After selling a boat that I had just finished restoring, I decided that I wanted to take on another project boat. After a few months of searching, I found a 21 foot Larson Commander. It has a deep V hull and looks like it would handle some pretty rough waters. I bought this from a charity auction with the tandem trailer and 4 new tires.

As you can see the interior is going to need a good cleaning!

The interior will be gutted and all of the floor removed

Gauges will be replaced with all new Teleflex. I saw the ones that Tengals used on his project and really like them. The steering wheel will stay .

New skylight will be added. The brown and orange has got to go. Of course a good scrubbing to remove the mildew will be on the short list of first things to do.

Powered by a 188hp V8 Mercruiser. Not sure if this thing runs or not. I'm prepared to do a complete rebuild if necessary. At the least, even if it does run, the engine will be pulled, cleaned and painted. If not, then she gets a complete rebuild.

Not sure if the outdrive is good or not. Again, prepared for a complete rebuild if necessary. I'm going to try and save the swim platform. I have a nine year old and this will help her in and out of the boat when we take a dip.

Stay Tuned...Work in progress pics to follow.

The floor has been removed and I'm ready to start the grinding and prep work for the new floor. It was much worse than I thought. All the foam was water logged and there wasn't an inch of the floor or stringers that wasnt rotten. I'll have to remove the fuel tank this weekend and clean her out before the grinding begins.

Well, I've got the fuel tank removed, and I've cleaned her out enough to get some work done. What a job. I planned on redoing the entire boat and I planned on at least 5 to 8 months to get her done.

I was totally shocked as far as all of the equipment on the boat. Everything works....And I mean everything. The bilge pump, blower, interior lights, horn, remote control bow light, running lights, all of the gauges, trim and tilt motor, and even the windshield wiper! Another shocker was the engine. The hour meter showed 375 hours, which I sure was not working. I checked...it's working. I rebuilt the distributor and the carb, gave her some new plugs and wires turned the key and she started right up !!! I checked the compression which was 140psi on all cylinders. I replaced the water pump and housing in the lower unit and ran her for about a half hour. She never got above 140 degrees. Now for the bad news. The entire transom is rotted out. I planned on pulling the engine anyway, so shouldn't be too much trouble to rebuild the transom while I'm in there. I'm not going to rebuild the engine during this phase. If it's not broken...don't fix it.

I've been working on some of the hardward at night and just finished a couple of pieces. I didn't get any close up pics of these before I started, but you can see them in the picture of the missing skylight/bow. These pieces were pitted very badly. I sanded each and used three coats of primer filler and sanded in between each coat. Then I finished with two coats of hi gloss enamel. I'm very happy with how these turned out.

Same process for the anchor light. Looks pretty good...

It's been a little slow going, but I managed to get the swim platform and the outdrived removed. Next task is to get the engine removed and strart in on the transom.

Finally got the engine removed! And I'm only about three weeks behind schedule..lol. I can now work on the engine a few nights each week. Hope to have it ready by the time the floor and stringers are back in. I've had all fiberglass stringers made, so there won't be any wood going back in the bottom.

Getting the old rotton transom out one little piece at a time. Not sure what they used to glue it in, but it was some good stuff! I think I'm going to make some cuts about every two inches with the circular saw to see if I can get it out a little easier. I thought about going back with a wood transom, but opted for the pour in composite. I had a 1/2" sheet made for the inside panel that will be glassed in...Then it's cover the hole and pour...

It's still slow going, but I have been doing some work. I pulled the intake and carb thinking I wanted to go back with a 4bbl, but decided to keep the 2bbl. Should have the rest of the engine finished in a couple of weeks.

The dash panel isn't finished yet but here is the general layout. I ordered three sheets of black carbon fiber. One for the dash panel, one to cover the flip up door to the cuddy and one for the glove box.

Finally got the engine finished. I'm hoping to have the stringers and floor finished just after Christmas. Then I can get the engine back in. The outdrive will have to wait until after the hull is painted.

Almost ready for primer and paint. I repaired several stress cracks on the dash. There are two or three places that will need another coat. Then I'll sand the entire dash and paint with Interlux Perfection, Artic White.