Deck rebuild 94 Manta ray bowrider

D

dcarver

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
49
Ok y'all I'm planning on putting a new deck in my boat while I've about 3wks off in may. I'm a little scared to tackle this project but I really really like this boat and I would like it to last at least 10 more years. I originally noticed a soft spot at the front of the ski locker and I've just put it off until yesterday when I found a soft spot on the port side in the engine bay. I attribute this to bellows being torn and water getting in and just sitting there until I realized how bad I needed the bellows replaced which is done now and no more water. Anyway I've made some calls and it looks like its anywhere from $3000-5400 to have this professionally done. The boat only cost me $3300 so I can't justify spending that much on it.
So my question is, what will this cost for me to do it?
Also, I have a general idea of what I need going by the restos I've seen on here, but I have no idea how much fiberglass mat or resin I will need. And I also don't know how much PB I need either.
I'd like to get this done for under 1K. I'm not trying to be cheap and I won't skimp on quality materials or time spent to do it right, I just can't see spending twice what the boat is worth. Anyway thanks for any info.
Oh and is there a thread that breaks down exactly what I need?
 
greenbush future

greenbush future

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
1,814
Re: Deck rebuild 94 Manta ray bowrider

W/O pictures of what you have it will be really hard to estimate the cost. Rotten floors tend to be only part of what is required to fix your soggy floor issue. W/O opening it up and checking stringers, and transom, you wont know what needs to be done. It's rare to only have rotten floors, because rot starts low and works it's way up, I apologize if you already know this. Spend some time reading here, about soggy floors to understand what you are gonna be doing. It can be fixed, not sure you can tell if it's worth till the above is done.
 
bvetter

bvetter

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
263
Re: Deck rebuild 94 Manta ray bowrider

Let's just say, hypothetically, that you're extremely out of this world lucky, and only your deck needs replacing, you'll still likely need 5 gallons of resin, 12 yards of CSM, some 1708 biaxial stitchmat for tabbing, amongst a whole lot of other supplies.

Like the others have mentioned, you will almost certainly find issues with the stringers and transom as well. They go hand in hand. You mentioned water ingress was through the bellows, meaning water sat in the bottom of the hull and has likely compromised the substructure. A full resto of this sort can easily run more than $2k in materials alone, and like WOG mentioned, much more than 3 weeks of your time. You'll notice that a lot of people on here find themselves in the same "boat" as yourself, and take several months to a better part of a year to get through the entire resto depending on how much time they get to spend on it.

Here is the good news, you've stumbled upon the best forum out there for help. Once you commit to the resto, you'll have more help than you can imagine. If you want a good visual on what you may be up against, look up Friscoboaters videos on Youtube, he did a full resto on his Sea Ray and video documented the whole thing.

Good luck!
 
D

dcarver

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
49
Re: Deck rebuild 94 Manta ray bowrider

WOG,
Thanks for the link! It answered a few questions I had about layers.
Bvetter,
Thanks for the estimate on resin and CSM. I'll probably start with that and go from there.
I don't understand then why they state its a fiberglass repair KIT. Maybe that's for a toy boat
 
Woodonglass

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,929
Re: Deck rebuild 94 Manta ray bowrider

dcarver said:
I don't understand then why they state its a fiberglass repair KIT. Maybe that's for a toy boat
Click to expand...

I believe it's quoted that way to reflect it's for small repairs and patches, NOT for LARGE/FULL restorations.;)
 
JASinIL2006

JASinIL2006

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 10, 2012
Messages
5,716
Re: Deck rebuild 94 Manta ray bowrider

dcarver said:
WOG,
Thanks for the link! It answered a few questions I had about layers.
Bvetter,
Thanks for the estimate on resin and CSM. I'll probably start with that and go from there.
I don't understand then why they state its a fiberglass repair KIT. Maybe that's for a toy boat
Click to expand...

You might consider holding off on purchasing supplies until you can take up the deck and see what's underneath. What most of us have done is to tear out the bad stuff and then order supplies. One of the most common things you'll read in many of the resto threads is that a soft spot on the deck is just the tip of the iceberg. The real problem often lies beneath, and if you order supplies now, you likely will have only the stuff you need for a fraction of the job. Also, please be sure to pick up and use the personal protection equipment (PPE) that Woodonglass included in his .pdf file. Fiberglass dust is really nasty stuff to get in your lungs, and it doesn't fell too good on your skin, either. And you absolutely want to use a respirator if you get the point of using resin.

I'll be watching to see how your project goes and to offer any encouragement I can. Good luck!

Jim
 
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