1992 Sea Ray 180 Floor Project Help and Advice needed

[MC_What have I done?!]

2 weeks ago I bought my very first boat, all my family and I could think about was being on the lake since we bought it.... well that excitement has turned into extreme disappointment! While getting ready to load the boat on the trailer after only our second time on the water with it, my wife stepped on the ski locker in the floor and the entire thing caved in on her. I did not spend a fortune on the boat to begin with but did spend enough expecting to have a water ready boat and not a major project. I have plenty of home construction and auto body experience but not so much with fiberglass. I am really hoping to get some advice on the do’s and don’ts of a floor restore project, and I know that so much has changed since the boats original construction so if there are new or different types of material that I should use please let me know. Thank you in advance for any tips/advice that the community may offer.

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

Also, you can just call me Matt. No need to type my whole display name out.

 

[chevymaher]

LOL I been there done that. I never fell through the floor but when it all has to come out it don't matter.

Watch Friscoboaters entire series on this sea ray. Just get some chips and something to drink. Watch it all. It will take a couple nights. He is a good teacher. Enjoyable to watch.

After that your ready for question and answer period here. It is a right of passage for the used boat as a first boat.

Yours is a nice boat and worth the effort to fix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kopF4muvF0c

 

[jbcurt00]

Lots of good info here:
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information
Including 1 of Jays rebuilds

be sure to read thru WoodOnGlass' How to rebuild decks transoms and stringers..

chevymaher check your pms

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

LOL I been there done that. I never fell through the floor but when it all has to come out it don't matter.

Watch Friscoboaters entire series on this sea ray. Just get some chips and something to drink. Watch it all. It will take a couple nights. He is a good teacher. Enjoyable to watch.

After that your ready for question and answer period here. It is a right of passage for the used boat as a first boat.

Yours is a nice boat and worth the effort to fix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kopF4muvF0c

Thank you for the link, it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow so it sounds like I have a YouTube date. LOL

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

Lots of good info here:
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information
Including 1 of Jays rebuilds

be sure to read thru WoodOnGlass' How to rebuild decks transoms and stringers..

chevymaher check your pms

Thanks, I’ll be sure to check out the info!

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

Seat boxes and the first chunk of floor out now so you can see how bad the stringers are, and they aren’t good.

I’m going to watch the videos and check the other links out to learn more but I’m pretty worried about how to fix the area by the bow seats since that was the front of the ski locker that caved in. Going to have to rig up some type of support beam for the 2 consoles to rip out the rest.

Also have to get a siphon hose to empty the fuel tank so I can get it out of the way, it’s about 3/4 full right now and don’t want to destroy something by dropping it.

Whats the the best way to get through the, I assume, gel coating on top of the flooring? My circular saw does the trick in most places but hard to get in tight spaces. Maybe the links you guys sent will help with that part also.

 

[steve_h7]

Don't panic. Know you're not the only one to have the exact same experience.
Measure the deck thickness and set the circular saw to that so it just cuts through. Cut out as much as you can and then you can use a Dremel oscillating type tool and a sawzall to get closer to the hull. Try not to cut through it but if you do it's not the end of the world. Take lots of pictures of how everything looks now. Take pictures of stuff you don't even know why you're taking a picture of it. Save it all... you'll be so glad you have it later on. Measure everything you can find. You'll need to take the motor out and make a support for the hull so when you remove the stringers, transom, deck, etc., it won't ruin that hull. It seems overwhelming now but know we've all done exactly the same as you're doing now... it's not impossible. Just take one small step at a time. I'll add another vote for friscoboater's YT videos... it's a wealth of information. :thumb:

Good luck!

 

[CrazyFinn]

Whats the the best way to get through the, I assume, gel coating on top of the flooring? My circular saw does the trick in most places but hard to get in tight spaces. Maybe the links you guys sent will help with that part also.

Check the links below in my sig to see what I ended up doing...

For getting stuff cut out of my boats, I used a combination of cordless circular saw, cordless reciprocating saw, and an angle grinder with a thin cutting disc. I also have a small air grinder with cutting discs for the really tight spots. And a small shovel to dig out foam...

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

LOL I been there done that. I never fell through the floor but when it all has to come out it don't matter.

Watch Friscoboaters entire series on this sea ray. Just get some chips and something to drink. Watch it all. It will take a couple nights. He is a good teacher. Enjoyable to watch.

After that your ready for question and answer period here. It is a right of passage for the used boat as a first boat.

Yours is a nice boat and worth the effort to fix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kopF4muvF0c

Just started the Vblog and it’s the same one I already started watching earlier today, I’m only about 8 videos into it but he did a great job recording his work, couple episodes whoever was holding the camera was really shaking and those are hard for me to watch but other than that he has already helped me get to where I am at, wouldn’t have even known where to start if it wasn’t from his videos.

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

Hello everyone, just a quick update. Flooring up to the console has been removed, as you can see the right stringer was completely gone, all that's left is the fiberglass shell. Planning on taking the side panels and trim off tonight, and to take the Bow seat boxes out.

I was watching Friscoboater Jay's VLOG and when he first started his demo he built a support brace for the Left and Right Console's but in his later videos he does not have anything supporting them.

Do I need to build some type of support for them to take the side wood panels off or will they be ok unsupported?

 

[Redtruck12]

Not to **** on your cornflakes but.... have you evaluated the transom yet? You’re almost definitely going to have to pull the engine. What’s your plan there?

 

[Scherfz1]

lol "lake ready" lol my god now that i am doing the same thing you are, if i go to spend big bucks on a boat, i will be bringing a drill, a bit, and a thing of resin LMFAO... i don't mind the project but i couldn't imagine buying a lake ready boat and having that happen. sorry for your misfortune! cannot wait to see you build

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

Not to **** on your cornflakes but.... have you evaluated the transom yet? You’re almost definitely going to have to pull the engine. What’s your plan there?

Honestly, I am still in denial about having to pull the motor , plus I don't have a hoist so I want to have as much done as possible before I have to pull the motor so that way I can borrow a hoist for the shortest amount of time as possible. Not to mention I literally have no more room in my 1.5 car garage so once I do pull the motor, I won't be able to back the boat into the garage to work on it when it is raining. I live in Indiana and this year we have had so much rain its like a freaking rain forest and I am trying to work on the boat every chance I get.

 

[Mad Props]

Matt, welcome to the forum. I agree with the above statement, the motors gotta come out. The good news is, pulling the motor is about a 30 minute job. Pull the drive, disconnect wire harness, remove hose clamps on exhaust coupler, remove throttle cables, unbolt mounts and out she comes.

You also don't need an engine hoist... Go to harbor freight and pickup a chain hoist and build a gantry out of 2x4s and 2x6s... Check out my thread or several others to see what many people do.

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

lol "lake ready" lol my god now that i am doing the same thing you are, if i go to spend big bucks on a boat, i will be bringing a drill, a bit, and a thing of resin LMFAO... i don't mind the project but i couldn't imagine buying a lake ready boat and having that happen. sorry for your misfortune! cannot wait to see you build

I completely agree, I wish I would have known 3 weeks ago what I know now about boat rot! I really struggled the first 2 days after I opened it up and saw the damage, I almost said screw it and put some new sheeting over the top of the existing just to have a boat for the rest of the year, but I knew it wasn't the right thing to do and I would only be making things worse for when I did have to replace everything.

It does suck doing this kind of project on a 1992 Sea Ray 180 when I could have bought something bigger/newer for the same money, knowing I had this kind of work to do and it would then be worth more in the end if I wanted to sell. I figure we will keep this boat for a few years though and I should still be able to get my money back out of it at least, once it is restored properly.

 

[MC_What have I done?!]

Matt, welcome to the forum. I agree with the above statement, the motors gotta come out. The good news is, pulling the motor is about a 30 minute job. Pull the drive, disconnect wire harness, remove hose clamps on exhaust coupler, remove throttle cables, unbolt mounts and out she comes.

You also don't need an engine hoist... Go to harbor freight and pickup a chain hoist and build a gantry out of 2x4s and 2x6s... Check out my thread or several others to see what many people do.

Thanks for the idea! I will check out your thread, I already have a chain hoist and plenty of scrap lumber that I save from equipment shipments at work!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Matt,

welcome aboard.

if you have an engine hoist, you can pull the wheels off the trailer, run the hubs on 2x4's and get the boat low enough to pull the motor over the transom

We have all been there. my first restoration had mushrooms the size of big-macs growing in the transom.

 

[Hab]

I hear you on the rain, its strange for those of us in the middle of the country starting a boat project in the year of biblical rain, like an omen or something. Hope it turns out to mean the fish jump in for a ride, instead of us having to work for em.

 

[Scherfz1]

I completely agree, I wish I would have known 3 weeks ago what I know now about boat rot! I really struggled the first 2 days after I opened it up and saw the damage, I almost said screw it and put some new sheeting over the top of the existing just to have a boat for the rest of the year, but I knew it wasn't the right thing to do and I would only be making things worse for when I did have to replace everything.

It does suck doing this kind of project on a 1992 Sea Ray 180 when I could have bought something bigger/newer for the same money, knowing I had this kind of work to do and it would then be worth more in the end if I wanted to sell. I figure we will keep this boat for a few years though and I should still be able to get my money back out of it at least, once it is restored properly.

well i knew about it and what to look for, at the same time i wanted a cheap project..... no longer have emphasis on cheap, but i got solid bones, a boat that is more than enough for the GF and I (she thinks differently like always), and it seems to be not as expense at most others builds. i wish i had some of these guy bank roll scrolling though builds lol

but milk crates work as seats for the mean time as long as it is structurally sound right?