Looking pristine like a brand new ’30 plus year old’ boat.
Genesis is one of the most iconic names in Kiwi production boat building, and they are certainly one of the most popular brands on the used boat market. The name Genesis had been around since 1974, and over the years gained an excellent reputation as custom boat builders under the leadership of Basil Pollock.
In 1984, son Chris formed a new company, Genesis Marine and in the following year, he released their first all-fibreglass production cruiser, the soft-top Genesis 3100. The boat was an instant hit with those looking for a fast, economical cruiser and indelibly branded the Genesis name to the performance cruiser concept. Thirty-six of the boats were sold before it was superseded by the 320 in 1990.
While the majority of the 3100s were sport sedans, either with hardtops or open, there were a few flybridge cruisers built off the same hull mould. While this never proved a popular model, they offered another option to those that didn’t want a sedan style boat. Pre the ’90. Flybridge boats ruled, and the sports sedans were still an emerging style.
With the Genesis 3100, the company accelerated the growth of sport sedans and right through until the company closed in, 2009 well over 90% of the more than 300 boats built were non flybridge.
When Gulf Harbour based boat builder, Braden Weber from Weber Marine went looking for a small launch that would satisfy his fishing and family boating requirements. He found a well-used Genesis 3100 Export that suited his needs. “When I first saw the boat I knew it needed a lot of work, but it was all quite doable, and over the next 12 months I worked on it alongside our paying jobs”, said Braden.
Another significant change was taking the cockpit back 1.2m and including a drop down transom.
When he got the boat, it already had the interior lining and upholstery stripped, with a mass of glue residue all over the hull sides and bulkheads. The timber work needed attention, the Formica benchtop was curling, and all the upholstery needed to be replaced. Even the electronics had seen their used-by date. “I loved the interior layout as it suited what I was looking for, for my family of three kids and so didn’t plan to make too many alterations inside apart from a total repaint and refurb”, says Braden.
Corian replaced the Formica benchtop, and the interior was given a new paint job with International semi gloss reaction lacquer. Braden took the boat down the coast to Whitianga to get Willie Jones from Marine Upholstery & Covers to do all the upholstery. This included hull and deck linings, squabs, helm trim, covers and carpet. The result is the interior now looks like a new boat, although there is still some resemblance of the traditional style of the era when the boat was built.
Corian replaced the original Formica in the galley,
The interior layout received a total repaint and refurb.
“We didn’t want to totally modernise it so we styled the cupboard and drawer facings as they were in that era , although we did add a new Force 10 oven and Isotherm fridge”, adds Braden.
The new dash was fitted with a pair of Furuno TZ Touch 12”, Furuno autopilot, plus controls for the Zipwakes (new), Maxwell anchoring system (original) and Maxpower bow thruster (new). A full Fusion entertainment package adds the necessary sound, and all the lighting was changed to Hella LED.
All the wiring was replaced, with1500w inverter added and a larger battery bank. The electrical work was carried out by Angus Small Electrical. Plumbing in the boat was replaced, so everything is fresh and as Braden says, “Just like a brand new boat”.
HULL ISSUES
However, more importantly, the hull had to be given a complete make-over. One of the reasons the previous owner sold the boat was because of the severe delamination in the hull, caused by years of water ingress into the core. For him to pay someone to repair it was going to be a very costly exercise, and probably overcapitalise the
boat.
As a boat builder, this didn’t concern Braden, so as soon as the boat arrived at his yard in Gulf Harbour, he lifted the deck off and turn the hull over. The first job was to strip the original foam core off and replace it with 20mm balsa core, which was then sheathed with fibreglass. The stringers were glassed over, and a 12mm layer of foam was applied to the hull sides.
“This not only stiffened the boat and helped stop any racking of the cabinetry which always causes joint cracks, but it also provided extra noise retention when underway”, added Braden.
Once all that was complete, the deck was dropped back on, and work started on the flybridge. The cabin height was raised 50mm, and new profile windows were fitted which were longer and higher. A new sliding door with two drop-down panels was designed for the aft bulkhead.
The original boat had an angled bulkhead, but the new alloy/glass section, built by Alitech Window Systems has been made vertical and has added a little more space. Braden also built an overhang off the rear of the flybridge for some weather
protection in the cockpit.
The boat was sprayed in Awlcraft 2000 with International Micro AP antifouling and Propspeed on the underwater running gear.
EXTENDED COCKPIT
Another significant change from the original 3100 Export was taking the transom back 1.2m. This was done with extensions either side of the stern drive, so there was no requirement to make any positional changes to the Volvo Penta drive. “I was concerned that if I moved the transom back too far, I might have a boat with too much bow down attitude, but now we have run the boat I known I could have added at least another 200mm quite safely”, says Braden.
Even though the extensions have added 200 kilos of buoyancy, the boat still floats to virtually the same marks as previous. However, Braden adds that the extra weight of the new engine and the extension balances out the additional buoyancy. The seating has been altered with a bench seat either side in the front of the cockpit, with a couple of removable chilly/isky bins and storage built-in. Where the transom used to be, there is now a live bait tank to port and storage locker to starboard.
As Braden uses the boat for fishing and family boating, he designed a multi-purpose transom. When fishing, the transom is up and fixed in place, and then when the family is onboard, it folds down and opens the cockpit to the water.
A clip-on ladder makes entry and exit from the water a simple task.
“We have virtually doubled the size of the cockpit, and overall added less than 200 kgs to the boat, without upsetting the balance or ride, which is a real bonus”, says Braden. Upstairs the flybridge station has changed very little with just the necessary engine controls and no repeated electronics. “The new Furuno MFDs lets me mirror everything onto my phone or iPad, so that’s all I need when I am steering from above, and it saves exposing the electronics to the weather”, says Braden.
UPPING THE HORSEPOWER
When Braden took delivery of the boat, it had a single Volvo Penta KAD42 230hp with a DPE sterndrive. Top speed was around 20 knots. Braden swapped this for a Volvo Penta D6/330 with a new DPH sterndrive. The speed has increased to about 30 knots. Braden says he cruises anywhere from 16-25 knots and the fuel curve doesn’t change much from 2 litres per nautical mile.
The engine space was stripped and repainted, with the fuel tanks retained either side of the new Volvo Penta D6/330. Forman insulation material helps to keep everything as quiet as possible. Overall the alterations to the boat have worked out perfectly for Braden and his family. It is an excellent example of what can be done to transform a 35-year-old boat and give it a fresh, clean look, while still retaining some traditional features.
