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1983 Diplomat Restoration Project

ScottyP

New member
I purchased a 1983 Checkmate Diplomat at an estate auction for $881.

I was able to get the engine fired up and looking forward to this boat seeing the water again.

One small soft spot in the floor ended up being a partial balsa core repair and a complete stringer and floor removal repair.

I am doing my first restoration project and this thread is to share my progress.

Any tips or suggestions is greatly appreciated!
 

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Unfortunately this is what I found when I started to uncover the “small soft spot”. It turns out the motor mount stringer was rotten all the way through, so the motor had to come out.
 

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The area that had the floor opening was all rotten to the balsa. This was not fun at all!
 

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I used lattice and hot glue to mock up the existing box seats and I used cardboard and hot glue to mock up the new floor piece.

This past weekend I built the stringers and the rear motor mount. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to start glassing.
 

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Needed some parts for the 470 so I picked up a donor boat this weekend. Same motor and I plan on using the trailer and the outdrive towards the checkmate.
 

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