1984 Bayliner Capr 1950i, Volvo Penta AQ125A Resto

[Nickypoo]

Hello everyone,

I have a project here that has been much delayed but I have made much progress on recently. I figured now would be a good time to post this up in the "boat restoration" section.

Here is the first post I made initially in the Volvo Penta section: http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-penta-i-o-inboard-gas-engines-outdrives/rebuilding-bayliner-volvo-aq125a-head-gasket-question-other-engine-questions-539856.html

This boat we got free from our neighbor across the street. Of course "free" is almost never free. Pretty much everything has to be gone through. Here is the boat right after we got it from our neighbor:

IMG_1405.jpg

And here are some pictures of the interior when I started cleaning it out:

IMG_1498.jpgIMG_1499.jpgIMG_1500.jpgIMG_1501.jpg

The floor was almost completely caved in, the engine wouldn't freely turn over by hand, and all the interior is shot. Most would start this project by facing in the other direction and walking. We plan on cruising the SF bay .


My progress soon to come...

[Nickypoo]

I'll start with the hull and structure.

Like I said, the floor was caved in almost entirely. The boat has been sitting for around 20 years, and, at least within the past several years, without a cover. Not surprisingly I found waterlogged foam, a disintegrated transom, and mushy stringers.

The drive unit had a gap of about 1/4" at the bottom of the transom plate, indicating transom issues. I pulled the engine and outdrive and started digging in. Here is a pic of the transom after scraping the mushy lower half off:

IMG_1614a.jpg

I finished removing all the interior and then tore up all the old decking and chipped out all the waterlogged flotation foam:

IMG_1625.jpgIMG_1860a.jpg

Next I cut the top off the stringers. This is what I found:

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No looking back. Resin and fiberglass from U.S. Composites:

IMG_1812a.jpg

Continued in following posts...

[Nickypoo]

Continuing with the hull and structure...

I cut new stringers and coated them in epoxy:

IMG_1885.jpg

Ok, so now I have a question. How important is it to "bed" the stringers? I could see on a large boat, but it doesn't seem to me that contact with the hull will be much of an issue on a small boat like this. Could someone help me out on this before I glass in the new stringers?


That pretty much does it for the hull for now. I'm about to start cutting everything and glassing it in this week. Here is the hull as it sits at the moment. It's an empty shell:

IMG_1861.jpg

[Nickypoo]

Ok, now for the engine.

I'm getting tired of posting for the night so I'll give a brief overview.

I disassembled the engine, sent the head to a machine shop, powdercoated/painted everything I could, and replaced the rings. The top ring on 3/4 cylinders were cemented in place by carbon. Against the advice of some on this forum I decided to run it with the preexisting bearings. They were within spec and they seemed like they had normal wear. The guy we got it from ran it for like 2 seasons before leaving it to sit, so I doubt there was much wear on the engine.

I have since essentially finished reassembling the engine, except for the carburetor rebuild kit that will be here from iboats on Tuesday. I made a stand to test run it, and have fired it up using a syringe full of gas. I tried running on the carb but the float was stuck or something and kept flooding the engine. Here is my test setup:

IMG_2396.jpg

I have good oil pressure and good compression. No leaks that I can see on the cooling system. It sounds good for the few seconds I can run it before I have to add more fuel or it floods on the carb. I will warm it up to operating temperature once I install the carb kit this week.


Here are some before and after shots:

IMG_1547.jpgIMG_2395.jpg

[Nickypoo]

Well, no one's replied. I guess this has been done too many times before. Oh well... Here's a video of the engine (AQ125A) running today on the stand I put together. I installed the carb rebuild kit and it seems to be working ok. I've got the control panel out of the boat and I'm checking gauges during the video.

Oil pressure's good. Alternator's charging. Ok compression considering the rings haven't seated yet. No leaks that I could see on anything. Temp hung around 180-190 degrees. The engine's ready to drop in.

I was influenced a lot by Paperklip by reading up on his project, maybe you could tell.

[ezmobee]

That engine looks sweet!!!

[Nickypoo]

Thanks ezmobee!

Got started on the fiberglass today... It didn't go so smoothly. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though. Will post pics soon.

[83 Capri]

Dang man the motor seems to be running sweet. Hell of a job to take on, way to go. I have the exact same set up and WISH my ran like that. Mine just wont run right. keep up the good work, cant wait to see it finished

[Nickypoo]

Hi 83 Capri, thank you. I went through practically everything on this engine and I'm really satisfied with the results. I hope you can get yours sorted out. I'm assuming you've started a thread?

[Allbutwet]

Looking good Nick. Glad you took my advice and started a resto thread. Good job on the engine. That will definantly motivate you to get the glassing done.

[93bayliner1800]

I do not care what the hull is.....a good running motor equals a very happy boater!

[Nickypoo]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Allbutwet - Yes, thank you for the suggestion on the resto thread. And the engine being complete has definitely motivated me.


So here is my progress on the fiberglass work. I'm not very experienced with fiberglass and the details of my work would probably make someone more experienced doing this scream bloody murder, but I feel good about it and everything feels solid so far. The hull has definitely stiffened up dramatically with each step.

Here is a picture of the stringers and other underlying structure completed. The gas tank is in.

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Here the floor is in and glassed over. The joints have 3-4 layers of cloth.

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Here are the transom pieces cut and ready to go in.

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And finally the transom completed.

IMG_2593r.jpg

[Nickypoo]

And one more picture which is the most current as of today. The mid-seat bases in progress:

IMG_2604.jpg

I haven't foamed the deck yet. I will probably wait until I have everything else ready and do it all at once so I don't waste any.

[ezmobee]

Very nice work so far.

[skeeterjo]

Keep the updates coming, A friend gave me this exact boat almost 8 years ago. It wasn't in as bad a condition as yours, basically rebuilt the carb, replaced timing belt, distributer and plugs. Cleaned up the carpet and vinyl, coat of wax, and we have enjoyed it ever since. I'm noticing this year some softness in the floor and fiber glassing in the engine compartment, as well as the bottom of the transom. I think this winter I'm going to try and repair everything before it gets out of hand. Great job, I 'm really jealous of how good your engine looks. Mine runs great, but looks awful.

[Nickypoo]

Keep the updates coming, A friend gave me this exact boat almost 8 years ago. It wasn't in as bad a condition as yours, basically rebuilt the carb, replaced timing belt, distributer and plugs. Cleaned up the carpet and vinyl, coat of wax, and we have enjoyed it ever since. I'm noticing this year some softness in the floor and fiber glassing in the engine compartment, as well as the bottom of the transom. I think this winter I'm going to try and repair everything before it gets out of hand. Great job, I 'm really jealous of how good your engine looks. Mine runs great, but looks awful.

Thanks skeeterjo, I'm glad I could be of help to someone. I'll try to be as detailed as possible to help you on your project.

I haven't really made much progress in the past two weeks. I got sick and then I had to help out on our ongoing house foundation project. I basically just finished assembling the seat bases and foamed the deck.

I was focused on completely filling the cavity and accidentally let too much pressure build up in the foam on one side and it pushed the floor up about 1/4" or so. It shouldn't matter too much though because that section is right under the seat. It probably won't even be noticeable.

Here is a picture of the completed seat bases:

IMG_2608.jpg

[leakywire]

I began watching your post as I recently picked up a 1984 Renken with an ailing volvo aq125a joined to a 270 outdrive, I think my floor will look similar when I brave the carpet removal, I restored a 1974 Glastron 3 years ago and went farther with lifting the cap to repair everything - =there is no looking back= and I felt the same way once I started, the folks at US Composites helped me out with cloth and resin, I made my own rear seat modeled a bit like the newer larson line with the curves and to make it practical for fishing or skiing I used 4 floor peg stands spaced equally so this seat could face either side or forwards as it had 2 peg holders under it, my kids liked being able to shift the seat out of the sun and keep an eye on whoever was at the other end of the rope - also had 2 basic seats which we seldom used on the other pegs.
I wanted to feed an idea to you to drop a couple 1 inch pvc pipes from the bow area to the bilge under the foam to help keep the front drained and keep the foam from holding water, this idea came to me from an older mechanic and was welcomed by the other helpers and family who stopped in to see my complete hull project confirming I was a candidate for the nut-house when they saw the top half of the hull hanging in my tree, and it looks like you did a wonderful job with the engine and you are on your way thru the interior, this project when dipped in your favorite lake or stream should bring you many, many years of reliable fun,

[Nickypoo]

Hello, I've been way too busy (lazy) to come on here and post my progress.


leakywire: Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I've already poured the foam so hopefully I won't have any problems. The PVC sounds like a good idea though. Perhaps in 20 years when I have to rebuild this thing again I will do that .


Anyway, I'll post a few pictures tonight and hopefully I'll have more time to post again in the next couple days.


I designed the other structure pieces in Autocad, mainly because I wasted almost a whole sheet of plywood making small errors on the seat bases.

One side of the front structure:

Front Boat Structure2.jpg

An Autocad rendering of my design of the rear structure:

dzsfhbzsdfgaDFb.jpg

Layout with dimensions for cutting pieces out (showing two pieces):

Layout.jpg

The rear structure was fairly complex. I made the front of it swept back, so there were some very tricky angles and geometry going on. I could have just made the panels upright and just had 22.5 angles to cut where they join, but this is a motorboat; it's dynamic and so should be the interior.

[Nickypoo]

Top view of the front structure unit (with temporary bracing in the center):

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Bottom view of the same unit:

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Here is the assembled rear unit:

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The rear unit is beefed up from 1/2" to 3/4". I was talking to my neighbor and he said he owned the same exact boat, and that the structure was kind of wobbly towards the back. This could have been because his wood was rotted out, but I figured there's no harm in beefing that area up a little, with the engine hanging there and all.

[Nickypoo]

And finally here are all the pieces glued in and ready to fiberglass (with temporary braces):

IMG_2711.jpg

I got about 1/3 or maybe more of the fiberglassing done today. After that's done I just have to sand everything and paint and the engine can go in! I think...

[1lrover1]

Looks great!! Doing a similar boat (Mr. Crabs thread) and was hoping I might be able to get some assistance on the rear section dimensions etc.. Also, when you did the stringers, did you grind all the way to the hull or did you leave any of the glass that was there. I mean the glass that encapsulates the stringers on mine is in great shape and I hate to cut that away. Rather I was hoping to remove the rotted stringers leaving much of the glass there and 'peanut butter' / bed the new stringers in then 1708 around things to the hull. Likewise doing the same to tie into the transom. But, I don't have a clue what is the right way to do this. Anyway, I'm learning lots from your thread, very nice work. Thanks!!
Rob

[Nickypoo]

Hi Rob,

Thank you!

The "right way" to do it is to completely grind down the old stringers to the hull and completely start over.

This is not the way I did it. This is one of the things I was referring to when I said that some things I did would make someone more experienced scream bloody murder.

I'll tell you how I did it, but just know that this isn't the ideal approach. What I did is exactly what you described, I cut the fiberglass around the stringers about halfway down and popped the cap off. I then scooped/chiseled/vacuumed the remaining wood out of the cavity. Then I squirted some 5200 along the bottom and epoxied the new stringers in.

When I wrapped the top of the stringers over with fiberglass, there was that awkward ledge where the old fiberglass had been cut. This leaves a gap where the new fiberglass lifts off the stringer when it encounters that ledge. I let it cure that way then I went back through with a syringe and filled any empty spaces up with resin. The end result is pretty solid in my opinion but like I said, this isn't the recommended way to do it.

I could post some more detailed pictures if you'd like.

Oh, and I could send you my drawing files that contain all the dimensions. You can download DWG True view (free) from Autodesk that will allow you to view them.

[1lrover1]

Thanks for the help!* Whatever stuff you could send me is greatly appreciated on the dimensions, my email is below.* I don't really see anything wrong with that approach on the stringers.* I wanted to avoid grinding things down for two reasons.* First, seems like the glass that is there is in good shape with a nice bond to the hull and second, I don't want to run the risk of creating hard spots if not spaced correctly given my novice glassing skills.* I'm not trying to avoid work, but I don't feel entirely comfortable cutting away everything.* I'm much more confident that I can do the decks/ foam and everything else reasonably well.* But the stringers and transom..well let's just say I was reallllllly hoping I could have avoided messing with them.*
*
Looking forward to seeing your splash day pics..doesn't seem you are too far away at this point.
*
Thanks again,
Rob
barenjager911@gmail.com
*

[Nickypoo]

Thanks for the help!* Whatever stuff you could send me is greatly appreciated on the dimensions, my email is below.* I don't really see anything wrong with that approach on the stringers.* I wanted to avoid grinding things down for two reasons.* First, seems like the glass that is there is in good shape with a nice bond to the hull and second, I don't want to run the risk of creating hard spots if not spaced correctly given my novice glassing skills.* I'm not trying to avoid work, but I don't feel entirely comfortable cutting away everything.* I'm much more confident that I can do the decks/ foam and everything else reasonably well.* But the stringers and transom..well let's just say I was reallllllly hoping I could have avoided messing with them.*
*
Looking forward to seeing your splash day pics..doesn't seem you are too far away at this point.
*
Thanks again,
Rob
barenjager911@gmail.com
*

I completely sympathize with the stringers and transom. Actually the transom wasn't so bad, but the stringers stressed me out. I didn't really have the fiberglassing skills or knowledge to do it the "right" way at that point so that's why I left the open channels to fit the new stringers in. Maybe next time I'll be more comfortable doing it the other way.

Anyway, glad to help. Tomorrow when I'm on my computer I'll email you the CAD files. I'll probably post them on here if I can too.

[Nickypoo]

Ok, I'm posting the PDF files of my rear structure.

If you use them it would be a good idea to measure your boat because the floor may be at a different level or the cutout for the gas tank may be different.

Also, I had to trim the top after it was all built and sat in there so it was flush with the top of the cap in the boat (Piece 1).

I also had to trim the curve around the hull on the sides slightly (Pieces L3 and R3).

The back ended up not meshing well with the transom. It sat like a half inch from the transom and I just started fiberglassing the sides. I'm going to then fill the remaining cavity with resin from the top (Pieces L2 and R2).

Boat Rear Structure 3D.pdfBoat Rear Structure 3D Hidden.pdfBoat Rear Structure Layout Detail 1.pdfBoat Rear Structure Layout Detail 2.pdfBoat Rear Structure Layout Detail 3.pdf

I'll post the rest a little later. Sorry if my dimensions are a little confusing.