Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restoration

Hello all,

I picked this boat up pretty cheap I think at $3,000. It has 1000 hours and everything seems to be mechanically fine. the boat needs a little TLC as it has been a little beat up on the outside mostly on the teal part and rubrail from docks, however I have a buddy that works at a body shop so I think we can fix that part up. The upholstery is a little rough but my dad does that for a living and I can pretty much handle the mechanical stuff. This boat would probably be fine to run as is but I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I like things to be nice so I am considering putting a lot of time and some money into it to make it nice again.

I have a few questions before diving head first into this thing.
- Will this boat be worth the time and investment? I have $3k in it but what would it be worth in nice condition?
- Assuming it is worth working on...the floor still feels solid but I know there is wood rot on the decking edges and probably the top of the stringers. Should I leave alone for a season to see how she does or jump into it this winter while I can't use it and fix all the wood rot?
- If I jump into it this project and not knowing what I am getting into can you replace part of a stringer, the top half, and just scab a new top on or must I replace the entire stringer.
- Same question for the floor?

I am sure I will have a bunch more and I have done some research already on this site, which by the way has tons of good info. What I am seeing most is people that have jumped into the whole thing and I am trying to evaluate if I need to do that or if I can minimize the effort a bit.

Thanks for the help!

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

With a boat of this vintage, it is all about the condition. You will not know on the rot until you get the deck off. Rot typically starts at the bottom of the stringers though, not at the top. If the motor has been beat, and the drive is at the end of it life, could be a losing proposition. All about the condition. You could put 5K into this boat and it would still be worth about 5K. If you do all the work yourself though, you will have a nice boat to use and will know what you have. Materials for Deck, Stringers, and interior could easily hit 5K though.

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

I guess that makes it kind of tricky. I could sell as is for more than I have in it or I could tear into it and potentially find a mess that may not be worth fixing..... What is the estimated materials for just the stringers and deck? Also the front is fiberglass not carpet...how likely is it that I only need to fix up to the console?

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

Anthony:

I'd be hesitant to start ripping that thing apart.. It looks to be a pretty well kept boat. You've already got a pretty good amount of coin invested in it, and so it may not make sense to gut the whole thing, unless: (a) it is unsafe in its present condition; or (b) the boat has sentimental value to you; and/or (c) you plan on keeping the boat for more than 5 years. Further, with an OMC i/o power plant (your probably have a cobra), those are getting harder to maintain, fix, find parts for, etc.., so it may not make sense to do a total rebuild unless you were going to repower as well.

Its totally your call; Most people do gut jobs for either love or necessity.... Fiberglass jobs are hard and expensive (look at Oops, Frisco, Trooper and Decker's threads). They have (or will have) great boats, but man they had to put a ton of work and sacrifice into those projects.

I'd just do a lipstick job on her and use her for a few seasons and have fun!!! IMHO, its definitely more fun to be on the water than to be in the shop.

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

Thanks for the feedback. A couple things you said is what has me trying to figure out what to do. As you noted, I am also hesitant to tear things apart as I don't want to end up with a major project without knowing it upfront. I really would like to do a little "lipstick" work and I think the outside and fixing a few seats should be pretty easy and low cost. I was also considering doing a little structural work to ensure I had a solid floor for the coming future but as you noted I don't want to get into this thing that deep like Oops, Frisco, Trooper, and Decker. I guess what I am struggling with a bit is trying to fix what I can visually see that is wrong, i.e. some of the edges of the plywood rotting out leaving no place to screw or staple and knowing that the floor will just get softer and softer, without tearing into it and finding out I have to replace everything once I open it up.

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

Take some pictures (close ups) of the structural areas that are causing you concern... The problem (as noted) is that most boats rot from bottom up and aft front... So, once you start having a soft deck, there is (in most cases) some form of cancer lying beneath...

The best way to test for structural integrity without ripping everything apart is to drill some "core samples." take a small drill bit and punch a few holes in your transom... If it comes out light colored and dry, we're happy.. If its comes out black, wet and soft, then we are not to happy...

You just fill the test holes with 5200 to seal them up... The best way to test stringers is to reach them via a ski locker or other sub-deck compartments...

If you have a strong transom, I think you could probably run the boat with some patchwork on your deck...

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

Great idea. I will take some pictures of the areas that I am concerned about as they are rotting pretty good and the core samples will help determine how far it goes. It is probably good this thing is outside and it is a little cool out or I would be out there tonight doing a little sampling....

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

It was a little cold out this morning but I got out there and took a few pictures and samples. I have posted the only bad areas I know of and they will have to be replaced. The samples I took from a couple stingers and some from the 6"-12" from the bad spots in the floor all came out what appears to be good to me. I did not take the transom samples yet.....just wondering if I am supposed to drill from the outside or from the inside. I initially intended to drill from the inside and not all the way through and fill with 5200 but I can't seem to get there with a drill easily. Should I just drill from the outside and fill?


The first picture is from the starboard side near the back of the gas tank and the rear of the floor. It is rotted pretty good but it does not appear to go too far over. As for the stringer I can't really tell as the gas tank is in there but I do think there is some rot. The second picture is of a core sample I did. I drilled about 6 of them and all looked OK to me but would like input as all I know is they were not black and did not appear to be wet. There could have been a little moisture but hard to tell with a small sample. The last two photos are from the walkway coming off the bow. This is the only other area I have a "known" concern about and as you can tell the rot is pretty bad, although I don't think it is wide spread at this point since I took a few core samples around this area and the other rot area and everything seemed ok. I also took a sample or two of the stringers in the locker and it checked out ok too.

I will wait for a little more direction from the experts and can get a transom sample sometime today as well.

Thanks!

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

As an update I drilled the stringers near the motor mount and all seems good there too.

I think the answer is tear into the floor and see what I find. Bad news is if it is bad there is no turning back. Anyone have any other ideas?

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

It looks like that deck has been patched before, and am pretty sure you do have a can of worms my friend. If you are not willing to jump down that rabbit hole I would stop now.

Re: Possible project boat 1995 Four Winns 240 Horizon bowrider with OMC 5.8L restorat

friscoboater said:

It looks like that deck has been patched before, and am pretty sure you do have a can of worms my friend. If you are not willing to jump down that rabbit hole I would stop now.

Click to expand...

I agree w/ all of that ^^^

This pix:


Raw un-glassed dimensional lumber below decks definitely indicates to me that there has been some previous & less then diligent work done on your boat.