86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

hello all,

New to iboats.com and the boating world. I bought a 1986 Bayliner Capri real cheap with a Force 125 o/b. The last time this boat saw water was 1995 as i am told by the previous owner. I have been working on the engine now (weekends only, HOA reasons) and have it running pretty well. This boat has seen the water one time as a test run and it did a pretty good job. No water was taken in so it seems to be at least semi-solid.

After running at the lake with my brother-in-law out ther (just in case) he looked the boat over and scared the crap out of me. The area around the gas tank has rotten wood around it. He is thinking the stringers may also be reotten. The guy I bought the boat from had told me he replaced the deck, which he did as evidenced from the new wood deck and glazing (not sure if thats what its called) on top of it.

So tonight I started the destruction to get below and verify that the stringers are good. i did the tap test with a hammer and it sounds ok in the front where i can get to it, but in the back i heard hollow sounds from the top of the floatation foam areas on both sides. So i decided it is as good a time as any to tear the rear end up. i started by beating through the glaze that was on top and found "mulch" under neath it. This was very thin wood and just below that was foam. Very thick too. All dry. I would say 6-8" thick. This is where i stopped so i can ask questions:
can or should i cut thos foam out?
how can i get to the stringers below this without cutting out the foam?
how do you get to the gas tank? (i need to remove it and clean it out)

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Welcome to Iboats!!
To replace the stingers ALL of the foam has to come out, If you plan on keepin the boat awhile i would redo the stringers, foam & deck for piece of mind!! there is alot of good info to be found on here, look up a thead by Oops (hull extension with pictures) this will help you alot!!

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Stever,

Thanks for the info. i have torn out one side of the rear of the boat and found that the stringers are solid. the deck area was completly full of foam and had a board under it. the board on the bottom was rotten but it sat atop the fiberglass hull.

the stringers and hull have lots of thick fiberglass on them. After tap test i could find no areas that had a hollow thud to them. the foam was dry for the most part, except at the bottom where the wood was rotting. not sure what this guy put the wood there for?

There is a piece of wood that cross sections in rear of the gas tank that is also rotten but the stringers it connects to are still in good shape. this piece of cross section is probably the most difficult to get to.

Here are some pics that show what i found after digging out most of the foam in this area.

Please eveyone, send me your 2cents.

THANKS!

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Glad to have found this thread, it gives me some hope that I will find solid stringers under my floor when I rip it up. I too am new this year with 1985 Bayliner bowrider, had a hole in the deck size of softball. I did quick cover over for this summer to use boat & I'm getting ready to begin the deck repair. I can only hope I find good stringers under there, it would make the job that much faster/easier. I'm guessing that won't be the case, I'm not that lucky. Good luck with your project & post some pictures along the way so I can see what your dealing with & how you fix it.

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Bayliner,s are a strange beast. My stringers and mounts were hard as a rock. My transom and floor was shot. Check this boat out well. Hate to see you put a lot of money and effort in just to have to go back and destroy what you just did to get back to the main problems.

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Tap testing on your stringers can be deceiving. If you want to be SURE they are solid you need to DRILL. Take a 3/8 inch drill bit and drill into the stingers about 3/4 inch deep and see what comes out. Light brown dry shavings and you are good to go. Powder or dark brown wet shavings and you will need to grind off the glass and replace the wood stringers underneath. Plenty of threads here on the forum to show you how. While you are at it you should drill some holes in the bottom of the Transom as well to make sure it is solid. CAREFUL DO NOT DRILL ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE TRANSOM. If all is well, use 3M 5200 to fill the holes then you can re-Deck her and get her wet. You can use regular Ext. Grade Ply and either Poly or epoxy resin and glass for your deck. Lots of examples on here for that as well.

I'm just sain...

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Woodonglass said:

Tap testing on your stringers can be deceiving. If you want to be SURE they are solid you need to DRILL. Take a 3/8 inch drill bit and drill into the stingers about 3/4 inch deep and see what comes out. Light brown dry shavings and you are good to go. Powder or dark brown wet shavings and you will need to grind off the glass and replace the wood stringers underneath. Plenty of threads here on the forum to show you how. While you are at it you should drill some holes in the bottom of the Transom as well to make sure it is solid. CAREFUL DO NOT DRILL ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE TRANSOM. If all is well, use 3M 5200 to fill the holes then you can re-Deck her and get her wet. You can use regular Ext. Grade Ply and either Poly or epoxy resin and glass for your deck. Lots of examples on here for that as well.

I'm just sain...

Click to expand...

+1
Tap test told me mine were ok as well. I cut them out anyway and found super heavy soaked wood. If it had been plywood it surely would have been in pieces. There was lots of rot twards the bottoms of the stringers but they werent quite potting soil yet. The worst part about it was all the voids in the fiberglass that spilled water all over when i hit them with the grinder. This was after the boat had been covered and dry for nearly a year. As well as one of the hottest and dryest summers we have had in a while.

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Hello all
Im a little new to this but it looks like I found the place. I have a 1991 Bayliner 20' 4.3 V-6 Mercruiser. And like everyone else here it has a bad Deck. Im good with the wood working aspect ,so taking it apart shouldnt be a real issue. I took the seats out (great condition...Bonus!!) but im having trouble with the bases . Whats holding it to the deck?..Glue and screw? just Glue like Liquid nails Or just the Epoxy or similar substance(theres a thick layer all over the place)It not only attached to the deck but to the sides as well. And another quick question What kind of ,and where do I get the foam for it too, once I dig the old stuff out? Like I said Im getting started and am trying to look ahead a little. And I sure can use everyones input to make things go easier.
Thanks everyone
Cowboy

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

You need to start your own thread. The seats are held in by the glass around them. If they are like mine they are full of foam. Take some pics and start you own thread ,you will get a lot more help this way and a lot more moral support.
Welcome to Iboats and get cracking on that boat. Do a search for a thread by lowkee it is a great source of information on baylinners. Look for a thread by opps for general information on glassing, and gell coating.

Re: 86 bayliner deck rebuild/repair

Thank You, I will start a new thread
Cowboy