1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

[NebraskaDan]

I found this forum on Google after I purchased a boat and found a few soft spots after getting it home. Guess I needed to do a bit more research on fiberglass boats as this is my first, all others were aluminum. It seems to be a small area and easy to fix compared to others I have seen on here and YouTube but Ill let you more experienced guys make that decision for me.

Here are a few pictures I took, it is soft about the first 5" from the engine right above the tank and about half way between the ski locker and edge by the engine.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

I don't want to Scare you but...Soft spots in the deck are usually just symptoms of far more serious issues below. She's 18 years old and if she's not been properly maintained and cared for she could have some wet and rotting stringers under that soft deck as well as motor mounts and transom issues. I'd highly recommend a thorough investigation of all the aforemention structures to ensure they are all structurally sound.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

I was afraid of that. This is my game plan so far let me know if I need to change anything.

I was going to start off with just tapping all exposed stringers I can find by the engine and in the ski locker. Then use a 1/8 drill bit to check any suspected soft areas. I was also thinking of using a longer drill bit to check the fome under the deck for water absorption.

I'm just not in a situation to start a major restoration until I move for work next Dec.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

Tapping won't tell you anything. Drilling them will. You need to drill down as low as you can get. The foam won't usually be wet on top. Use some 1 1/2" pvc pipe and cut some teeth in it and twist it down into the foam till you hit bottom. You'll then be able to tell if it's wet down low.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

After tapping everything sounds ok so I understand it won't tell me much. I will post more pictures tomorrow but so far it seems I still have a small area by the engine that is soft. I will start drilling and post pictures of what I find.

Thanks again for the input it is more than welcome.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

Well I drilled 4 holes in the sides of the ski locker and 6 hole underneath the engine area. All the wood shavings were yellow and dry like good wood should be. I'm starting to think I may have dodged a pullet but I have yet to check the foam. I know the deck needs replaced but I really hope I can get away with just doing the rear section if its all solid underneath. And i remember reading on another thread what to use to patch the holes I drilled but for the life of me I cant seem to find it.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

3M 5200 Sealant

 

[redneck joe]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

And make sure you use the 5200.


More than likely it is just that spot. I've found many times that when the bounce in just in front of the engine cover, it really is just that spot. That gets the most traffic in the boat, lots of kids sliding down off the cover, etc and that's where a lot of water goes in the course of boating. It runs to the engine cover, hits the 'dam' and sits there socking in the carpet longer that other placed.

That said, keep digging (and filling) until you know.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

The boat was used by the first owner to pull kids on tubes most of the time and from what I can tell that spot seems to be a weak point in the deck as it does not have the support underneath like the rest of it does. It seems the constant flexing would make the finish on the wood crack and start to take on water over time.

I really didn't want to but it looks like carpet is coming out this week and my new project starts.

Thanks again for the helpful posts.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

carpet is easy and a good change up to refresh a tired, but solid interior.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

I called a local repair shop that does deck repairs and they said it would cost me 1,000-1,500 for them to make the repairs. Now I have redone the deck on a Bass tracker and when I was done it seemed I could of taken it some place to get done for just a few hundred more than I spent on materials. This being a fiberglass repair I'm assuming it will be quite a bit more expensive so I starting to think about just having it done at a shop.

Is my thinking correct?

 

[greenbush future]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

It almost looks as though there is an extra layer of decking right in front of your engine area in one of your pictures. It could just be a support bulkhead or something. Does the floor appear original or does it look like it may have been replaced or decked over the original floor?
For $1500.00 I would think you could do the re-deck and save some $$ on labor. The only unknown is what else may need to be done. Add new foam (if yours is saturated) and some stringers and this job will easily get expensive, if the transom has rot (which is quite common) it may require even more $$ and effort. You won't know till you open that deck up and finish inspecting the rest of the boat. Let's hope it's a simple partial re-deck.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

wow i didn't know you could click on the pics.

Yes on the far starboard side it does look like there are two pieces of ply. How thick are they each and in total?

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

they are both 1/2", the one on the bottom is just a strip that was screwed on from the top. I take it the screws should not be there from the factory so the old owner must have noticed the weak spot and tried to strengthen it but ended up accelerating the rotting of that part of the deck.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

My advice is for your to remove the carpet and do a more thorough inspection of the wood on the deck to determine exactly where the water intrusion begins and ends. If it is indeed isolated to a certain section of the deck then we can guide you on how to replace only that section an possibly save you hundreds of dollars and lots of time and labor. Get the carpet out and lets go from there.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

Sounds good, and thanks again. Ill get the carpet ripped out in the next few days and post some new pictures. If I run the blower to get any fumes out would it be safe to use a heated knife or heat gun with a scraper?

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

A few new pictures. It looks to me that some of the wood was just painted or stained.

 

[NebraskaDan]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

ND, Maybe not the best glassin job but I think I see glass on most of the wood except that last pic. You can use a hot knife on the carpet. A Heat gun to soften it a bit works well too!!

 

[havoc_squad]

Re: 1996 Bayliner Capri Possible deck repair

A few new pictures. It looks to me that some of the wood was just painted or stained.

If you're going to rip up the carpet to fix areas of the boat floor, I suggest after you verify no stringer/transom rot you spend this time since the boat is somewhat gutted to shore up any "deficiencies in fiberglassing the deck or ski locker pit.

I did this with some PB mixed with some regular resin around the ski locker floor lip on my boat. It was solid and in good condition, but was looking weak or barely covered with fiberglass/resin.

"A few new pictures. It looks to me that some of the wood was just painted or stained." - This is the result of cheap glassing work giving bare minimum fiberglass and resin coverage to secure this area.

I would suggest you possibly grind this bilge area barely enough down to allow a layer of chop strand mat to be laid down and make sure it gets coated with enough resin.

If you only need to do a small section of the deck (doesn't run the majority of the deck in size), don't forget to cut in a manner that allows the new plywood edges to rest on solid surfaces. Most people cut the old plywood with half of the good plywood edge resting on the stringer, and the other half for the new plywood.

The key is the repair piece edges sit fully on top the stringers.

As long as the gap of the repair joint isn't bigger than 1/4 of an inch with old and new plywood sitting securely on the stringer top, you shouldn't have any issues. The gap you fill with PB and let cure, then continue on glassing the repair piece on the deck.