new girl small issue, first boat!

[nikkievix]

a gentleman from graveles boat yard came by after i got done at the DMV (their card system was down so no useing the credit card) and looked over the hull and spent about 45 minutes knocking, tapping and banging on the transome and the bilge well under the engine. he went along the keel and the chines, jerked and bounced the outdrive looking for any movment then climed in and checked the deck. said only issues are the front motor mount bushing and bolt, the center and rear of the deck and the cracks in the exhaust elbow. otherwise it all checks out. said the transom is solid, the hull is in remarkable shape. just deck and stingers. i ran my plans by him about the temp deck.. said should be ok for the short term..but not for going on the ocean...which i don't plan on it..just gonna be a fresh water boat. atleast in replacing the front engine mount, i can replace the belt....kinda a stupid design, needs a new upper alternator bracket, can get that from the junk yard. today i'm gonna fix some electrical issues and test the fuel tank sending unit and gauge. tank was half full of some what clean good gas, but the gauge wasn't showing anything. so.. i know it's gonna be quite the project, but demolition will take place in october. hope i can get it ready for atleast 2 trips to san luis resevoir this summer. and yeah... i know...lots of spelling and grammar issues.

 

[gm280]

We don't count off for spelling or grammar. Otherwise I would be banned from this site.

 

[Woodonglass]

Your boat is 32 years old. There are very few boats of this vintage that are problem free in the Transom and Stringer arena. VERY FEW. IF, she was well taken care of and properly stored in the off season then there's a chance but..tapping and Pounding on the glass covered hull, in no way, is an adequate method for determining the condition of the transom or the stringers. Many Many members did the same thing and reported ALL IS WELL. When they did as we suggested and drilled Core Samples of the same...they discovered wet, rotting wood that required replacement. I'd Strongly recommend you drill core samples too. You might be surprised at what you find.

 

[Jcris]

Sadly, I have to agree with Woodonglass. For your sake I hope the guy from Graveles boat yard is right. There's a reason it was free, do some cores and then decide.

 

[nikkievix]

unfortunatly any progress on my boat is on hold for a few weeks.......did an oil change on my truck today, spilled a little oil, went to get some oil dry out of the garage and stepped in the oil, bouncing my head on the tailgate and comming down hard on my right arm breaking my wrist. yay......

 

[Jcris]

Damn!

 

[tpenfield]

unfortunately any progress on my boat is on hold for a few weeks.......did an oil change on my truck today, spilled a little oil, went to get some oil dry out of the garage and stepped in the oil, bouncing my head on the tailgate and coming down hard on my right arm breaking my wrist. yay......

Ouch, . . . That will put you out of boat prep work for a couple of months See . . . boating is dangerous

Perhaps you can focus on getting the title documentation straitened out while the wrist heals.

 

[nikkievix]

shortly after i had the card issue, i just got the cash out and went back to the dmv...an hour and $188 later.. i got a temp tag for the trailer and new titles should arrive within 7 to 15 days. so i am now the legal owner. but due to some insomnia and curriosity, i climbed in to the boat and flopped my big ole behind down with a spot light and stared at an odd spot going across the deck......it's a spot where the original deck meets a replaced deck. i opened my tool bag in the boat and pulled out my carpet knife and started to cut away at a small spot over the soft spot and guess what!! the plywood is dry, solid and no longer bonded to the fiberglass! that seems to explain why it only sinks between 1/8 inch and a quarter inch and doesn't cave when i bounce my more than 275lb self on it. come day break, i'll cut a few other places and see what i find. atleast i still got my left hand to work with. so...if this proves to be just a crappy deck install and the plywood under is good, couldn't i just squirt resin under the fiberglass and use screws to pull it tight again? it's a trick me and a few co-workers used when we would do laminate floor installs before a few medical issues sidelined me for life. i used to install hard wood, laminate, tile floors, linoleum, stone and carpet and would run in to issues in some houses that had water type radiant floor heating and the plywood would pull up from the wood tube tracks in the older houses..newer ones used plastic tracks. but we would cut half inch holes in the sub-floor sheeting and squirt liquid nails in and shoot screws in to pull the sheeting back down and level it out...only once did i knick a tube, but thankfuly it was a couple inches from the manifold and an easy fix.

 

[gm280]

First, sorry to hear about your broken wrist. That doesn't come at a great time. But then when would be a great time for anything broken?

You can repair your new-to-you boat however you like. It is after all your boat. But the preferred method is to remove the all flooring to actually see everything first and then plan a quality replacement that will last as long as you want to keep the boat. That would be my opinion. But others will chime in and offer their ideas I'm sure. I just like to do everything in a quality fashion so I never have to address it ever again. That is just me. JMHO

 

[Scott Danforth]

You should not have bare plywood under carpet. Most likely the boat has gotten a "deck-over" in its past where someone simply plywoods over a rotten deck. The deck would have been orignally encapsulated in fiberglass

 

[airdvr1227]

Before spending any money I would check to make sure the motor isn't locked up or the block isn't cracked, and the stringers and transom aren't rotted to nothing. People don't typically walk away from a boat that is usable.

 

[Jcris]

I've been following along and think you're getting some real good advise. Post some pic's so we can really see what's going on

 

[pckeen]

a gentleman from graveles boat yard came by.......said only issues are the front motor mount bushing and bolt, the center and rear of the deck and the cracks in the exhaust elbow. otherwise it all checks out. said the transom is solid, the hull is in remarkable shape. just deck and stingers.

​All this work is doable - and it sounds like you have the right attitude to get this done. But be cautious, as your inspector wasn't giving you all good news. What your inspector is telling you is that your deck and stringers need replacement. The deck doesn't rot from the top down, but from the bottom up - ie. stringers first. Most people on here, when they begin replacing stringers, end up replacing the transom as well. Read through some of the fiberglass restoration threads, and you'll get a good idea of what you are into.

​Ditto on the mechanical comments above - before you begin restoring this boat, make sure you have the mechanics taken care of. If you have a boat with a problematic structure, along with significant mechanical problems, you are better of selling it or parting out what you have, and putting the money into a different boat.
​
​Regardless of the condition of motor and outdrive, you have added value to this boat and trailer by getting a good title for it. You have a several options: a complete restoration is one. Another is a patch job. Another option, if your motor and outdrive are good, is to find a boat with a good hull and bad motor and then use yours as a donor boat. Another option is to sell it, and last of all, you have the option of parting it out.

​Good luck - if you decide to restore this, it looks like a fun project.

 

[roscoe]

Congrats on the boat and legal ownership.

Trailer looks good.

My suggestion on the boat, is to make whatever repairs/improvements you need, and use it for a year or two.
By then, you will know if you want to stick with boating, but will likely have 2' itis by then.
Then you can decide if you want to do the full resto and engine swap, or if you would be better off finding a bigger boat.

Those fiberglass rebuilds are nasty, and wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy, well maybe.

For the time and money spent on a full restore, and marine engine swap, you could likely buy a decent boat that only needs a few repairs.

Hope your wrist heals well.

 

[nikkievix]

the engine cranks over, draws fuel and even runs until the wire at the ignition switch comes loose again. transom is solid and in very good shape. i had a friend use a hole saw to cut a few 1 inch holes and i peeked insude and felt inside...all dry. i'm currently attempting to look for my digital camera since it takes better pix than my $15 phone, but the plywood doesn't move when some one walks on it, just the fiberglass over the plywood. the carpet was house carpet laid ontop of glassed plywood and i cut some fiberglass back over the "funny" spot and sure nuff...it's a replacment.

 

[nikkievix]

Congrats on the boat and legal ownership.

Trailer looks good.

My suggestion on the boat, is to make whatever repairs/improvements you need, and use it for a year or two.
By then, you will know if you want to stick with boating, but will likely have 2' itis by then.
Then you can decide if you want to do the full resto and engine swap, or if you would be better off finding a bigger boat.

Those fiberglass rebuilds are nasty, and wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy, well maybe.

For the time and money spent on a full restore, and marine engine swap, you could likely buy a decent boat that only needs a few repairs.

Hope your wrist heals well.

i've set my monthly budget to $200 a month for this as something to do and because i'm collecting SSI and SSDI and get about $1500/mo due to severe lymphedema in my legs which makes them all blown up to my waist, an unremovable ovarian mass the size of one of those annoying punch balloons and a few other issues. just wanting something to keep me busy during the day so i don't go any crazyier than i already am.

 

[kcassells]

Well considering 85% of your actual costs will be your labor {if you do a full blown rehab} you should have plenty of ways to then use up your $$ budget. Good plan. I'm sure after hearing of your physical considerations that at times the labor may be overwhelming. So pace yourself, keep active and ask away any questions you have. Let's get the pics going. Even a $15.00 phone will start the trick. Get hooked into photo bucket it's free. Makes posting a little easier but still a pia. Can't figa out why we can't post simpler but it works. The pics will really help us and also you when you go back to repair something. The integrity of the boat is the most important consideration.
Welcome aboard and get some none slip work boots!:joyous:
Kevin

 

[clemsonfor]

unfortunatly any progress on my boat is on hold for a few weeks.......did an oil change on my truck today, spilled a little oil, went to get some oil dry out of the garage and stepped in the oil, bouncing my head on the tailgate and comming down hard on my right arm breaking my wrist. yay......

Is this real!!! :-0. Must of been on smooth finished concrete? Hate to hear this.

 

[nikkievix]

Is this real!!! :-0. Must of been on smooth finished concrete? Hate to hear this.

it's real, semi smooth and an idiot wearing slippers......heh.....slippers+oil spill+idiot= pain.

 

[roscoe]

I'm not sure why people have issues with photos.
All I've ever done for the last 15 years is click on the camera icon or the upload icon, then either upload from my phone, computer, or a url.
Worked every time with 3 phones, and 4 different computers.

My ex has similar medical issues, along with ADD, fibro, insomnia, depression, irritable bowel, and chronic fatigue.
Hopefully someday she will get her SSI, as she can't keep a job and I can't afford to support her much longer.

So, pace yourself, and ask for help when needed.