Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

[Crawphish]

Hello,

I just purchased a used boat (first boat purchase) and took it out on the lake. We noticed it was taking on a small amount of water. Then we used the live well and soon the boat was flooded. So I took the floor boards up to see if there was an issue i could see with the live well. What i found was a mess of rotted wood and a live well that dumped directly into the bottom of the boat causing it to flood. I know i need to remove all the rotted wood however some of it runs under the fiberglass parts of the boat and i am not sure how to get that out. Any help in these areas would be helpful. I could only get two photos to up load but it gives you and idea of the boat i am working with any tips or advice is very welcomed.

 

[Crawphish]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Here are photos of the damage.

 

[Sparkinator]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Welcome to Iboats. Looks like somebody sold you a bill of goods. What's really dis-heartening, is that you can see some new 2x4's put in there and attached to rotten stringers. I would hope they had disclosed some of this to you before the purchase. Some people simply amaze me.

Anyway, it's not uncommon for the livewell to empty into the boat. If you plug the bottom of the livewell, you can pump water into it to fill. Whenever you empty the livewell, you just pull the plug and then pump it out of the boat, with your boats bilge pump. So, your livewell, may be working correctly. That's the good news.

As far as the bad, your going to have to figure out just how much work your willing to do to get your boat serviceable. To remove all of the rot, your going to have to pull the top cap off the boat. By removing the rub rail, you can either unscrew or drill out the rivets that hold the top and bottom of the boat together. Once the two are separated, then you have full access to the inside of the hull. It's going to be a lot of work and money to get all of the rot out, and rebuild it the way it needs to be done. You'll have to inspect the transom as well.

I hope you didn't spend a lot. Now, your just going to have to evaluate if you want to invest the time and money to fix it. If not, you may be able to part it out and start looking for another boat.

There are a lot of threads in the section that involve total gutting and rebuilding of boats, if you choose that option, and a lot of knowledgeable people here to help, but it is a lot of work. Friscoboater has some really great videos on youtube that show you just what you're looking at.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

that's an ouch for sure, Sorry!!!

 

[SnapperMassacre]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

believe me we have all been there! Do not lose hope, with knowledge and effort it can be restored or the situation remedied. I bought a buick minivan two weeks ago to find out that the windshield leaks like a sieve.. the carpet is toast and I'm wondering how to fix it? But with the right knowledge, and my effort it will be fixed shortly. So DON'T GIVE UP!! This forum is a wealth of help and know-how..So much work being performed on boats here....get a game plan, execute it, and lots of elbow grease!!! Your boat is now a ongoing "hobby"!! p.s the bright side??? You didnt sink, you got back to shore and on the trailer, and the Motor RUNS!!! Your doing better than some, but not as good as most!! The glass is half FULL!!!

 

[Rat_L_Trap]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

flex seal that thing lol

 

[Crawphish]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Thanks for the feed back. I have two more questions. If I do take the time to repair this boat how long should it last assuming that i do a fair job (as i have never done this before)? Two in order to take the top half off am I going to have to remove the motor and this big metal plate from the back of the boat?

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

delete please! duplicate.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Ouch, .......... To answer your question. If you do a good job using proper materials, and take care of the boat (by not leaving it outside uncovered & collecting leaves & water all year) it should easily outlast you. -- Is that long enough?

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

That big metal plate is called a jackplate, they can be very usefull, rebuld thr transom and reinstall it. Will really help with performance once it is setup correctly,

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

I've seen worse that have come back to shine. Take your time. Read and aswk lots of questions. All going to come down to how much time, effort and money you want to put in it,

 

[Crawphish]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

I am going to give it a try to fix it. I think it would cost far less to fix it than to try and buy a "new" one. I hope you all are ready for a lot of questions because they will be flying. I started to remove the rub rail as suggested. But its not held in by screws. It has small screw looking things with holes in the middle how do i remove them?





Also should I just post a new topic as things come up or should I just keep running down this thread?

PS Thanks for the help now and in the future!

 

[Ned L]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Those are rivets (big 'pop' rivets). The only way to remove them is to drill them out (the drill bit should be just about the same diameter as the rivet body (the part inside the fiberglass).

 

[jfas]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Hey Craw,

Sorry to hear of your bad fortune with this boat. It may be helpful to take a look at my thread. I just got done restoring a boat very similar to yours. To answer your question on time, it took me about 4 months start to finish. I was working most evenings a couple of hours and every weekend about 20 hours. My total investment with the necessities (yes, I ended up spending more money on fun stuff) was about $2,000. Not including a good used motor I bought for $375 (I got a great deal), and some mechanic work I spent about $300 on. As I'm sure that you're going to hear, the only way to fully gain access to the problem areas is to remove the entire top cap from the boat. From there you will be able to remove all of the carpet, sawdust, dead animals, etc and get down to good glass. If you do a reasonably thorough job of restoration, there is no reason that the boat shouldn't last another 20-30 years.

Click here if you're interested in reading about my restoration. ---> http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...-ebbtide-dynatrak-150-restoration-637461.html

JFas

Thanks for the feed back. I have two more questions. If I do take the time to repair this boat how long should it last assuming that i do a fair job (as i have never done this before)? Two in order to take the top half off am I going to have to remove the motor and this big metal plate from the back of the boat?View attachment 230483



View attachment 230484

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

Those are rivets. Get a drillbit a little larger than the hole. What you will be doing is drilling the head off, and pushing the body portion into the cavity. Sometimes they will spin. You will have to keep it from spinning the best you can.

 

[Sparkinator]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

That's rivets. You'll need to drill those out. Get a drill bit about half the diameter of the outside of the rivet and drill into the center of it. It should cut the head of the rivet off and you can push the rivet shaft off into the inside of the hull.

But, before you pull the cap off the boat, make sure you remove everything you can from the hull. Pull the engine, trolling motor, everything you can, because your hull will get pretty unstable once you break the top cap loose. The top cap and hull when riveted together make the boat more rigid and structurally sound.

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

BTW> The aluminum bracket the motor is bolted to is a jackplate. The aluminum plate the jackplate is mouted to is what people do when the transom is rotted out.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Think i gotta rebuild a boat from the inside out not sure how

For someone that really knows what they're doing, this would be a minimum 150 hour job. And who knows how much supplies would cost. Any wood going into the boat would really need to be marine grade plywood.

We have so many old bass boats around our region that finding a good bare hull is very easy. I'd be looking to scrap your hull and move all your engine and parts needed to another hull.