My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

[Signal 20]

I know I already kind of started a thread about this, but I figured I needed an "official" resto thread, so heres the start of it. This is my 1981 Malibu 16'8 Center Console boat with a 1981 Mercury 80hp Thunderbolt outboard. I have plans for a complete deck replacement, possibly redoing the front casting deck, building and plumbing livewells in the rear compartments and restoring the center console. Also hopefully including some nice paint and repainting the deck as the white with brown splash paint job is hidious.

This is my first attempt at rebuilding or restoring any kind of boat so I will be asking for some advise along the way

1981 Mercury 80hp Thunderbolt outboard, ran ok when I tried it on the water once, however waterpump is bad and will need replacing, it stopped peeing water about 100 yards from the ramp

Here is the deck with the horrible brown splash paint.

Front deck of the boat with the casting deck that I would like to redo

This is what I found under the center console, the floor is very soft and I could probably put my foot through it if I stood in the middle of the soft spot

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

This is the center console, sorry I did not take pictures when I pulled it out

This is the nice rotted shelf in the center console that I will be replacing

Sorry job at patch work on the hull, looks like someone hit bottom acoupe times

Horrible job at rod holders that had open bottom, so rain and water just sat in the foam for years....will be patching this

this is really the only proof that the boat is a Malibu, however I cant find ANY info about the boat or manufacter online



The goal I have is to have the boat on the water and reliable by July 1st which is opening day for scalloping season....I will keep this updated as I move along in progess

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

So i have not been able to get anything done on the boat since I made the thread due to a combination of being sick and having a 6 week old child now however I just couldnt take the wait anymore so I went out into the garage and with a 3" hole saw in hand I drilled a nice 3" hole right into the center of my large soft spot under the center console and looked inside to see alot of wood rot including what appeared to be a rotten stringer and I also saw a good amount of water sitting down in there

hopefully I will be able to cut more of the deck off in the next couple days and get a better view. I picked up a resperator, diamond blade for my angle grinder and a 36grit grinding wheel.....I will have more pictures coming in the next couple days

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

I got out into the garage and got alittle more work done today, trying to limit myself due to still being pretty sick, but I am getting over it

Got some of the rotten floor cut and pulled up, I must say the $25 Dewalt diamond blade for the angle grinder was worth it, that thing cuts through fiberglass like a hot knife in butter.

I must say that after pulling up some of the decking I was overwhelmed at the amount of rott and settled water under there. Any kind words of encouragement would be nice right now

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Do a search for the ten stages of boat building. I think you are somewhere in the denial stage. Keep at it man!

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Got some more work done on the boat today, took advantage of the nice weather here in Florida today and cut some more of the deck out....

So much wet rotted wood

 

[boatflipper]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

You are on the right track!! I myself am tackilng my first boat restore so im right there with ya! Keep the pics and progress coming!!
boatflipper

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

I figured I might want to make a post with some updates before you all think I gave up. I've been pretty busy but I got acouple hours of work done on the boat today.

This is what I found when I started cutting into the box that was acting as a step on the rear of the boat. It was next to the livewell so I'm guessing the livewell had a small hole somewhere and leaked into this compartment.

A good amount of water that was trapped inside this compartment for who knows how long

This is the progess of removing the deck so far...

Its coming along, not really as fast as I would like but I'm making progess. I also managed to trash my first Tyvek suit today. Just a little note to anyone doing this for the first time like me. If your suit has a hood, USE IT!!! I had not been using it and man does my neck and forehead itch

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

So I need some advice, I have been spending many nights awake thinking about how I will rebuild the deck and compartments and I cant decide what I should do for the gas tank and tilt and trim motor storage...can anyone point me in the direction of some ideas?

 

[archbuilder]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Nice looking project! I have spent hours pondering the built in tank vs the removable ones. I finally decited to go with the removable ones since I already owned them. But someday I may upgrade to the built in when I have some extra $$ Keep up the great work!

 

[Amsoil Man]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh My! Boat looks very similar to mine. Good luck with the restore.

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh My! Boat looks very similar to mine. Good luck with the restore.

I checked out your project boat, it does look pretty similar to mine. I was hoping it was the same and you could give me some info considering I cant find anything about my boat online but good luck with your project I saved it to my favorites and I'll be checking your progess

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Here are acouple pics from this weekend, I cut most of the front casting deck out.....now the plan is to start removing all that foam....i cant wait

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

You got your work cut out for you for sure. I was in the same boat as you are, not literally of course. All my stringers, foam and transom was rotten, waterlogged junk. But taking my time I tore out all the foam and stringers. I took my cap off and tore out my transom. The main thing is take your time. It seems overwhelming at first, but once you get at it you'll be aight. Take lots of pictures to document and have fun. From what I can see it's a good looking boat and worth the work. Now I dont' mean to discourage you but check that transom good. It may be rotten as well. Usually if the stringers are bad, then the transom may be as well. Take that motor off and flip when you do your bottom repair. It will make it so easy to work on. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. Lots of pics. And dont be afraid to ask stuff. I couldn't have done mine if I didn't get the help on here.

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Heres an update on the progress as of 02-05-10. I have been working on removing all the wet waterlogged foam. I have been trying to only spend about an hour or so every other day so I dont get burnt out on working on the boat.

This is after all the wood, fiberglass and foam was removed from the casting deck. It actually looks pretty clean under all that wet material.

This is a pic of how the deck and foam removal is going. I have removed most of the foam from one side and tomorrow I will start on the other, as you can see I have alittle more deck removal to do in the rear of the boat..

Heres just a quick pic of the boat how its in the garage. As you can see its a perfect fit, which is why I'm justifing this project in the first place.

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

You got your work cut out for you for sure. I was in the same boat as you are, not literally of course. All my stringers, foam and transom was rotten, waterlogged junk. But taking my time I tore out all the foam and stringers. I took my cap off and tore out my transom. The main thing is take your time. It seems overwhelming at first, but once you get at it you'll be aight. Take lots of pictures to document and have fun. From what I can see it's a good looking boat and worth the work. Now I dont' mean to discourage you but check that transom good. It may be rotten as well. Usually if the stringers are bad, then the transom may be as well. Take that motor off and flip when you do your bottom repair. It will make it so easy to work on. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. Lots of pics. And dont be afraid to ask stuff. I couldn't have done mine if I didn't get the help on here.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I am really hoping that the transom is good because that is the only intimitading thing to me right now. In the beginning I was extremely overwhelmed when I started cutting into the deck and saw that everything was soaking wet and so much rotted wood, but now that most of it is gone I am starting to feel really good about it, now all my thoughts are on how I will rebuild it and where hatches and livewells will go now haha. I have been debating building a OB motor stand and taking the motor off, I just havent found the motivation to do it yet haha

 

[fish46]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Signal 20 i have a 16' Dart boat and it looked just like your boat. i restored the deck, cast deck, live wells, and made tunnle. if i knew how to post pics i would so you could see.

 

[Signal 20]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Signal 20 i have a 16' Dart boat and it looked just like your boat. i restored the deck, cast deck, live wells, and made tunnle. if i knew how to post pics i would so you could see.

I would love to see the pictures, I have been unable to find any info at all about my boat. The most I know is it was made by "Dixie Fiberglass Products" in Winter Garden, FL. anyways, you can use picturetrail.com....its free picture hosting and its what i use

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

Here's a link for an outboard motor stand, if your interested. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=266975

Don't be intimidated by any means. One step at a time. I was feeling the same way as you but it all came out okay. Your better off making sure everything is sound now while you have it apart. Your de-construction looks really good so far. Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming. You doing great.

 

[fish46]

Re: My 1981 Malibu 16'8 CC restomod

I would love to see the pictures, I have been unable to find any info at all about my boat. The most I know is it was made by "Dixie Fiberglass Products" in Winter Garden, FL. anyways, you can use picturetrail.com....its free picture hosting and its what i use

still trying to upload pic