After a period of withdrawal symptoms following the sale of Miss Daisy, I finally brought my latest aquisition back home today, is without trailer and screen and am sure months of fun will follow - this time around it won't seem so daunting as the hull looks less abused. The good thing about collecting ali boats this size is that you can manage them without any helpers...

This model is very different from the Pearly Miss Deluxe I had before - it has a lot of welded joints where the other had rivets. The entire deck is covered in red Trakmark, which is now NLA. The transom is completely enclosed, so suspect there is a lot of inherent rigidity.

Complete with metal steering wheel and last on the water 29 years ago....

Looks a good project , now you can put twins on Dixie & use on flat water & keep the PM for the sea!

Nice one. Look forward to seeing how it shapes up.

Hi Nick
I have a contact on the Thames for Tracmark if you are intending to replace it on the decks, send me a PM if you are interested.
Tony

Day 2..Thur 27th, removed deck hardware, rubrail, Trakmark and exposed decks - corrosion and glue shown. Heat gun soften, followed by standard thinners, 3M pads and stiff floor brush used to get the glue off. Vacuumed debris from inside hull and perfunctary removal of rust stains with 3M pad.

Day 2 & 1/2..Friday 28th pm. Glue off. Bonfire fodder..

Shiny bits coming through, but some corrosion where water had got under the material ...Undecided what to do with the deck, as the least worst of this can be sanded and polished out and can also be painted if too bright. The Trakmark I got is too thick in comparison with that used..believe the thinner stuff is made by Dunlop, if anyone can enlighten me?

Looking for a name / supplier of this material that came on my boat 'Previously Known As Noreen'.

If this wasn't a family site I'd go into a diatribe about people who call their boats something personal then don't pull the stickers off, or erase those names when they sell said boats, so we're stick with names we don't like but avoid tempting fate by renaming them. Mr Noreen obviously knew if he didn't placate the dragon as far as his boating was concerned, he'd be turned into anchovy paste.

A question to the gods of restoration too...why does a simple deck hardware removal involve every tool necessary?

Day 5. More cleaning and sanding today - the deck's very corroded but is looking better. The ali transom handles were cooked off with the Creme Brulee torch...and a kind neighbour, ex Railways, lent me a 3/4 Whitworth socket to fit the nuts. Glad I didn't break them as they hold the transom in when it's glued.

My first boat when I was14 was a new Pearly Miss with a 40hp Evenrude I still have a soft spot for these great boats.