"1986 16.5' Dateline/Sidewinder sports boat. Full strip and rebuild

[kwik_uk]

I've got a 16.5' Dateline Bikini (1986 I think) that I keep in my local marina.

After motor mishaps described in this thread last year. I decided to wait until Easter and take some time off to start a full strip down and rebuild of the boat before I put the bigger heavier motor on.

Essentially I'm going to need to take the cap off for this one, as I'm looking to replace the stringers and transom, also new floor and poly foam. I'm relocating the battery and fuel tank (gone for an inboard one) up front to try and even out the weight a bit.

Anway, enough jibber-jabber and I'll get straight to the pics:

These show the front section of the bow behind the foot stand:

In the third and fourth pic you can see how the fibre glass has separated and become weak.

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

The back and sides of the foot rest:

This is the back of the foot rest and both corners.

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

The rear well and back of floor supports:

You can see that a lot of the wood here is shot, and even a bit of glass looks like it hasn't been moulded correctly.

Click here to see my transom well area in a 3D panorama.

The boat is coming out of the water during next weekend, and then I've got two weeks to have it finished and back in the water with it's new outboard on! I'll be working like the wind!

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

She's finally out of the water! After paddling round to our slipway, she came out last night.

Point of interest, always put your trailer lock key somewhere safe (that you can remember, as I'm sure mine is still very safe somewhere)

After lots of power washing on the hull to get all the sleck off the anti-foul before it dries into a layer of diamond-hard crud:

Tip of the day: Don't climb into a soapy and wet boat, in the dark, wearing shorts. Results were not amusing. At least I've got a spare to walk with on the other side. Antiseptic + super glue = good to go.

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Went straight back down to the marina this morning with my keen (yeah right) helper gf.

Gazebo to keep us dry while we work:

Interior stripped out:

Carpets came out nice and easy:

Rear floor:

Drivers seat base:

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Some soft wood round the seat base:

Another Photosynth 3D panorama can be seen here (it's not the best, be warned lol :facepalm
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=926200b1-0dce-40af-9e67-8e6ad2e00b81&m=false&i=0:0:0&c=0:0:0&z=548.19408059555&d=-1.59106300665967:-1.59106300665967:-0.907019282218126&p=0:0&t=False

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Hello Mark and welcome to the drydock,

That Bikini has some really sexy lines...looking forward to your progress.

Hope all goes well and remember we are here for you...to give advice, sometimes useful, other times not so...cheer and jeer you on...and generally to try and learn a thing or three from each other...

Best of Luck and Have Fun!
GT1M

PS-I am gonna have to check out that Photosynth site...I didn't know it existed for mere mortals such as myself...

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Hi GT1M,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm looking forward to getting her rebuilt and back out on the water. I just hope I can get all this work done in the two weeks I have off!

One thing I'm still struggling to work out is what type of hoist I'll need to install my new motor. The old Merc tower of power that's on at the moment is heavy, but not too heavy to install manually. However the new V6 that's going on weighs a ton! I've got the correct lifting hook for it, but none of the hoists (auto engine) that I've seen for hire locally look tall enough.

Also if you haven't used Photosynth before it's well worth checking out. You can get the Microsoft Photosynth app for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and also for Windows Phone. This makes shooting a 3D panorama a breeze. You can upload straight from the app to Photosynth.net, facebook, twitter, Bing Maps etc.

I first used this to take a panorama of my fathers Four Winns after I did a job on it for him: Click Here

Regards,
Mark

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Wow, two weeks...I am definitely gonna be looking on to watch your progress...That is right up there with professional shop speed...maybe even faster...

I have been looking at the photobucket pics, especially the transom well and I have a couple of questions...
1- did you buy this boat from a previous owner?
2- Did you make the modifications that I see in there?

I ask because it looks like an aluminum plate has been added to the transom...this usually indicates a Band-aid repair...And...I see what looks like the knee stringers have been cut back...I could be wrong, but that looks like it could be bad...if the knee stringers are cut back and an aluminum plate is installed in the transom, you may have to look into getting that repaired properly before hanging a bigger, more powerful motor on there...

I don't know if this will help, but you could lower the front of the trailer all the way to the ground thus raising the transom with the engine on it, quite high, connect the engine to the hoist at as close as possible, jack the hoist with the engine as high as you can, then jack the front of the trailer high enough to have the transom almost touch the ground, giving you additional clearance for lifting the engines on and off...You could also slide the boat back on the trailer, so that the transom gets even closer to ground, if needed...

Also, while you are checking for rot, you should do a thorough core sampling of of the critical areas such as the stringers, transom and bulkheads...if the core samples come out light and dry, just re-fill the core with 3M 5200, and you are good to go...if, however the samples come out wet and mushy...you may be in for a bit more work...

Core sampling is nothing more than drilling a 3/8" hole into the wood at the lowest possible points...put a mark on the drill bit, so as not to go all the way through the part you are checking, especially the transom...then just look at the shavings...

Unfortunately, rot is similar in nature to rust, once it has gotten hold, unless complete eradicated, will continue to spread...on the bright side, it usually does not proliferate in boats that get saltwater in them, however, fresh or rain water that sits in the hull can produce the fungus that causes rot...

Thanks for the Photosynth link, I have already downloaded it and am learning how to use it...pretty cool stuff.

And remember, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask...

Hope all goes well...
Gus

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Hi Gus,

Yeah I know, two weeks is gonna be pretty tight! I've got a good idea of what I need to do, and I'm a little ahead of schedule at the moment which is a first!

To answer your questions: 1) I got it from my dad, who bought it when it was about 5-6 years old. 2) No I didn't make the modifications you see.

I do know the reason why they were done. It wasn't to strengthen the transom, it was to allow the use of a long shaft motor as the boat was initially designed for short shaft.

Ideally a jack plate would be the solution here. However in the UK these are harder to come by than hens' teeth.
It's also 4mm stainless steel that was fabricated (I believe) by my grandfather when he worked in the ship-yards up here.
The stringers haven't been cut, they came from the factory like that! Terrible. I also found out today when I ripped the floor up that they laid the stringers down out of 2' sections of 3/8" rather than one long length. Weird.
Anyway when I replace it all it all it's going to be out of 3/4" marine ply for the stringers, formers and bulkheads, 1/2" marine ply for the floor, and two layers of laminated 3/4" marine ply for the transom.

I'm taking the floor right back to the transom this time too, and making large knee joints to spread some of the force. I had considered getting some stainless brackets fabricated out of box section for this, however I think it's a bit overkill.

Here are some pictures from today's work:

Rotten floor under the drivers seat base. Looks like a crappy repair of pouring a cup of resin over the rot, lolly stick included!!

First section of floor cropped out. Formers were just laying in the bottom. They'd quite literally just rotted off. They were made from untreated pine :/

I'm not actually dead or asleep here, just removing the rear seat curtain:

More floor out. Left a strut across the middle just as a little support for when it's trailered home.

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

The remains of what was once (in the 80's) a "ok'ish" excuse of a floor:

Poor example of a former:

A cheese slice would have had more strength than the 2' sections of stringer I removed!!! (tastes better too)

A view from the back after I hauled the big ol' tower of power off:

A side shot of the 1.5" extension made to the transom (this isn't going back on btw)

Tomorrow a slightly easier job: fit a tow bar to a Range Rover so I can tow it home

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Glad to hear that your Mods were done for a better reason than a Band-aid, also very glad to hear you are adding some new Knee stringers...they will definitely add a lot of structural rigidity to the hull and help spread the forces of the new engine...

So, I take it that the transom is OK?, or is it getting replaced also?

Just my 2? worth, but if you are going this far, why not replace it, unless of course it is in perfect condition...

Then again, if the new engine requires the same amount of raising as the old ToP, you could build the transom to accomodate the rise and eliminate the SS support structure...

Other than that, it looks like you have this mission under control...Godspeed Mate!

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Alas the transom has the consistency of a chocolate bar. I went to remove a couple of screws that hold some trim on, and they just pulled out with my fingers.

The transom was going to be replaced anyway, but this just hardened my resolve.

My new motor is also a long shaft, so it will need to be raised. I'm planning on; like you say, increasing the height of the transom both in the wood and glass. I'll still put the stainless bracket back on, one for cosmetic looks (I'll polish it up), and two because it holds nostalgic value as my grandfather made it. I'll be moving to a jack plate next season, as it should give me time to source the one I want (and save enough for a hydraulic one ).

The boat had no two-part foam in it at all (it's not a legal requirement in the UK I think) so that's making stripping it much easier. Upon reassembly I'll be filling all the cavities with foam.

For all it's been hard work up to now, and my back is telling me it refuses to work any further, I'm really feeling good about this project.

A full set of new Mercury gauges should arrive on Tuesday along with all my timber, so at least I'll have some shiny new toys to play with

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Today has been another productive day! I've managed to get the cap off the boat (heavier than I thought), get a good chunk of the old transom out, and remove the majority of the foam from the rear.

The transom with the stainless plate removed. You can see a couple of cracks in the second picture.

The wood was so rotten it looked like soil. It was totally saturated with moisture. At least this made removing it a bit easier.

Cap removal:

Bad woven glass repair inside. This just peeled off:

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Removing what remained of the rotting and soaked transom:

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

I've never removed foam from a boat before, only read about it. I can now say with authority: it is awful

Removing the foam is such a horrible task. It gets everywhere! I can't imagine what it would have been like to de-foam an entire hull. I honestly think I'd have given up.
I'm pleased I did remove it though, as there were plenty of pockets in it that had pools of water laying at the bottom.
I also noticed a 1/4" tear in the top of my bilge hose just before it meets the outlet on the hull. It was on the back side out of sight. So every time I've used the bilge or when it's kicked in on auto, it's been pumping about 25% of the water back into the boat but behind the foam. No wonder the stringers were so shot!

Well that's where we had to leave it for tonight, I'll heading back down first thing in the morning, alas with no helper. Kate insists that she has at least one day of her Easter break to herself. Couldn't have gotten this far on my own, so I owe her a big thanks!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Kwik,

FYI, if you use the IMG tag in Photobucket it will post full size pics in your post and not require the iBoaters to go to Photobucket when clicking on the pics.

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

I didn't think this forum would auto-scale the pictures. I kept them as thumbs linking to the originals in case anyone wanted to look at them in full resolution.

Just tried a few after scaling and it looks good. I'll go back and modify my container tags.

 

[rickryder]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

You have quite a task ahead of you and a short amount of time.... I wish you good luck in your adventure
When it comes to the v6 you want to drop in... Know anyone with a tow truck that can boom it in for you?

 

[74bayliner]

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

Re: 1986 16.5' Dateline Bikini full gut and rebuild. My first

welcome to the dry dock sir! i cant wait to see how she turns out. cheers