1979 Imperial

Pmccraney · Dec 31, 2011

Hey bear.. Just checking in... Laid up with bronchitis, so ringing in the new year by thumbing through some threads... and watching a little football.

Just a couple of questions...out of curiosity, what are those square impressions/lines on your deck surface?

Also, did you just use an angle grinder to cut away your bow seats...looks like you got some clean cuts....

Again, looking forward to this build... Happy new year to you.

bear_69cuda · Dec 31, 2011

Re: 1979 Imperial

Sorry you're feeling bad dude...

Hope you get well soon! I'm laying low chillin tonight also...

The square shapes are areas that were covered by wet carpet that discolored the deck surface. The one in the bow deck area was 3/8" ply glassed to the bottom of the section I removed. (attached to the original seating area) It acted like a shim of sorts...

I used angle grinder with 4" cutting wheel to remove everything.

GT1000000 · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Hey bear,
As promised, I just finished reading through your thread and will be coming aboard, with your permission of course...

I must repeat myself, you scored huge on this Imperial...

For what you are doing to it and what it set you back, you might just be one of the few Iboats restorers who could actually turn a nice profit, if you decided to ever sell...but I kinda doubt that for the foreseeable future...

The casting decks are going to look awesome and provide a lot of much needed storage...

At the pace you are going, you should have this baby splashed in a matter of weeks...KUDOS!

That is going to be one sweet fishin rig...and I really dig the color scheme, definitely reminiscent of the muscle car era...

Now that I've seen your sig, I have more thread reading to do, so TTFN...

Best Regards,
GT1M

Pmccraney · Jan 1, 2012

Hey,
Someone may have mentioned this earlier, but wanted to link this thread for you.

http://recaffeinated.net/skankybeast/page1.html

This looks very similar to your boat, and with the exception of the rear casting decks, the finished product looks very similar to what I think you are shooting for.

And, yes, GT1M.... Bear's bayliner thread is required/good reading. I think it was the first thread I ever read from start to finish on here, and I blame him for being the "gateway thread" to my hopeless iboats addiction.

GT1000000 · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Wow!, where do I start...

The 'cuda, one of my dream cars, favorite color, too! Awesome!

The Bayliner, a work of art, absolutely and positively one of the nicest Bayliner's out there...

Every piece you put into it shows the amount of thought and craftsmanship that was involved.

After reading through the entire thread, I have picked up some great ideas that I will be using in my rig.

When I reached the next to the last page on the thread and found out you had sold it, I almost cried...
I know the sadness mixed with immense pride you must have felt when you let her go...

Thanks for sharing that amazing project and I will definitely be riding your coat tail on this restore...

Now to read all about the Cobalt...

Best Regards,
GT1M

GT1000000 · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

OK, the Cobalt was an easy read...and yeah I gotta agree with all the positive comments on that site from all of the followers...

As always, your attention to detail and your craftsmanship absolutely SHINE!

bear_69cuda · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Hey Patrick and GT1M,

Thanks for the kind words about the Bayliner and the 'Cuda. Sadly I sold the 'Cuda last winter to help pay for the Cobalt... She needed someone to drive and maintain her. I found my love for boating far outweighed my love of muscle cars... The Bayliner was a modification, and I really didn't do much fabrication like the bruthas here on iboats... OOPS, Arch and Wood, just to name a few, are truly talented craftsmen... I just like to learn and tinker... But thanks just the same!

I have some news about the Imperial, and now may be my time in the sun!!!!!! My transom has rotted, along with the main stringer de-laminating the entire length of the hull. It's all waterlogged, so the deck and cap will be removed. This is bad in that I thought I dodged a bullet with this 32 year old tub, it's good in that I really wanted to try my hand at stringers, and deck construction. Now I'll be able to design my configuration without the limitation of previous installed structure. The only limits are the cap , and hull shape. I still plan on keeping the boats stock overall look and color. But now the game is wide open in regards to decks, storage, foam, and other cool tid bits!

I'll post the rot pics ASAP!

bear_69cuda · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

This is a general pic of the foam I removed...

Now the stringer rot.. I drilled inspection holes all the way to the bow area. There is water visible, and discoloration due to de-lamination and rot along the bottom of the entire stringer.

Now transom rot!

JDA1975 · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

the one i tore apart had a transom that looked like that... so rotted it fell apart before i could touch it with a screwdriver lol....I am sorry you ran into that, but if anyone can turn it into a positive, you can! Once you have cap/deck removed, might as well flip that hull and make your bottom repairs that much easier!

Woodonglass · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Uhmm Bear,

I might be wrong, but I don't think you can replace your transom with the top cap on that boat. Your splashwell is molded to the cap and the transom appears to extend up into the back of the splash. You can cut the cap in front of the splash on the gunwales and then patch the gunwales when you reinstall if you don't want to remove the whole cap. But since you have to remove the whole deck to get to the stringers you might as well just decapitate her.

bear_69cuda · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Yep...

Decapitation!

I thought I mentioned that previously?

I thought about cutting the gunwales, but after I drilled inspection holes all along the main stringer, seeing delam and water damage, I figure off with er' head!

When drilling the rivets out, what size drill bit should I use? Smaller than the diameter of the rivet head?

JDA1975 · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

I use a drill bit just slightly larger than the dimple made in the rivet, drill just until the head of rivet starts to spin, then tap it in with a nail punch if it doesn't just fall in on its own

Woodonglass · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Have you crawled under the splash to see if it is "Resined" to the transom. Some are and they are a BEEEEATCH to get loose.

bear_69cuda · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

JDA1975 said:
I use a drill bit just slightly larger than the dimple made in the rivet, drill just until the head of rivet starts to spin, then tap it in with a nail punch if it doesn't just fall in on its own

Thanks JDA!

bear_69cuda · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Woodonglass said:
Have you crawled under the splash to see if it is "Resined" to the transom. Some are and they are a BEEEEATCH to get loose.

It looks to have a big glob of PB around it...

Look like war ahead...

Are there and specific measurements I should take before I remove the cap? I need to ponder this for a spell before decap...

Should I tie the side supports together? This is the starboard side support I'm talking about. I thought this would help keep the hull's shape during demo and construction...

Woodonglass · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

yep take measurement at the deck level at multiple locations from bow to stern. Once decapitated you can use nylon straps to maintain her shape. You just have to make sure when you tab the new deck to the hull sides that your measurements are the same so the cap will fit back on.

bear_69cuda · Jan 1, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Woodonglass said:
yep take measurement at the deck level at multiple locations from bow to stern. Once decapitated you can use nylon straps to maintain her shape. You just have to make sure when you tab the new deck to the hull sides that your measurements are the same so the cap will fit back on.

Straps are a good idea boss!

In regards to pre-decapitation measurements...

What if I plan on changing the main seating area's deck height ~1-2" and how the consoles currently mount to the deck? I was thinking about running a forward bulkhead between the consoles for support with a small step onto the bow casting deck. I guess what I'm asking is -do the measurements really matter now? I still need to trim the cap by the consoles, and the deck height is gonna change... I assume I can set the cap back in place and use it to mock-up the new deck heights and so-forth... Just need some confirmation on my thought process...

I'll sketch up some sort of schematic of what layout I've been day-dreaming about...

Thanks again for the help!

bear_69cuda · Jan 4, 2012

Re: 1979 Imperial

Cap is off!

I cut a chunk of deck out, and I have wet foam.

Rotten transom, deck, and stringers are out next. I'm starting to visualize exactly how I'll design the decks.

My buddy T$ helped me out for beer and pizza! Thanks brutha!

Took tons of measurements! The hull spread apart ~ 1" just with the cap removed. As WOG suggested, I'll use nylon wratchet straps to the correct for the flex of the hull, then glass the stringers and deck...

As WOG suspected the splash-well was PB'd to the transom. Would not budge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I cut it out, as I plan on changing it's configuration anyhow..