1980's 13' Mini Hawk project
 

Friend of mine new to boating picked up a 13' Mini Hawk. Wanted to restore it, so he is paying me for the job....something for me to do while my own boat is upstate.

We towed it to his house:

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The transom felt real soft and the whole boat seemed rather questionable, so the next day we pulled off the deck.
I was like :eekdrop:

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Transom was trash, and so was a big section of the stringers towards the back that were split, with the sections more towards the bow were solid. and actually glassed in well:

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Went and retrieved it from his house Sunday with my own Mini Hawk trailer and pulled it to my garage and set it up inside:

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Beginning teardown:

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Looks better with all the chit removed:

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After some sanding, I put out some fiberglass:

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It's in!:

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Hard as a rock!:

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Nice. Keep the pics coming. The 13 Mini Hawk looks like a fun little boat.
Wouldn't mine owning one myself. Sometimes it would be nice to just hook up a trailer with just one hand and go.

More pics coming tomorrow as I measure and cut for the transom/stringers :) Mini Hawks are great, makes me want to buy another one to use alongside my 23' Stinger.

Nice looking work thus far. 2 ??'s why in the hell you have it that high in the air? LOL and 2nd why did you cut the stringers completely out of the boat? Why not just cut the tops of them, remove all the old wood, re-wrap them, then a large section on the floor and part way up each one?


John jr

That is the perfect size for a project.

Looks great!

That brings back memories of soaked flotation foam and rot spots thru out in my project couple years back.
Keep up the good work! You ditching replacing the foam? I eliminated it and used the area for battery storage, oil tank, etc though my project was a 19'er where balance was not as much of issue I'd think.

More pictures coming later! Got the transom in, 2 1/2 inch marine plywood, glassed in. Still need to glass the last peice in to give it even more strength. Stringers tomorrow. The stringers were so rotted towards the back. Yes, ditching the old flotation foam, my friend wants more storage back there..he also wants even more storage up front, so i cut a rectangular hole in the wood divider, and added a small storage space which is still work in progress. Might also help keep bow down if he puts an anchor in there.

I had one..kinda wish i never sold it. Thing flew with a 35 johnson!

Good work! I would add some knees on that transom while your playing with wood and glass.

Thanks for the kind of comments and advice! This boat is so easy to work on, I dont even have to climb inside, and its low enough for me to bend over into.

Transom is in. As you can see, it didn't fit as I would've hoped on the bottom, but I will fill it with glass and seal it off to prevent any water leaking under there. Two sheets of 1/2 inch marine plywood makes the transom pretty strong!

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I think i am the first person to do this with the front of the Mini Hawk:

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And for the last picture, this is obviously not the boat I am working on, but the exact same way it should look in a few days or so when complete (minus the jackplate, motor etc)

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Nice project, makes me want to get working on mine instead of selling it.

Add a beak to it and you can have the only 17ft mini Hawk!
:D

Getting it done Sam! Good work.

Thanks Biggus!

Today I made new stringers, and did some more sanding. Nothing much done too take pictures today though..this project is moving well!

Holy crap. Your making this little project your b' itch !
So what's the deal with ya Chris c? Looks like you've got enough know how to make it happen.
So make it happen!

Mertons had a EXCELLENT polyester filler I used at the bottom of the transom, great for bonding the stringers to the hull as well. Great guys out by you with super fast shipping if you need anything from glass to tools. gel whatever.

http://www.mertons.com/index.html

If you've read my thread recently regarding the Stinger, you'd read about a trade between my mini hawk and an engine/partial restoration of the Stinger. My buddy is doing all the work.
As soon as I get the Stinger back in the spring, I will finish it up myself :D

Stringers are in and glassed. Old stringers up front are re-glassed also. Transom is basically done, needs one more strip of fiberglass on the top. Re-cut the holes where the drain tubes and plugs will go. Need to make the floor that goes ahead of the cockpit, but need to drop the deck on to mark off where to start it. Also cut holes to re-attach the transom lifting rings, in case we need to transport it somewhere.

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nice and fun little project!

I'm impressed. Working with glass is an art. Looks like you've learned a lot in the last year.

Great work Sam! Looks like a fun little boat!

Thanks for the kind words! I've been getting better every time I work with it!

Thanks! Wish it was mine, but my friend will have a good solid boat once it's finished!

boat is back on my trailer, finishing up work, (for the season) then will bring back to his house for the off-season.....will take pictures after (my own) work tomorrow.