1985 Bayliner Capri Restore?

I'm looking for opinions on what to do with my recent acquisition. I picked up a rotten 1985 Bayliner Capri. I'm assuming that it a Capri 2150 since it came with a OMC 5.0L 4v attached to a Stringer 800 but the title says 19' 9".

My initial though was to part it out, scrap the hull and repurpose the trailer. However after inspecting the hull, other than some oxidation and bow stop damage, the hull is in perfect condition. It looks like a past owner took good care of it until the floor rotted out. If the hull was all beat up I know what I would do, but I'm finding it hard to scrap a near pristine hull.

Right now I am looking at 3 options
1. Part it out and scraping the hull. Selling just the Stringer system would more than double what I paid
2. Restore it as is
3. Restore it, sell the OMC parts and convert to Mercruiser

I'm not a stranger to fiberglass work as I completely restored a 1981 Supra ski boat and this would be a cake walk compared to the Supra. Any other options or opinions would help me decide what to do with this boat.

Welcome
I would only restore the boat if it's has a very good sentimental value, because you will never get out what it takes going in

An '80s Bayliner will never have much value. They weren't very good boats when new. I can think of a lot better boats to put time and effort into.
Would you restore a 1972 AMC Gremlin? If so this might be the boat for you.

Welcome to the forum.

As stated, not the best boat and you will not never nope turn a profit on restoring it.

If it's your hobby, go for it. I had a 2150 L Drive, really liked the boat and how it handled.

Mercruiser all the way.

My 95 Larson isn’t the best either but I decided to restore it. It should be done by spring. Be prepared to get glass dust everywhere! I’ll never get back what I got into it but it was an interesting project.

Welcome......Talk to the spouse and make an educated decision from there. Post pics!

81Supra said:

I'm looking for opinions on what to do with my recent acquisition. I picked up a rotten 1985 Bayliner Capri. .......

Right now I am looking at 3 options
1. Part it out and scraping the hull. Selling just the Stringer system would more than double what I paid
2. Restore it as is
3. Restore it, sell the OMC parts and convert to Mercruiser

I'm not a stranger to fiberglass work as I completely restored a 1981 Supra ski boat and this would be a cake walk compared to the Supra. Any other options or opinions would help me decide what to do with this boat.

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look at fiberglass prices. it will cost you a good $5k to restore the hull and upholstery. add another $2k + to swap to a mercruiser motor/drive

that is more than the boat will be worth

go with parting it out.

I’ve always wanted an 80s bayliner capri as they have a cool look…. But every time I think about needing to do fiberglass and spending $$$$ and time on it, I always let the particular boat I’m looking at pass by.

Thanks everyone for the opinions. I don't mind the work, and my wife is okay with my projects as long as they are sensible. I do get the return on investment and that restoring boats is almost always on the wrong side of that equation. However for me, I look at it flip side, how much would a boat without those issues cost and can I restore a boat for less than that. My 81 Supra was sentimental and the cost of a ski boat was about the same or more. That restore is here

With that said, I have decided to part it out and scrap the hull. I'm in the process of testing the engine and outdrive so I can post for sell along with all the other pieces that are still good. The upholstery is actually in decent shape so that will most likely go up for too.

81Supra said:

Thanks everyone for the opinions. I don't mind the work, and my wife is okay with my projects as long as they are sensible. I do get the return on investment and that restoring boats is almost always on the wrong side of that equation. However for me, I look at it flip side, how much would a boat without those issues cost and can I restore a boat for less than that. My 81 Supra was sentimental and the cost of a ski boat was about the same or more. That restore is here

With that said, I have decided to part it out and scrap the hull. I'm in the process of testing the engine and outdrive so I can post for sell along with all the other pieces that are still good. The upholstery is actually in decent shape so that will most likely go up for too.

Click to expand...

Bayliner owners club has a classified section. Good place to sell brand/model specific stuff.

I agree that if you want to build a boat that you want to have and know it is all good, do it. Just like a wife tho, make sure it is 'the one' and it will not cost even more money in the long run.....