1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

[ajone107]

Hello! Well this is, my first posting on the iboats forum. I have a 24' 1984 Celebrity Cuddy Cabin and need to replace some rotting wood underneath. The floor in the Cuddy Cabin is completely rotted through. The wood in the main deck is starting to show some flex and really needs to be redone. I believe they did not use Marine Grade plywood when it was replaced about 13 years ago...

I am hoping to do this project myself, but have absolutely no clue what I am in for. I have not pulled the carpet up yet, but the driver and passenger seats have quite a bit of flex to them and you can tell they are getting ready to rip out. Also, there a few other soft spots on the main deck. I am thinking I will want to look at maybe rebuilding the engine compartment as well while I am at it. I am rather mechanically inclined and do enjoy working on this type of stuff when I have good documentation/direction to go off of.

Being this is a 1984...there is not much out there on it. I know this is a long-shot...but is there anybody out there who has maybe done this with a 24' 1984 Celebrity or maybe something similar on a boat that would be similar? If so, what will I need to consider and what will be my major concerns and supplies needed for such a job (of course HQ marine wood). How much would this job cost to do myself and then in a shop on average?

Further, do you think there is more damage below the flooring? Is the boat currently in danger of sinking having a weak floor? The fiberglass hull seems to be okay.

I know this is a LOADED post! Any help/advice would be extremely appreciated. Thanks in advance for reading and helping out!

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

I'll knock this part out, someone will I'm sure. Be prepared for more rot. Usually the deck is the last part to go, after the stringers below have started to rot, and maybe the transom. Marine ply is not necessarily what has to be used, any decent exterior grade plywood can be used. I think I used 3/4 bcx plywood from home depot.

You can test your stringers and transom by drilling test holes. Drill about an inch into the transom from the inside.

What the experienced guys on here have discovered is that boats tend to rot from the bottom up, and the rear forward.

Realistically a proper rebuild on an 18' runabout is 1500$ for just what is necessary, no trimmings.

For a larger boat your size, I can only imagine materials would run a good bit more. I funded my restore a little here and there as I went, and it made it somewhat affordable. I will never get my money back, but I could never buy a boat as structurally sound as mine for what I have in it.

 

[ajone107]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

Thank you very much for the quick response!! Yes I have been reading around here in regards to other boat's woodrot issues and they have all been saying the exact same thing. The Transom on this boat looks to be in great condition though. I am having the lower unit greased and serviced this next week, I may have the mechanic check out the transom while he is looking at the lower unit.

Is your $1500 cost in regards to doing it at a shop or doing it manually on my own?

Money back on a boat? Bust-Out-Another-Thousand (BOAT)! My dad has taken excellent care of this guy and the mercruiser 260 we have on it has not too many hours on it since it was put in around 2000.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

On your own. I really wouldn't try to have someone else do it. If you do it, you can do it right! If someone else does it, they can hide a lot of shotty work. You can go check up on all the work, but you still may miss something.

 

[ajone107]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

How difficult of a job would you say this is? I mean we should definitely have all the tools to do it. What are the major concerns/considerations to have in order to do it "right"??

 

[TJS]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

I am sure user : Woodonglass will repond. He has some great articles for stringers, decks and transoms.
I am finally gettting to my boat after a year or so being out of the picutre.

 

[ajone107]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

Ahh haha I was reading a posting on here by WoodonGlass earlier. He does sound like he knows what he is talking about. I really hope our transom does not need any work.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

Welcome to iBoats!

Hope for the best, but expect the worst. Soft decks are usually just the symptom of many other issues with the boat. You can do the work but it will be tedious and time consuming. You will have some of the best advice in the world from the guys here on the forum so that won't be an issue. I've attached a PDF file to get you started but since your boat is a 24 footer your need will be approx. 50% more. Techniques will be the same. Pics always help us to help you so get yourself a free Photobucket account and then use the IMG code to copy and paste the pics into your iBoats thread. I'm assuming your motors and drives are all in good working order?? If so then the next order of business should be to get the deck removed and start investigating what issues lie below. Core sampling the stringers, transom and motor mounts should be first on the list. Let us know if we can help any time...

"Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"


(Click the Pic to Download and View the PDF File)


View attachment MaterialsList.pdf

 

[ajone107]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

You boys weren't lying! This is going to be quite the project. However, I am pretty sure our drives/engine are in great condition. I would guess that we will have to do stringers.

I am having the transom looked at when I get the lower unit maintained in a few weeks. However, I have never seen any flexing whatsoever on the transom and this boat takes on literally 0 water in the engine compartment during operation. Would that be a good sign that we don't have a transom issue? I am not 100% sure exactly the date in which I will be cutting her open, but I will for sure be taking LOTS of pictures! I told my dad I wanted a project boat..........

We just had the entire floor and everything redone back in 2000 (boat flooded big time on trailer had to get the mercruiser 260, new gas tank, floor.....etc, so it is extremely peculiar to see that it needs floor work again, so hopefully the damage is just in the floor....we shall see though.

Thank you guys so much for all your thoughts and advice on this. I have lots of research/reading/planning to do now! Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up soonish.

Should I be concerned about operating with a few soft spots in the floor? I must ask because I read your signature :-X I know that it has to be done before next summer, undoubtedly. I am just curious if I can make it to labor day without there being a serious concern. (I give the warning of making sure to dry off before getting in and then warning to make sure to step where it is solid). We rarely go cove out anymore, just use the boat as transportation mainly at the moment. I try to avoid wet people getting in the boat in its current condition.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

I wonder if the foam below deck became waterlogged and was not replaced? I guess at that size it may not have flotation foam?

 

[bakerjw]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

Going into it, expect everything to be bad. i used to go out and look at boats on Craigslist just to see what is out there. Now, when I do, I cringe at the number of boats out there that are rot monsters.

I had to tear out my transom this last week to get my cap cut loose. Should have been an hour job. Borrowed an electric chain saw as it was easier to handle than my 2 cycle ones. Made one plunge cut and heard an awful racket. I didn't even have to look. The boat manufacturer had secured the transom together with stainless screws. A one hour job too 2 1/2 to 3. You will run into these issues all day long.

But sometimes you do win one! I got my cap up high enough last night to look under the upper rail. The rail is 4" wide and screws for the railing have been real loose and hard to get to bite. Obviously the wood is in bad shape. I expected the rail to have wood along it's length. Lucky for me, they just used short pieces where they were needed! A win.

WOG and others are really knowledgeable about rebuilds. Be prepared to get itchy and dirty many times over. But also be prepared to stand back and admire a job well done.One that is better than the factory.

 

[ajone107]

Re: 1984 Celebrity Rotten Floor Restoration Project

This is basically the boat we are talking about. Looks identical to the one that has the Shade roof on. Mine may be a 1985, I may have mis-spoke the year.

$8,500 1985 Celbrity 23ft Cuddy for Sale in Andover, Minnesota Classified | AmericanListed.com