Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab
Hi,
You may be underestimating the amount of time required to get this boat in workable condition - this isn't a weekend or two's work. Merely stripping the wood, floors, and foam will be substantially more time and energy (and money) than you expecting. By way of example, take a look at the time spent on my Naden (simple tin boat) teardown at the link below - and I still have some more work to do. The Naden was much much much simpler than the boat you are considering. By way of example, once I get the Naden stripped, I expect to have $350 and 20 hours work into a boat that originally cost me only $100....and that is before I buy any wood, foam or paint.
In tearing this boat down, you have to remember it isn't simply a case of taking off some carpet and lifting up the floorboards. You have to: take the seats off, being careful not to damage them in the process. This may require some grinding of fasteners, which have probably rusted in place. You'll probably also find you have to do some rebuilding to the seat bases in the process, looking at the condition of them; you then have to get carpet off and up; you have to remove the doghouse and any trim that holds the carpet down; you then have to get the wood out and remove all the rivets/screws/fasteners - hopefully keeping the boards intact so you can use it as a template. This in itself can be a significant amount of work, especially if you find that screws/rivets are rusted in and have to be ground in or drilled out. I still have some screws that will have to be cut out or drilled out because they are so badly rusted in.
Once you do all that, you may find: gas in the foam; gas leaks (which means a new fuel system); the foam is rotten; you may find leaks you didn't expect or damage to the hull that wasn't visible to the outside. You are looking at the cost for the foam (which may be expensive). You will likely find that the stringers need to be replaced - and let's face it - if you have done all this work of stripping the boat, you will want to do the stringers. You will probably find that the transom needs to be replaced. The mounts on the motors may also be rotten - which will mean lifting the motor and replacing them. You can't (or won't want to), simply put in a blank plywood floor, as it will rot quickly - you will need to epoxy the plywood. Even if you just paint the top of it, you are looking at expenses for all of this. And do you really want to do all this work, just to do a half-****sed repair?
Expenses wise, you are looking at:
- plywood for the floors - figure 3-4 4x8 sheets - $120 assuming you use cheap non-marine plywood, and closer to $500 if you use marine plywood
- plywood for the transom - $25-$70
- epoxy or another sealant for the wood (around $100 plus, depending on what you buy)
- new foam - $200
- waterproof glues to laminate a transom - $20
- new stringers $80
- fiberglass and resin for the new stringers - $350
- new fasteners/screws $30
- paint or marine carpet/vinyl for the floor..... $80 (assuming you go cheap).
So ballpark for all of this - assuming you do a real, real cheap fixup, as fast as possible, is $1200. If you do this properly (new upholstery, new seats, new side panels, new carpet, new trim), you are looking $3500-$7000, depending on what you do. The ballpark figures are all numbers I worked out from looking at other threads (trying to work out what I may have to spend on a future restore). My numbers may be off - and may be low. Other more experienced users can doubtless correct me.
And after all of this......you will still have the old torn apart seats, ripped up side panels, to put back in....plus the mechanical problems.
Don't get me wrong - restoration is fun and worthwhile, and a great learning experience. But it only makes sense if, at the end of the day, you are going to have a better boat than you would get by spending a similar amount of cash.
If you look at the restoration threads, you will find that most of the boats being restored have something going for them. They either have real sentimental value, or a good working engine (plus a solid hull and all equipment). If you were saying that the motor and mechanical equipment was good, this would be worth the time and energy of a restore, but what you are indicating is that everything on this boat is basically junk. What is really scary from a restorers perspective is it clearly hasn't been looked after. The owner had some personal issues and simply stored the boat outside which means the PO didn't take care of it at all - so you can be reasonably confident that the boat wasn't properly winterized - meaning you may have rust in the interior of the engine, old oil used to run it etc. etc. etc..
The only thing that seems good on this boat is the hull - so to me, the only way this makes sense is if you do a total restore - ripping out the insides and the engine - and replacing with new or nearly new. But the cost of that will be $10-$15k.
If you are set on restoring a boat - I say go for it - but I would troll craigslist for a while until you find a boat that makes more sense than this one. If you are desperate to get on the water now, buy a cheap tinny and get out and have fun, then look for your 'long-term' boat at your leisure.
Having said all this - if you decide to go for the restore, post lots of pictures. There are a lot of good people with good ideas on this forum.
. So I think further exploration/diagnosis is needed before condemning the boat.
