Re: 1991 Malibu Euro F3 Skier If the floor is solid, are the stringers?
I recently began restoring a 1990 Malibu Skier with my 12 yr old grandson, Cooper; he's my buddy and help mate... lives two doors down. This Skier has just over 600 total hours; I know this boat from its orig purchase... could say it's been in the family. Never was used roughly or left uncovered; usually indoor storage or under full canopy. Always the drain plugs were opened and trailer was tipped to appropriate angle with engine winterized each year - as far as I know!
All in all, at first blush, the boat looked super clean, straight, and well cared for with good 350 cid Mercruiser engine, good trany and drive line, and a great stereo system.
Cooper and I noted its floor had soft spots in either side of motor, orig carpet was still good. When we removed all furniture and gas tank and carpet we found the plywood stiffener on transom inside was 100% rotten (actually it had turned to complete powder) under the paper thin interior fiberglass coating that was factory applied. All that coating did was keep moisture in. Floor plywood is primarily rotten to dash board line and seems OK from there forward. Thin, side stringers, upon which the floor rests are toast! We have not taken all of the floor up yet but will soon be checking the main stringers very carefully... from what we've found to date my hopes are not high that the main stringers are not also severely compromised.
I will replace the transom stiffener with glue adhered and pre resin coated 3/4" marine-grade plywood and will fiberglass its edges to the transom and hull corners (already have the transome location cleaned and ready for installation). Will replace side stringers in total with pressure treated 2 by 8 doug fir that will be contoured to fit, greenie saturated, resin coated and fiberglassed to the hull's bottom. If the main stringers are rotten too (as I expect) I plan to cut the top fiberglass wide open (take the top out completely) and ream out all the rotten wood (maybe all good wood too, if any exists). Then I plan to pour inside the remaining fiberglass stringer form a polymer added and fiberglass fiber reinforced high strength, quick set concrete mixture with metal reinforcing bars running its full length. Finally I will fiberglass over the stringer tops.
What I'd planned to be a relatively easy part-time restoration project for Cooper and me that could be completed this summer for a fall launch will not be completed till next year, at earliest. In many ways the construction techniques that comprise the ?bones? of this Skier boat were self defeating and assured these rot-failures over a period of time (22 years in this case). I also own a fiberglass 1977 34? Tollycraft tri cabin twin screw cruiser and it was built correctly from the get-go... NO Rot Anywhere! Our tow behind is a 1975 Crestliner with 50 HP Johnson o/b... It also had No Rot! Malibu Skier builders could have designed the construction of these little boats to last too ? Planned obsolesce???
Any suggestions as to transom, stringer, and floor repairs are appreciated, although I can build/repair just about anything... this is a first for me. I will post occasionally on Cooper?s and my progress.
Cheers! Art
