Rotten Deck 1989 Galaxie. 1790 v ford 2.3l omc. Help!

[Galaxie1989]

I just got a boat for free, my cousin had it sitting for three years with the carpet ripped out as well as the seats planning to restore it. I've never owned a boat before but am pretty good with figuring stuff out. Ive definitely been doing a lot of research. I'm curious about carbon fiber, as well as some wood filler and/or epoxies in some area. any experience? as of now im planning on cutting out entire floor, somehow re-enforcing stringers and applying decking. I don't want to redo carpet. all seats/ trim is pretty much gone.engine console pretty much only thing still good as far as wood frames deck and above. I plan on starting the engine and running it a time or two to make sure its worth the investment first off. Im also considering using a natural rot resistant wood like cypress and laminating the hell out or maybe even glassing and gelling over. but the wood i was definitely doing for the trim. Id appreciate any tips/tricks/ recommendations, on engine that's been sitting that long (other than changing oil and gas/ filters) or the deck/seats. Thanks for any help given. can post pictures later. ALSO i havent looked too hard but to drain oilpan it appears you loosen the dipstick tube, and drain, is this correct?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Rotten Deck 1989 Galaxie. 1790 v ford 2.3l omc

Re: Rotten Deck 1989 Galaxie. 1790 v ford 2.3l omc

Welcome to iBoats . . . what a lucky cousin

The things to check once you have the floor up would be the stringers, bulkheads and the transom. If they are rotted or rotting, you should take care of it before you lay a new floor down. Lots of threads in the restoration forum to learn from.

As far as the engine, I would remove the spark plugs, spray in some fogging oil into the cylinders and see if you can turn the engine by hand . Then if you can get it to move, go for the starter with the plugs out and 'spin' it until you get some oil pressure. Then you can try to start it for real. You will probably have to deal with 'old' gasoline in the tank, and the fuel system could be gummed up as well.

Lots of folks suck the oil out of the dipstick in order to change the oil. It all depends on the amount of access you have to the oil pan, etc.