Free boat... soft floor... 1988 Bayliner Capri Transom, Floor and Stringer repair

[wilkboater]

I thought I should start the thread with three phrases that get used together very often on iboats. A little history, my wife's dad bought the boat new in '88. It sat on a lift in a marina for the first few years, then went to a barn, then another barn. It wasn't started for 12 years, then I married into the family and we brought it out of storage and started using it now and then. Finally, my father-in-law got tired of paying property taxes and insurance for something he wasn't using, so he gave it to us(the only people in the family who had used it in 15 years). The floor has had two soft spots in front of the rear seat boxes for a few years, they have slowly gotten worse. Now that it belongs to us, I'm going to look into it and see if it's worth saving, or a candidate for parting out. I know there is rot, I know there is wet foam, but I'm hopeful that it is only in the rear. I've read enough on iboats to know that I might get let down, but it has always been kept under a roof, plug out, and bow up. I'll keep my fingers crossed. This thread won't be to show off my boat repair skills(I don't have any), but to draw from the vast wealth of knowledge that this forum is blessed with. I'll start digging in the next few days, so keep your fingers crossed for me......for now, a few pictures to get moving.


We use it for this and tubing.

 

[glenn property of pam]

bayliner was a cheap boat built cheaply. To be honest remove all hope that this is a quick fix and decide if this is really the boat you want or if this is the boat you have because it was free. You can rebuild it better than new and everyone will be here to help. But once rebuilt you will have more money in it than its worth (resale) so you will be stuck with it.

 

[wilkboater]

I think I have the pics working.....wow photobucket it slow tonight.

 

[Rickmerrill]

Hey Wilk I got my fingers crossed for ya. Looks like you have a 5l with an alpha one, decent hull and upholstery, all good things. It will be interesting to see what you find below. Good luck!

 

[wilkboater]

Thanks for the crossed fingers Rick, actually it's an OMC Cobra(forgot to post that...too busy trying to make the pics work). I know Cobras have their drawbacks, but it has always been maintained, and only has 127 hours on it. Engine is strong, upholstery has some wear, but is very usable. When we get the hull squared away, we'll worry about making it pretty.

 

[geneseo1911]

Well, it has 1 BIG thing going for it...a Mercruiser V8. I didn't know Bayliner even sold V8's in boats that size. That might make it worth saving. It's gotta be fast....imagine it with a 383....

The bad news is its a Bayliner and always will be. You'd spend about as much in materials as you could hope to get out of it if sold, but at least you wouldn't be upside down in it like most of us are since your purchase price was $0. Not bad looking though. I'd build her up and be proud of her. And maybe take those side windows off.....

 

[jc55]

It's a family heirloom. Therefore, selling the wife on the cost of the restore will never be an issue!

 

[geneseo1911]

Well now I feel silly. I see now that it isn't a Merc. I think Cobra parts aren't too terrible hard to get though. A lot of the stuff like gimbal bearings and u-joints are common to Mercruiser anyway, aren't they? If it was mine I might to to scrounge up a spare drive.

Still a good looking boat though, should polish up nicely. It will be interesting to see what you find. My money is on a total gut, but if it's never really been in the water or outside....

 

[greenbush future]

The boat looks to be in above average condition, I would think you have a good suspect for restoration. To what level is completely up to you.

 

[Rickmerrill]

I'm silly too! Just saw something black sticking out the back and I just assumed MC. Should have looked for the skeg on the bottom. But at least it's the Chevy 5L and Cobra, the best OMC combo there is for parts availability.

 

[jigngrub]

If you sell it/part it out and take that money to buy something else you'll end up with the same problems or worse.

If you need to justify the cost of repairs, go look at brand new boats... that ought to shock you into fixing what you already have. You can get a like new boat for a fraction of the cost of a brand new boat by fixing that one up.

You say you don't have any boat work skills, well I can't think of a better boat for you to acquire them on.... everybody has to start somewhere.

Fix the boat, we'll be here to cheer you on.

 

[mercurymang]

I've always kind of liked the look of the capri. I think you should fix it up. Just be sure to go in prepared. You can definitely do the work, it's just the man hours involved that are daunting.

 

[Pmccraney]

Thanks for posting up your boat/project. Hmm... Free bayliner with sagging floors (you are right, many a restore thread has been started with those words... Some good/some nightmares). The boat actually looks to be in pretty good shape. I don't know how wet the foam is or if the boat is riding heavy. However, before you go tearing a bayliner with an OMC to shreds, have you thought about just doing a thorough evaluation of safety and, if it is safe, just touching her up a bit and using her? As much as we like hobbies and projects (and as MUCH as safety comes first - always), it is an absolute, undisputed scientific fact, that using/playing in boats is more fun than working on them (especially glass boats and the dreaded vapors of death and the associated itch). Just make sure you are fully committed in terms of desire and money before you go ripping that thing apart and take what appears to be a usable boat with working power into, well, a "situation,"

I'm not trying to be offensive (or be a downer on your enthusiasm), but it's not a classic boat, so its sort of like doing a full-gut restore on am early 90s Honda Prelude. However, if its your Honda Prelude and and you love it and you want it be new and pretty and use it for a long time, then start gutting that thing and we'll cheer you on.

Peace out and keep us posted.

 

[mercurymang]

it is an absolute, undisputed scientific fact, that using/playing in boats is more fun than working on them (especially glass boats and the dreaded vapors of death and the associated itch)

I nominate this for quote of the year.

 

[jc55]

I nominate this for quote of the year.

Actually, I'd be the one person in the court of popular opinion to disagree. I had a nightmare once that I owned a new boat that needed nothing. :joyous:

 

[mercurymang]

Actually, I'd be the one person in the court of popular opinion to disagree. I had a nightmare once that I owned a new boat that needed nothing. :joyous:

And I can understand that dilemma as well. If only fiberglass weren't so darned itchy.

 

[Scott Danforth]

soft floor = rotten stringers and rotten transom.

however it is a family heirloom that has memories attached to the heart strings.

I would flip a coin. Heads - part it out, Tails - get itchy and fumed while rebuilding it.

 

[Corjen1]

I've always kind of liked the look of the capri. I think you should fix it up. Just be sure to go in prepared. You can definitely do the work, it's just the man hours involved that are daunting.

I have always like the look of them as well....IMO, the side windows make the look! Good luck on your rebuild, check out Wodonglass, Friscoboater, Archbuilder GT1000000 and Sphelps threads..... theirs and many others are invaluable source of data and info. Pretty good bunch of yahoos as well....

 

[SpitAndDirt]

I know that I would be interested to see you restore it. Just like a few others have said, it's in above average shape. And the cost of new boats: you can have them! With this boat falling into your possession with zero investment on your part, I don't see the downside of putting the money into making it better than factory-new, as long as you are willing to put in the work to do it of course. We are all here to help!

You and I are in the same club, I have a Sunbird. They weren't known for being a superior boat builder either. May I ask, since it hasn't been directly stated, do you have a Chevy motor or the Ford? OMC used both engine manufacturers for the Cobra sterndrive. If you are unsure, the Chevy engine would have the distributor at the rear, the Ford at the front of the motor. I'm only curious because I have the Ford 5.0 myself.

 

[NYBo]

Based on how you say the boat was stored, it's a little old that it has any rot at all. However, there IS a chance it's localized, and the transom and stringers are sound. If so, repairs might cost only a few hundred dollars in materials. There's only one way to tell, though.