My wife and I purchased our first boat earlier this year. It seems that my bosses father-in-law had passed away and they were trying to get rid of a 1989 Sea Ray 180 Bowrider. Well, we went and looked at it and, for only $300, it seemed like a great deal.
We got the boat home and started to clean it up. The flooring over the gas tank (between the seats) was very soft so we decided that we needed to replace it before we went out. During this process we realized that there was alot more that needed to be replaced but felt like it would get us throught the season as it was and that we could fix it up this fall/winter.
The problem now is that everytime we go out, I find more and more large
(3-4" long) pieces of rotten wood in the bilge area. With that even a novice boater like me can figure out that there is more wrong than simply the flooring. I have been reading the various threads about other renovations and assume that I we will need to strip it down to the hull and re-build it.
What I am looking for is a some information to prepare me for tackling the renovation of the boat. Is there a video, book, etc. that details how the flooring and sub-structure is installed? Also, what tools will I need and what is the approximate cost of a project of this scope?
The real part that scares me is that too much of the existing structure is rotten and can not be used as a template to make a new one. I want to spend this summer researching and preparing myself so that I am ready when the time comes.
Lastly, since there is a good portion of the flooring is soft and I am finding the rotten pieces of wood in the bilge, is it safe to operate the boat at this point. It runs great and I have not had any problems, but I don't want to take the family out and have it break-up and sink because the inside structure was rotten and allowed the hull to flex too much.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
We got the boat home and started to clean it up. The flooring over the gas tank (between the seats) was very soft so we decided that we needed to replace it before we went out. During this process we realized that there was alot more that needed to be replaced but felt like it would get us throught the season as it was and that we could fix it up this fall/winter.
The problem now is that everytime we go out, I find more and more large
(3-4" long) pieces of rotten wood in the bilge area. With that even a novice boater like me can figure out that there is more wrong than simply the flooring. I have been reading the various threads about other renovations and assume that I we will need to strip it down to the hull and re-build it.
What I am looking for is a some information to prepare me for tackling the renovation of the boat. Is there a video, book, etc. that details how the flooring and sub-structure is installed? Also, what tools will I need and what is the approximate cost of a project of this scope?
The real part that scares me is that too much of the existing structure is rotten and can not be used as a template to make a new one. I want to spend this summer researching and preparing myself so that I am ready when the time comes.
Lastly, since there is a good portion of the flooring is soft and I am finding the rotten pieces of wood in the bilge, is it safe to operate the boat at this point. It runs great and I have not had any problems, but I don't want to take the family out and have it break-up and sink because the inside structure was rotten and allowed the hull to flex too much.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
