Hey everybody! first post 
Been meaning to make a thread about my Livingston Pacific Skiff 15 partial refit. I did all the work between Feb-June of this past year during the thick of Covid lockdowns up here in Canada. Perfect project for the time!
After purchasing it through CL I started searching the internet for info on Livingston Pacific Skiffs. Turns out they are a rare Livingston 15ft monohull model built in the 70's. Even more rare is my boat has the topside cap. This piece makes up the rear bench, gunnels, and forward mini cuddy. I could not find another model like this online. No much out there for info but did find a great video of someone's complete refit which I took much inspiration from. Link below:
My goal was to take the boat and make it look good while turning it into a suitable camping and mooching skiff for local Vancouver waters. I also didn't want to sink a ton of time and money into the project. I'm so amazed at the lengths some of the members go on this forum haha.
I decided not to do a complete re-fit to help save time and money. However; I did do a complete overhaul on the console and electronics. New power will eventually come but for now the old 2-stroke Yamaha has served me well. One of the reason I actually decided to do the project was the the outboard was in such good condition and ran really well for its age (1984!) which enabled me to focus on the hull and new rigging.
Some of the more experienced builders on here might cringe at my miss steps but it was my first boat project and I am happy with how it has turned out and really enjoyed using it this summer.
Anyways here is a photo dump with some more detail!
How I got it. The Predator! Would of been a fine craft as is but I wanted to make it my own
Ripping it apart!
The old seat and console.
The boat stripped and ready for sanding. I decided to leave the rub rail, railing, and outboard on. Rub rails where going to be a pain to take off, the only way to remove the rails was to remove the foam under the gunnels (to much work!), and maybe I was to lazy to take the outboard off lol. Also decided not to re-do the transom and deck. After much inspection and tinkering I decided that both where in good enough condition. No soft spots, rot, or water. Ill let the next guy deal with those if he is so inclined to do so
The sanding begins!
Used Duraglass to fill the holes. Lots of them...
Used a hot water pressure gun to remove any existing paint. Should of just done this in the beginning. Did an amazing job of stripping off the old paint. Next more sanding...
Taping the waterline. Hopefully I'm close...
At the same time I was building a anchor shelf under the bow cuddy. Made of ply, fiberglass and more duraglass!
Drain holes are behind the facia.
Work also begins on the console! Purchased a standing height center console from marine fiberglass direct. Not totally impressed with the console as the fiberglass is very thin, same goes with gelcoat. Makes for a delicate console! Anyways it was well priced and options are limited for new center consoles in Canada. New Simrad
Access hatch on the console. Also primed and sanded the hull.
More measuring and cutting...
Glove box shown. No picture of the insert but a cheap and effective solution to a glovebox. Re-used the radio, and helm (seastar! score) from the old boat as both where in good condition. Bought all the electronics on last years black Friday hehe.
Made a controls mount out of starboard to increase the height for the controls. Also added a battery vent. thinking of adding one higher up to help with condensation.
Paint goes on! Used a automotive paint from Velspar. Really happy with how it came out.
Paint was sprayed on. First time applying it that way. Was challenging but turned out very good.
Interior gets the same treatment. Topside will be white.
Marking out the console placement. Used bilgekot for the interior space of the console.
More tape..
Beige Kiwi grip for the deck and white bilgekote for the interior of the console
Topside paint goes on. White is much harder to apply. Can see some streaks ugh.. guess its time to polish.
Overall very stoked! Such a good feeling adding the hardware back on.
Work begins on the hull. More sanding, primed with Interlux interprotect, and painted with Interlux VC performance epoxy. I rolled out the bottom, surprised how well it turned out.
Mounting the console! applied a foam strip under the flange of the console. Hopefully this will help with vibration and help seal the interior of the console. Used SS lags to mount to the deck.
Power on! except for the stereo. Next boat I'm not going to even bother... thing has been a pain in the ass, cut my finger badly installing it and had to get stiches... but sounds ooooo so good when out on the water
Boat is out of the shop and in the driveway! Front wood railings are for securing crab traps to. Also helps protect the topside.
The big splash! Decided to go with no seat. Actually really like it that way, way more room plus I always stand when driving. Exposed rigging goes through a conduit to help protect cables. Annoying but was an easy alternative then creating a below deck routing.
First fishing trip on a smoky summer day. Smoke from the fires down south where bad up in Canada this summer.
Top down view
No bites but these two are looking comfy on the stern bench
First camping trip was a success! The boat is so light to begin with so adding more weight to it really helps with handling and cutting through chop.
More smoke. Wishing we had radar but that Simrad works pretty good too.
A perfect morning. Bimini works well for those squalls. Very quick to set up and full standing room underneath. Nicely stows away on days like this.
Thanks for tuning in! Learned lots on this project, and I am excited to start the next build. I think I'm hooked... Also thanks to this forum for inspiration, I did a lot of lurking for ideas and how-to for this build and stoked to share it with everyone.
Been meaning to make a thread about my Livingston Pacific Skiff 15 partial refit. I did all the work between Feb-June of this past year during the thick of Covid lockdowns up here in Canada. Perfect project for the time!
After purchasing it through CL I started searching the internet for info on Livingston Pacific Skiffs. Turns out they are a rare Livingston 15ft monohull model built in the 70's. Even more rare is my boat has the topside cap. This piece makes up the rear bench, gunnels, and forward mini cuddy. I could not find another model like this online. No much out there for info but did find a great video of someone's complete refit which I took much inspiration from. Link below:
My goal was to take the boat and make it look good while turning it into a suitable camping and mooching skiff for local Vancouver waters. I also didn't want to sink a ton of time and money into the project. I'm so amazed at the lengths some of the members go on this forum haha.
I decided not to do a complete re-fit to help save time and money. However; I did do a complete overhaul on the console and electronics. New power will eventually come but for now the old 2-stroke Yamaha has served me well. One of the reason I actually decided to do the project was the the outboard was in such good condition and ran really well for its age (1984!) which enabled me to focus on the hull and new rigging.
Some of the more experienced builders on here might cringe at my miss steps but it was my first boat project and I am happy with how it has turned out and really enjoyed using it this summer.
Anyways here is a photo dump with some more detail!
How I got it. The Predator! Would of been a fine craft as is but I wanted to make it my own
Ripping it apart!
The old seat and console.
The boat stripped and ready for sanding. I decided to leave the rub rail, railing, and outboard on. Rub rails where going to be a pain to take off, the only way to remove the rails was to remove the foam under the gunnels (to much work!), and maybe I was to lazy to take the outboard off lol. Also decided not to re-do the transom and deck. After much inspection and tinkering I decided that both where in good enough condition. No soft spots, rot, or water. Ill let the next guy deal with those if he is so inclined to do so
The sanding begins!
Used Duraglass to fill the holes. Lots of them...
Used a hot water pressure gun to remove any existing paint. Should of just done this in the beginning. Did an amazing job of stripping off the old paint. Next more sanding...
Taping the waterline. Hopefully I'm close...
At the same time I was building a anchor shelf under the bow cuddy. Made of ply, fiberglass and more duraglass!
Drain holes are behind the facia.
Work also begins on the console! Purchased a standing height center console from marine fiberglass direct. Not totally impressed with the console as the fiberglass is very thin, same goes with gelcoat. Makes for a delicate console! Anyways it was well priced and options are limited for new center consoles in Canada. New Simrad
Access hatch on the console. Also primed and sanded the hull.
More measuring and cutting...
Glove box shown. No picture of the insert but a cheap and effective solution to a glovebox. Re-used the radio, and helm (seastar! score) from the old boat as both where in good condition. Bought all the electronics on last years black Friday hehe.
Made a controls mount out of starboard to increase the height for the controls. Also added a battery vent. thinking of adding one higher up to help with condensation.
Paint goes on! Used a automotive paint from Velspar. Really happy with how it came out.
Paint was sprayed on. First time applying it that way. Was challenging but turned out very good.
Interior gets the same treatment. Topside will be white.
Marking out the console placement. Used bilgekot for the interior space of the console.
More tape..
Beige Kiwi grip for the deck and white bilgekote for the interior of the console
Topside paint goes on. White is much harder to apply. Can see some streaks ugh.. guess its time to polish.
Overall very stoked! Such a good feeling adding the hardware back on.
Work begins on the hull. More sanding, primed with Interlux interprotect, and painted with Interlux VC performance epoxy. I rolled out the bottom, surprised how well it turned out.
Mounting the console! applied a foam strip under the flange of the console. Hopefully this will help with vibration and help seal the interior of the console. Used SS lags to mount to the deck.
Power on! except for the stereo. Next boat I'm not going to even bother... thing has been a pain in the ass, cut my finger badly installing it and had to get stiches... but sounds ooooo so good when out on the water
Boat is out of the shop and in the driveway! Front wood railings are for securing crab traps to. Also helps protect the topside.
The big splash! Decided to go with no seat. Actually really like it that way, way more room plus I always stand when driving. Exposed rigging goes through a conduit to help protect cables. Annoying but was an easy alternative then creating a below deck routing.
First fishing trip on a smoky summer day. Smoke from the fires down south where bad up in Canada this summer.
Top down view
No bites but these two are looking comfy on the stern bench
First camping trip was a success! The boat is so light to begin with so adding more weight to it really helps with handling and cutting through chop.
More smoke. Wishing we had radar but that Simrad works pretty good too.
A perfect morning. Bimini works well for those squalls. Very quick to set up and full standing room underneath. Nicely stows away on days like this.
Thanks for tuning in! Learned lots on this project, and I am excited to start the next build. I think I'm hooked... Also thanks to this forum for inspiration, I did a lot of lurking for ideas and how-to for this build and stoked to share it with everyone.
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