Bought boat.......uh....oh....

[Drvwybter]

Anyone subscibe to the theory of "fix it as you go"? I can believe, after researching the hell out of this, that 75% of boat owners have major rot. Some are aware and just work with it most just don't know till they tear up bearings or fall through their deck. I have to believe there is a majority that just float till it causes something. Always ones assumed risk tolerance. I'm also assuming all the boats I see day after day that never move at the dock (which is most)are all just fungus gardens.

 

[Mr.Stickney]

Until you start sampling the stringers and transom etc you wont be able to make a judgement call. In my sea ray , the sampling didn't even return wet wood... compost started falling out of the holes and there was some spider cracking in the transom because there was no structure left.

On the other side of things, my buddies Doral has some rotten deck under the battery trays due to improper installation by the PO. After Sampling the stringers and transom it seems to be localized for now in which case the boat is being used for the season and then opened up for repair.

"Fix it as you go" could work for a lot of things. If you have wet stringers and/or transom its better to take it all out at once and replace.

 

[JASinIL2006]

'Fix as you go' doesn't make a lot of sense if you're talking about rotten structure, particularly in a boat like yours. If you're replacing a transom, for example, and you need to pull the mechanicals from the rear of the boat and tear up the deck, why not take care of rotten stringers at the same time? If you don't (i.e., if you wait and fix the stringers the next year) you'll be repeating a bunch of the same work. That can waste a lot of time and material.

 

[harleyman1975]

Its no worse than fixing a wrecked vette. I fix glass boats once in a while at my bodyshop. No big deal. just resign yourself that your not gonna cut corners and the end result will be worth it! I promise that the work that you do will be ten times what was done at the factory...because you care about it being done right so that it doesn't have to be done again!

 

[Mr.Stickney]

Its no worse than fixing a wrecked vette

My buddy wants to get his wife a vette for her bday. We were just talking about the fiberglass bodies on those cars... not looking forward to that lol

 

[Rick Stephens]

Its no worse than fixing a wrecked vette. I fix glass boats once in a while at my bodyshop. No big deal. just resign yourself that your not gonna cut corners and the end result will be worth it! I promise that the work that you do will be ten times what was done at the factory...because you care about it being done right so that it doesn't have to be done again!

My cousin sold his late 70's vette for parts after slapping a telephone pole while taking a corner fairly slowly while doing a HP turn. There were not many places on the body that didn't feel like an old rotten boat floor. I owned a body shop that exclusively did a big Ford dealer's work back then. I wouldn't have touched that vette for anything. It looked pretty good until you laid a hand on it.

 

[Pete_a]

Subscribed! Beautiful boat, please take pics and do a build thread if you can. Itll be worth the work.

 

[Drvwybter]

I have taken many core samples. I can find zero rot towards the rear (excluding the top of the rear bulkhead). This seems to have started from a clogged ski locker drain. Yes stringers need be done but I'm gonna pull the motor after the deck has been removed. The engine mounting is solid and so is the transom. Removed lower gimbal bolts and all looks gravy. Next time we talk I will be cutting and showing y'all what I find. Thank you for giving me hope and support! Till then. It will be a month at least. Gotta get rid of an old falcon and a turbo integra first....

 

[DFord143]

Can't wait to see progress on this beautiful boat!

 

[proshadetree]

You have a good looking float there. You are very correct that there are many boats out there that are rotten as sin and used annually. That is not something most strive for. There have been many patch jobs that keep boats usable for years. You have to want it to be right. If you saw the boat docked just look at the ones one the way to it. One persons good is the nexts good enough.