Boat newbie looking for advice

[Pete1burn]

Hello all! First time on a boat forum and first time considering buying a boat. I'm hoping I can get some advice here on a boat I'm considering.

My wife's cousin is selling his boat. It's a Starcraft Trihull from the mid 1970s, (1976 Capris is closest I can find for pics), seating for eight, (four in front, four in deck) 75hp outboard motor rebuilt last year, with trailer for $400 cash. That's my price for being a relative.

The floor has some rot near the back and the seats need to be recovered, but I figure for $400 it would be hard to go wrong. My 2011 Pilot already has a hitch, so I'd only need a ball attachment for like $40.

I need to rip up all of the vinyl flooring to see how much of the wood is actually in need of replacement. It looks like it's just particle board, but that leads me to my questions.

What kind of treatment does the wood need? Does it need to be waterproof if it's going to be covered with new covering? If it does, can I treat the wood myself or do I need to buy specially treated wood for boats?

What do I recover it with? Can I get a huge roll of waterproof vinyl and cut it to shape and tack it down with 3M adhesive/screws or do I need to get marine deck covering?

Is there anything else I should look out for before buying it? Any other tricks I should inspect for? Any other considerations?

I figure at $400 it's a great deal, especially with a rebuilt motor and including the trailer, but I also don't want it to turn into a money pit. Just looking for a small boat to take my family out on the lake at our camp and do some fishing and stuff. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to run and not sink. (lol)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Racingman24]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

First off....any/every boat turns into a money pit.

Secondly, if the motor runs great, and you can hear it run, I would say it's worth 400 bucks...but will it be worth the amount that you'll have to put into it...now that's up to you.

1 - If you're going to pull up part of the floor to replace it because of rot...might as well pull it all up and do it right. Not to mention if the floor has rot, the transom would checked under a very close eye if it were mine.

2 - The "treatment" you give the floor is solely dependent on how long you want it to last. Most here will tell you to fiberglass both sides of the wood, as well as resin, or 5200 any hole or rivet you put in the floor. Also, you don't need Marine grade plywood, you can use it if you'd like, but again, most here will just tell you to get exterior grade ply. Under no circumstance should you use treated ply in a tin boat.

3 - You can recover with whatever you choose, though here is where you want to make sure it's suited for "marine" life

4 - Other considerations....Do you have a place to work on it? Do you have the time? Do you have the proper tools? If you have these things, you can find the knowledge here, you just have to be able to apply it.

Eric

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Ive heard said that there is nothing more expensive then a free boat. A 35 year old rotting tri-hull would be junk in my book. However, depending on the engine. You may have something. What is it and what is his definition of a rebuilt ? Crank, bearings, seals, pistons, rings, cylinders honed ? If its a true rebuild , i would be TEMPTED to take it for the engine and trailer, find a solid v hull that needs an engine, swap it. Adapt the trailer, junk the tri hull. At $400.00 it may be a great deal, but for who, you or your wifes cousin.....?

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Thanks for the replies. This would mostly be a boat to take out for a couple hours every other weekend or so. I have plenty of tools. I was told I can just use exterior plywood for the deck and just outdoor carpet to cover it with as long as it's going to be covered when it's not in use and dry. (It will.)

I'm only planning on putting a couple of hundred into it to start with. If I can't get a proper working boat for that to use while I continue working on it, I'll sell it. I just want it to be ready for the water within a couple hundred bucks and continue working on it during the week. Good project for my kids and me I think.

Any other advice?? I could just post pics and a work log so people can direct me through the process, if that would help.

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Ok, I know these pics are a tad ugly, but please keep in mind I just got it yesterday and haven't done anything to it yet, not even swept it out all the way.

The outside.

The cockpit.

The rot. Can you see that there seems to be a layer of fiberglass on top of it and then the rotting wood underneath? I'm guessing I'll have to rip up the fiberglass layer first to see where the wood joins the hull. I'm hoping to get it all out in just two or three pieces to use as a template to cut out the new deck. That mushroom looking **** is not fungus, it's foam. I'm guessing (again) that it's wood deck, foam, wood deck, fiberglass cover, vinyl flooring.

Closeup of the rot to better explain what I said above.

Here is where I took a shot to better show what I mean about joining the wood to the hull. There doesn't seem to be any seams, so I'm guessing the fiberglass is covering it all. Problem is I don't want to cut into the actual hull, just the layer of fiberglass covering the wood so I can see how to get it out. Any ideas? The picture shows the deck meeting the side of the boat. The piece of wood sticking out is where a padded runner was attached.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Here's the problem: you can't really half-a__ a fiberglass boat restoration. The transom and stringers are VERY important to the structure of the boat. If they're rotted, it's not a safe boat to use at all. It will need to be repaired properly which involves cutting/grinding all the bad wood out, replacing it with new, and properly attaching it and sealing it all with fiberglass or it will just rot again in short order. The work is labor intensive and the materials are not particularly cheap. On the plus side, if don't properly, you'll know you have a solid and safe boat and it will probably be even better built than it was when new. Any other super-cheap fiberglass boat you'd buy would most likely have the same issues.

That being said, the motor and trailer are probably worth more than $400. I'd be interested to hear the year/brand of motor.

Now it is possible to do a "light" restore on an aluminum boat. These have aluminum stringers. The wooden decks and transoms are also just bolted/screwed/riveted in place so even if they're rotted, they can be fairly easily replaced. That why you see so many Starcraft and other aluminum boat projects on this site. You could pick up that Capri for the motor and other parts, and then keep your eye out for a cheap motorless aluminum hull to slowly fix up. Something like a 16' Starcraft Supersport would be a fantastic match for that motor. http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/5320/imag0446.jpg

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

I guess we were posting at the same time

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

I ripped out a big square of the deck and the hull has about 6 inches of standing water in it. I'm guessing the wooden supports are all going to be rotted.

Isn't it just some 2x4s and plywood, some fiberglass, epoxy and foam?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

"Isn't it just some 2x4s and plywood, some fiberglass, epoxy and foam?"......in simplest terms, yes, but simple ain't always easy. Oh, it's all very fixable with enough time, patience, and money. Up to you to decide how much of those you have and how much of them you're willing to spend. Good luck. Keep us posted. We love pics

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

I figure I need to turn the boat around and lift up the front a bit so all the water can drain out the drain hole in the back of the boat. There is a hole on the bottom of the transom.

With that hole there, it seems unavoidable that during normal operation water will get into the hull again. Is that supposed to happen? How can you ensure that the water won't rot out the new wood?

I need to rip up the rest of the deck so I can see exactly what's going on under there and do some measurements for new wood. How do I separate the fiberglass layer from the side of the boat? Just cut it with a skill saw?

How do I treat the new wood going in? Do I use some kind of waterproof sealant like Johnsons or something? If I'm replacing all of the spars and cross sections, I want to make sure they don't rot out under me again. I'm not sure how to seal everything up.

Attached one more pic of the water in the hull.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

I hope you weren't considering launching the boat without putting a plug in that drain hole.....

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

No, of course not, but it seems to me that water will get around it somehow. I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to do something special to it, like wrap it in teflon tape like plumbers do.

Any thoughts on the rest of my questions?

 

[JSmitty]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Pete,

There are a lot of good restoration articles here and elsewhere. Just do a search for "floor" (a few who prefer boat-speak call it a "sole", so you might search for that also) or "stringer".

One problem I had while researching my restoration was that some of these guys are so experienced, they take certain things for granted. I remember repeatedly running into the term "mix up a batch of peanut butter" and thinking "What the hell are these guys talking about?" (at least I was smart enough to know they didn't mean Skippy) Even after doing a ton of research I still ran into a boatload of problems. Now, after doing it once, I could probably replace a floor in a couple of days.

Here's my experience as a first-timer replacing my floor. I did not have to replace my stringers or transom.

My principle advice as a fellow beginner would be, don't rush and don't assume. Do your research before cutting anything. And don't assume that an article has it right either. There are a lot of contradictions, even among experienced restorers. Even for such basic things as, should you use polyester or epoxy resin. I had to thoroughly read about the nature of both before deciding.

I think if you're the average beginner this job will take A LOT more time than you're expecting. Plan accordingly.

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Thanks JSmitty. I have been doing a lot of searching and have learned a lot so far.

One major question that I still haven't found an answer to is how to get the fiberglass layer removed from the side of the boat. Can I just cut it off with a jig saw or something?

Once I have it down to bare hull I can start measuring out what I'll need to replace it all. I'll replace the stringers and cross pieces, and replace the deck with 3/4 exterior ply. Does it absolutely need a fiberglass/epoxy cover, or will just waterproofing it and covering it with exterior carpet work?

 

[JSmitty]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Thanks JSmitty. I have been doing a lot of searching and have learned a lot so far.

One major question that I still haven't found an answer to is how to get the fiberglass layer removed from the side of the boat. Can I just cut it off with a jig saw or something?

Once I have it down to bare hull I can start measuring out what I'll need to replace it all. I'll replace the stringers and cross pieces, and replace the deck with 3/4 exterior ply. Does it absolutely need a fiberglass/epoxy cover, or will just waterproofing it and covering it with exterior carpet work?

I'm not sure what you mean by "how to get the fiberglass layer removed from the side of the boat".

"and replace the deck with 3/4 exterior ply"
Use whatever the manufacturer used because if you don't some things might not fit anymore. Something else I learned from my experience.

"Does it absolutely need a fiberglass/epoxy cover"
Yes.

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

My personal opinion is the boat is not worth restoring......I personally like to start with a sound hull and put money into powering ....as a comparison here is my latest project...a 1996 Baja Islander 180, 25 Anniversary Edition....gave $500 and it needs engine and outdrive

 

[lowvlot]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

You need a 4" grinder and flapper pads to get the glass off with.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

I would HIGHLY recommend you do some SEARCHING on some of the threads that are at the bottom of YOUR thread. They will answer a LOT of your questions and a lot of them have pics that will show you what to do.

 

[Pete1burn]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

I have been doing a lot of searching. The questions I've asked here are questions I can't find the answer to.

 

[Fzy1]

Re: Boat newbie looking for advice

Hey Pete1burn I was in the same predicament you are in, with my Arrow Glass Cougar.

1 you have to decide to do it.
2 Is it worth doing.
3 plan for even more work.
4 Bring Out Another Thousand.
5 all the information you could need is here on these forums.

Seeing your pics you may want to go with another Hull. But that is your decision. all the people on here will behind you in whatever you do. the may have differing views, and ways of doing it. But they all want you out on the water SAFELY!