1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

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88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Mar 22, 2009
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Hello, I just wanted to introduce myself as a new iboater. I have been reading this forum now for about 6 months and have been trying to register but was not able to because of problems with AOL. But anyhow I am a newbie to restoring boats which is why I have been on this site so much but I have learned so much that I feel like I can tackle just about anything. If you can not tell by the name I have an 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 that I am going to restore because I think just about every inch of wood in it is rotten. I know, I know, a lot of you guys are probably going to ask why the hell I would waist my time with this certain boat. Well, for starters I got the boat for free. Secondly I absolutely love the way it looks. I have not really seen another boat with lines like this one. It looks like it is going 100 mph sitting still on the trailer. Well, to make a long story short I will be posting the whole rebuild here on iboats and I am sure that I will need some advice in the near future. I will be looking forward to talking to you all and hopefully meeting some new friends. God Bless and safe boating!:)
 

lowkee

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
1,890
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

First, welcome to iboats!

Second, be sure to post some 'before' pics, since we all love the comparison (and you never know when you are 99% finished a restore and wonder where that odd part USED to go..). Third, join the club! I have a 1990 Bayliner Capri I'm restoring for your very same reason, because I just fell in love. Sadly, my boat also needs a total wood overhaul.

You are amongst friends, here, and we'll help out as much as we can. I came here not knowing anything and am down to a bare hull at the moment. There is no fear with so many people to learn from and give advice. Good luck, and keep us posted!
 

bear_69cuda

Commander
Joined
Oct 10, 2008
Messages
2,109
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Welcome 88BLiner !

Your in the right place!

Lowkee is doing incredible work on his boat, 1990 Bayliner... He has NO FEAR! :D An will have a work or art when he's finished...

My resto was kinda more a resto-mod... I lucked out cuz, my boat was very solid, and doesn't show much age... So the hardest/worst thing was fiberglassing...

You can check out my insanity on the link below...
 

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

I know, I know, a lot of you guys are probably going to ask why the hell I would waste my time with this certain boat.

I don't think you'll get any of that on here at all. Yeah Bayliners weren't the best built and had rot problems but so does just about any other older glass boat that wasn't well covered. Your Bayliner is no less worthy of a restoration project than anything else. Plus I think a lot of us on here have or had the attitude of "this is boat I have NOW and I'm going to do what it takes to get it on the water." Good luck with your project and I'm looking forward to hearing your plans and seeing your before pics. Who doesn't love a good mushy pile of saturated foam and rotted wood :)
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
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172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Hello all and thank you for the welcome. Okay, so here are some before pictures of the boat. I think that I uploaded them correctly, if not someone please let me know if they do not show. I took some of the upholstery also but they got erased from my camera. Since then I have removed all of the carpet and vinyl, but trust me when I say that it was no better than the pictures you see here. The top half of all the seats were dry rotted and cracked and split open. The wood that made up the seat construction was also like the rest of the boat, it all needs to be replaced. I will say that the carpet actually was not that bad. But because I do not really like carpet in a boat I am going to replace that with something else. I will be going to go work on the boat all day tomorrow and will take pictures of all my work.
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jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

I love the Cobras. I remember when I was a kid back in 84 and my dad bought an 84 Capri, then they came out with the Cobra a couple years later. We would sit and talk about how cool it would be to have one. They were awesome in their day. They did look like they would go 100. Even the goofy guages were cool then. Good Luck with the restore.
 

JaSla74

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
Messages
506
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

That's a cool looking boat. It'll be even cooler when you're done with it. I wouldn't at all feel bad about your bliner, because there are a lot top brands completely rotted here too.

I really like your town. My mom lived in Cocoa back in the late 60s. We use to vacation in Cocoa Beach when I was a kid. Now I take my family down there just about every year. I love the area.
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
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172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

JaSla that is so weired, I had a beretta just like that. It was the same color and everything.
 

maxum247

Lieutenant
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
1,363
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Your "free boat" looks like my "free boat" looked when the inlaws gave it to me! :eek::D

max
 

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
23,767
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

What the story on the motor, does it run? That's one of the better Forces before Mercury started meddling with Chrysler's design. I always thought they were really cool looking.
 

lowkee

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
1,890
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Hehe, I love that even the guages are crooked. Sort of completes the 'Help me!' look of the before photos. :) You are certainly right, that boat does look like it's going 100MPH while standing still.

Dig in and keep us posted with photos along the way.
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Yea the motor runs. Actually it runs quite well, except I am going to have to fix the number 1 spark plug hole. When you give it anything past half throttle it spits the #1 spark plug right out of the head. Other than that it runs great. I am still going to take it all apart and clean everything up after the hull is complete.
You are right LoKee, the gauges are crying "help me". Looks almost like it is sad or something:(. But anyhow, I just got home from working on her today and I have some pics that I will post later. I have to take a shower and do some new daddy duties while the camera is charging. Talk to you all soon.
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Mar 22, 2009
Messages
172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Hey, guys sorry I have not posted those pics of the first day of progress. Fell asleep right after dinner the other night and I had a big tree job to do yesterday. But I am on my way to do more work on the boat right now. So when I get home I will have two days worth of pictures.
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Okay, Here is what I did on the first day of the tear down. After looking at the boat for about 30 minutes that I was going to mess something up or grind a nice big hole in the hull, I finally came to my senses and thought "how much worse can I make it."

So I grabbed the grinder and dug in. By the way I did not want to mess up my good grinder so I went to the flea market and bought one of those cheap Chinese made grinders for $15.

On the first day I removed all the wood from the bow of the boat such as the deck where the bow seats sat on and all the wood that supported that. I also all the wood from under and around the two consoles. The only thing I did not remove was the floor wood (what was left of it anyway). Man I have already found so much foam already. The front of the boat from the bow tip to about 2 or 3 feet back is a big block of foam all the way down to the floor. There was also big blocks of foam about 2' x 2' x 2' under each console encased in fiberglass and wood, boy that was fun. I did not check the foam yet to see if it is dry but it probably is not.

The picture shows the area I worked in first. You can see the foam in the bow and under the consoles.
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bear_69cuda

Commander
Joined
Oct 10, 2008
Messages
2,109
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

My boat also seems to have enough foam to float a small ship... :p

Looks the the insanity begins my friend! In the end you'll look back, and be happy you did it!
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Alright fellow iboaters here is the update of the work I did on the boat today.

The first thing I did was take a piece of pvc pipe and take samples of all that foam, and to my surprise it is all dry.:D This is probably due to the fact that it was all above the waterline.

Next I planned my next attack which would be the the gas tank which is in the center under the floor, and the seat boxes.

The first picture shows a before shot from the consoles looking toward the back of the boat.
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The next two pictures are of each seat box before I tear into them.
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The last two pictures are before pictures of the floor between the consoles and the center in the stern of the boat. I am guessing that the x looking piece is the ski pole brace.
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I will post the pictures of what I found under all that a little later. I can only put five pictures in one post and I need to go to wally world.
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Alright guys, I am back to post the rest of the pictures of my progress so far.

First of all, I got the wood covering the fuel tank off by unscrewing about 30 screws. Or should I say breaking the heads off 30 screws and prying the wood off the tank, which fell apart into saw dust as I pried on it. The next picture is the fuel tank that I found under the rotted wood.

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The fuel tank is pretty nasty and has about 6 or 7 holes pitted all the way through it.

The next 2 pictures are what I found under the fuel tank!

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I know you probably can not see in the pictures but there was wood in place to close the gap between the tank and the stringers. It was screwed in place and the screws were rusted almost all the way through. When I tried to unscrew them the heads just twisted right off.

Well to make a long story short, the tank needs some major repairs and once I cut away the seat boxes guess what I found. More foam, I do not have pictures because the camera went dead, but there is a lot.

I also killed my cheap grinder just as I finished cutting out the port side of the boat. Here is a picture, I guess I will have to use my good grinder if I want to get anywhere the next couple of days.

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Well, I guess since my grinder died and I do not have the other one with me. I was hoping to get some more work done on it tomorrow, but I have to work and on Sunday is Easter. So, I guess I will have to wait til next week to work on her some more. I will update as soon as possible. ;)
 

JaSla74

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
Messages
506
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

A trick I learned on this site was to take some ladies stockings & use it to cover the vents of your grinder. It acts a filter & I'm quite sure it has prolonged the life of my grinder. You'd be surprised of how much crap it keeps out of there.
 

88BLiner

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
172
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Thanks for the tip JaSla, I will have to do that now that I have to bring out the good grinder. I think I will also blow it out really good with the compressor everyday after I am done. Well it is 5:00 am time to go to work.

Yea, it is Saturday:(
 

F14CRAZY

Ensign
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
945
Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

It's a lot of work but it'll be worth it
 
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