Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

1996 Bayliner 2052 LS Cuddy

Hi Everyone, I bought my bayliner froma marine shop in Tracy, CA about 3 months ago. It was supposedly "expertly maintained" throughout the life of the boat by the original owner.

We got to enjoy it one weekend, and only one weekend before things started to go wrong.

First was the motor dying all the time, so I did an oil change, new plugs, new fuel pump, new fuel filter. Runs like a kitten now! (Mercruiser 5.7 Alpha one 239 hours.)

Come to find out that I need new risers and manifolds, ugh. Looking to tackle that next month.

On to the current task at hand, with our move to Seattle (next week) I wanted to get the boat looking better visually, So I decided while Im waiting to tackle the manifolds and risers, I would look at new carpet.

So I went to the boat today armed with my knife and staple puller and set off to work only to find this.....

What confuses me is, even though it looks like this, there are absolutely no even remotely soft spots. Floor is SOLID.

Should I sand her down reglass and cover? Don't want to keep her forever, maybe 2-3 seasons.

Boat Resto - Imgur

What do you think? Is this how its supposed to look when i rip up the carpet?

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Welcome to iBoats and – soon enough – to Seattle. There is nothing alarming in these pictures. what you see there is the resin coat Bayliner covered the deck with before carpting. They did not use fiberglass. That is why the resin is breaking and flaking since there is not strength added to it. Poly Resin without glass is so brittle and has no strength to it.
With that said, grab a small hammer and go through the whole deck. You want to hear a solid sound with each tap like what you hear when you tap your drywall and hit a stud. The ski locker opening is a good inspection point for rot special from underneath the deck. If all checks out, sand the deck and recoat it with resin or through a layer or two of CSM (up to you since you only looking to keep her for 2-3 seasons) before re carpeting. Best of luck

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

^^^+1 Also, don't feel bad, all elbows (risers) and manifolds in boats used in salt water usually need to be replaced every 5-7 years (give or take) because they rust. That really doesn't have anything to do with how well it was or wasn't cared for. The only way to really prolong their life is to flush the motors with fresh water after every use and or install something like this:

http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/prodbull/NS_engine_flushing_kit.pdf

Enjoy your "new to you" boat. The 5.7L is a pretty bullet proof motor. My last 2 lasted me 22 years and were still going strong when I put in 2 new ones. Other than annual tune ups remember to change the water pump impeller (in the drive unit) every 2 years or now if you don't know the last time it was done, engine oil and filter at the end of every season and every 50 hours on regular or 100 hours on synthetic oil. Drive oil at the end of every season and every 100 hours. Here is a link to some misc. Mercruiser info you might find helpful going forward:

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...cellaneous-mercruiser-information-329915.html

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Doesn't look like a factory deck to me, looks like you got sloppy seconds and a previous owner didn't know what he was doing.

Check and see if that deck has another layer of decking underneath it, double decking is a favorite slop job with a lot of fiberglass boat owners so they can get rid of their rotting boat quickly.

The checking (cracking) in that decking says it's been down there for a while, wasn't sealed when it was put down, and has had water intrusion problems.

You deck can feel solid but still be rotting, especially if there's another deck under it and the urethane floatation foam that supports the deck will also give you a false sense of solidity.

Best way to tell if your deck is rotting is to pull up a piece and look at the back/bottom of it... have a crying towel nearby when you do this.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

I don't see anything that leads me to believe that you have any issues with the deck. Looks pretty typical for a Carpeted Deck. Sand her down and use Resin and Mat or Epoxy to seal her up and carpet it if thats what you want to use. Don't Assume that it's bad. If you find no softspots then go with it.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Yeah, unless you have a reason to think its unsafe or carrying a lot of extra weight... (pay close attention to how it sits in the water, trailers, etc...), I wouldn't go hunting for problems in a 96 bayliner that you only intend to use for 2-3 seasons...

When I first saw your pictures, I thought that your deck looked far better than the rotten mulch that most people find under their carpet... (including me...twice).. :facepalm:

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Pmccraney said:

Yeah, unless you have a reason to think its unsafe or carrying a lot of extra weight... (pay close attention to how it sits in the water, trailers, etc...), I wouldn't go hunting for problems in a 96 bayliner that you only intend to use for 2-3 seasons...

When I first saw your pictures, I thought that your deck looked far better than the rotten mulch that most people find under their carpet... (including me...twice).. :facepalm:

Click to expand...

Some people can turn a blind eye to stuff like this, unfortunately I've never been able to do that. I'd have to lift the lid (decking) to Pandora's box to see what lies below.... is it just stringers and foam???... or is it the much dreaded "deck mulch"???

Put a belt sander on that decking and see if there's any fiberglass under that carpet glue, if the isn't any glass that isn't a factory deck.

Riding around on the water in a rotten boat is a lot like loading up the wife and kinds in a car and heading down to florida to Disney World on bald tires.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

I'm going to go tackle it today.

There does look to be glass under the glue. I can see some small fibers in the rear.

I doubt the old owner did anything with the deck, but then again, maybe im wrong.

From what I can tell with peering under the deck where I can (ski locker, engine area etc) It looks like one solid piece, no dual layering.

I'll take more photos today and update as I go along.

But, most of all; Thank you for your support and insight! I truly appreciate the time that you all took out of your day to help me out, it's awesome to know that there is a group of people who will selflessly lend advice when asked.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Even though my view may have seemed pessimistic, I do hope it's all good for you. Without being there and with only pics to look at it's not that easy to tell.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Well, there are certainly much worse decks that have been seen on this forum. . . if it is solid like you say and the 'stuff' below it is good too, then don't fix what ain't broke.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

So True^^^.

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

Looks like the factory floor in my '97 Larson when I pulled up the carpet. My boat did not have glass under the carpet. The wood on my deck looked like it was treated with resin, but there was no glass on the top or the underside. The pictures you posted look exactly like my deck when I tore out the carpet. (I had mostly intact deck, but wet foam, so I pulled the deck out, too.)

It does not surprise me that a Bayliner from the mid '90s wouldn't have a fully glassed deck. I wouldn't tear it out unless you have some clearly bad spots.

Jim

Re: Probably in over my head, but im diving in anyway.

My 80's Bayliner used no glass in the resin on the wood of the sole,just a thin layer of gelcoat. Abovedeck, it's all fiberglass and gelcoat, but belowdeck they didn't glass anything that was going to have carpet or headliner on it.