77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Hi Yall

New to the board. Just bout a 77 Bayliner Runaway tri-hull. We knew the floor needed to be checked, there was a corner hangin in the air I found while feelin for soft spots before purchase. For the price paid, I wasn't gonna complain about reflooring it.


Got it home, somewhat washed it up. Hubby got to piddlin with the motor (tryin to figure it out) and we got the inside ready to pull up and check out the floor.

Well..carpet came out, decent enough shape to reuse. Set that aside. We found that one of the prior owners just rough cut a piece, screwed it into the foam underneath (what good that did, I have NO clue ) and carpeted over. Ok, easy enough to remove and replace....

Out came the board...and beneath... Flaky, wet, mushy stringers! Suprisingly, the foam is 98% dry! (I did the nail check I read about here somewhere ) Just a bit wet on the exterior part.

Transom has a bad spot, gonna need to replace that.

Can't get underneath the front, gonna hafta take the top off for that. Dang rivets!!!

So our lil $350 boat gonna turn into our summer project!

I've gathered a good bit of info from this site in the last few days. This place is outstanding

There's no way to put this off and redneck rig it till fall. Just too much of a safety hazard IMO, and if the hull flexes bad with mushy stringers, then the whole things toast!

So what all else to I need to look for? I'm basically a newb when it comes to boats, but I have good fixin skills, and I'm handy, so that helps some

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Welcome to iboats!

You are in the right place to do restoration. Yes we have all learned to drill out rivets and pull caps off of hulls. I am sorry you have a boat that needs work but, we will guide you along.

We have a unique philosophy here...... please don't shortcut a project and please do not try to re-invent the wheel. People here have done this work for years.

Today I say a boat that was rebuilt using a flooring product well....... I will tell you not to use that stuff. I went as far as calling the manufacturer's engineers about it and it is NOT for marine use.

Pictures? The boat, the family the pets .... we love them (Picture junkies) and if you need photo instructions please read this http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=285637

Yes, your $350 down payment was a start

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Thanks Bob! Yup, it was a nice down payment This'll be an ongoing thing.. at least on our own timeline!

Regular flooring, in a boat? Yikes

I've got pics of the boat, and underneath the floor, lemme see what I can dig up...

Day we picked it up... a lil dark, but it was pretty dirty too!!

This is the motor (Merc Thunderbolt 850 80hp OB) and rearend...a mess indeed!!!

Post bath...cleaned up, and very yellow! Hubs and Son takin seats out to get to the floor


Sorry if the pics aren't that great, all I have is my crappy camera on my phone. Both digi cams are out of commision

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

And! the yummy stuff underneath the floor

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Yay pics!!
Looks like a nice project you have there! Should be loads of fun!

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Well, not much got accomplished today. Hubby drilled out rivets and we pulled the rub rail off, only to reveal more rivets. Got some measurements taken for future reference, got the wiring labeled, and got it pulled outta the boat. Next step, taking the outboard off and gettin the top off!




And this was our son Ian, helping me cut the back of the rivets off


And here is our daughter, Aimee, helping take off a trolling motor mount, well, thats what she said she was doin

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Here's the dash, the 3 holes on the right are all spots where different ignition switches were, grrrrrrrr



This one, you can see they cut a hole right over the CG rating for the boat


Just lovely, right? ayyy

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Gotta love the upholstrey...I just got done removing it...yummy!!! Backed with what looks like bead board and VERY rotten at that

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Love the pics of the family, that's what makes it a family project, unfortunately a lot of us don't get that type of help. Keep plugging away and you'll have a wonderful craft to take to the lake.
oh yeah, welcome to iboats.

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

boatflipper said:

Yay pics!!
Looks like a nice project you have there! Should be loads of fun!

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Kids think its GREAT fun! They have a blast lookin at everything, and investigating. Most fun is stickin hubs magnetic tools to the trailer

tinkeringwackyone said:

Love the pics of the family, that's what makes it a family project, unfortunately a lot of us don't get that type of help. Keep plugging away and you'll have a wonderful craft to take to the lake.
oh yeah, welcome to iboats.

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Oh yes, we're all in this together Kids make GREAT slave labor...kidding, kidding,!!!!! They have fun and of course, enjoyed driving a parked boat! (Now they can't, steerings been pulled off!)
Yeah, we;d figured just get the motor runnin, tires on the trailer, then a trollin motor and we'd be set...not so fast! LOL!! We hope to get this done by the end of summer, so we can enjoy some fall crappie fishin at the local lakes!

Thanks for the welcome!!!


One more thing....how can I get a good accurate measurement of the stringer if its all basically swelled and mush?

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Hey SnowHunter


Just wanted to say hello and "we are in the same boat" (kinda). I'm still reading through threads to determine a plan of attack for my 15' Chaparral tri-hull which needs a new transom, deck, and stringer while I do the necessary prep work (cut, grind, grind, cut). I saw on another thread you said that you live up in then north GA area. I'm up just north of Alpharetta about 8 miles from Lanier. I'm looking for a reliable local source of materials (fiberglass, resin, etc), so if you hear of any, please let me know. Hopefully we'll all be on the water before summer end.

-Eric

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

One more thing....how can I get a good accurate measurement of the stringer if its all basically swelled and mush?

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I have a neat little trick... ever make something out of popsicle sticks?
if you have a hotmelt glue gun and some long thin sticks you can use them to make a pattern. just keep gluing them together and follow the hull contour,
I used to work in a boat building shop and they used these patterns for all the odd shapes, works like a charm

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

eavega said:

Hey SnowHunter


Just wanted to say hello and "we are in the same boat" (kinda). I'm still reading through threads to determine a plan of attack for my 15' Chaparral tri-hull which needs a new transom, deck, and stringer while I do the necessary prep work (cut, grind, grind, cut). I saw on another thread you said that you live up in then north GA area. I'm up just north of Alpharetta about 8 miles from Lanier. I'm looking for a reliable local source of materials (fiberglass, resin, etc), so if you hear of any, please let me know. Hopefully we'll all be on the water before summer end.

-Eric

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Hey Eric..good luck with your boat!!!!! If I find a supplier round here, I'll be sure and let ya know We hope to be on by then too. Just a matter of budget and timeline workin out. Fingers crossed for both of our projects!!

coastalcruiser said:

I have a neat little trick... ever make something out of popsicle sticks?
if you have a hotmelt glue gun and some long thin sticks you can use them to make a pattern. just keep gluing them together and follow the hull contour,
I used to work in a boat building shop and they used these patterns for all the odd shapes, works like a charm

Click to expand...

I swear I'm the only Mom on the planet that doesn't have a hot glue gun Guess thats on the to get list, with some popsicle sticks, so I can give this a try!!! Thanks

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

you can also use cardboard also maybe borrow the gun? and get hubby to make some long thin sticks on the tablesaw
i used the trick to make a pattern for my transom

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

coastalcruiser said:

you can also use cardboard also maybe borrow the gun? and get hubby to make some long thin sticks on the tablesaw
i used the trick to make a pattern for my transom

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I'm kicking myself for sellin my table saw and compound miter saw right now (yes mine ) They would seriously come in handy for this project. Toys don't last long when the money runs out...

I do plan on pickin up a few pieces of hardboard to use for makin templates. That'll come in handy for the front portion of the deck, and the transom.

Doller store sells cheap glue guns, it'll come in handy for other things too, so purchasing one aint too big of a deal.

I am wonderin one thing.... the side supports on the trailer (basically 1x4x2 covered in outdoor carpet are too wide for the boat. I was thinkin of bolting (recessing bolt heads) on a 2x4 to each, which should hold the boat in place better. It wobbles a good bit right now, and I'm worried about flexing and stressing the hull, especially once the top comes off. Would that be a good idea? Or should I pad them with something like thick neoprene until they snug up to the boat?

Another thing, this boat has foam in it. It doesn't look like it'd be easy to replace with board style foam or noodles, and I don't know if I'd be able to just leave it out due to the fact I can't find squat for information on this boat anywhere, so I don't want to chance it compromising the strength of the hull...???

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Scored me some new tools for the resto today, YAY!

Got me one of these...to use in place of a jitterbug style sander
Detail Sander

and one of these
Jig Saw

I'd thought about gettin the orbital jig saw, but FIL has a rotozip we can use

Got my Orbital sander from FIL's shed, drill bits, new saw blade for the Skill Circular Saw...but wait, what is this?

NO SKILL SAW!!!! Don't know what happened to it. It was Hubbys and it seems to have taken a hike off to lord knows where. GRRRRRR. Now we aint got a circular saw, but we got a sharp brand new blade! Guess I'll return it and get a blade for my smaller battery powered saw.

Our local lumber yard sells AC plywood 7ply 3/4" for $30 a sheet. Home Depot didn't have em. So at least they got it, and are close by! YAY!!!

Next to get is supplies, poly, CSM, matting...all that stuff.

Think I may have conned Hubs into talkin to his buddy. Old barn on some property of thiers thats 1/2 fallen down. Has some metal roofing and boards. Figure in makin a sorta makeshift shed...to help if the weather gets wet. And, a tarp for the boat of course!!!

So, no progress today on the boat itself. I was gettin ready to make the engine stand when son had a siezure, so, that took precedence. More calls to the Dr tomorrow, joy!

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

Ok, another questions. Hopefully someone can answer this for me!!!

I'm seeing a lot of "tabbing" talk... such as tabbing in decks, etc....

Can someone explain this to me? I kinda have an idea...just wanna know for sure...thanks!!

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

thats when you take strips of fiberglass and use them to attach things like stringers, decks, etc. as opposed to fully glassing something in. A lot of times people do this temporarily to hold a piece in place, or in non-critical spots where they want to save on glass, time, and resin. Good progress!

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

hey there are a bunch of videos on you tube about stringers
and on fiberglassing

Re: 77 Bayliner Runaway-Oh Lawd what'd I get myself into!!!

SBTOM said:

thats when you take strips of fiberglass and use them to attach things like stringers, decks, etc. as opposed to fully glassing something in. A lot of times people do this temporarily to hold a piece in place, or in non-critical spots where they want to save on glass, time, and resin. Good progress!

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Ok thanks Thats pretty well what I figured. This bein my first venture with a boat just has me a lil paranoid, and making sure I'm clear on things!

coastalcruiser said:

hey there are a bunch of videos on you tube about stringers
and on fiberglassing

Click to expand...

D'oh! I shoulda thought bout that...thanks for the top CC!!!


Its POURING here right now. Bottom just dropped out and its comin down in waves boats gonna be nice and flooded, least the motor is securely covered!