Got My First

[Paulz01]

I bought my first boat today. It is a 1987 Bayliner Caprice with a Volvo Penta 275. Does anyone know anything about this boat, any tips?

As of right now, the upholstery needs to be redone (not a big deal to fix for me), and the floor is spungy. This is my main concern, How serious is this? The floor is solid except for back left portion of the boat. Not exactly in the corner, rather in between the rear and passengers seat. How would I go about fixing this? I know that I have to replace the plywood but i am not sure how to go about doin it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Got My First

There's a few owners of similars around. I have an '85 with the VP275,
and it's in great shape overall. Only issue I have had with it is the motor
hatch top cover being rotted. I am finishing up that project, with a new
piece of spar varnished plywood. They used a layer of sponge as padding,
and it absorbed moisture over the years. It lasted over 20 years, so that's
not bad. There were hundreds of staples holding the vinyl over it, and the
screws they used were stainless. I am now thinking over whether to replace
the sponge with panel foam, because foam will not absorb moisture.

The VP 4 cylinder motor runs just great. It likes non-ethanol gas, and an 89
octane. Use some fuel stabilizer occasionally. Keep the ignition parts clean
and tuned. I use 20w50 oil in the engine and 275 gear case with good results.

Let us know the boat model and engine, and maybe you'll get more tips.
My floor is good, so can't help you there. Have you run the motor yet?

 

[Paulz01]

Re: Got My First

I have not run the motor yet but the owner said it was running with no problems a year ago when he last used it. The only reason that I havent run it/tested it out, was because i was not planning on buying it. I needed a trailer for the boat I am getting but the guy didnt want to sell the trailer without the boat, so I got both. I will get pics of it as soon as I can.