Free Boat, This thing is a badboy!

[gazza2007au]

Scored a free boat i am picking up in a few days i however am paying 1k for the trailer, the boat has been gutted and most of the stringers are gone or extremely rotted looks to have had someone play around with the boat someone has torn up the floor for a possible rebuild and left it at that

strangely there is no stringer for the keel and i could not see any glassing that held any original center stringer in place

i am considerable new to glassing i have done half of a plywood composite boat but i have a few questions

the boat now has chopped strand mat one layer covering the stringers i plan on replacing this with 2 layers of 400-450 double bias cloth but i am unsure if i should run one whole length of the stringer or run smaller sections of 1.2 meters (48 inch strips) for the whole stringer

whats your opinion on the above and would 2 layers be sufficient?

 

[Scott Danforth]

just so you know, free boats are the most expensive to repair.

post some pics so we can see what you have and offer the best advise we can.

 

[gazza2007au]

Hey Scott, It's an Australian model called a Caribbean 18 foot cabin boat next to no information about this model on the internet however there is a wealth of information on the bigger 235 Caribbean

the plan is to turn it into a centre console offshore boat, i only have pictures of the exterior at the moment untill monday when i pick it up than i can take the internal pictures

 

[gazza2007au]

I picked up the boat last night

 

[DouglasW]

I guess that depends on the quality of the wood for the stringers. If common lumber, encase it all the way.

 

[Tassie 1]

Can't help at all with what model it is or any info about a rebuild

looks similiar to a Savage or V19 huntsman though,

what state?
l'm in tassie...obviously lol

 

[garbageguy]

... cabin boat...the plan is to turn it into a centre console... i only have pictures of the exterior at the moment untill monday when i pick it up than i can take the internal pictures

"cabin boat" to center console, sounds like an interesting rebuild. Looking forward to the pictures

 

[Woodonglass]

You may find the 2nd link in my signature line below to be somewhat helpful.

 

[b.gagnon]

I doubt the trailer is worth 1k..... Run as fast as you can!
The boat is only good for an episode of Myth Busters to blow up!
If you want a center console just buy one that needs TLC and make it your own. It will be way cheaper! Project boats are rarely ever worth the $$ put into them..

 

[Bayou Dave]

I doubt the trailer is worth 1k..... Run as fast as you can!
The boat is only good for an episode of Myth Busters to blow up!
If you want a center console just buy one that needs TLC and make it your own. It will be way cheaper! Project boats are rarely ever worth the $$ put into them..

He already bought it and has it home.

 

[kcon]

Cool boat! You have a LOT of grinding to do before you even think about stringers. You should get the sanding flap disks for an angle grinder, like 60 or 80 grit. They're awesome, god help me I grinded my hull with the metal grinding disk that came with the grinder and it was hell, learning about and buying the flap disks saved me a LOT of time since.

 

[CrazyFinn]

Project boats are rarely ever worth the $$ put into them..

This is only possibly true if you are considering resale value, and including your labour in that value. These forums are full of boats that people have rebuilt to be as good (or better) than new for FAR less money than they could have bought a new boat for. I have one myself... I don’t have the money to go buy a new boat. I did have the money to buy a used rotten boat and functional trailer. I rebuilt both to better than new condition. My boat is entirely rot free. New electrical. New interior. New seals and bearings in the drive. Trailer has new tires, bearings, bunks, wiring, and lights.

The entire project cost me less than $4000. Not including labour as I consider it a hobby. Could I buy an entirely rot free, “as new” boat and trailer in equal condition for that money? I don’t care what the resale is - I didn’t do it to sell it.

 

[reorod]

Nice boat! Work required but that's what we do. It will be worth the effort. My 2 cents

 

[chevymaher]

This is only possibly true if you are considering resale value, and including your labour in that value. These forums are full of boats that people have rebuilt to be as good (or better) than new for FAR less money than they could have bought a new boat for. I have one myself... I don’t have the money to go buy a new boat. I did have the money to buy a used rotten boat and functional trailer. I rebuilt both to better than new condition. My boat is entirely rot free. New electrical. New interior. New seals and bearings in the drive. Trailer has new tires, bearings, bunks, wiring, and lights.

The entire project cost me less than $4000. Not including labour as I consider it a hobby. Could I buy an entirely rot free, “as new” boat and trailer in equal condition for that money? I don’t care what the resale is - I didn’t do it to sell it.

Very well put you are truly a Gentleman and a Scholar.

 

[kcassells]

Well Gazza...in for the haul! It's your boat and that is all that matters. Enough great guys here to make it work. Believe me I know.
Cool boat. Lookin forward to your rehab!

 

[gazza2007au]

Thanks guys i have the beds ripped out and transom also, there are a 4 stringers left and a bunch of rotten ply to goto the tip with some glassing, the cabin was cut off early on here's how she is

looking to install Coosa Board for my transom and possibly my stringers to but i need to save some money first as that stuff is very expensive in Australia about $500 a sheet

the trailer is what i paid $1000 for but it is absolute rubbish however it was my means of transporting the boat home so i see it as i paid $1000 for the boat and trailer, i really wanted this boat its very rare to find something of this size for free or in my case $1000

these boats in running order are selling for $6000+ some around $10,000 but I'm not in it for the value i'm in it for the passion and i really have wanted a large sea going boat for a very long time i just could not afford $15,000-$25,000 for something already built

my transom is long shaft i really want a pod or what u guys call a outboard bracket i am still umming and arring about it

when i get some cash flow i have already sourced some 130mm i beam's aluminium and some cross beams plus a local welder to weld together a nice alloy trailer i will use my existing wheel,axles, etc.. on the new trailer

 

[kcassells]

Save all your cut pcs. to put back later and measure, measure, pics, pics. When go back time this will make your life alot easier.

 

[garbageguy]

Cool boat, and looks like you're well-motivated - way to go! Looking forward to seeing your progress. And I think the info you post here can be valuable to you to look back on as you go.

I sure hear ya on the cost of boats. And hopefully this way you'll end up with just what you want

 

[gazza2007au]

Thanks guys i have a whole heap of pics i will try to upload more tomorrow when i'm on the laptop

 

[gazza2007au]

Here are those pictures guys