Midland 19 Questions

[Bjasinski]

Hi Guys, Wanted to say that this site has been a great resource. I am an owner of wooden skiffs, never a fiberglass boat to date. I have been looking for a smaller downeast hull so I can safely wander farther offshore. I looked at a 1975 Midland 19 today. I was hoping someone might have answers to these questions?

1. The boat has been stored on a roller trailer. There are "indentations" where the rollers meet the hull. Will these spots "bounce back" if I replace the rollers with bunks?

2. The owner tells me the deck is original. There are a few soft spots when you walk on it. When I opened the small round hatch in the deck near the transom, I can reach in and tear off rotten wood framing. The transom Also has some visible rot where a small kicker motor was once mounted. Sounds like the deck needs to come off so new stringers and a transom can go in?

3. The hull has never been painted, and looks to be in great shape. I thought the fiberglass seemed "thin" overall, but most fiberglass does coming rom a wooden boat background. Is this normal for Midlands? Is there any other fiberglass issues I should look for before I make an offer?

The boat does have an original console, original seat and the original clamp on cuddly cabin cover as well as a running Johnson 88 special - so there are some redeeming qualities.

Thank you for any insight you can share. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Pedlyr]

Welcome to the Forum Bjasinski......

I don't think "bounce back" is a trait of fiberglass boats. There are a few threads in the archives about Midlands. They include the site Moderator Bill, although he is currently MIA.

He did a wonderful job along with a couple of others.

 

[El Mar]

From your description, sounds like a total gut job.

If you want a project like that, go for it!!!

If not, walk away. (I would )

 

[RKrough]

It will need stringers, transom and a deck. If it doesn't you would be the luckiest SOB that ever passed through this forum! It was worth it for me, I'm very happy with the boat.

The bottom seems thin but considering many of these boats have survived hard use for 30 plus years they must have been thick enough for the job. I added one layer of 1.5 oz mat when I redid mine to compensate for age, I also foam filled the bilge which stiffened the bottom immensely,

The stringers and floors are not that hard to do, They are just 2x lumber, Transom is two layers of 3/4" plywood. Forum owner Billy went big and used structural foam stringers and epoxy. I used pressure treated Douglas fir ,polyester resin and MDO plywood. I spent a little under $2000 in materials including the flotation foam and a 27 gallon fuel tank.

I personally would not pay more than $500 for the hull.

 

[pjitty]

Rkrough, Beautiful Boat. Sorry, I don't want to hijack this thread but I just had to comment. I just like everything about your boat...

Joe D

 

[Bill]

I restored one of these too. Unless you are going to gut it and add glass, stringers, and a new deck they are not worth it . .The hull is so thin that any amount of chop will rattle your bones.I added 2 layers or 24oz woven,stringers, deck , etc but it was a lot of time and money and although I love my boat and I learned a lot, I would prob put the time and money into a bigger boat.