Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

[Lumbering_Oaf]

So I am a New Member with a Big Project (This is going to be a long post ):

I bought this boat for several reasons. I know Bayliners are not the most popular boat and have a poor reputation. Partially deserved I am sure but I believe that part the reputation was unfairly earned from them being a entry level boat bought by inexperienced boaters and they had a stretch of poor quality control in the 80' and early 90's. Any way enough of that. I wanted a boat that I could take my family of 4 out for long weekends, be able to trailer, and have a fly bridge. Those requirements really limited my choices from the get go. I can not afford 100K + for a new boat in the 26 to 30' range and a few years used are still really expensive and you can still run into a lot of unknown costly problems. I am also a pretty handy guy that enjoys working on and fixing up things so older is not a problem for me. So I was looking for a project boat that I could have fun building my way and when it was finally finished I would have something a little different, practically brand new, and have the clear title to boot. Banks and interest are bad

I stumbled across this boat in South Dakota in January It's really hard to get a good assessment of a boat and it's condition when everything is frozen. But I got the Boat and Trailer for just a little under 4K so I figured that I was in for a big project but the price of admission was right. See the first pic from the day I bought it.

I knew there was a real soft spot in front of the head door so I just knew I was going to be replacing wood. So fast forward 2 months and things finally thawed out just enough to make the trip to pick her up (see second pic on the way home).

We got her home and found that the Volvo (305 chevy) engine passed the mechanical test just find (the PO said it had been rebuilt less the 100 hours ago) started right up and has great compression. Out drive is in good working order. So far so good.

Then it was time to take a look at the soft spot in front of the head door. See pics 3 and 4 :facepalm:

We pulled the carpet to find some formica Just laying there and guess what was under that

Next post the tear down! Time to find the extent of the damage.

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

After I started digging at the floor rot a little I was starting to get a little worried about maybe biting off more then I could chew. Then I found the Hull Extension thread by OOPS. MY GOD MAN. That is AWESOME. I still haven't finished reading it all yet but after seeing his step by step work and all of the support and knowledge out here I realized that I could do it. I must confess that I even had a fleeting thought about cutting in down the middle and making her 2 feet wider :facepalm: Don't worry that thought didn't last long. We got back out there on the boat and started pulling everything out chasing the rot.

I have attached a few pictures. One of the interior before we started and the other 2 are views of where we stand now. You can really see the bad stuff in the pictures. I think I have figured out what happened. There was a A/C unit installed in the boat after market. They did not do a good job installing the through hull for the water discharge and I think it leaked and ruined the whole Port side. The Starboard side is pretty solid except for the area right at the door where it looks like the door was leaking.

I was thinking about possibly lowering the floor a couple of inches as I put it back together. I could use a little more head room and I though that lowering the center of gravity a little wouldn't hurt with stability. I know this boat with the narrow beam and the fly bridge is going to be a little "tippy". Does anyone see a reason why I could not do this? There is room between the floor and the fuel tank.

Anyway. The next step is to finish the demo this weekend. I still have to get the fuel tank out and deal with the plywood and foam under it. Then I can start building the replacement wood and start grinding and glassing. I think I am going to go with Epoxy resin and some 1.5 or 2oz mat to put everything back in. I might want to do some reinforcement in a few areas and beef up the stringers with some heavier material but I will ask for advice as I come to those.

 

[BIGcarpy50]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

wow thats a big project. and I love the pics with every post. Keep it up and you should have a sweet ride.

 

[Dabbler_E]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

Sounds like you're entering this project with the right attitude, knowing from the get go what is likely to be involved. After reading OOPS!'s stuff, I imagine you will have an eye out for Murphy.

You'll probably hear from epoxy folks directly, but my understanding is that with epoxy you do not need or use mat. When using polyester resin, mat is used to (a) promote adhesion between layers of glass cloth or roving, and between cloth/roving and a substrate like wood and (b) provide strength in all directions. Epoxy is a much better glue and much stronger than polyester, so the mat is not necessary. Also, the mat is held together with a binder that dissolves in polyester resin but not epoxy.

Obviously you're at the very beginning stages, and will hear plenty from much more authoritative voices than mine (e.g., erikgreen) before you get to actual glassing. Listen to them, not me!

.... I think I am going to go with Epoxy resin and some 1.5 or 2oz mat to put everything back in. I might want to do some reinforcement in a few areas and beef up the stringers with some heavier material but I will ask for advice as I come to those.

 

[bshattuck87]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

One day I'll own a boat similar in size to be able to take my future family out on for the weekend! Great project, keep us updated!

Brenton

 

[Navigator_Victory]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

WOW....that is a BIG project

 

[Luhrs28]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

It's great to see another big boat project on here.

I used mat with epoxy all over the place on my boat and I like how they work together. (I have no idea if my mat has the binder for polyester or not) A couple of layers of 1708 biax with epoxy is incredibly strong.

So what kind of timetable do you have in mind? That looks like a solid 6-8 months worth of work, although it depends on how much free time you have of course.

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

Thanks everyone. Time table is really no more developed then "When it's Done"

I think there will be several finished dates. I will break this really big project up into many smaller projects. That way I can feel like progress is being made and not get overwhelmed. I am really fortunate that I have a couple guys that work with me a lot. So I will have 3 guys working at least 2 or 3 weekends a month + any after work time I get in on my own during the week. We hope to give it a test float to make sure everything is good by the end of May. Then we can put the floor down and foam. Then it is on to re wiring the whole boat and so on.

I still need to figure out if dropping the floor a couple of inches will cause any problems. That will be the first of many customizations to happen. Then and I need to decide if I am going to rip the stringers completely out and go from the factory 1/2" ply to 3/4". The stringers seem to be good from the transom to the back bulkhead of the cabin then go bad in spots heading toward the bow. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

There's lot of experience here with stringers......test drill a few places to make sure you're solid the rest of the way back, if you're okay there, then proceed with splicing in the new to the old.

Personally I wouldn't raise the deck (floor), it usually causes more problems elsewhere in the project.
Going from 1/2" to 3/4" is fine and a good idea.

 

[petermarcus]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

I'm in the middle of a Bayliner restore (a 19 footer). Personally (IMHO), yeah Bayliner has a rep, but I think they kinda judged the market. They were inexpensive boats for inexperienced owners who probably didn't know how to take care of them, so Bayliner made them somewhat disposable for those with a disposable income. (There are many other opinions, many less charitable).

I don't mind, though. IMHO again, but I think Bayliners can be improved by a careful restoration, and can last a whole lot longer the second time around, probably much longer than Bayliner ever intended.

My stringers were like yours -- solid in some parts and rotten in others. I ripped mine out completely. Like Cadwelder says above, you won't find any shortage of stringer repair posts here. I'd also test the transom. Bayliner had a habit of butting naked stringer wood against naked transom wood and glassing over both in-place. Any rot in the aft end of the stringers sometimes would spread to the transom. Put masking tape about 1/2 to 3/4" back on a drill bit and randomly sample the transom by drilling in until you hit the tape. If you see any wet wood shavings or if you punch through to rot, then the transom needs to be replaced as well, but again, there's no shortage of posts here about that, too. (3M 5200 will fill in any holes you drill). Also, do a search on foam and you'll find many opinions about the safety of foam vs its evil ability to trap water and rot your boat. At 27', I don't think your boat requires foam (it may be structural, but I kinda doubt that for a 27 footer).

As far as timetables, work every calculation out with conservative estimates of each job. Figure out exactly how many hours you and your friends have available to put into it. Put in some extra time for weather and unexpected circumstances like catching a cold or sudden urges to go fishing for a weekend instead of inhaling fiberglass dust. There's probably some more time that needs to be calculated for something that is broken that you didn't expect. Once you do that, you should have a pretty scientific, well reasoned time estimate. Take that estimate and triple it. (I'm only partly joking there, but don't be surprised...)

Sounds like you're heading into it with the right attitude, though, so keep posting a lot of pictures and keep us updated. You'll have no shortage of really good advice from people who have been there (or are in there currently!)

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

We had a little bit of a discouraging weekend on the boat. It looks like my "Big Project" just got a little bigger. We were working on the nasty junk under the fuel tank and wound up in the engine room and found that the bottom of one of the stringers was rotted all the way to the transom. It has spread to a part of the lower transom. So you all know what that means. We are doing the transom. So we settled for the long haul and started clearing out the engine compartment. I guess we will be pulling the engine and out drive next weekend, that's if we can figure out how to lift it out. The boat is over 6' after the railing has been taken off. I don't think my cherry picker is going to cut it. I might have to rent some kind of machine.

Also I am thinking it is about time to order some glass supplies. Anyone have a suggestion on Epoxy brand and how much I should order at first? I have been reading some about this brand AeroMarine. Seems like a little cheaper then some others I have seen. Anyone ever used this? I am guessing that I will need 15gal of epoxy and 15yards of 1708 and another 20 yards of 1.5 CSM to get a good start on the whole project. Am I close? Anyway please enjoy the pictures from this weekend.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

Sorry man. just think of the beauty you will own when you are done. I am a big Baylinner fan

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

Hey LO,

Call a Wrecker Service and ask em how much come and PUll your engine. Quick and should cost less than $50.00 Make sure you're ready with a place to set it.

 

[oops!]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

lol....a buddy of mine is doing a 25 footer ....just about the same thins and the same soft spots....

ok.....dont have time to answer now....ill be back on tomm and give you a run down.

as far as the engine mounts.....the latest is to bolt alum angle iron to to stringers and then mount the isolators on top.
a seacast bed would be expencive.

ill have more later bud.....cheers and welcome to iboats !
oops

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

It's been a few weeks since I have been able to give a update but work has been getting done I have a couple of posts worth that I will post tonight and tomorrow. The weekend of April 23 it was cold and snowy here but being the tough guys (idiots ) we are we worked anyway. We got the out drive and transom shield off and the engine out. Take a look at the pics below, When I went to pull the exhaust bellows off it was full of this nasty water / oil mix :facepalm: . Guess the trans is heading to the shop to get a reseal. Not a surprise but it would be nice to catch a break at some point. All in all it came apart pretty easy. A couple of stuck pins and bolts, nothing a little heat couldn't fix. We called in a wrecker service and they made real short work of lifting the engine out Thanks WOODONGLASS. Great suggestion and well worth the cost. 20min and it was out with no broken parts, bones, or sweat.

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

Thanks for the encouraging words and welcome OOPS. I love your boat and you can come make mine 5 feet longer and 2 feet wider any time you want I will supply all the Corona we can drink.

On my motor mounts there is not a stringer to attach any angle stock to. Please see the attached picture. The 2 big black blocks are the mounts the narrow black line next to them is actually a strake and is only about 1 inch tall then the next dark line you see is what is left of the 2X4 stringer. I plan to get rid of the 2X4 and make a laminated stringer out of 3/4 marine ply and make them taller then they were originally. I also want to put a bulkhead to tie in both stringers all the way to the outboard sides and also tie in the front side of the mounts so that they are not free standing any more. But in this picture you can see where I got the idea to cut the top of the block off and dig out the wood then fill it with sea cast and cover it back over with 1708. I am open to suggestions as I have never done anything like this before and I want to make sure that it is really strong. You never know what the future will bring. Maybe even a diesel re-power some day or even a big block. My little 350 is going to be a little underpowered in this boat so I want to make sure I leave my options open.

 

[stackz]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

ooo man, that transom is ROTTED! good luck with that.

 

[Lumbering_Oaf]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

It has been a little while since my last post. Weekend before last we made some progress on the transom.
First was cutting what little glass they put on the transom wood so it could be removed.

Then it was on to removing the actual wood. Man was this gross. All sorts of water squished out from the rotten wood and it didn't smell any too good either. One good thing about it being this rotten, is that it came off pretty easy. About 90% of it just flaked off. I am really glad I didn't put this boat in the water and get it in any kind of sea. It would have fallen apart and killed everyone on board. But now the the bad wood is gone.

Now time to start the grinding. Here is a little progress. It is going to take a long time to get this ready to epoxy in the new wood.

Now I am starting to look toward putting stuff back in and I have a fabric questions. I see that a lot of people use the 1708 Biax fabric. When I called US Composits they suggested I use 18oz Roving instead. They said that it will wet out easier and flex better then the 1708 and be as strong or stronger not to mention a little cheaper. The trade off is that it doesn't look as nice finished as the 1708. I am not too worried about the finish look because I could put some 1.5 CSM and roll on gel coat on top and get a clean look. What do you guys think?

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

18 oz would be a great alternative in this application. I prefer the 1708 due to the extra absorption of the cloth.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Full Restore 1977 Bayliner 2755 Victoria "The Lumbering Oaf"

Yeah, you could use the woven roven. Here's a drawing of how I recommend building a transom. You could substitute the woven for the 1708 I would still use two layers. I would recommend the 404 Poly resin. I do not think you need to use epoxy. You can but not needed in my opinion. Your entire boat is made out of Poly.

(click the pick to enlarge)