Need help restoring 1980 F-26

sousley · Post by **sousley** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:21 am

looking for parts or resources for my restoration project. the boat is in great shape, but needs some cosmetic changes...dash, gauges, seat panels. any resources is greatly appreciated

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:06 am

There are plenty of good ideas in this forum. You may need to scroll through a few pages to get them or you can use the "search" feature. Cosmetic changes usually lead to repairs of some sort. I've been rehabbing a 1977 F-26 since I bought it in 1999. The project is only as limited by your time, expertise, and - of course - your BUDGET! I replaced the old carpet and wood floor panels with teak & holly surfaced marine plywood for a good look in the cabin. Have updated just about all the lights to LED fixtures. Added two more batteries under the port seat (got the instructions from this forum). Reupholsered the v-berth cushions (and will tackle the others next year). Added new water tank, gas tank and holding tanks. Switched water pump to a VSR type, replacing all water hoses. Re-routed and replaced a lot of crazy add-on wiring that had been done by previous owners. This winter will replace the original water heater and add a seacock and strainer to the raw water intake. WHEW! I'm getting tired just thinking about all this stuff. There are good websites for a lot of this stuff....GOOGLE is the place to start, along with this Forum. What are you going to tackle first?

sousley · Post by **sousley** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:52 am

thanks for the reply! Would like to replace the dash and gauges on the fly bridge and main deck. Look all over google for replacement dashes, but no luck. Any suggestions on dashed and gauges?

Steve O.

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:34 am

Contact Beacon Marine to see if they have any dash panels. Replacement gauges should be relatively easy. My choices for suppliers are Defender Marine and West Marine, but you can come up with a lot of other good suppliers on the web. You can probably have a new dash panel fabricated to match your new gauges. The fun is only just beginning!