like the color scheme too, as that's what I went with as well.

I had a material like Seadeck mounted on the poling and casting platform on the new skiff based on Beavertail's recommendation and experience. The colors look good and so far I haven't had a cleaning issue. It adds a little cushion for the knees and legs, but it's also tacky, meaning you can't slide your shoes on it easily so you have to pick your feet up instead. That's sometimes an issue with a smaller platform and narrow-beamed skiff. If I had to do it over, I would probably just stick with the non-skid instead.

Looking forward to seeing the photos of the finished project!

[onefishtwofish]

Looking sporty. Please post up the completed pics. I bet you wind up happy with the new color non skid. The Starbrite non skid deck cleaner with PTEF makes cleaning a breeze and it stays cleaner. Try some of that before you do the Seadek. You will know if it is worth it by then.

[Chalk]

Looks good

Drive all the way to St. Marks to let Mike work on my boat.

[dombern34]

yes sir, he's certainly has earned my business for the future. boat will be done this Thursday or Friday he said so I'll be picking it up on the way to the beach for the fourth! will hopefully post pictures soon!

[charlieman]

I have an older release boat that could use the same treatment. Yours looks great

[SS-342]

WOW…….does work on people? I see one in the mirror every morning that sure could use a "make over"!

[dombern34]

where here's the finished product! well almost finished. still have to have some rod holders built for the console along with power poles and decals. I have the decals but haven't put them on yet.

Mikes marine ways did a fantastic job and even though he sucked my piggy bank dry, I couldn't be more happy to be broke.


new trailer arrived yesterday and here she is:

[One Keeper]

VERY NICE!

[bass3769]

Looks great, testing out the wax job putting it in at Cox landing, Hate the see that thing get nasty brown water line. LOL.

[dombern34]

Ha yeah it's definitely has that back water brand now but it washed off pretty easily. Had to swap trailers and it's just down the road from the house!

[bass3769]

Ha yeah it's definitely has that back water brand now but it washed off pretty easily. Had to swap trailers and it's just down the road from the house!

hear that, nice having the ramp 5 minutes from the house.

[Chalk]

Looks nice