I didn't want to restore this 1997 Islander this summer

Fj40fiji · Jun 16, 2025

I just wanted to go fishing.
I've had it about 6 times and always notice that after a couple hours on the water it feels heavy on the port side. Moving passengers around helps but it doesn't feel like I can really balance it. I've worried that it took on more water than I was aware and the last time out on an otherwise calm lake, while cruising around 30mph back to the marina I hit a wake almost from the side and the boat went into a roll that it felt like it wasn't gonna recover from.

This boat always has some water in it, it never seems to fully drain and dry out. It doesn't seem like much. I try to pay attention to the bilge pump (new last year) to see when it comes on auto, and I periodically switch it on and watch the discharge to see when it clears the bilge. I also pull my plug immediately after I get out of the water so I get the benefit of the ramp slope to drain it.

After I got home I realized I can't take my kids out in this boat again until I know for sure what's going on with it. So the next day, I started taking it apart. It really sucks because this was the week before I was going to take it Salmon fishing, salmon has been closed for several years in CA and this year we get a few weekends of open season.
Here is what I found:

Fj40fiji · Jun 16, 2025

This is not the port side, the side that gets heavy. There was water in the lower half inch of foam, but it wasn't as water logged as I expected to find. The floors are damp but not soft or rotten. There was a lot of rotted garbage in the chine or strake along that seem. It really looked like I probably collected dirt, leaves, and rain for some time and started this corrosion. There are pin holes that go through, the worst area is about a 6" diameter area. It leaks so bad along the seam I can't tell if it comes through rivets, the seem, or the pin holes in the side.

Fj40fiji · Jun 16, 2025

I have done some welding, I did a bunch of repairs to a Klamath dlx I had. I don't think I can weld this though. I made some scab panels that will over lay the compromised areas from .080" 5052 sheet. The plan is to drill out rivets (I've drilled out a lot of rivets, maybe 20 on the seam and another 15 down closer to the keel). I planned to bed the panels with Marinetex, but I am wondering if 5200 would be better. Here is a sample of one of the panels.

Fj40fiji · Jun 16, 2025

This is the panel before I drilled it. I had my BIL hold it still so I could get a couple holes drilled, then pop riveted it in place while I finished drilling. I have 2117 t4 rivets for reassembly. I ordered 3/8 long rivets, but I realized I am sandwiching a lot of material in a few spots so I ordered some 1/2" as well.

Fj40fiji · Jun 16, 2025

I got some Seymore zinc phosphate primer to spray on the inside. I liked Alodine, but didn't want to deal with the toxicity. For price and availability this won, but I'm only half convinced it's what I want, I'm also on the fence if I should prime surfaces where I will apply 5200 or Marinetex. I'm open to suggestions.

Fj40fiji · Jun 16, 2025

I'm also on the fence about how to finish this project out. I can afford to make it nice, I am an experienced finish carpenter and have made all sorts of things, I know I can do a good job. But I just want to fish.

I got two part foam to replace what I cut out, and gluvit for all the rivets and seams that I don't know leak yet. I plan to get some pink foam and lay in over the ribs and along the chine at the seam so I have a drain path. I didn't cut out foam in the cabin because it seemed dry and foam is expensive. I know boats can get leaks in the stern seam though. . . I'm also on the fence about "upholstery". The boat is dingy and worn looking, but it's about $1,000 to replace all the carpet/flooring/vinyl plus however many hours its takes to strip and recover all that.

I had planned to cut out new plywood and soak in OTF, but now I am thinking of putting back the old plywood; it's noticeably lighter now that it has been off the boat in 95 degree heat for a couple weeks. I may paint it with floor paint the I have and run the rest of the fishing season like that, save boat projects for the winter.

Scott Danforth · Tuesday at 5:08 AM

that looks like galvanic corrosion. something is literally eating the aluminum.

check your electrical grounds. none should be using the boat as a ground.

Fj40fiji · Tuesday at 8:09 AM

The trailer bunks had been replaced with PT, one of the first projects I did when I got the boat was to switch them to redwood. Sure enough on the outside of the hull there was some minor pitting in the foot print of the bunk, I acid washed it, scrubbed with fresh stainless wire brushes, and painted it with Alumahawk.
There is nothing obvious in the vicinity of this spot that could have caused galvanic corrosion. The boat has been in salt water, so once it started leaking there’s been no shortage of electrolyte. In fact, when I pulled up the foam there was a slight ocean scent.
I suppose I should just check resistance from my negative terminals to my hull huh?

Fj40fiji · Tuesday at 8:12 AM

The trailer is a galvanized trailer as well, it was reacting pretty serious to the PT bunks. I suspect the galv trailer actually limited the damage to hull. I wire wheeled and cold galvanized the deteriorated areas when I had the boat off the trailer, and replaced all the hardware on the bunks supports with new hot dipped. It’s holding up well a year later.

Scott Danforth · Tuesday at 9:26 AM

Fj40fiji said:
The trailer bunks had been replaced with PT,

that would have started the corrosion almost instantly

Fj40fiji · Tuesday at 9:41 AM

The pitting on the outside for sure was caused by the bunks. There is some on the transom too that is sort of radially proximal to the bunks that was probably affected by them. I don’t think those bunks had been on there long before I got the boat. I imagine that the paint under the boat helps protect it from the bunks where it isn’t too worn from riding on bunks, as well as the carpet when it is dry. But the pitting on the inside had wet gunk on it and smelled like the ocean, and is away from the bunks. The pitting above the bunks was really not that bad, I felt very good about timely intervention there. There is no sign inside the hull of any damage from that, where as the part I showed in the photograph has pin holes on the outside.

So I’ve already bought Gluvit- I intended to apply that everywhere I can’t find a leak basically, 5200, and Marinetex. I was going to use marinetex to bed my scab panels that I am riveting to the inside. I’m starting to wonder now though if I should use the 5200 for that, or possibly get West Systems G/flex, it’s specifically one of the applications they describe for it. Opinions?

redneck joe · Tuesday at 3:11 PM

Are you scraping out all the foam to expose all rivets? I did not want to but am sure glad I did. Prob an extra 50 replaced I would not have.

I put off a couple surgeries I was going have this year, 50% because of my boat needed the work and didn't want to wait almost a year to heal hfter the surgery because I can launch and retrive one armed but not rehab and at the pace I am aging not sure I can do much more big stuff like this when I hit my 60s next year.

You've prob noticed mine is not going for pretty but I have spent time and money where it is important. Do not put old floors back in. Don't need to go MDO like I did but the couple three days of work to do new is nothing when you are this far in. Scrape the foam. Lay the pink longways.

Can't swallow the whole elephant, so take small bites and celebrate the completion of each one as it's own project. It will be much more fun that looking at the whole and dreading all the work.

Git er done....

redneck joe · Tuesday at 3:15 PM

Don't know about the west but what I've seen here over the years is scabbing in is usually 5200 bed, then gluvit over the top.

cyclops222 · Tuesday at 3:26 PM

You need a boat handling course. To prevent taking waves to to anything except the front of the boat. You were very lucky with that side wave.

Fj40fiji · Tuesday at 6:10 PM

cyclops222 said:
You need a boat handling course. To prevent taking waves to to anything except the front of the boat. You were very lucky with that side wave.

Wake, like chop sized. This boat usually skips over stuff like that at the angle I took these. What course did you take to learn to handle your boat, or what course do you recommend?

Fj40fiji · Tuesday at 6:19 PM

Joe,

redneck joe said:
Don't know about the west but what I've seen here over the years is scabbing in is usually 5200 bed, then gluvit over the top.

Thanks for your input. I use MDO for concrete forms at work, but we order truck loads of lumber from another area, I’ve never found a local source for it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if it were readily available.
I have taken all the port side foam out from the cuddy cabin bull head back, and almost as much on the starboard. There is no sign of moisture around the edges of what remains, but I know it could be hiding underneath. Your build is making me second guess removing the remaining foam, particularly to look into the brown smeg in the bow. Why did you use pink instead of two part? If I start today, I can probably muster the commitment to finish removing the foam by this weekend.
I’m tempted by pretty, but I didn’t buy a pretty boat because I didn’t need a pretty boat. I need a safe and functional boat where I can spend time fishing with my boys.

redneck joe · Wednesday at 4:07 AM

On the pink I decided that it would leave channels for drainage. The top of my foam was pretty dry as well but the bottom half was wet especially towards the back. In my 18 foot boat I'm guessing I got rid of maybe an extra 75 lbs of wet. Not as dramatic as some of the stories I've seen here, but some. And I did have significant leaks.

About 70% of my leaking and questionable rivets were in the front area, on an islander that would be the cuddy area.

On the MDO can you buy from work? I'm in a small town of 24k, my home town builders supply had it. If you are planning on treating your existing with OTF, not sure how much work it will take to sand off the carpet glue to allow it to soak in. I would guess the time would be about equal either way so just money is the factor but I sure bet you can get a better price than me.

Fj40fiji · Thursday at 2:10 PM

Here is where I got so far on foam removal. Everything remaining is dry as far as I can tell, and really adhered. I am going to pull it out this weekend though, I don’t want to miss something and do this twice or be out there on the water wondering if I should have looked under there when I had the chance.

redneck joe · Thursday at 3:00 PM

Yeah you got way more foam than I did but yours is 15 years newer as well.

You got a big portion of it out, go for the rest.

Fj40fiji · Saturday at 10:31 AM

I’d rather be fishing. . .

I didn't want to restore this 1997 Islander this summer

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