Hull rebuild advice

[Jsun1977]

Hello, i am starting a hull rebuild project on a 1989 imperial euro class.. as of now its looking like it needs stringers, transom, and deck... i have read countless threads on here about hull restoration but there are still some areas that im not sure of. Like what kind of materials to use. Ive never rebuilt a hull but i am very knowledgeable with wood work and mechanical stuff..... id like to see this boat looking good in spring time! Are imprrials good boats? Or am i just wasting my money? Ive never seen a boat that looks like this one before.... ill post pics as soon as it will let me. Think i have to have 3 posts first

 

[southkogs]

Are imprrials good boats? Or am i just wasting my money?

Welcome aboard Jsun:

Imperials were more of a entry to midline boat. Not bad, but nothing that took the market by storm. The stern on some of the Imperial designs were interesting and they had a few designs I really liked.

Are you wasting your money? Do you want a valuable boat that you can sell and make money off of? Then, "yes, you are." Do you think by restoring this boat and using it you're saving a small fortune over buying something "water-ready?" Then, "yes, you are." Do you want a project to have fun with, make a nice boat and like the boat in question? Then, "no, you should probably enjoy it."

 

[Jsun1977]

Any help or advice is appreiciated.

 

[ezmobee]

Or am i just wasting my money?

What motor and drive are in it?

 

[Jsun1977]

Thanks for the input, i am definately not expecting to re sell and make money! This is my 2nd boat and from what i can tell its hard to make money on a boat. My goal here is to just make it safe and reliable for the family to gave a good time on small lakes here in northern indiana. I bought the boat for $600 made minor repairs to the engine, used the boat all summer with no interior lol.... now its time to fix it or at least try to! I will post pics in a bit after i set up photobucket account.
Thanks

 

[Jsun1977]

It is a volvo driven boat aq131c. I believe its a 2.3 liter. Engine runs awesome smooth and quiet. Out drive performs well although i think its a bit over propped... im setting up photobucket to post pics now

 

[Baylinerchuck]

So I agree with what southkogs said. I'm not sure of your particular boat, but I started my project because I loved the design and wanted to try my first stern drive. Wasting your time? I'm not sure anyone can really answer that but you. It takes a ton of work as I'm sure you read, and some money. What you end up with is a very trustworthy, solid, like new boat if you build it right. One that will last a lot longer than OEM, and YOU know how YOU built it. Finishing it on your own terms is priceless in my opinion.

Materials vary depending on your boat. Mine has plywood transom, stringers, bulkheads, and deck. All wood is exterior grade BCX encapsulated in polyresin, VE resin, or epoxy resin depending on what you want to spend. It's reinforced with fiberglass cloth of various types. I'm using poly on mine with 1708 and CSM.

There's lots of knowledgeable folks on this forum that like to help. Post lots of pics and ask lots of questions. The restoration process can be enjoyable.

Good luck and welcome to iBoats.

 

[Jsun1977]

Here is the project

 

[proshadetree]

Cant wait to see pics. I like to build my boats because I have seen many rotten boats that were supposed to be water ready. Unless you are buying new or close to new it is difficult to trust water ready in any brand boat. The last ome I built was a Bayliner Capri cuddy. Not an expensive boat but some people like the way they look. In the 80s quality was not good at all. I have much less in mine than what I can buy a comparison boat for. I scrounged for parts, that will save a ton. Shop for materials. You can have a better boat after you build most times for the same money you buy for.

 

[Jsun1977]

I dont know if pics are uploading correctly. If they do ya guys let me know whatbya think..... anyone seen a boat that looks like this before? I havent but thought it looked pretty cool for an 89

 

[proshadetree]

Seen a few of them arround, good looking hulls to me. Looks newer. I can see your interest in rebuilding it.

 

[ezmobee]

Well good news is you didn't pay much for it and it sounds like you've already gotten some enjoyment out of it. I do not know much about Volvo I/O's so I can't comment on the parts and service availability for yours. If you'd said it had an OMC or a Mercruiser 470 I'd say maybe it wouldn't be worth sinking a lot of time and money into. With a good running Volvo though it seems like a worthwhile project to me if you like the boat. Since an equivalent newer excellent condition boat would cost many thousands of dollars and an older and cheaper one may just as likely have rot, you may as well rebuild yours. When I restored both of mine it was mainly a case of not being able to afford a ready to go boat so the rebuild basically let me "finance" the cost of a nice boat in the form of parts and sweat equity.

 

[Jsun1977]

Yea, i dont have much in it and cant really afford a new one lol!!! It was depressing to see rotten stringers and transom but im no stranger to hard work. I dont know much about volvo drives either. However mine seems to work very well. Can any one see more than just the 1 pic? Forgive me im new to the posting pics thing

 

[proshadetree]

It linked me to your photo bucket account. Volvos are good drives that have support. Many were used to push houseboats.

 

[Jsun1977]

So on to some questions, im looking at pe resin over epoxy.. would this work for my application? Ive read epoxy is much stronger but looks to be alot more expensive. Should i cut all the stringers out at once or do one at a time to avoid things getting wonky? I will be back at it tonight, hoping to have rest of floor removed and ready to cut stringers out. More pics to come!
Thanks

 

[Frey0357]

Nice boat Jsun. The lines on this boat are cool! I would recommend that you open Photobucket, click on each photo that you wish to post (make it large on your computer screen) and then copy/paste it here on your forum that you have created. Then you will have all the photos big and large, it helps everyone to help you on your rebuild.

Frey

 

[Frey0357]

Your pics will end up like this:

Frey

 

[proshadetree]

Most take measurements before they cut out much. Accross the boat in multiple places. Make sure the hull is supported well, mine was just the trailer bunks and it hasn't had any issues. Remove both srtingers and bulkheads. Grind back untill you have raw fiberglass with no gelcoat. Many different approaches to do it. But on yout boat or any untouched poly boat I would just use poly. Your boat was built with it and it will preform wellfor your purpose. Make sure you check your transoms well. You have 3 diffrent parts to it. Much easier to replace as you only have to do the bad sections.

 

[Jsun1977]

I hope the trailer bunks will support it. I did take lots of measurements and lots of pics. As for the transom its kind of an odd design, only the center section has any wood in it.

 

[proshadetree]

The sides should have to. That is what your trim pump screws into. It is simular to the one in my Bayliner. Much easier than pulling the cap off of the boat to replace. If you have full length bunks you should be fine.