Hi guys,
New to the forum and there seems to be a guys willing to share and help. So let me tell you a long tale and then ask for some advice.
Back in 1996 I bought a year old Chaparral 2335 with a carb'ed 454 and a Bravo I drive. I loved the boat, used it to fish (yeah it's messy to clean up!) camp with my son (ten at the time) and pulled a tube with it. It looked good and ran good. In the fall of 2006 I put the boat to bed for the winter on the trailer next to the house. Filled it with fogging oil and antifreeze, then ran a 120 volt extension cord to put a heat lamp on the engine and an electric fan in the cabin. Then I snugged a new tarp on over it. At least once a week I would check the tarp and listen to the hull to hear the fan running. What could go wrong, huh? Come spring of 2007, I removed the tarp to find that an oak limb about two inches in diameter had speared down into the top of the tarp, let in five months of Louisiana rain onto the deck and rotted away most of the floor.
God, I wanted to set and squall like a five year old. How did the world do such a terrible thing to me? So I spent the summer (one Saturday at a time) doing a really bad job of replacing the floor and learning just how poorly my dream boat was built. Untreated plywood, staples (rusty staples!), very little resin and no glass on underside of deck or on stringers. I still love Chaparral's styling and how they drive but, old as I am, you can't run fast enough to give me one.
So fast forward to now. I still have the 2335, the deck is again rotted out again plus the upholstry is shot and the just about everything in the boat is worn out. The 454 is still strong, good compression and no oil usage and the BI is in fair condition. An old Navy buddy has given me an old Formula (78?) Cuddy Cabin that is in good shape except for the old Ford/Alpha drive. So my first project is to take all the good mechanicals from the 2335, add an old B3 lower unit I have, and the (few, cheap) necessary new parts, to build something from the Formula that I feel OK about using in the Gulf (not too far out)
BUT THEN.......
I will have the shell of the 2335 laying about. I love the way the old boat looks (looked) and the way it runs and rides. So I am considering gutting it an doing the floor and stringers right, then getting an 8.1/B3 drive train, then redoing all the seats. At the end, this means I will have about $30,000 and 1000 hours of labor in a boat worth maybe $9K. Does anybody here really think this is a good plan?
Really, about what would be involved in time and materials ($) to replace the stringers and cabin deck in a 24 ft boat? Would I need to seperate the deck/hull and redo this joint? I have access to a forklift at the shop, so pulling the deck is possible but could I ever get it back together/
Comments on either this project or my sanity are welcomed.
Gil
New to the forum and there seems to be a guys willing to share and help. So let me tell you a long tale and then ask for some advice.
Back in 1996 I bought a year old Chaparral 2335 with a carb'ed 454 and a Bravo I drive. I loved the boat, used it to fish (yeah it's messy to clean up!) camp with my son (ten at the time) and pulled a tube with it. It looked good and ran good. In the fall of 2006 I put the boat to bed for the winter on the trailer next to the house. Filled it with fogging oil and antifreeze, then ran a 120 volt extension cord to put a heat lamp on the engine and an electric fan in the cabin. Then I snugged a new tarp on over it. At least once a week I would check the tarp and listen to the hull to hear the fan running. What could go wrong, huh? Come spring of 2007, I removed the tarp to find that an oak limb about two inches in diameter had speared down into the top of the tarp, let in five months of Louisiana rain onto the deck and rotted away most of the floor.
God, I wanted to set and squall like a five year old. How did the world do such a terrible thing to me? So I spent the summer (one Saturday at a time) doing a really bad job of replacing the floor and learning just how poorly my dream boat was built. Untreated plywood, staples (rusty staples!), very little resin and no glass on underside of deck or on stringers. I still love Chaparral's styling and how they drive but, old as I am, you can't run fast enough to give me one.
So fast forward to now. I still have the 2335, the deck is again rotted out again plus the upholstry is shot and the just about everything in the boat is worn out. The 454 is still strong, good compression and no oil usage and the BI is in fair condition. An old Navy buddy has given me an old Formula (78?) Cuddy Cabin that is in good shape except for the old Ford/Alpha drive. So my first project is to take all the good mechanicals from the 2335, add an old B3 lower unit I have, and the (few, cheap) necessary new parts, to build something from the Formula that I feel OK about using in the Gulf (not too far out)
BUT THEN.......
I will have the shell of the 2335 laying about. I love the way the old boat looks (looked) and the way it runs and rides. So I am considering gutting it an doing the floor and stringers right, then getting an 8.1/B3 drive train, then redoing all the seats. At the end, this means I will have about $30,000 and 1000 hours of labor in a boat worth maybe $9K. Does anybody here really think this is a good plan?
Really, about what would be involved in time and materials ($) to replace the stringers and cabin deck in a 24 ft boat? Would I need to seperate the deck/hull and redo this joint? I have access to a forklift at the shop, so pulling the deck is possible but could I ever get it back together/
Comments on either this project or my sanity are welcomed.
Gil
