78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

[Hurricane72]

We picked up a 1978 Hurricane Deck Boat, with a 115hp Johnson Outboard and Trailer for $500. The hull appears solid aside from some scratches, and the motor runs great but needs the gearbox rebuilt (estimate to repair - $350). We were told by the seller that he replaced half of the floor, but the other half needed to be replaced (understatement of the year!!! lol).

After tearing out all of the seats and carpet, we learned that the half he "repaired" was actually just a new piece of plywood placed over the existing rotted deck. And the carpet was about the only thing keeping you from falling thru the floor on the other half....all of the wood was rotted...and I mean ROTTED! Since the wood was literally falling apart, we tore it out (mostly by hammer & hand, it was so rotted!) and found that there is little else than some 2" x 4" that was holding up the rotted floor...no real stringers, no foam....apparently someone had already gutted it and created a makeshift floor...laid the carpet back down and replaced the seats!!

Now, the boat is literally empty and there isn't anything to use as a pattern for stringers or the floor. My husband is very handy (I'm writing this up for him!!), but I know this is WAAAAY beyond his abilities.....copying the original with new material is one thing...starting from scratch is another! I know we could dump the boat and sell the trailer & motor and recoup most of what we paid....but, in all honesty, we love the style of the boat and are considering having a new floor put in.

My question to all you boat restorers in internetland is, how much are we looking at and is it do you think it's worth it??
Is an old fiberglass deckboat worth restoring at this point???? Opinions..thoughts?!?!

(No pics yet of it gutted...too tired & too dark when we finished!!)


http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x367/wedtoasts/FloorwithHole.jpg

http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x367/wedtoasts/WholeBoat.jpg

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

Read this thread and then decide for yourself:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=471173&highlight=decker

 

[Hurricane72]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

Thanks for the link...I actually spent the past hour and a half reading thru it before posting here!! lol

I wish that guy lived near me...I think we'd have to hire him!! He's done an amazing job...and his project intimidates the hell out of us!!!!!

If we keep her, I think we're going to have to hire a pro!!!

 

[mxcobra]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

you have 2 options to get a like new realiable safe boat...
Option one shell out 20-40 grand and buy a new one
option two learn here on iboats how to rebuild your current boat, spend 1-3 hundread hours and 2-6 grand, and build youreslf a one off rig

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

Thanks for the link...I actually spent the past hour and a half reading thru it before posting here!! lol

I wish that guy lived near me...I think we'd have to hire him!! He's done an amazing job...and his project intimidates the hell out of us!!!!!

If we keep her, I think we're going to have to hire a pro!!!

I suggest you dress your husband up in a Tyvec suit, respirator, safety goggles, and gloves then put a grinder in his hands and tell him to get to it. Then you need to go in the house and start reading as many fiberglass restoration in the resto forum as you can. Just keep reading and studying the resto threads and how-to's and it will start sinking in. If that doesn't work, you take over the grinding and let the hubby start reading.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

If we keep her, I think we're going to have to hire a pro!!!

This kinda of work is pretty much DIY or forget it. A pro would charge many thousands of dollars.

 

[rickryder]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

If he's a handy guy I bet he can do it +1 on the pro job being way more than the boat is worth......

 

[Hurricane72]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

Thanks to all for the votes of confidence!! My husband insists that he can do this....it may not be the best job or last forever, but it will be a good learning experience and a "fun" (lol - I wonder if I'll use that word later!!) summer project!!

We're in the Chicago area, so right now we're stuck in the unpredictable spring weather - as soon as we have a chance we'll pull the tarp and post pics of what it looks like since he gutted most of the deck. I haven't seen it...he insists the stringers are solid and there is only foam lining along the sides of the hull. Anxious to see it for myself!

Worst case scenario is it turns into a moneypit and we keep the motor, sell the trailer and junk the boat itself...which was what I was ready to do yesterday!!

Oh, and I got a ballpark estimate from a local boat restoration/repair shop....$5,000 for the stringers & deck....$900 additional for carpet.

 

[rickryder]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

We will be happy to guide him thru any issues found on the boat I bet stringers and a deck will be around 1000 in materials.

He will have to core sample the foam to see if there is water saturation....might be dry on top but soaked next to the hull.... Stringers will need to be core sampled also to check for rot.....they mostly rot from the bottom up... We will be able to help more once the pics are posted

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

Oh, and I got a ballpark estimate from a local boat restoration/repair shop....$5,000 for the stringers & deck....$900 additional for carpet.

That "Pro" job will be a sloppy half arsed job where they steal your money and laugh about afterwards. We see that kind of stuff pretty regularly on this forum.

If you'll use Decker83s resto thread as a guide and start your own restoration thread here you will get the best job and a boat that you can be very proud of that will last for decades for a fraction of the "Pro" price.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: 78 Hurricane Deck Boat....Gutted...Now What??

All boats are money pits. A hole in the water we toss money into trying to fill up. But I have 4 so it cant be that bad. You husband can do the work as long as he measures twice and cuts once. I made several mistakes and cut boards to short. cutting too long and trimming later helped me out. Deck boats are cool and like many have told you the pride of doing it yourself will be worth it in the end. People here will encourage you when you start your build.