1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

[lebnaniejoe]

Ok? this is my first boat and I have already learned sooooo much. Like how not to get the shaft next time I go to purchase a used boat. So I bought the boat and the guy who I bought it from said he had been through it was lake ready. I took it out a couple of times and found that I was taking on water and decided to investigate more. After having a mechanic look at he told me that the transom was rotten and that it needed to be replaced. He quoted me some where between 2000 and $4000. After sinking (lol) all of my hard earned money into the boat purchase I can?t afford to pay another 2-4k to bring it up to ship shape. (Single father) I was hoping to make this a good summer for my daughters and am still determined to make it happen!

Now that the interdiction is aside, down to business. The transom is rotted all the way across from port to starboard. I am not quite sure how far down yet. I want to remove and replace the transom and need to know what all I need to do. What not to miss, what to pay attention to. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!

I have attached some pictures of what I discovered and posted videos to YouTube describing what I have found.

YouTube link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwRWzbPFRY8

I have a 1990 VIP Vision with a OMC Cobra 2.3 motor.

My questions?????

1) When taking the out drive out is there anything obvious that I need to know? Or does it simply unbolt from the motor and I remove the shift cable (with the shifter in the forward poison)
2) When removing the motor are there any special considerations to take when pulling it out?
3) When cutting out the transom do I need to cut out the floor around the transom as well, and how much?
4) Where do I find marine grade plywood? or can I go to home depot and get treated plywood to replace it with?
5) How do a reattach the new transom to the boat? Stringers?
6) Does anyone want to come help supervise the project?. I have got plenty of cold beer! Hehehe

I hope this helps and will get me started on what I need to do to make this happen? bring on you questions/comments/ advice and I will post more pics as I make progress.


Thanks,

Joe

 

[Coho Ghost]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Joe,

With the condition your transom appears to be in, you need to be prepared for the stringers and floor decking to be rotten too. You say $$$ is an issue, well in the worst case senario you are looking at maybe $3000.00+ to get that boat into top condition. Check everything out before you get too far into this project, ie stringers and decking. You may want to put the skids on things and re-think the project. If the money issue can be circumvented GO FOR IT!!

Coho Ghost

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Another thing to consider is the OMC power train. If it's running good. GREAT but be advised, Parts for it are getting harder and harder to find.

 

[emoney]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Assuming a transom, stringers and decking replacement, no engine issues, $3k is quite high for just material, isn't it? Don't give up yet, Joe until you know how much you're going to have to spend. One thing is you don't have to do everything right now. Budget is always a concern and the biggest thing it affects, is how quick you're going to finish. Just from the few pics you posted, I can see why you liked the boat. Outside of the hidden issues, the surface looks like a really nice boat. If you do decide to put the skids on this project, then you should be able to recoup a lot of your investment by parting this out. And that's what I'd do; break it down to the smallest components. They say there's somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000.00 of parts in a $15,000.00 new car, if that gives you an idea.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Nice looking boat. With the interior in that nice of condition, I will hold out hope for you that your stringers are fine. Here's a good transom replacement thread http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=358277

If the stringers are bad, I don't know if I'd invest in the full rebuild on a boat with a Ford/OMC drivetrain

 

[lebnaniejoe]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Thanks for your posts! I have only visually inspected and done the knock test on the floor and the two stringers that I know of. They seem to be strong think I will have to take the floor up to be sure. I can only hope that it will not cost me 3k in materials if I do it myself. I was quoted between $1500 and $4k over the phone to have it done professionally. I wonder if these guys are trying to string me along??? The company I liked the best was one called wet dreams marine located near Dallas, Texas

I am strongly considering going this on my own. My biggest problem is I have never done something like this before. I am confident with enough information and a little practice that I will be able to do this on my own. Would be nice to have someone locally that I could consult with to tell me when I am screwing something up but I guess this is where this forum is helpful.

The motor and outdrive ran real well when I took it out the few times that I did. I hope they will last some time with some good maintenance. The rest of the boat is in pretty good shape as well. The interior is all original and still has a lot of life to it. The hull is in great shape as well for a boat that is 22 years old.

I am going to pull the motor and outdrive this weekend and get a better idea of whats in store for me. Does anyone have tips for cutting the floor back to check the stringers?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Sounds like it's well worth fixing up. Yeah I think the prices you were quoted were just a starting point. They'd probably be calling and upping it by quite a bit once they got into it. I haven't seen too many on here that have had the work done for them be real pleased with the results. It's not overly complicated but it is very time consuming thus making it a good DIY thing but prohibitively expensive to have a pro do. These boats just weren't built to last so if you repair it properly, it will easily be FAR better than it was even when it left the factory.

Fiscoboater's transom thread which I linked earlier and/or his current SeaRay project thread http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=454460 will really answer any question you may have. He's got fantastic detailed videos in the new thread.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

You can do it my friend. Take a look at my Sea Ray restoration and it will give you an idea of whats what.

To cut the deck set your saw blade for 1/2" and start ripping 1 foot by 1 foo holes in the center. That should get you started.

 

[lebnaniejoe]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

I am sure I can do it. I have never worked with fiberglass so I have been doing tons of research on it and boat repair! Frisco, your threads on your projects and videos are pretty inspirational and have motivated me to get this thing going and get the boat back on the water.
I must admit that I am a bit scared to of tearing it up and not doing it right so I am open to any tips, tricks, criticism! My biggest thing is that I want to make sure it?s done right and the boat is seaworthy and safe for my family!
As you know , I started by probing around the transom and found that it was rotten. I dug some of it out just to see how much damage there actually was. I found that most of the transom is soft or rotted out completely. Boooo! Yesterday I decided to open up the floor to see what the stringers looked like and here is what I found.
The Stringers seem to be solid along with the hull. The floor seemed to be solid until I looked at the bottom side of the floor. When I opened up the floor I noticed that there was foam in the between the stringers. That foam was holding water like a sponge and had started to soften up the underside of the floor in the boat. I think that this was caused by the fact that there are not any drainage ports from the outer hull to the bilge.
The good news is that the fiberglass in the hull seems to have held up and kept it waterproof. I am going to cut the floor back some more today to see just how much of it is soft on the underside. I am considering ripping all of it out anyways so I can replace that foam with something better and put some drainage ports in the stringers to let the water run out so it has somewhere to go.
Does anyone have any recommendations plywood for the transom/floor/stringers?? I have heard some say treated wood / marine plywood?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Marine grade is superior. 2nd choice would be a quality exterior grade. PT will work but takes a while to dry out.

 

[LowSpeedChase]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Any updates on the project? I just bought a "lake ready" 1990 VIP Vision 19' that needs the same overhaul. Luckily i got it $1000 cheaper than we agreed on because i stopped payment on a check i gave him when it about sank at the launch. he wont return any calls and all paperwork is done so i assume it's a done deal.

I'm thinking i'm going to pull the engine and outdrive and have the local marina do the work as they quoted me between 5 and 800 and a week's turnaround.

hope your project is going well or already finished and on the water!

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Any updates on the project? I just bought a "lake ready" 1990 VIP Vision 19' that needs the same overhaul. Luckily i got it $1000 cheaper than we agreed on because i stopped payment on a check i gave him when it about sank at the launch. he wont return any calls and all paperwork is done so i assume it's a done deal.

I'm thinking i'm going to pull the engine and outdrive and have the local marina do the work
as they quoted me between 5 and 800 and a week's turnaround.
I
hope your project is going well or already finished and on the water!

Transom and deck for 5 to 800?? In a week? WOW

 

[superpop]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

If you think you are going to get the floor and transom replaced for 5-800 bucks, then good luck. If something seems to good to be true, it probably is. They are probably going to pull the motor, screw down a few sheets of plywood and screw some more plywood to the transom, spray some gel coat on it and tell you good as new. I don't even see how they can remove and re install the motor and drive for that. Either that or they get it apart and say, sorry, unforseen problems, you need new stringers and the tab is now 4K.

 

[LowSpeedChase]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

i dont mean to jack this guys thread but i guess you guys missed where i said i was going to pull the outdrive and motor myself and just take them the hull. i also would supply the wood myself and floor has already been replaced so it could just go back down i presume.

 

[Outback Jack]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Joe I am going to have about 2k into my stringer and deck job when I get done....I had a 3 piece transom and only had to do the 2 outer pieces. Your boat is similar style. but it doesn't look like they left a gap between the step out of the transom to the sides...which they did in mine. If you can buy your stuff local you can probably get by with 1700...as I had about 350 shipping involved. The thing is if you have the time and it takes time, you will know what you have in the end. Getting somewhere else to do it you are looking at the upper figure anyway. Unless they are cutting corners....Good Luck

 

[lebnaniejoe]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Well things have been kind of hectic in my world so I didn?t really have a lot of time to work on the boat until recently. Work has been crazy busy and so has the rest of my summer. I did get to do a bunch of research on how to go about restoring the transom. I tried to find the OMC service manual but didn?t have any luck. I bought the Clymer manual which seems to have a lot of good info. My recommendation for anyone who planning on pulling the motor or outdrive.. ?get the manual? its well worth it.

So where am I at in the project? I have pulled the stern drive / upper gear housing and built a wooden rack for it. I put the rack on wheels and casters so I can roll it around as needed. I have the engine prepped to pull and will pull it out in the next couple of days. All of the wires I have gone through and labeled, documented and photographed so I know where they will go when its time to put them back!

I have to pull the fuel lines and that?s about all that?s left till I pull the motor. The motor once out I will put on an engine stand and clean it up while it is out.

The good news is that with the floor exposed the floor has had time to dry out and seems be solid and doesn?t look like I am going to need to replace it. I am going to pull the rest of the carpet and check the floor up to the bow just to be sure.

Anyone has some info on where to get supplies in the Dallas area? I am looking for resin and glass, gel coat.

 

[lebnaniejoe]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Well, I bet you thought that I gave it up since I haven't posted on the site since August. Its been about 7 months now since any activity on the boat. I started back up on it last week and have found some more disappointing rotted wood. As I took out the stringers in the stern of the boat I found more rot going toward the bow. There was rotting wood all the way up until about 3 feet from the bow.
Despite the disappointing find, I rolled up my sleeves (actually put on long sleeves) and went to work. I have made some real progress over the last week. I have the entire floor ripped out and the stringers too. I found that an angle grinder with a metal cutoff blade cuts through the fiberglass like butter.
In addition to the tear out, I have the wood set up for the new transom 2 layers of 3/4 in plywood glued with PL. The glue will be dry tomorrow, ill cut out the keyhole and I will glass over it. It should be ready to tab in within the next few days.
I have attached some photos of the work completed so far.

 

[lebnaniejoe]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

I have run into a little bit of a problem with the project. while fitting my multi-layer transom (2 sheets of 3/4") When I set the transom in the hull there was a about a 1/2" space at the bottom of the keyhole when i put the transom in place. I tried to grind some of the hull to see if i could close the gap some but that hasn't helped. I was thinking about adding a couple layers of fiberglass or filling it in with peanutbutter close the gap? Will any of that work? Whats your thought?

 

[LowSpeedChase]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

I'm in the middle of restoring the same boat right now. Thanks for the motivation!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1990 VIP Vision Transom replacement help wanted.

Why is there "No Gap" in this pic, but there is in the others.