19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

[mikey7945]

I just got a swiss 6 fiberglass boat.
My father in-law just gave it to me. It has a 1978 Mercury 800 80hp. About 7 or 8 years ago the motor was completely over hauled and rebuilt. I pulled the cover off and it looks pretty good the plugs and wires look to be in good shape along with all the fuel lines.

The boat itself is in descent shape other than some scuffs and gouges on the hull. The inside is another story. I pulled all the seats and everything out and the floor was soft in some spots. I cut part of the floor out and saw the stringers were in descent shape. The stringers lookes like some type of 2x....my question is can i replace just the middle section of the fllor and glass it in...it looks as if thats the only bad spot because whoever put the seats in just put screws in and didnt seal it at all.

The transom looks pretty solid. I pulled down on the bottom of the motor and it doesnt flex much if at all.

Can i get any advice on restoring this boat.

-Mike

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

Welcome to iBoats.

Drill some holes in your stingers with a 3/8 inch drill bit and see if you get light brown dry shavings. Do the same with your transom along the base on the inside. Be careful not to drill all the way thru. If they check out to be dry and solid then you are good to go and you can replace the deck(boats don't have floors) in any manner you wish. Just remember, any rotten wood will continue to rot, so make sure you get rid of ALL of it. Do a search on forum for replacing your deck and you will get all the info you need. IMHO you should use 5/8 ext. grade ply wood, coat both sides and edges with resin and then glass the top with a minimum of 9 oz cloth. Do that and your deck will last longer than you.

I'm just sayin...

Good luck on your project.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

Mikey,

Welcome to iboats. Just replacing the center section of the floor is fine but I suggest that you do a little more searching and test of the stringers and transom. Drill a coupl of shallow test holes to see the condition of the wood. Dry tan shavings will indicate good wood with no rot. Dark wet shaving means waterlogged and possible rot. Straight punch through means you got nothing. The stringers have to be in good enough shape to attach the new floor. Do the same drill test on the transom, preferribly down low on the inside near the drain hole. Bouncing on the outboard doesn't tell you much. Good luck and keep us posted. We like pics.

 

[mikey7945]

Re: 19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

The stringers are only glassed in on the bottom and the top of them are exposed....should i go ahead and just replace them while i have the deck out?? and so i have to pull the upper half of the boat off to do this??

 

[drewpster]

Re: 19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

If that is the only rot damage you have, you are exceedingly lucky. A boat that age is going to have some problems unless it has been well kept. Catastrophic failures happen when they are least expected. Do not trust the flex test by itself. You need to remove the deck and do some core drilling to find out what is really going on. Hopefully all your cores are intact, but it is unlikely. I would be very cautious about using the boat until you can get a clear picture of what shape it is in.
The fact that any part of the deck is soft indicates water intrusion and rot. First, pull all the plugs and any covers or hatches and check for trapped water. Pull any bolts or screws you can get to out out of the transom. Look for water or soft wood in the lower portions of the transom. If it has ever had a transducer (fishfinder) mounted on the transom this is a good place to start. If you can find no indication of rot then do some core drilling. Go get some 1/4 dowel rod and some epoxy resin. Drill in to the transom from inside the hull close to its lowest point. Water normally gets in at the bottom and works up. Dont over do it, just do a few places starting at the bottom working upward and outward in a random pattern. The idea is to drill deep enough to hold the dowel in place and check the core. Dont drill all the way through. If all is well, cut some dowel rod to fill the holes and epoxy them in place. Later if you decide to do some refinishing you can sand and cover them up with some new glass. Do the same with the stringers and any other support structures you are unsure of. Unfortunately a boat that age is likely to have more rot than you are hoping for. It happens to all of us. But it is better to be sure and be safe than to have regrets later.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: 19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

The stringers are only glassed in on the bottom and the top of them are exposed....should i go ahead and just replace them while i have the deck out?? and so i have to pull the upper half of the boat off to do this??

Only if you need to. Just do some of the checks mentioned here to see first if they need to be replaced or not.

 

[drewpster]

Re: 19?? Swiss 6 fiberglass...

The stringers are only glassed in on the bottom and the top of them are exposed....should i go ahead and just replace them while i have the deck out?? and so i have to pull the upper half of the boat off to do this??

Dont replace them unless they need it. if they are solid all the way up and down then they are fine. If you have to replace them, taking the cap off is a matter of room. Can you work the whole deck area with it in place?

BTW- You may want to check all the skins too. Beaching wear can occur at the bottom of the keel. You can use a punch to look for thin spots anywhere wear can occur. (beaching, trailering, loading ect...)