Free boat... soft floor... 1988 Bayliner Capri Transom, Floor and Stringer repair

[Celtichawk]

There is always the option of converting that Cobra to Mercury! Just depends on the year As far as everything else yes be committed to the build or don't do it!

 

[wilkboater]

Good advice here, I'm paying attention. I will fix it right, or not at all. Right now, if it's a total gut job, I'll have to think about it.....grinding fiberglass every night for a month(or six) doesn't look like fun. If it's too far gone, I might part it and look for a Starcraft Super sport. If there is hope for it, I want to fix it right, safe for my family, or any family that might own it in the future. I'm thinking of it more as a "repair" than a "restore", so many projects here get 60% finished then disappear. I want to repair the structure, get it back on the water, then worry about improvements and details. Thanks for the encouragement and well wishes, hope to have some answers before the weekend is over.

Welcome to dry dock...

 

[wilkboater]

I started cutting and digging today, didn't get all the answers, but learned alot. I am cautiously optimistic that maybe the rot is all at the back of the boat. I stopped finding wet foam about two feet from the rearward facing seats, then found a huge empty cavity with no foam-they didn't foam under the seat bases. Everything under the seat bases looks bone dry, no rot, no wet foam(no foam at all). I think the problem was caused by the carpet, it was stapled down all along the rear. Pretty sure staples into the wood are not a good idea in a boat. I think the staples let water into the wood, carpet held the moisture, cracks eventually occurred, then water got to the foam. Then every time the rear of the boat got wet, the foam sucked it in and held it, rotting the floor(and possibly more).

Well....at least the stringers are still visible. I won't know their condition until I get the fuel tank out and do some core samples. Transom is still a question mark, but so far.....it could be worse.



Starboard stringer, in the 2nd pic you can see some rot, only about 1/2 deep and stop a couple inches forward of the cut.




Port stringer, good solid wood.




Last two pieces of wood that I cut out, good solid wood(towards the front of the boat), still has a layer of resin or something on the bottom.



Gratuitous engine shot for those who have asked it's 5.0 GM (around 230 hp, don't remember exact number).

 

[Scott Danforth]

you might be lucky, buy a lottery ticket

 

[studioq]

It's like a spectator sport watching people go through the same thing again and again.. Just happened to me not too many months ago... I'm right in the middle of it. And there's very little to my boat..

 

[Mark72233]

-wilkboater following along with your posts and hoping you don't find a lot of what I found. Checked my stringers on the top and low on the sides and knew my port main stringer was solid but as I continued the demo work I bumped it right at its base when I tossed a tool. The sound it made was not good. Cutting to the end of the story the entire stringer was solid except for about 12 inches at its base in the middle where it was against the hull. Water got in there and rotted just that part. Anyway good luck and will be out here watching your progress.

 

[wilkboater]

Still digging and cutting. The seat boxes are out and 99% of the foam. The fuel tank is next, it looks like they sprayed chopped strand around it, so that may be an adventure.

 

[Fastatv]

I wish you good luck on the boat. Most of the time, a boat that old will be full of rot...but not always. My neighbor just purchased a non running 19' Galaxy, I think he said it was a 79 year model. I told him to get ready to gut it, and replace stringers, sole, bulkheads and transom. He removed a large part of the deck, had a couple of soft spots. I was truly shocked and amazed at what we found. Core sampled the stringers and transom.....solid as a rock.....rare! My point is....its usually very bad, but not always.

 

[Rickmerrill]

You're moving along quick. Good luck fighting that tank out. My plastic tank was wedged in there pretty good, just took some patience, thinking and every pry tool in the arsenal.

 

[wilkboater]

The fuel tank is out. It wasn't too bad to remove, just a little chop strand in 3 or 4 spots. 30 seconds with the sawzall and it was loose....it took way longer to get the old hoses to break loose than to get the fuel tank out.




It looks good-if you don't look very close. The glass on the stringers delaminated in a few spots, this looks like it happened during the building process. The stringers are mostly good solid wood, but they are damp. It looks like Bayliner didn't bed the stringers, providing a nice channel under the stringer so water could reach farther to the front. It's like Bayliner knew a few special tricks to help a boat rot faster.




This how you take a core sample isn't it?





I guess this is how wet foam next to the stringer causes wood to rot....



The dampness stops at the rearward facing seatbox on the starboard side, and stops just in front of the front seat on the port side. The wood is good, but damp. I didn't really want to mess with the seat boxes, but there is no way to dry the wood out. Bottom line, I'll fix it. I think the boat has to much going for it to part it out. The motor mounts are wet too, so the engine is coming out. I'm assuming the transom is bad, but I'll worry about that after the engine is out. I'm going to have some questions about splicing stringers, so be ready for me. Overall, it will be more work than I want to do, and cost more than I want it too, but I can't touch another boat for what I'll have in it. I REALLY don't want to grind fiberglass, but cold weather is coming, that will make it better.

Oh well, at least my other boat is ready for the upcoming season.....

 

[sullmate]

Good luck. I am in a similar situation with a 1994 Searay bowrider with a 135 hp Mariner o/b. My boat has only been used on a lake. I noticed a soft spot behind the drivers seat. I will be checking out the amount of rot at the end of the season. I need a moisture meter initially. Sullmate

 

[wilkboater]

I just had to know, so I drilled into the transom. It's black and wet-no real surprise there. I found this denial list somewhere on the forum, it's been (sort of, but not really) funny to progress through the stages.

The 10 steps of restoration denial:

1. That soft spot just needs a patch
2. The foam will dry out
3. It's just the deck, the stringers are fine
4. I don't have to pull the engine; I can work around it
5. The transom feels solid
6. I won't have to remove the cap, plenty of room
7. I will just buy a couple of gallons of resin
8. $1,000 is plenty for a job like this
9. I should be on the water by the end of the month
10. I need a beer! Nothing is going as planned!

I'm still hanging on to #6.....but I can feel #8 slipping away!!

 

[Rickmerrill]

Well, at least you are committed and moving right along thru the stages. Removing the engine is not bad at all and you already have a backup boat so no real time pressures unless they are self-imposed.

 

[studioq]

I just went through all 10 steps - except #6 - I don't have a cap...

 

[Mark72233]

Thanks to all the valuable information on this forum I was able to give up all hope that I was going to be able to avoid steps 1-9 and went straight to step10. Cheers:tea:

 

[wilkboater]

Seat box is out, FYI fiberglass is itchy. I really dread the grinding phase. In the following picture, where I stopped the cut in floor, that's past where the wood is wet. The other stringer is dry and solid behind the rearward facing seat. I want to splice the stringers, I've read everything I can find about it, but I am still unsure how to proceed. Scarf joint, butt joint, sister.....I've read about all of them. It is alot of information to take in, and know where to apply which bit of knowledge. I'm a long way from fiberglassing, but I would like to start developing a plan, and a materials list. So, an overview, I plan to replace part of both stringers, the rear bulkhead behind the fuel tank, the motor mount blocks, the transom and deck(the parts that I have to). the port stringer will be spliced in the ski locker, so I would rather not have a sister board of block(for a butt joint) in the locker. The starboard stringer will be spliced next to the fuel tank, and I don't think there will be room for anything on the fuel tank side of the stringer. I guess I'm looking for guidance, opinions, advice ect. on this repair. Poly or epoxy.....sister, butt, or scarf??

Port stringer....looking forward

 

[jigngrub]

I'm not a fan of partial stringer repair, there's no way to make a jointed stringer as strong as a solid continuous one. If you don't want to remove the entire stringer I suggest sistering in with a full length stringer. Cut the rotten part off of the old and sister the new beside it lapping over the existing unrotted old. this is just what I would do and I'm sure others will disagree... and it's your boat and you can build it any way you want.

 

[Rickmerrill]

Others have sistered in stringers, including at the ski locker and fuel tank. Just do a search on sister and stringer and you'll find them.

 

[jigngrub]

Others have sistered in stringers, including at the ski locker and fuel tank. Just do a search on sister and stringer and you'll find them.

Lemmings!

 

[Rickmerrill]

Over the cliff we goooooooo!