1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

[bear_69cuda]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Some type of epoxy or JBweld for tank?

Looking good dude!

As far as the hole where water is coming from by the bilge pump... I would tend to investigate further... Can you post pics...

 

[Scottydawg]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

One more question, does anyone know what the best product would be to use to repair pits in an aluminum gas tank?

3 letters... TIG. Someone who really knows what they are doing can weld it if you are talking about few places.

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

You are doing excellent work here. I feel your pain on the cautiousness! It is hard to commit when you are doing something so unfamiliar. I have found that sometimes you just have to say screw it, I will live with what I have done and move forward. Its not like you could do that much worse than what the factory did...actually, I bet it would take more work to screw it up than to do it right. Make sense? Keep it up, and way to go on figuring out a way to round over the edges of your ply. I went to HF and bought one of their cheapy small routers for 15 bucks and a round over bit for 3 bucks. Although the way you did it was much more brilliant! Ahh, neccessity is the mother and all that jazz

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement Chris. You are probably totally correct about it being harder to screw things up. I think I am going to take your advice and stop over thinking everything and just do it. Thanks for reading

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Please help! Does any one know where I can buy Wood Flour? I do not want to have to order it online. I would really like to find I store that sells it. This Q-cell stuff that I have is worthless for what I am trying to do with it(make fillets). Can any body help? I live in Cocoa, Florida if that helps.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

hows it going man?need some updates pics whatever.

 

[Mark42]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Please help! Does any one know where I can buy Wood Flour? I do not want to have to order it online. I would really like to find I store that sells it. This Q-cell stuff that I have is worthless for what I am trying to do with it(make fillets). Can any body help? I live in Cocoa, Florida if that helps.

I read where the guys who build wood boats with epoxy often use wheat flour. I tried it and it worked well. Makes a nice thick white paste. Did it with epoxy and poly with good results.

You are doing a great job. Doesn't hurt to be cautious, but it does take time! Believe me, doing the hard top project with no example everything was done with tests first and caution after.... its taking me almost 2 years!

BTW, if you haven't taken the threaded rods out of the transom wood yet, someone here posted that heating them up will let them pull free of the epoxy easy. I know from experience that epoxy does soften when heated. So its definitely worth the try.

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

I read where the guys who build wood boats with epoxy often use wheat flour. I tried it and it worked well. Makes a nice thick white paste. Did it with epoxy and poly with good results.

You are doing a great job. Doesn't hurt to be cautious, but it does take time! Believe me, doing the hard top project with no example everything was done with tests first and caution after.... its taking me almost 2 years!

BTW, if you haven't taken the threaded rods out of the transom wood yet, someone here posted that heating them up will let them pull free of the epoxy easy. I know from experience that epoxy does soften when heated. So its definitely worth the try.

Thanks Mark, I think I will try the wheat flour idea. I can not seem to be able to find the wood flour anywhere. I do have a small amount of Cab-O-Sil but I am sure that it will not be enough to finish and I am looking for a cheaper alternative. I have heard that wood and wheat flour are not good to use under the water line but I figured it would not matter since it is going to all be covered in fiberglass.

I am also starting to realize that it is going to take me longer than expected. I thought that I would be able to get some fiber glassing done today but as you will see in my update I keep finding more things to grind and sand.

I have not taken the threads out in the transom yet. I made them a little long so I can just keep them in and use them to hold the new transom to the hull while it dries. I think I will try the heat idea also. Thanks for all your helpful advice.

 

[Mark42]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

I wanted to give credit to the member who suggested heating bolts in epoxy to get them out. It was Ericgreen, and you can read his comments in this thread:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=311954



Another place to get wood flour is the local high school wood shop. The power saws make a ton of dust that they usually vac up and have somewhere. Its usually free for the asking.

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Wow, I never thought of that I will have to check out the high school next to me. I am also going to take a look at Erikgreens thread and learn as much as possible. Thanks for the Help.

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Okay, so I took off work a little early today and thought that I would get some work on the boat done. I looked a little closer to the area in the bilge pump area and found that there was a piece of rotted wood under the gell coat that needed to be taken out.

Here are the pics of what I found.





I guess that means more grinding. I swear every time I think that I am ready to start putting this boat back together it seems like I find more to do.

I also found out that because I did not remove the top of the boat the new transom will not fit. So I had to do something that I did not want todo and cut more off of the transom. I cut about 2 inches off so that I would have room to maneuver the transom around with fiber glass on it to mount it to the back of the hull. Now I have plenty of room to put in the transom but I will have to fix what I cut out. Oh well, I guess that is better than having to remove and replace the top of the hull.

Here are some pictures of what I had to cut out.

Here is the section as I was cutting it out.



Here Is what the splash well/ transom looked like after I cut out the piece.



That is about all I got done today, but I am planning on working on it all weekend. It is kind of hard to plan these things because of the new baby but I hope to do my best. Wish me luck!

 

[Mark42]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do to get the job done. Cutting will get you where you need to be. Just save the piece, fleather the edges top and bottom and glass it back in. For the splash well, I would just paint, and not try to do gel coat unless you really want to. If you use a satin finish paint, the patched in part will not be as noticeable if its not a perfect job. Believe me, I know about not doing a perfect job. Perfect takes time and I want to use my boat. I work it until I say, "yep, I can live with that".

Every minute you spend working on it is one minute sooner it will be done. I found that even doing little jobs that take half an hour or so add up in the long run. It helps to have a work area where all the tools can be left out ready to go. Saves setup and cleanup time, which for me is a lot of time. I only do cleanup about once a week. I evaluate what tools and materials won't be needed for a while and put them away, do a cleanup, shop vac, and leave the work area clean for the next step.

Another thing I found helps a lot is to have a small piece of ply, about 2'x4' that gets laid across two trash cans and makes a great temporary/portable table I set up to paint on, glass on, mix on, etc.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Man the worst is over.Yes I still find all types of stuff to do to mine but Ill do them after I go for a ride.Get the pup floating then worry about perfect.Sometimes you need a boat ride to ease the week.

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Okay, after a couple of weeks of reading posts and planing I finally decided to grow a pair and just do it. The following two posts are what I got done this weekend.

First of all I finally got the transom cut, dry fitted (close enough to original). I figured that I would bed it with Peanut Butter anyway so I do not need it to be exact. I also found that there was a gap between the new transom wood and the hull (about a 1/4 inch in some places). This worried me a lot so I spent a week trying to think of a way to fix this issue. Finally I just decided to use a piece of mat with epoxy between the new transom wood and the outer skin of the hull. I then used the angle iron, nuts, and threaded rod that I used before to make sure that the transom wood was strait to close the gap between the hull and the new transom wood. To my surprise this actually worked great, I just needed to make sure that I did not tighten the nuts too much so I did not squeeze out too much epoxy.



I also made sure to use something on the threaded rod to be help keep them from sticking to the wood from the epoxy. I can not remember the exact name of the product that I used, but I got it at the auto parts store. It is basically like a stick of wax or lubrication of some kind to keep bolt from seizing up. I just rubbed this stuff on all of the nuts, washers, and threaded rods. By the way I used Epoxy mixed with Wheat Flour for the bedding material, ( Thanks Mark42!!!!). That is what you see on the bottom of the transom. After I took the picture I used a 1 1/2" plastic putty knife that I cut round to make a nice fillet, then I used my grinder and a 40 grit flap disc to smooth it all out. I did the same on the sides of the transom wood also.



I also got an idea by making a mistake and accidentally spilling some epoxy on my boat while I was mixing it. Just to explain, the top half of my boat is blue with large metal flake which I love. The only problem is that after years of neglect the clear coat is faded and majorly peeling off. I have been trying to think how I could fix this without sanding off the old metal flake while trying to sand off the old clear coat. To my surprise the Epoxy that I spilled made that area look like a brand new paint job. I could hardly even tell the difference where the clear coat was still there and where it had peeled off. I think that I will sand all the loose stuff off and just roll on a coat of epoxy to renew my blue metal flake. What do you guys think? Here is a picture.



Okay, there is more to this update, but I need to go eat dinner. I will post more of what I got done this weekend and more pics within the next hour. Thanks for reading!!

 

[lowkee]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Heya 88!

For some reason I thoguht you were already finished your restore. I have no idea why I thought that.. Now I'll have to play catch up on your thread!

Congrats on the transom. It was the first item in my agenda of the rebuild, as well. Things go much faster from now on. Okay.. not much faster, but at least you see stuff happening. The tear down was horrible just because the more you did, the less was there. From now on, everything you do, makes your boat more complete, which is a total kick in the pants and makes you want to do even more!

On the clear coat, I would suggest just spraying on a new coat (4-5 coats, really) of clear coat. You can buy a gallon for around $50-70 on ebay, which will get you a full 4-5 coats on your entire hull and topside. I'd hate to see you roll on epoxy only to find out it won't work and have to sand it off. maybe someone will chime in say they have done it. That flake sure looked nice with it, but I don't think (total guess, here) epoxy is the way to go.

What's next on the restore plan?

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Okay here is the rest of what I got done this weekend. I could not do any fiber glassing with the angle irons and threaded rods on the transom so I had to wait until the next day so I could let the epoxy and mat cure before I removed the bolts and angles. There was a gap between the wood and the hull with out the angle iron bolted to it so I needed to make sure it did not pull apart. When I returned the next day I removed the angle iron and threaded rods. The lube stuff that I used worked great to keep the epoxy from sticking to the bolts, they pulled right out. The next thing I did was to wet out a piece of 6oz. cloth over the transom and 3 inches over on all sides. The real reason I did this was for practice, but it worked really well on filling in some of the sharp angles. After that layer was put on I wet out a piece of 1708. The 1708 was really hard to work with because of all the different angles and corners on the transom. There were bubbles everywhere that there was a low spot or sharp corner. I took pictures of all this but apparently the camera did not save them. I did not want to put more than two layers on at one time and plus the bubbles worried me so I decided to wait until Monday to finish.

Monday morning I went to the boat and sanded the transom area so that I could wet out and lay the next two layers of 1708. After I sanded the area I vacuumed all the dust and then wipe the area 3 times with acetone and rags. Then I mixed up 12oz of epoxy and brushed it on the area. After the first day of fiber glassing I had learned what areas that I need to cut on the 1708 so that It would lay flat (kind of). So once I had cut the 1708 and brushed the epoxy on the area I laid the 1708 on the transom and positioned it to get ready to finish wetting it out. Here is a picture of the second layer of 1708.



After I got that soaked with epoxy then positioned the third layer of 1708 witch I had ready by the boat.



Once I had the third layer of 1708 brushed in with epoxy I then just needed to wait. The 1708 is pretty hard to work with and to top it all off I have to work out side, so I have to worry about rain sneaking up on me and it is like 95 degrees outside so the epoxy was getting too thick to soak in to the glass properly. That means that there are probably areas where the glass will not be totally wet. I guess I will just have to wait and see what it looks like the next time I go to the boat. The battery went dead on the phone so I did not to take any pictures of the final wet out but I will take some the next tine I get to work on her. But anyway I finally have started the reconstruction process. That is all I have for now but I am pretty sure I will Have a few questions after I get back from the boat the next time. Until then safe boating and good luck with all of the projects out there.

 

[chrishayes]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

good job man, are you finally having fun? Grinding sucks, building a boat is fun! Hurry up and we could race to the finish! Im telling you, that 1708 is a pain in the butt in a vertical position. Horizontal is just fine but man oh man is it a pain upright. Just wait till you start trying to get it to curve round the stringers Keep going on it and get some more pictures up soon. I want to see how you did! I am there rooting you on, even if I dont post everyday on your thread...

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Hey guys, I did not get to go to the boat today so I figured I could atleast try and get some of the stringers ready to put in the boat. Here is a picture of my 5 month old Daughter Keirsten helping me shape the transom knees for the two main stringers which will be the next thing I put in the boat.









I will try to get to the boat tomorrow, but if I do not I will get more of the stringers prepared at least, with the help of my Daughter.

 

[88BLiner]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Okay here come the questions. I went to the boat today after I got done with work to check on the transom. Well I do have to say that for my first time I think it looks okay but yes there are some areas with air trapped or bridging. And no I did not have my camera with me, I should bring it everywhere. But anyhow my, my two questions are as follows.

1. I am using epoxy not poly so can someone please tell me if there is an easier way to fix those bubbles or bridging in the fiberglass other than grinding it all off and starting over, that would be an extreme amount of wasted time and most importantly MONEY. Can I maybe drill a small hole in the bubbles/bridging in the glass and inject epoxy into it. (please tell me that will work?):redface:

2.My next question is will the 1708 be just as strong if I cut it into pieces as if I lay one large sheet over the entire stringer area? My original plan was to tab everything in with a layer of 6oz cloth. Then go over each stringer with 1708 but 3 inches past the edges of the 6oz mat. Finally I wanted to lay one big piece of 1708 over the whole thing, but because of the trouble I had with corners on the transom I can not figure out how to make that final full layer lay down with all the angles and corners. Will cutting the 1708 into smaller strips that will lay down be just as strong as a solid layer of 1708?

 

[d_saum]

Re: 1988 Bayliner Cobra 1800 restoration.

Hey man.. I just wanted to say that you are doing a great job and I love that you are asking a ton of questions. I'm about to start working on a boat that was given to me... and I'm terrified because I know it needs a transom and of course, most likely stringers too.. and I've never worked with fiberglass before, epoxy, etc, so it's good to see how well you are doing!

I can't wait to see it all finished! And yeah man... that is one sharp lookin boat!