2009 Custom Gheenoe LT25 Project

I started looking around for a Custom Gheenoe last year. Was really looking for a Gheenoe Classic but every time I found one it would either sell before I could get to it or it was a total piece of shiz. My idea was to build a simple tiller gheenoe classic. In July 2013 I was roaming though craigslist about to give up on this idea I came across this 2009 Gheenoe LT25. I resonded to the add quickly and went to check it out. When I arrived the first thing I noticed was that this was just like the others I had looked at, a piece of shiz. But the price was right at $1800 for the hull and trailer. I figured it would be a fun project to restore the Gheenoe. So on July 13,2013 the Gheenoe came home with me.

When I got the boat home I started to work on it right away. First order of business was to remove anything that was broke,in bad shape or just did not need which ended up being everything in or on the boat. The LT25 originaly was set up for stick steer in the middle of the boat. Being that I was going with a tiller I removed the middle box with the seat to make room for the 75qt ORCA cooler that I know is going to be very important. Who wants to fish without cold beer right?

After removing every fitting and old screw from the hull it was time to start prepping the hull for paint. The previous owner had applied some nasty rubber textured bottom paint that I just had to remove. This process took many hours and beers to finish. Lots of paint stripper and razor blades. After removing the botom paint I found out the reason the previous owner had applied it. That reason was to cover up all the scars. My first thought was, this guy must have jumped every oyster bar he came up on. Big nasty gouges throuout the botom and sides of the boat.

I am afraid to add up all the hours I have into repairing each and every scratch or ding on the hull. I used Bondo Glass to fill and repair everything. There were no holes through the hull ,thank god. This boat was used very hard. After hrs of researching what paint to use I west with West Marines brand,Sea Gloss Pro. The primer went on easy and dried fast but did need more sanding after applied.

Next step was to paint. I again used Sea Gloss Pro paint. Applied with the roll and tip method. Seamed like an easy process. The hull looked like new after it was done. Waited 2 weeks and I had a few spots that needed to be wet sanded and buffed. As soon as I hit the hull with sand paper I noticed that the paint was as wet as it was the day I applied it. Something went wrong. Did I miss a step? I applied just like the instructions said. I used the proper thinner and amount and gave it a long time to cure. I looked at the rest of the hull. The rest of the hull was dry. It was just the bow of the hull that didnt dry.The paint just wiped off. At this point I had had enough. I was frustrated.I wiped the paint of and sanded the sides down again leaving the bottom alone.I taped off the area I didnt want to paint, went to the hardware store and bought 10 cans of rustoleum black semi gloss paint and went at it. Boom! it was now painted.lol And now it will be easy to touch up if I decide to take her trhough the mangroves.

Now that the boat was back upright and back on the trailer It was time to focus on the interior. I removed the old stick steer brackets and glassd them over to blend them in with the hull. repaired and glassed the area where the center box was as well as the other 4000000 screw holes that were in the boat.I used the West Marine Sea Gloss NON slip interior paint. This paint was easy to apply via roller.It took over a week to dry but turned out very nice.

Before….

After…..

The next step was finding a 25hp tiller. After looking and having many deals fall through I found a motor.I took a chance on a forum and put an add up that read,will trade firarms for outboard. A couple weeks later I was driving home from Miami where I picked up a 2001 Mercury 40hp 2 stroke. This is where the entire project changed. This motor was not the 25 tiller I originally planned for. Now I was trying to figure out how to get the controls mounted and functional.

I called the guys at Custom Gheenoe about purchasing new rails and a nose cap and they were nice enough to bring them to the Tampa Boat Show for me to pick up. This is where I figured out what route I was going with my controls and motor. They had a LT25 at the show with the Raptor rear setup. After seeing this I knew I had to go that route. Shortly after the order was placed. I drove over to Titusville where I picked up the platform and handed over $1700 cash for the platform and stick steer set up. The quality of this platform was unbelievable. I opted for the stick steer,side mounted control box and the back rest. Well worth the extra $.

I was now ready to assemble the LT25. Installed the platform. Very easy and clean install. Went to install the outboard and 😦 it wouldnt fit. I knew the motor was larger but I also knew that they have run this motor on the LT25. Custom Gheenoe had one at their shop while I was there. It wasnt a rare motor for this boat. The steering would not fit.So now I had to install a Jack Plate. After doing a Google search on every jack plate made I settled on the Bob’s Manual Versa Jack. Another $400 set back. At this point I could cry. What happened to my simple tiller boat idea?

She is all together now and ready for a water test. Every part on this boat has been replaced.Every cable,wire,lights,nut and bolt.On March 14,2014 I was able to fire it up for the first time. Couldnt have done it without help from good friends. Got to get down to the Tax man to make her legal before the test run. Maybe 🙂