1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

merckoutboard · Jan 30, 2013

I recently got a 1988 Bayliner handed down to me from a relative. The deck is rotted out up through the middle from the stern to the bow. The boxes for the seats in the aft are also rotted out. Where the deck starts to curve up towards the sides and the seat boxes in the middle of the boat do not appear rotted. I know I need to replace the deck but do I need to replace all of it or can I cut out where the rot is and tie into what is good? My other question is if I use marine grade plywood to replace the floor is it necessary to fiberglass overtop or can I seal it with a resin or polyurethane? I am going to carpet over top once I replace the deck. With the use of marine grade plywood is there a way to avoid fiberglassing?

Alwhite00 · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

If it's that rotted you have no stringers or transom left, Save yourself the headache and haul it directly to the dump. Keep some trinkets for sentimental reasons if you want.

LK

tpenfield · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Yes, I agree, the stringers and probably the transom are rotted as well. Once you open up the decking, you will be able to tell for sure.

If you are motivated and want to learn about boat construction, there are many threads on this forum about restoring boats similar to yours. So, you might want to take a look at a few by doing a search (bayliner stringers) and look through some of them.

GT1000000 · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Welcome to the dry dock, merckoutboard...

You have inherited a free boat...free boats will cost you a lot of money and work...

If you have a sentimental attachment to this boat and are ready, willing and able to do a full and complete gut job and proper restoration...you are in the right place to get all of the information you will need, to get it done right...

That being said, the bad news is...Bayliners from that era were built as entry level boats at a great price point to attract many new Mariners into the wonderful world of boating...they were built on the cheap and without incredible attention to keeping it stored out of the elements and meticulously maintained...they are all mostly rotten...

It will require a lot of blood, sweat, tears, finances and time to bring this hull back to better than original condition...

Keep in mind the hidden additional costs of making sure the engine and drive are in perfect running order and fully maintained, if the electrics and all the sub-systems are up to snuff, and whether or not the trailer is in need of any attention...

If you decide to do a complete restoration, you will find tons of them going on throughout the forum to peruse and get some idea of what is in store and you can be sure the members here will help out any way they can...

Best of Luck,
GT1M

jigngrub · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

As others have said, there's more rot on your boat than meets the eye.

Take a look around at some of the different fiberglass restorations in this forum and you'll learn what needs to be done.

Here's a boat that the owner just thought he had a little soft spot in his deck that needed to be fixed:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/first-attempt-boat-repair-579280.html

dalephilbeck · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Check out Friscoboater.com. He also has a thread here on iboats as well as youtube.

dearmosd · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

i vote rip it up and repair. The boat was free so keep costs down but repairing your own floor, learn in the process and for the most part i didnt spend too much on wood/resin/fiberglass/foam/supplies....wait a minute now i think about, it adds up..... still cheaper than paying someone to do it, but i had fun and learned lots, it more time consuming than anything, but time is on your side then go for it, take lost and pic and ask lots of questions.

I vote "repair" if you really screw it up then junkyard

Teamster · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

If you want to repair it go for it,...But do it right,...

Besides it should still be cheaper than buying new,............

Nickypoo · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

One of my pet peeves on this forum is people discouraging others from their project. "Take it to the dump" isn't very helpful for anybody. Let him know what he's in for realistically and let him decide. Not everyone wants nor can afford a brand new boat.

Like many others have said you're in for a very involved project. Depending on your working speed, skillset, and resources, fixing your boat structure could take anywhere from 3 months to over a year. Be prepared to spend at least $1000 in materials. I agree with everyone else saying that all of your structure needs to be replaced.

It's a rewarding experience if you're patient and can tolerate long, overwhelming projects. You can save a lot of money, but for some people the time-cost benefit may not be worth it.

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

I agree. If it was free, and the engine is up to snuff, you can rebuild it and have a boat you KNOW is 100% ready to go for well under 3000$. I'm looking at around 1500$ to rebuild my boat and do some engine and outdrive maintenance. And it was not free. Even if the motor takes a dump in a few years. New motor or a rebuild accompanied with a full on proper restoration will mean you have essentially a new boat for a small fraction of the cost. Just a whole lot of work.

merckoutboard · Jan 31, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Just curious about what Seacast is and how it can be used in a boat restoration project? I saw some where some seacast being poured to make stringers and also to do a transom. What all has to be done prior to pouring seacast to make stringers? Does seacast need to be fiberglassed in? Thanks.

mwe-maxxowner · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Sea cast is sort of a liquid fiberglass product you can pour into a mold and it hardens and will never rot. But it is VERY expensive and really not much less work when there is as much work as yours needs. Its useful in doing a transom when the rest of the boat is solid because it can keep you from tearing the boat apart to replace and reglass the wood by cutting it out.

tpenfield · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Yup, seacast is often used on engine mount stringers and transoms as mentioned. the key is that you need to be able to hollow out the structural member from the top and pour the seacast in . . . kind of like poring a cement foundation of a house.

Many boats glass their stringers at the top and bottom, with not much in the middle. So, in a rot situation, you won't be left with a nice 'form' of the stringer that you can pour seacast into.

merckoutboard · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

To restore a 17' Bayliner what materials would I need and approx. how much of each? For example if I need 1708 - how many yards would I need if I had to redo the boat? Same with Chopstrand or whatever you recommend? I guess I kind of know the materials that I would need because I watched almost all of Friscos youtube videos but I don't know how much of this stuff to get. I'm thinking a 17' bayliner wouldn't need the amount of materials that his needed but maybe I'm wrong. What is the best way to buy large quantities of materials for a job like this such as a lot of fiberglass? I don't want to throw money away by buying way more fiberglass then I actually need and then have it sit around my house forever after a project like this. Is it possible to fully restore a boat, if I had a $2000 - 2500 budget or would it be impossible?

briangcc · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Well before determining a budget you really need to know what you're dealing with. So....start some exploration to determine just how bad the rot is. From reading everyone else's threads on the subject, worst guess is deck, stringer and transom. Drill some sample holes to confirm everyone else's suspicions.

Pics would help in determining what may/may not need to be done. Also, info on whether this is an Outboard or an I/O will help as well.

So...post up some pics to help out these guys as they can lead you in the right direction when repairing your Bayliner.

**My vote is for repair as you'll learn from the experience and you'll now that it was put back together correctly.

GT1000000 · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

"briangcc" is spot on...do some exploratory digging around and see what you got...
Get a free Photobucket account and load up some pics...
$2000-2500 is a very realistic amount to completely restore this boat to better than new condition...
IF the motor and drive are in excellent working order and the trailer doesn't need much more than basic maintenance...
Once you know what you are getting into, you'll be able to better figure out the amount of materials and their cost...
From my own restoration, I am already hovering around using 20-25 gallons of resin and it is only a 17 foot Bass Boat...
I'll prolly end up using more than that, since I will be restructuring the top cap...
Have fun and keep us posted...

81 Checkmate · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

GT1000000 - 20 TO 25 gallons OF RESIN...Thats 2 grand in just resin. Was that a fatfinger typo?

mwe-maxxowner · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Its 125$ for 5 gallons of poly resin. Its like 290 for 5 gal of epoxy. Either way not 2000$ just for resin. My restore is looking more like 1500$ for a 19' bowrider.

81 Checkmate · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

Ok - Not 2 grand....... But $1500 of resin. So that only leaves the o.p. with $500 for everything else.
I was just Curious as where GT used all the resin.

Im at 3 gallons on my 18ft resto. Maybe im not using enough?

jigngrub · Feb 1, 2013

Re: 1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

81 Checkmate said:
Ok - Not 2 grand....... But $1500 of resin. So that only leaves the o.p. with $500 for everything else.
I was just Curious as where GT used all the resin.

Im at 3 gallons on my 18ft resto. Maybe im not using enough?

It's $500 for 20 gal of resin.
Maybe you're not using enough glass either?
What does your layup schedule look like? Like this?:

Are you using the 2 layers of CSM and 2 layers of 1708 Biax?

1988 Bayliner <--- Need Help

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