Seeking advice on seemingly large hull/structural repair! Help please! 1979 Marquis Catalina.

[CATALINAWineMixer]

Hello,

I am hoping you experts out there can help guide me in a repair/restore I have found myself in the middle of..

I bought a boat 2 years ago and got some great use out of it so far but when inspecting at the start of the season, I noticed the a previous patch job was looking extra bad this season. I sought out some advise prior to doing any grinding from a local boat restoration business who gave me some pointers as he could tell that I was determined to fix it up but couldn’t afford his services when I only paid $1800 for the boat itself and the repair was going to be between 5-10,000 dollars (rough estimate). I had pictures that I showed to him of the old patch job prior to doing any grinding away. I let him know I was hoping to do a one sided repair and he said the only chance I would have at that would be with epoxy.. I pulled the trigger on a 5-gallon epoxy/hardener kit and some supplies from US Composites that ended up being just over $600. I initially thought I wanted enough for the hull and the deck so I figured the 5 gallons would be sufficient. After spending 3 days removing material, I realized I would probably need to rebuild the stringers as well, something I had not factored in to my repairs.. the work I am doing is while the boat is still trailered to add to the complexity..

How far will the 6.25 gallons of epoxy/hardener get me? Am I better off at this point trying to arrange a return to USC and eat up the 10% restocking fee and shipping, then purchasing laminating polyester resin instead? I do not know if the transom is affected yet, but I will say for a 40+ year old boat, the thing still feels solid!

The floor felt solid minus the front section around the storage compartment with close up pictures included to this post. I planned on replacing the front section of the floor to past the front seats mounted in the floor for captain and passenger. At this point I feel like I’ll have to do the entire thing since the gas tank is underneath the deck and in one of the pictures of the hole I been grinding I could see one the stringers toward the stern were “floating” the glass tabbing from the bottom of the hull to the stringer has delaminated completely. (Yikes…)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the 30-day return window is going to close fast.

I have attached as many pictures as I can!

Please send the heavy hitter advice! 🥹

 

[froggy1150]

Your boat is probably past rotten in the important spots. If you want to fix it right plan on some real time. So yea return the epoxy. Once you start with epoxy you are committed to that

 

[jimmbo]

You are pretty much going to split the Cap from the Hull, rip out the enter Floor, which looks Rotted, only then you will see that you will likely have to replace every Stringer. At this point the Transom is also probably in need of some TLC. 6 gallons of Epoxy will not go very far.
Looking the areas in front of some of the Areas you have already ground away, additional material will need to be removed. A hull needs proper Support when large areas are being repaired. If not, you will likely end up with a Twisted Hull.
To sum it up... In my Eyes you are about to pour a bunch of Good Money into Bad. Replacement of Transom, Stringers, and Floor are difficult enough when the Hull is intact, this one isn't.

I don't mean to rain on your Parade, but this is gonna be a lot of work

 

[Scott Danforth]

return the 6 gallons of epoxy.

in the pics it looks like the boat has had a deckover in the past. that boat needs a full restoration.

you are going to need about 20 gallons of poly, about 30 yards of 1708, and 30 yards of csm in addition to about 6 gallons of 2# foam, 2 gallons of gel, and 4 sheets of plywood

start by going here https://forums.iboats.com/threads/how-tos-and-other-great-information.283508/

and reading links 14, 15, 18, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b in their entirety.

 

[kcassells]

Yup as said above to all the comments.
I used Epoxy for my entire rebuild and I like it. The glue thing is your call.
Best of luck and get to it.

 

[dave8311]

Unless that specific boat has some kind of sentimental value, I would find a better hull to invest that kind of time and money.

But, that's just my opinion and you know what they say about those.

 

[JASinIL2006]

That does look like it's going to require a LOT of work.

 

[Scott Danforth]

just an FYI, plan on spending $4-6k restoring the boat if you do the work yourself.

and about 1-2 years of your weekends

 

[briangcc]

I'm all for repairing old things (my 78 Trans Am was a total basket case), but this might be one of those cases where pulling the motor/controls and dumpsterizing the rest might be in your best interest.

As mentioned, that's a total gut job and a heap of work from inside and outside the boat. If you're up for a challenge, you picked a hefty one to start on.

Best of luck whatever you decide. If you decide to push on, we're here to help with moral support.

 

[KJM]

Yeah, my vote would be for the sake of the $1800 spent on the boat, salvage what may be useful or resalable and ditch the boat. You're looking at thousands in repairs and a LOT of work and time. Its a safe bet the transom is rotten as well as most everything else, not to mention that big hole in the side. You got 2 years of use out of her, cut your loses.

 

[CATALINAWineMixer]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my mess of a boat..

For starters I’m going to call and arrange the return..

The only sentimental value I have is that it’s my first boat and started out with the thing only going 4knots or so, tinkering around I learned a lot about the engine and tuning it into shape. After I read the entire manual for the Evinrude 70hp (VRO model but not in use) I had no issues with the motor at all. After all was said and done I had this baby going 30-40 skating on the water like a dream, not to mention how much fun the kids had and how much we all loved taking it out to fish as a family.

I have tossed around the idea of wiping my hands of the thing and keeping the motor and trailer, but the boats in my area look just as rough as this one, or outside my price range..

I figured i could maybe have it completed by mid summer next year if I start hauling ass on it as I have a few people I know that have heated poll barns with space I could use for the winter months when there really isn’t much to do. (Southeaster Wisconsin)

Can the transom really be that bad if there is no flex? Is it possible this could be limited to the deck and the stringers?

I am up for teaching myself some new skills and there is some really good information on here and on YouTube (Boatworks Today and such).

I just have a feeling if I cut my losses on this one I’ll end up finding something in worse shape or something incompatible with the motor I salvage from it.

I looked at a 16’ aluminum boat not long ago and it seemed so much smaller that this beast. There wasn’t even a gas tank in it either.. not to mention the transom gave way under my clench when I felt it for strength.. the mounting holes didn’t match my engines either so it would have meant additional holes in the already questionable transom..

I will take more pictures when I get home and probably cut out a section of the floor to see how much worse it gets and make the calll from there.

Regardless, I need to call us composites and arrange the return.

My girl is going to be so sad, kids too..

 

[briangcc]

Given it's got at least (1) deck over, I would be surprised if the stringers and transom were intact. A safe bet is they are both mulch in need of replacement.

Quick way to determine the soundness of both is to grab a 1/4" drill, and as low as you can from the inside of the boat, sample them. Clean dry shavings, count your lucky stars. My bet you're going to find wet, black shavings and/or release a bunch of water.

Good news is that there are a bunch of folks who started out with the same situation and completed there boats with a successful launch...after a bit of time...

 

[Scott Danforth]

I figured i could maybe have it completed by mid summer next year if I start hauling ass on it as I have a few people I know that have heated poll barns with space I could use for the winter months when there really isn’t much to do. (Southeaster Wisconsin)

Can the transom really be that bad if there is no flex? Is it possible this could be limited to the deck and the stringers?

dont plan on fiberglassing in the winter unless you can keep the area heated to between 75 and 80 for a good 10 hours

yes, the floor will have rotted 5 years after the transom and stringers rotted. your floor was decked over, which means the original floor rotted 5-10 years ago.

should you go thru with the restoration, we will help with encouragement and advice

so get the blessing of the wife before hand, because the restoration will cost you $3500 or more (not including the interior, etc.) and every weekend until next summer

 

[KJM]

Any idea how that hole got in the side in the first place?

 

[JASinIL2006]

For what it's worth, I did my restoration over the winter in a garage heated with propane heaters. I was a mild winter, but I was able to keep the space warm enough to 'glass. I was fortunate and did not have to re-do my stringers, though.

Not saying it will be quick or easy, but it can be done.

 

[CATALINAWineMixer]

@KJM i have a feeling that the previous owner hit something on a river. When I purchased the boat he mentioned taking it out on a river for a date with his wife and did not elaborate more. The gel coat has been slowly washing away from the repair so it seems as though something was catalyzed incorrectly or not sealed completely from the air. When I first got the boat, you could tell it was patched but it did not have the cracks like in the pictures at that time.

 

[CATALINAWineMixer]

The piece of wood also came out with zero glass on either side, almost like it was used to form the chine shape. Seems weird that it had zero glass on it at all. I am going to take the sawzall to the deck on the passenger side tomorrow to see the extent of the damage. With proper bracing, can this work be done with the boat on the trailer? I am nervous to attempt to lift it off the trailer as I do not have a stand to set it on.

My work recycled crates and pallets so getting my hands on some lumber is not a problem. I also have access to PVC curtain materials as I work for a high performance door manufacturer and scraps are free for the taking since they are tossed out anyway.

 

[jimmbo]

Oh Boy. MDF and Solid Wood is not what you use in Boats. Marine Grade Plywood is the Wood of Choice, It is far more Stable in resistance to twisting and warping than Solid Wood, and the Glues in it, are not going to let go when wet, like MDF does.
What would the Polyvinylchloride Drapes be for?

 

[CATALINAWineMixer]

The crate is just what houses the curtains I mentioned. The curtains could be a carpet substitution and interior/seat cover material. The solid wood from work would be used as a bracing to hold the form while the boat is trailered, not the final material. Sorry for the confusion!

 

[JASinIL2006]

Lots of folks add bracing to the trailer to maintain the shape of the hull while the cap is off. Look around at some of the resto threads and you're likely to see a few examples.