1984 rinker 15 ft worth 1975 Mercury 850 outboard rotten

[Codywharwood]

Hi all,

I am the new owner of a 1984 15 ft rinker bowrider. I bought the boat knowing it may need a new floor at some point but was otherwise a solid boat ready for the water .well the first weekend I had it IItook it out on the water Andrea he boat did run great and appeared issue free. I tied it to the dock overnight at our campground and awoke the next morning to the boat sitting on the floor of the lake .Luckily the water was fairly shallow and me and a few other guys were able to tow it out of the water and drain it . Upon inspection it appears the boat is leaking from behind where the motor is bolted to the transom. The boat has a CNC aftermarket powrr *** and trim that was bolted through the transom . There seems to be some sort of epoxy the previous owner tried to seal it with which is also slathered along the bottom of the stern which ok sure is patching some sort of hole.

So it seems I will be starting my restoration project sooner than I had originally anticipated .need to get the motor off the boat and cut into the transom to get a better idea of how bad it is and how I want to repair it .any advice on the transom repair is much appreciated. My thoughts now are to cut out the rear of the boat transom area with an angle gronder, remove the rotten wood and replace with new marine plywood, and reinstall the fiberglass

 

[Woodonglass]

Well, experience tells me that with a 34 year old boat, you'll prolly need to do more than just the transom. Are there any softspots in the deck? You'll need to remove the deck to get to the transom and, Based on the pics, you'll need to either decap the boat or at the very least remove the back 18" of the cap cut at the gunwales. Stringers, deck and transom are pretty typical for boats of this vintage. I would NOT advise cutting the transom out from the outside. Much better to do it from the inside. Not saying you can't but...It can be much more difficult. If you do remember YOU MUST LEAVE about 6" of glass all around the perimeter in order to tab the glass back into the boat. You'll also have to create the transom in Pieces in order to fit it into the slot created.

 

[Codywharwood]

The deck does have a few soft spots. When you say "decap" what does that refer to? I appreciate the input!

I was trying to get out of this without completely gutting it. The plan was to cut out the entent transom fiberglass section of the boat, take out all of the wood and put new wood inside of this entire section. Then put the fiberglass back over the transom and add new fiberglass on all edges and seal it up real good to keep it solid and lay a new deck down on top of the old with plywood that is completely fiberglassed to keep it from rotting . I only paid 500 dollars for the boat, trailer, and motor so im trying to decide if it's really worth it to do all that needs to be done and what it will cost me to fix it up to get a few years out of it . What would be the downside of just patching it up like that in the next 3 years?

I am considering really diving into this and trying to do it the "right way" but I am afraid of what the cost would be. What would your say a rough estimate would be for materials on a boat this size for deck, stringers, and transom done right? I've read a few restoration posts and haven't seen much posted on the investment amount .

Thanks again for any input!!

 

[Woodonglass]

It’s your boat so you’re free to do what you want but...the stringers bulkheads deck and transom ARE the Backbone and skeleton of your boat. If they are not 100% then your boat is at risk. To do it right you’re looking at a budget of $1500 to $2000 and 150-200 hrs of work. Good news is... she’ll be better than new and last for decades

decapping means taking the top half of the boat off

 

[Redtruck12]

34 year old boat that has been band aid repaired AND you recently pulled it from the bottom of the lake.
listem to the advice of experienced guys like woodonglass
It likely needed a full redo even before sinking so if you are serious about doing it right then you are in the right place

 

[Codywharwood]

Thank you for the advice. Do you have a recommended thread to follow on the best method for decapping a boat similar to this? I'm going to build a motor stand this weekend and get the motor off of the boat. As far as the Band-Aid patches on the hull what would you recommend on these?

 

[Woodonglass]

These are 3 of my All-Time Favorite restorations. They cover almost every aspect of restoring a boat. You'll learn a LOT by reading thru all of them.


https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...er-restoration

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...store?t=441929

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...=1406423604654


This has some good info too...Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms