1985 Bayliner Ciera Sunbridge Resto

[Frstone3]

Just got this thing home. Its a real Arizona desert wreck. There is lots of sun damage to everything padded on the top deck, some hair cracks around the top rim and some water damage in the cabin from leaking windows. Supposedly the motor is rebuilt with only 10 hours on it and has been sitting winterized for a few years. My goal is to restore her and name her something like "Phoenix". Wish me luck! Any inspiration and/or suggestions would be great. I will post my progress.

 

[AShipShow]

Welcome to the forum.. nice looking boat! Lots of potential there... good news is, your at the best place on the internet for restoration help.
bad news is you have an 85 bayliner. Not the best history in terms of build quality and longevity.
it is in Arizona which is an odd circumstance so you may be lucky, but personally I would conduct a survey of the stringer, random, and desk condition... that age of boat screams rot...
hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not, we're here to help you get her back to better than new.

 

[dezmond]

Great Looking boat... Hope all goes in your favor!!! Can't wait to see how she turns out...

Dezi

 

[AShipShow]

Wow.. just reread my post... dang autocorrect lol... if you weren't sure I meant stringers transom and deck.

 

[Scott Danforth]

good luck with your project. as madprops indicated, not the best foundation of a project, however it is the best website for information. if the answers you seek are not in the stickies (doubtful) just ask

 

[mickyryan]

they weren't bad boats but atr that age i would at very least after checking structure replace every fuel hose and check tank

 

[Frstone3]

Wow.. just reread my post... dang autocorrect lol... if you weren't sure I meant stringers transom and deck.

Well I am very new to this whole boat idea, I have a friend here that is in with me on this project and he knows way more than I do. The only one of those terms I know is "deck" and its good. Im not sure where its been before it came to Arizona but its been here for at least 10 years, maybe more. Its very dry here so Im not too worried about rot but the sun has done a job on everything within its reach. The reason I am building a cover for it today.

 

[Woodonglass]

Arizona boats rot too!! If there's water below the deck( Very good chance there is) there will be rot! Are there any soft spots in the floor/deck. What Power Plant does she have. I'd HIGHLY recommend core sampling the Motor Mounts and the transom especially around the key hole where the outdrive attaches.

 

[Scott Danforth]

mid 80's bayliners rotted on the showroom floor

any water below deck and there will be rot

take core samples.

 

[Frstone3]

Arizona boats rot too!! If there's water below the deck( Very good chance there is) there will be rot! Are there any soft spots in the floor/deck. What Power Plant does she have. I'd HIGHLY recommend core sampling the Motor Mounts and the transom especially around the key hole where the outdrive attaches.

The power plant is a Rebuilt Chevy 350 with 10 hours on it. How would I go about getting these core samples? And if they provide bad news, would I be wise to scrap the whole show?

 

[sopwithcamel74]

The power plant is a Rebuilt Chevy 350 with 10 hours on it. How would I go about getting these core samples? And if they provide bad news, would I be wise to scrap the whole show?

Depends on how much you've got into it, if you ask me.

My perspective is that you really have two distinct sides to boat restoration culture: those who do it with no care for resale and those who do. Yes, there are a million shades of grey between those two sides, but at the end of the day only you can decide what's worthy of your time and money.

Another thing about this culture is that most of us are keen to do a better job than what was done by the factory. If the engine is truly in good shape and you obtained this for a good enough price, you potentially can spend less to get on the water than you would on a comparable boat that's water-ready.

Lastly: the issue cited with old Bayliners seems more attributable to the fact that they were targeted towards entry-level boat owners; lots of them ended up in the hands of people who, for one reason or another, saw them as being more or less disposable. Was the build quality exceptional? By and large, no. But I've found it not to be nearly as bad as others seem to think.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The power plant is a Rebuilt Chevy 350 with 10 hours on it. How would I go about getting these core samples? And if they provide bad news, would I be wise to scrap the whole show?

take a 1/4" drill bit, a cordless drill and a piece of tape

put the tape 3/4"-1" from the end

now starting in the bilge, drill into the stringers about 1/2" up above the hull to the tape, make about 3 or 4 drills on each side

also drill into the transom from the inside the same depth, about an inch above the hull, starting about 3" from the keel drain and moving upward, making about 3 or 4 drills on each side of the keel

if the shavings are light-colored, dry and smell like drilled fiberglass and fresh wood, then simply patch them with marine tex epoxy putty, buy a lottery ticket and go boating

if the shavings are dark colored, wet and smell like moldy rotting wood.....pull the motor and start gutting the hull for a refit.

sometimes you will drill and not find wood because it rotted away years ago
sometimes you will drill and water will start coming out
sometimes you will drill and a bunch of carpenter ants will start coming out.

I like to drill thru the stringers to the flotation foam on the other side. many times it will simply start pouring water.

 

[mickyryan]

That all said, my trophy only had moisture about 1/4 of a inch up on rear of stringers after 30 yrs to me that speeks volumes on how well it did and this boat was sunk , bayliners get a bad rap ut most came from new boaters a entri level boat capri version and there cheap finishes , imho searays were just as bad and wellcraft were too but those two dont get nearly the bashing bayliner does , they all were crappy built but lasted as long as properly kept up so who knows

 

[Scott Danforth]

Most boats in the 80's had questionable manufacturing

 

[Woodonglass]

Bayliner makes some NICE looking boats. Their styling is very well conceived. Nothing wrong with their hulls.
ANY boat that's well cared for will last a long time. Well manufactured boats WILL last a bit longer than a poorly manufactured boat even with abuse. I'd venture to say that the majority of the restorations on this forum are Bayliners. Why? back to my first statement, They DO have nice styling and customer appeal.

 

[Frstone3]

Bayliner makes some NICE looking boats.

Yea Ive always liked them. At the bottom of your post, it says paint your boat with tractor paint. Is that a joke or something to consider? I want to put some paint on mine to cover up some of the unsightly cracks but I want to do it right with something good that will last. I assumed theres marine paint that would be best but havent looked that far ahead yet.

 

[jbcurt00]

Yep, plenty of members have followed Woods linked paint advise.

Any oil based enamel works w his plan. Adding a catalyst hardener helps, that info is also listed @ his paint link.

BUT it is best used on trailer boats, paint below the waterline is prone to failure on moored boats. Some members have had problems w paint below the waterline w expensive marine paints too. Some even had peeling on above waterline areas as well.

There are plenty of marine paints available

either way, prep prep prep......

read thru other resto topics, lots of them used Woods paint advise. Take a look at his Flamingo rehab also listed, he followed his own advise when he painted it above and below the waterline.....

 

[Woodonglass]

No JOKE! Oil Based Alkyd Paint with the hardener give you a very High Gloss and durable finish. Easy to Tint and achieve about any color you want. Let me know if you want/need additional info.

 

[matt167]

Nice boat. 80's Bayliners had great style but the build quality suffered a bit. They were marketed to a price point, laid up with chopper guns quickly ect... Any boat of that age will have at least a 50% chance of showing rot though

The Bayliner Capri I/O is a boat I dream of owning. style like no other, sold like hot cakes because of it. BUT, any Bayliner Capri is going to need a full resto, and then the I/O version will need a Mercruiser or Volvo repower due to OMC parts getting scarce

That is the other thing to your boat. It most likely has an 800 series OMC Stringer drive. If it works now great, if it breaks later, good luck with parts ( Iboats can get impellers and pumps, gaskets, bellows AFAIK ). Chance it has a Cobra drive which is better, and the difference is obvious

 

[dezmond]

Nice boat. 80's Bayliners had great style but the build quality suffered a bit. They were marketed to a price point, laid up with chopper guns quickly ect... Any boat of that age will have at least a 50% chance of showing rot though

The Bayliner Capri I/O is a boat I dream of owning. style like no other, sold like hot cakes because of it. BUT, any Bayliner Capri is going to need a full resto, and then the I/O version will need a Mercruiser or Volvo repower due to OMC parts getting scarce

That is the other thing to your boat. It most likely has an 800 series OMC Stringer drive. If it works now great, if it breaks later, good luck with parts ( Iboats can get impellers and pumps, gaskets, bellows AFAIK ). Chance it has a Cobra drive which is better, and the difference is obvious

I love the look of my Bayliner Capri.. It fits the family perfectly and I am doing a full rehab on it as well. I did swap out the ford 2.3 for a mercruiser 120 and outdrive and that was simple to do.. No issues at all. Can't say about the bigger engines though. Have fun!! I will be watching along the way