93 Crownline 250; she 'was' dirty, but now shes clean and SPLASHED!!

[jbcurt00]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Carp, I suspect GWPSR & son plus Zool will all be along shortly to help w/ the pending work on a big ole boat.

Time to pull the engine & see what's what & what's gotta come out........

 

[zool]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Jeez, you got my kinda luck..we should go bowling lol..(inside joke)

The good news is the center stringer is generally accessible throughout, its the stringers that support the head and galley ledger that leads to a total demo....if the drivetrain is good, you could replace the entire center stringer, and sister the next outer layer with new wood, and get yourself a decade...that's just the optimist in me coming thru...imo, the hull has nice lines, get her on the water, with a big bandaid

 

[redneck joe]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

pull the engine and call the Russians.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Wow . . . this looks worse than your original pictures. I am wondering if this boat spent some time partially submerged. :noidea:

 

[greenbush future]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Well BD I was really wishing you were in better shape than the Bayliner days, but you are going down the same road ya just went. I think the old saying "you get what you pay for" might apply here. Time to do a full assessment and make a big decision. This could be just another BD with perhaps better cosmetics. The bones and power plant will tell you which way, that and your wallet I guess. Repairing will cost you some time and $. Did you intend on buying a project or a boat to use? Funny, I have one of each, that way I can do both, and still get out on the wet stuff. If you decide to part it out, you may be able to get your investment back. That's if that power plant is in decent running order. I give you credit though, when you go, you go big!!I hope you report back with some good news, it's about time for some eh??

 

[briangcc]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Pluses - great lines, serviceable drivetrain, relatively newish.

Minuses - bit of demo and repair needed. But this could be a plus as some of the items you looked at and were iffy about now have a reason to be replaced - I'm referring to flooring/carpeting/cabinets/etc.


Just looking at the boat, if it were in my driveway I'd actually be working to restore it. I'd look at it this way...Purchase price is what, $2k, another $3-5k in repairs so you have a nice looking boat with a good drivetrain for 7k. Try getting into a boat this size for $7k and not expect to do the same type of repairs or even worse.

I like the lines of this one over the Bayliner.

Go for it!

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

My additional 2 cents . . . I might be up to 6 or 8 cents total . . . definitely a fixable thing and could be done much better than original. Big question is if you can get good access to everything without removing the top half of the boat (cockpit liner/sole). Hopefully you will be able to.

 

[jfas]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 "The not so dirty" resto/refit thread

BD,

Well darn, I was really hoping that this one was in much better condition. I agree with the above posters, this same boat on a trailer around my parts is going for 15k-18k all day long. If you're up to it, I think you could end up in the green. That is assuming that there is not much more damage.

JFas

 

[bigdirty]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Well guys, I'm tearing into it tonight (just took a break to eat dinner and quick post this) and I'll see what I end up with.. And ya, a boat such as this in ready to run condition is $10-$15k up here generally.. so if I end up $4000 in this thing it could still be considered a 'good deal' of sorts.. and maybe I'll even get to splash it this season.. The rough plan at this point is to tear out all the rot I can, without full on gutting the cabin.. I'll post some update pics later on... ok.... back to the yuck! :laugh:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

well that sucks

 

[bigdirty]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

There is so much dirt in here I think i may be growing potatoes.. or something.. stringer is 'almost' still wood up at the bow area..



and the stringers behind the aft cabin bulkhead (heading under the fuel tank) do not exist anymore.. total mush and dust. Bulkhead is worse than the last boat.. :lol: water dripped out when i poked it with a pry bar...





So that is pretty much the death blow.. she still floats somehow, but I cant run this boat in its condition. Motor and fuel tank are getting ripped out this weekend, and then some more demo is required as I dont really trust that the engine mounts are much good either...

Sure, it was a $1500 boat, i wasn't expecting perfection.. but I (foolishly?) had SOME hope it would be useable, at least for a season.. guess that was a pipe dream. :cold: To me this looks like a good 10 years of rot, partially due to poor build/design, made worse by very ignorant and neglectful previous owners. I guess the shower drain hose cracked some time ago, and the cabin bilge pump didn't work for at least a few years, due to a broken wire.. and it was all quite hidden and likely would have gone unchecked if not for the p/o loosing it, and my stupid self walking into it... either way, once again, i have a rotting hulk in my driveway. :facepalm:

Wasnt doing anything else with my life anyway...

 

[bigdirty]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

This is going to be interesting... that motor is TIGHT in there... and it looks as though the fuel tank was installed before the top cap/super-sturucture was attached to the hull. Meaning I will have to cut away some of the upper floor and deck to remove it. (basically the 5" in front of the hatches, right up to the small wall/step that the helm bench sits on) I'm planing on doing as clean a cut as possible, then reattach the piece after, likely with screws/aluminum plate under it and seal it with 5200...

Even with all the accessory's stripped off the front of the motor, it would be tight to pull the motor out with the tank right there, PLUS the fuel tank is a V on the bottom, and the v extends down lower than the engine mounts.. which by the way I did a few test drills into, and surprisingly got half decent wood shavings out of. I'm thinking even if the first 6" of them is rough, I'd have access to repair it once the tank and rotted stringers and dirt are out of the way.

Guess I'm into it now, might as well carry on and push forward.. Built some support structure under the hull and added a few more keel blocking piles today, hoping to snag two more proper stands from a friend tomorrow to replace the 4x4 pieces at the front. Also going to add some 2x6 further in towards the keel, running the length of my makeshift cradle. Further up it has very little flex as the hull v gets deeper and narrow so I think i'll be ok when it comes to glassing in all the repair/new pieces.

So now its rip tear and hack her apart, pull tank, and see what i can do with her.. gona shot for tank out, and all the dirt/rot cleaned out by Monday...

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

The more pictures that I see of this boat, the more that I am thinking it spent some time with serious amounts of water inside the hull.

Your comment about the fuel tank going in before the cap/cockpit liner was put on is most certainly correct, as that is how most '2-piece' construction boats are done. It would help me, and perhaps others, visualize the engine and fuel tank proximity and confinement if you have some pictures to post from a longer range, rather than the close-ups posted so far. There is perhaps a way to get the fuel tank out by removing the engine and then the bulkhead, and then pulling the fuel tank to the rear and rotating it up. . . but a few wider angle pics would help.

When you get to the point of having the engine and fuel tank out, you should probably have a serious look at the transom and consider a re-do on the engine mounts to make them 'thru-bolted' instead of 'lag bolted'.

Also, the supporting structure that you added outside the hull looks good, but I would take it one step further and add a similar support along the chines for the hull. Make sure the support 'beams' have a fair amount for the load versus the the blocks and the boat stands that the boat was originally set upon.

Anyway, huge project (and I thought that I was ambitious) . . . the prize in all of this is that you could do the reconstruction and end up with a boat that is worth $15-$20K that will last for decades. :thumb:

 

[greenbush future]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

You certainly have the energy to do this, it's just bigger than many of the resto's I see here. I hope this project turns out well for you, the potential is there, keep us posted.

 

[bigdirty]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

The more pictures that I see of this boat, the more that I am thinking it spent some time with serious amounts of water inside the hull.....

Oh, no doubt due to the anchor rope hole up front (drains into hull, below decks) and the head shower draining into the hull, which had a cracked hose, AND the cabin bilge pump that likely didnt work for some time.. this boat was wet, for a long time. To top it all off, there was no drainage from/between the cabin to the rear engine bay bilge, then factor in 20 years of use, and stringers de-laminating bit by bit, it was only a mater of time...

Anyway, huge project (and I thought that I was ambitious) . . . the prize in all of this is that you could do the reconstruction and end up with a boat that is worth $15-$20K that will last for decades. :thumb:

Yup.. but reality is, I'm in it $2000, maybe another $1000 for materials to repair the rot.. Like I said, seats and cosmetics can wait till the winter... and there are 2 of these boats listed for sale locally, one is $18k, the other is $16900 asking price, NO trailer. I think those prices are a bit high, but its likely the sellers factored in some room for haggling, and we all know cash talks. Still, I feel confident when fixed she would be in the neighborhood of $10k value, and I will have pics and PROOF the boat is solid if i do sell it at some point.

 

[bigdirty]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Here are some pics... maybe will give a better idea of the tightness issues im having.. the motor is stuffed under the rear quite a ways, the distributor is covered completely by the floor..



The front of the motor is about 4" away from the tank, but even if the motor was out, that 4" wouldn't do me any good. Hard to see, but the tank is actually wider than the outer stringers/supports there.. and like I said, it goes down deeper in to the hull than the engine mounts as well.



and because its only 2-3" from the floor above, (with welded on angle brackets) tipping it out just isn't doable IMO..



It really has to come straight up, at least 6-8" before i could tip it towards the motor, and seeing as the aft cabin windows were leaking, guess what.. :facepalm: ..that small wall/step up section is mostly rotten and should be fixed anyway, if I'm going to all this trouble...



I'm gona say BAD engineering/design here, the bulkhead that is the aft cabin wall doesn't go up all the way, rather they stapled a piece of 1x2" to it, kicking it back, and then attached that very shoddy like to the upper cap where the windows are..with more staples and one little layer of glass, not very well done imo. The black marker line is my proposed cut out, which will remove the rot AND give good access to the tank.. I hope.. :laugh:

 

[bigdirty]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

dum dada dum... it has begun... my friend came over today and we went to town with a jig saw, sawzall, pry-bars and hammers.. Well, first i removed the helm seating by taking the DECK SCREWS out of the rotten piece of plywood the p/o installed it with... Captain Home Depot strikes again!! The tank was about a 1/4 full, which made it not very light, but we got the sucker out with some brute force and ignorance applied to the situation. The entire bulkhead is pretty much removed now, just the pieces at the sides of the hull remain, but they will be going too (soft/wet) and the way the factory attached it to the hull is pretty sad anyway. Good news on the motor mounts, they appear to have been built from decent SOLID hardwood, and the ends are a bit wet, but still very solid. Assembly staples are still stuck quite well into them in fact, so I think i may be able to leave them and rebuild from there forward. Anyhoo... The SIZE of this tank is crazy... its deceiving how deep it actually is, and takes up the entire helm deck..



soooo... under the tank was pretty much what you'd expect...



Heres my friend tearing my boat apart by hand.. it really was that easy...



It was raining off and on all day, but just as we got the tank out and started in on the floor it really started to pour, so we called it a day and covered up the motor... not like anything else is gona get 'wetter' in there :lol: You can see the cut I had to make pretty clear in this last pic, and I have an idea to reassemble a bit differently in the end. Basically moving the bulkhead and tank about 4 inches forward, and having the bulkhead come right up to the floor of the helm deck for support. I'll end up with some sort of an overhang/sunk in area with the windows in it, and some custom work to do but what the heck, i'll have plenty of glassing supplies on hand...



Oh, and the waste tank on the right seams to be about half full... and has to come out to do this job proper... :facepalm: damn and blast...

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

You sure are going after this with a vengeance You should be able to glass the cut-out back in no problem. Give the tank a good inspection for corrosion and pits.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Yeah I think you are taking crazy pills. But I'm gonna watch the 'hole thing...

 

[Alwhite00]

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Re: 93 Crownline 250 'oh crap.. its even dirtier!" resto/refit thread

Looks like a ton of work but will be great when finished.