My free Rally 175 - rebuild

I guess this is kinda my "build" and "I need guidance" thread. About 5 years ago my dad traded a 20' sailboat that needed alot of work for this mid 70's Rally 175 by Mirro Marine. The Rally wasn't a gem, but the hull on the outside was solid, nothing inside was jerry-rigged up, apparently it runs, and the trailer was decent. The best part is my dad dang near has a junkyard of stuff so I'm getting the thing for free since he will never do anything with it. I think I'm about to embark on yet another absolutely stupid project and I need reassurance of my insanity.

Yesterday I towed the thing outa the pickers and started tearing it apart. The inside was naaaaaaasty from sitting outside uncovered for who knows how long. The outside has a bunch of mildew but it's cleaning up decent. Right away when I got in I noticed the floor was soft towards the back. Typical I figured....this might get good. I surely was not to be disappointed once I ripped the carpet out. The stringers I could see were a weeee bit mushy. Plus there was a hack repair for the floor on both sides of the doghouse with uncovered OSB. That's legit right Anyways, now the real fun begins and that's where I need guidance so I can pretend I have a plan (well at least pretend enough so the gf has false hope I actually know what I'm doing)

For background I'm a total noob with rebuilding/repairing structural parts of boats. I'm good with fabrication but mostly with metal/welding and have done a bunch of house construction. Worked as a tech at a boat dealership for 3 years but mostly did rigging and winterizing. Fiberglassing...um, I haven't a clue where to even start.

So, right now I know the stringers are junk and at the minimum I need to replace all 4.

1)How fun is this going to be with that front part being enclosed?
-Or is that actually going to make it easier since its totally open underneath? Was thinking rip out alll the floor???
2) Should I just pull the drive and motor?
- The rot gets progressively worse towards the back. Don't know about the transom or motor mounts yet. Need to rip out some foam today to investigate more.
3) My plan is to rip as much apart and get it inside at my moms shed to dry out while I'm gone for the next few weeks. That time won't be lost as I can order up some goodies for when I get back....when I figure what to order. I need to read more and get schooled on materials needed.
4) Whats a ballpark figure for what I can expect this to cost materials wise? Being optimistic and assuming it's just the stringers that are rotted?
5) What type of wood for the stringers. I've read alot about treated but my buddy insists on absolutely not using treated. What gives?
6) My plan was to rip out the foam, let dry, then remove and replace 1 stringer at a time...while on the trailer. Legit plan?
7) The gf is a seamstress so she can help with the interior stuff. Was thinking 2 captains chairs and then a full bunch with a sundeck in the back. Any other ideas or pics of nice setups? This is way down the road but I'm always cruisin craigslist for parts/deals on stuff.

I guess that's it, for now....half a novel later. Any general advice....like you're crazy, don't do it? Or anything to help me with a "plan"

Overall decent, minus the yellow (at least it isn't the 70's poo brown!) Rails/chrome stuff/windshield are all nice.

Re: My free Rally 175 - rebuild

What's left of the interior. Will keep a few things as templates.



Plywood mostly removed



Rot on the inward stringer, starboard side, behind the fuel tank



Port side. Can tell from the wearing on the glass it's been rotted for awhile. The OSB that was there was 100% mush.

Re: My free Rally 175 - rebuild

Nice boat! It's got some potential for sure. Are you crazy? Well yes, but we all are on here. If we didn't want a project we'd all be buying brand new boats, but something about bringing life back to an old model is just that much more satisfying. Cost wise, if I had just bought this boat and wanted to get it looking pretty, I'd spend about 2500 dollars on it. That should cover the cost of a full tune up on the motor, new battery, new stringers, glass, marine plywood, some good seats, and paint. Make sure you check the transom really well. It's most likely rotten. Not hard to fix, but time consuming. You might not need to take the top off the boat, avoid it if you can, as it's there to provide strength to the boat, take it off and things will shift.

You're doing the right thing asking on here for advice, so gut her all out, and rebuild her the way you want. Good luck!

Re: My free Rally 175 - rebuild

#6 yes thats a good way,

but use PT ply that has been dried out a while.
Theres no problem with PT in a glass boat.
You'll need to re-plumb the complete system, fill hose etc.
http://foreandaftmarine.com/FUELHOSECERT.HTM
I rebuilt my boat with many supplies from craigslist.

If there was a lot of rot in the bow area it would show up, the top edge of the windshield wouldn't line up but yours look ok.

And the transom is usually rotted in an older boat with rear stringer rot.
No biggie, just more fun.

The gas tank was installed wrong from the factory, there should be no foam touching it due to crevice corrosion. Wet foam touching alum will corrode.

Plan ahead if you do the cap'n seats on pedestals, you can't just screw the base to the deck, it needs bedded thru bolts and a backing plate. Rest assured screws in ply will work loose and allow water in, then you have rot again in 2 years.

Re: My free Rally 175 - rebuild

Well I got it inside the shed at my mom's place. Now it'll actually dry out! Was messing around the motor mount, hit the structural piece underneath and water squeezed out. I'm thinking the motors gotta come out. I'm just going to assume the transom is roached along with the motor support. Fun times!

chargerboy said:

Nice boat! It's got some potential for sure. Are you crazy? Well yes, but we all are on here.

Click to expand...

The couple of people that have seen it all ripped apart just look at me and shake their head....that means I'm on the right track

jonesg said:

#6 yes thats a good way,

but use PT ply that has been dried out a while.
Theres no problem with PT in a glass boat.

Click to expand...

So PT dimensional lumber cut to fit for the stringers. I'll pick up some 1/2" PT ply for the floor then stand it on end in the garage with some space between to get that drying.

You'll need to re-plumb the complete system, fill hose etc.
http://foreandaftmarine.com/FUELHOSECERT.HTM

Click to expand...

Why the filler and breather? I can see the feed line. Just curious here.

The gas tank was installed wrong from the factory, there should be no foam touching it due to crevice corrosion. Wet foam touching alum will corrode.

Click to expand...

What's the correct way to support and secure the tank?

Plan ahead if you do the cap'n seats on pedestals, you can't just screw the base to the deck, it needs bedded thru bolts and a backing plate. Rest assured screws in ply will work loose and allow water in, then you have rot again in 2 years.

Click to expand...

As in make a metal backer with welded in nuts and secure it to the bottom of the ply? That'd be easy.

Thanks a ton for the advice so far!

Re: My free Rally 175 - rebuild

The original fuel line is not E10 compliant, it can look good but be falling apart inside. Once you detact it from the tank it becomes damaged, you'll see when you try to pull it off the fitting.
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/fueltank.htm

My boat is a 1974, its on the 3rd set of fuel plumbing now, I know because the fill hose I pulled off was marked 1990. Anyway.. its a whole lot easier to do with the deck out of the way. Nothing seems to hold up in a boat compared to cars.

replace wood with the same as you rip out, if its ply use ply again.

Extruded pink insulation foam sheets from homedepot is a lot cheaper than injected foam and it won't hold water against the stringers til they rot. Just slice it into logs and fit them in, some guys put the foam in plastic bags to keep the water away.