'80 Renken 900, fix or part out?

[reelfishin]

I bought a boat a few weeks ago with the total intention of parting it out mainly for its motor, ( late 80's Evinrude 115 V4), I bought the boat knowing that the floor was soft or at least was told that it was in pretty bad shape. It also has new seats, (not my favorite, back to back fold downs, but still new), a new GPS, Fish finder, new bimini top and side curtains, and two new fuel tanks.
I hadn't gotten the chance to strip the boat right away so it sat outback, when I gave it a quick going over the other day, and realized that all it needed to be a running boat was a new ignition switch and maybe a fresh battery, I started thinking that maybe it might be a viable fishing boat. The floor isn't a total loss, the transom is rock solid and are the stringers. There are a few soft spots in the floor, mostly around where the old seats apparently bolted down and around the edge where the bilge is exposed. I cut open the floor in a few sections where it was rotted or soft and found no rotted wood, but just small softened sections in the floor. The stringers look and test perfect, the lower transom looks fine. The outer hull is about 90% perfect with only a few nicks or chips here and there. The worst part cosmetically is the fact that two of the bow rail fittings are corroded badly.
I didn't want another boat, but what are the chances that this is only the floor? Has anyone here had any experience with Renken construction from this era? I had a similar boat a while back that I have since sold, but that was near mint and I never had to do any work to it. This has a slightly different floor set up, this floor is lower than the '83 I had and lacks a center storage compartment. The '83 looked more like a liner type floor, where as this looks more part of the hull. It's rough finished under the carpet where the 83 that I had before was a finished gelcoat with no carpet.

Has anyone here cut into a Renken 900?
This is the first one I've seen with any floor problems, but it's the first one I've seen with carpet and a full interior. It's a fancier boat than was my last one. This one and my 83 were the same 900 model.

I cut open two soft spots, both near the seating area, I see no foam, the only foam I see is up under the gunwales, filling the inside of the upper hull. The lower hull looks pretty much finished off or water proofed. On my 83, if you left it uncovered, no water would ever enter the lower hull as the floor was gelcoated and sealed, all water would drain back to the bilge pump well and out the drain plug hole, this floor isn't as sealed to the edges, it looks more like other boats. I like the set up of this one better since it both puts you and all weight lower in the boat but water gets under the floor in this, it's not as well finished on the floor surface as was my '83. I considered the fact that the floor was redone, but the carpet and interior look too original. I think it's just an earlier hull.

 

[maxum247]

Re: '80 Renken 900, fix or part out?

I have a maxum hull the floor had 2 inches of pine straw on it for almost a dozen years. It was mush! Pulled out the floor exspecting to be done and on to the next project. The stringers were solid as well as the stern.
Wait and see how you feel about the boat in a few days. Go from there!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: '80 Renken 900, fix or part out?

I've considered just doing a quick patch job on the floor, maybe just laying some painted plywood over it for a while and running it, if it works out, then maybe doing a new floor. What bothers me is that if it does work well, it may never get done right, I'd be too apt to just run it till it drops. I have very little in it, and not much to lose. It's not a structural problem and it's more than usuable. I drilled a few spots along the base of the stringers where I could get to them, and all is well. I can get the bottom of the transom and it's rock solid. The motor and controls are tops and everything works. Its looking like the perfect knock around fishing boat to me. Something that I don't have to be too careful with and don't mind fish guts on the floor. I would probably toss the new seats and all the vinyl and carpet all over the place inside in favor of some good heavy, washable paint. I may even toss on an older bimini top and save the new top for something nicer.

Of course with a new floor, a few touch up spots here and there it would look pretty good. I would also want to put it on a better trailer, I have a spare full roller that would work for it too. The trailer it's on is the same as the one that was with my '83, a galvanized c channel trailer with roller bunk strips and keel rollers. It works, but is a bit hard to load at low tide.

I am actually a bit surprised that I don't see more of these around, Renken was a pretty popular boat around these parts back in the 80's, they seemed to be everywhere then but these days you don't seen hardly any. I'm still amazed that I've found two of the same model in the same year. I can't recall the last time I saw another one on the water or at the marina.
They had a good reputation back then for being a solid boat, at least that's what I remember. They were out of my price range back then. I see far more Bayliners, Starcraft, Crestliners, and MFG's around here. I keep wondering where all the Renken boats that were sold went to.
The first one I had was a '77 23' cuddy cabin with a stern drive, it was a great boat but a bit underpowered with a Ford 302. It had been run for years and never taken out of the water by the original owner who had stripped it down as a fishing boat. The only thing on board was a windlass and a throw able ring when I got it. It ran good and gave me no problems, but I never had a trailer for it so it stayed in all year long. I sold it when I moved years ago. It was one of those boats that just took a beating and kept going. I wasn't as knowledgeable then as I am now about boats and certainly not as cautious. That boat took some serious punishment and it's share of neglect. It never came out of the water, I can't imagine what the bottom looked like after all that time, and I was never real careful about docking or tying up. It wasn't pretty but it made it there and back time and time again. I had it for about 5 years before selling it to someone else that was looking for a good beater boat. I was most surprised at the fact that the motor was still good after all those years in the saltwater. I had replaced a few freeze plugs with rubber ones but it never needed any other repairs other than one sea water pump and a set of plugs and a fuel filter every year, or when ever I thought it needed it.

 

[maxum247]

Re: '80 Renken 900, fix or part out?

My brother used painted exterior plywood in his crab/shrimp boats for years held up pretty good. These boats get washed down with a five gallon bucket several times a day, no fiberglass decks here! And rarely were the decks dry for long at a time night or day. Store the good stuff just in case, you might come across something nice later and you'll be glad you kept it, or you may decide that you love this boat after using it awhile and feel you want to fix her up. Us her for awhile, if you find that it's not getting finished and is being used often then there's no need to do more than the upkeep, she's doing her job. When it's constantly on your mind all the time, then I say it's time to spruce her up. But if you,re not thinking about it, use her!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: '80 Renken 900, fix or part out?

I have never been one to worry about appearance, especially if it's already well used when I found it. I just hate to be the one to tear something up or let it go if you know what I mean.
Some of my best boats over the years were those that I didn't worry much about. That's one of the reasons I've always liked aluminum boats, if you rub the dock or if it gets banged around in a storm you don't have splintered fiberglass to deal with. One of my biggest concerns around here is the rub rail area, the dock where I launch is aluminum with no bumpers with exposed beams. It doesn't bother an aluminum boat with a heavy rub rail or round edge, but it peels off rub rail and glass. I carry 8 fenders and they don't always work, I've had a few shredded. The one place that I can leave in overnight has very low floating docks, they hit the boat pretty low, almost too low for bumpers. With the aluminum boat I don't worry, it sits lower and a brush with a wood dock there won't hurt it.

Anyhow, what I need to do to make this the perfect fishing boat is to make the sides more durable, mainly around the rub rails. The last Renken I had took a beating there all the time. There was one fuel dock that was all rough pilings and nails, no amount of fenders will protect you from climbing spikes or bolts sticking out. Years ago I used to just use old tires, they are free and last for ever, but their heavy and hold ice in the winter.
I guess if I run it a while I'll get to see whether or not it's worth putting a full enclosure on for next winter. What I'd like it to be is a bad weather boat, one that I just don't care if it gets wet or full of bait. I do like the closed bow and bulk storage under the bow of these boats.