the next project....

Derek and Xena

Derek and Xena

Active member
Acquired this over the weekend for free. It has been sitting upside down in a jungle of weeds for the last ten years. I'm going to try and beat out the dent, rebuild the transom, camo paint, and build a blind for it within the next two weeks, with a 6mo. old baby!!! I thought about building a zachbox out of it, but I don't think I have the time.

It's a Hewescraft 12' Fisherman, made near here in Colville, WA. Rated for 3 people and an 18hp.
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Also, got the rear flotation bulkheads cut out and fitted and am all set up and ready to fillet and tape the rest of the inside of 'my other project.'
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Way ta go Derek good find! If it isn't leaking I'd not mess with that dent. New transom. couple of rattle cans of paint, a blind like Carl uses----then HUNT that bad boy!
Dennis
 
I agree with Dennis leave the dent alone. If it leaks put some Aluma fill on it . Your other boat is coming along nicely.

 
Wow, good deal. Even in that condition that boat is worth several hundred dollars or more! I have a 1967 12 foot (I see that one was made in 64) that belonged to my grandpa. You see it's rated for 18hp and will handle that much power although the old 18's were not as powerful as the newer OB's (rated at the power head not the prop I believe) but I ran 68 18 HP Evinrude on mine and it really hauled. They are stable and will handle rough water (for our location - we are not on the Great Lakes) rather well.

In case you didn't know that boat was made by Bob Hewes at the Colville Airport where he and his brother had a repair shop and then started making fishing boats. They were made to last out of aircraft aluminum. My family has had 4 over the years. They made 10, 12 and 14 foot fisherman and a lighter made sportsman model for car topping. Also made a barge and later a 15 foot bass boat plus some runabout/fisherman with soft tops up to about 17 foot I think. They quit making these small boats (in the 90's maybe?) when they started making bigger boats and marketing across the US. People still wanted them so they sold the rights to the small boats to another fellow in Colville that now makes them. He improved them....not in my opinion....and they are sold under a different name now and are really a different boat. I don't believe that the Hewes Boat company is owned by the original Hewes folks...but not sure. Anyway, you will see these older Hewes Crafts in the adds for $600 to $1200 or more once in a while.

If you have any leaky rivets below the waterline they can usually be "tighten up" easily to stop the leak. Try that first before replacing those rivets. The transom is an easy fix.....I've done that to mine also.
 
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Thanks for the quick history lesson Brad! That's cool to know! I knew it was made in Colville, but that's about it. I've driven by the new shop and seen the newer Hewes while passing through colville but didn't know any of the history and haven't seen too many of the older boats.
 
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