88 Bayliner Trophy 1710 - wet foam and ...?

[Arawak]

@Corjen1 welcome! Seems that not a lot of the 17' Bayliner centre consoles of this era are around. Lots of Capris, which I think have the identical hull but a different insert.

 

[Arawak]

So, it's been miserable weather here in southwestern Ontario. Cold, rainy, and overcast. I went out to the garage this morning to scrape out the unset marine filler. Removed most of it from the top, but when I tried to scrape it out of the front I found that it had hardened up. I had the heater trained on this part for a few hours yesterday and it seems that it kicked it off. Garage might just have been too cold.

Then I drove over to my father's place to work on removing the rubrail. What a huge pain. Here's a closeup of one of the rusted steel rivets.

I picked up a cobalt drill bit because the HSS ones were having little effect. However, it was hard to keep the bit centered... as soon as it slipped over off the steel it would bite through the soft aluminium of the rubrail. In the end, we figured out a way of using the drill, plus a dremel, and then a hammer and nail punch. Makes a mess of the rubrail, but it's the only way i can find to get it off. Hopefully it will be in good enough shape to put back, if not I'll have to spring for fresh aluminium

We managed to get the back 1/3 off:

 

[Corjen1]

SW Ontario Huh....where at? I work for Bombardier, Flight Test...spent a few very old winters in North Bay on the 415....several spring and summers in Montreal... and a very long winter in Toronto...

 

[Arawak]

I'm in London... halfway between Detroit and Toronto. Luckily, I'm 45 minutes from Port Huron Michigan, which makes it handy to order stuff from the US.

 

[Arawak]

My dad (the brown guy in the picture above) spent the morning with the dremel, drill, and a nail punch and voila, no more rub rail! That was easy! [for me ]

Next task, remove engine. I have all the cables and wires disconnected, and dad built a motor stand. Handy guy my father.

That will probably be Wednesday, weather permitting. I'll disconnect the fuel hose, scupper hoses, and the hoses to the through hulls same time.

Then on the weekend, I'll recruit four or five helpers to lift the cap off. Plan is to drop the tongue of the trailer right down, lift, and carry forward. No chance it will be that simple

 

[Arawak]

Rented an engine hoist and got the FrankenChrysler off:

 

[Arawak]

Then we got the last of the various hoses disconnected or cut and used the hoist to lift the back of the cap.

 

[Arawak]

This gave me my first look inside and at the transom. I've seen worse, but the transom is going to have to be replaced. The wood at the top is starting to show decay, and it's soaked and dark. In a way, I'm glad. Now I don't have to decide whether to keep it or replace it.

Looking further inside, I can see how the foam got soaked. It looks like Bayliner just painted over the top of the foam compartment. The wood is quite rotten.

 

[Arawak]

So, now that the cap is separated, the next task will be to remove it. It's quite heavy... I'd guess maybe 400 lbs. I'm going to need at least 6 big guys to lift it off.

The plan is to drop the tongue of the trailer right down to the ground. Then hopefully we can just carry it forward without having to lift it ... the tub should be able to clear the bow. Then, once I get the railing off, flip it over on its back.

I can see already that there will be bad words said when I try to put this back together.

 

[Arawak]

So, dad and I decided that getting 6 people together to lift this off was not going to be ideal. We bounced some ideas off each other and in the end decided to build a boat cap hoist in his backyard (aka "the marina").

Next, we'll rig up a couple chain hoists, lift the cap clear, and then drive the trailer and hull out. Stay tuned.

 

[Arawak]

Cap is off, hull is in the workshop ready for teardown.

 

[Arawak]

Once we got it in the shop, I had to tear into it it a bit.

 

[Arawak]

As suspected, the foam is totally waterlogged. Also, the plywood covering it is totally rotten up to the bulkhead. Strangely, the stringers *look* like they are ok. I'll have to drill to be sure, but they look and sound good when tapped with various things.

I hear a lot of bad things about Bayliners, and there's certainly some shoddy work here. However, the hull is very solid with no flex, even on a roller trailer. All the wood that matters is in reasonably good shape, 26 years later. I've worked on 15 yr old boats in worse shape.

Anyway, lots of room for improvement. I have to remove all the foam and rotten wood to see what I've got. The transom and both bulkheads have enough rot to justify replacement. I think I'll be adding at least one more bulkhead, just to feel good about it. I'm going to pull the tank, wash it out, sand and paint it. Might foam it in underneath, depending on how much room there is... it's a tight fit.

 

[Arawak]

I have a question. I hate where the gas cap is. It's a PITA at the pump with the motor in place, and would be a nightmare if I ever had to refill in rough seas.

Right now the only advantage is that you can look right down into the tank, but i'm not sure how much that's worth. Can I move it up and over, on the gunwale at the stern?

 

[Rickmerrill]

I don't see why not. Might leave the old one, if the guage ever went out you could use a stick to check fuel level (and you can brag you have two). Make sure to use marine fill hose, it's not cheap.

 

[nurseman]

Cool boat, mind if I follow along?

 

[Arawak]

@nurseman ... welcome!

 

[studioq]

I subscribed.. I'll be along for the ride..

 

[Arawak]

So while I was stuck at work, dad was working hard on my project. A lot of the foam is out of the stern compartments. Look at how much water is sitting there:

 

[Arawak]

My theory that the stringers might be okay is unravelling. If you look at the photo below, you can see water seeping from under the tabbing: