1983 Offshore Deck painting / Resto, w/pics!

[Edgewater37]

Backstory: I had a perfectly awesome little 14' Sundance skiff w/25hp merc on it. Small but very sold. Dad is 70 years old, had this older boat which he offered to just give me, because he's up in age and doesn't have the 'umph' to haul it around and use it anymore. So he called me up and said "Hey, I'm going to give you my boat, why don't you just sell yours and take mine" .. So I did. He bought the boat a couple years ago, right when my wife and I were about to have a baby, so I wasn't doing much boating at all. I never got a chance to even go out with him on this thing.

It's not without its issues, the outside hull is good and solid. The deck isn't mushy, however I have my reservations about the state of what is under this mysterious peeling layer of "I'm not sure what". It looks like he got it from someone that was a pro-diy mess-maker. Home built rear casting deck, lots of skateboard-type grip tape and tons of boogered up caulk-type sealant around the console.

My first take was since I'm in Orlando and its ultra-hot out, with a garage that is too small to house the boat, to just scrape up the bad chipped spots and hit the areas with some black rhino-liner I have laying around in my garage until it cools off, but I need some expert advice first.

As you can see the console appears to have been installed previous to the last deck paint job, possibly an epoxy job as well. I am going to have to probably just take the entire console off and see what is going on underneath.

Temporary fix ideas until fall? Expert advice?

I did a deck resto on a 12' skiff years ago with a full foam/deck replacement, I hope I don't have to go there with this one. I'd like to just remove console, prep for a deck liner job and finish with a couple coats of Cabela's non-skid if possible..

 

[gm280]

I can't say for certain, but I get that gut feeling you have more problems then just the console. I think you will be gutting the entire hull and refurbishing stringers, floor and even the transom. Rarely does one wood problem not migrate to all of the wood when it starts to rot. I could be wrong, and even hope I am, but it looks like a rebuild to me... JMHO!

 

[Edgewater37]

I can't say for certain, but I get that gut feeling you have more problems then just the console. I think you will be gutting the entire hull and refurbishing stringers, floor and even the transom. Rarely does one wood problem not migrate to all of the wood when it starts to rot. I could be wrong, and even hope I am, but it looks like a rebuild to me... JMHO!

I tend to agree with that statement, however, I am looking to maybe just do a temporary fix on the bad spots until the weather cools off, 105 heat index isn't very fun to work in. I'll be posting more pics when I peel up that paint. Given the age of the boat, it would probably be beneficial to just put an entire new deck down.. I wish my garage was bigger.

 

[Woodonglass]

A few Questions... Have you check the Transom for Flex? Does the Hull have any major gouges? These would be the areas that would be my major concerns for immediate repair. If the transom flexes when you raise the motor up and put a lot of weight on the leg of the motor then IMHO it's not safe to operate. If no flex then that's good. If you have soft spots in the deck then you probably have issues below. Not sure but I imagine you have flotation foam below and it's prolly got some water saturation which is adding some weight to the boat and helping to rot the stringers. If you don't have any holes in the hull or major gouges and the transom isn't flexing then I suspect she'll last another season and you can wait till the fall to tear into her. Fixing the deck now is not gunna really help whats already been done.

 

[Edgewater37]

A few Questions... Have you check the Transom for Flex? Does the Hull have any major gouges? These would be the areas that would be my major concerns for immediate repair. If the transom flexes when you raise the motor up and put a lot of weight on the leg of the motor then IMHO it's not safe to operate. If no flex then that's good. If you have soft spots in the deck then you probably have issues below. Not sure but I imagine you have flotation foam below and it's prolly got some water saturation which is adding some weight to the boat and helping to rot the stringers. If you don't have any holes in the hull or major gouges and the transom isn't flexing then I suspect she'll last another season and you can wait till the fall to tear into her. Fixing the deck now is not gunna really help whats already been done.

Yes the Transom is solid as a rock so that is good for now, no flex. The deck is solid without any soft spots. The only spots that are the ones with the heavy peeling of the thick old paint. Underneath it appears to be solid epoxy over wood that doesn't look to be penetrated by damage or anything.

I was considering drilling a hole into the epoxy to check it, then inspect the shavings the bit puts out for moisture, then patch the drill hole.

The thick peeled paint is about one square foot if I tear it all the way off, what would you suggest for a temporary patch if I peel it up, to protect the epoxy from uv damage? I was thinking about just spraying the can of bedliner I used for my skid plate on my 4runner, black, but whatever protects it, doesn't matter what it looks like for now. Would that be sufficient for the next two months?

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup. Like I said, It's kind of a Moot Point now. As long as she's structurally sound, then do what ever you can for this season an then rip it out.

 

[Kromatron]

nice boat...at least you'll get a little use out of her before you have to start the fun.