First Boat

[bakerjw]

Re: First Boat

Welcome to the "I bought a rotted out boat" club. It doesn't take any real skill to rebuild a boat, it just takes time, a lot of effort, and money. I'm on the downhill slope of my Stratos rebuild and my hope for around $1,500 in materials has vanished and I'll end up near $2,500. But my Stratos has larger than normal stringers which eat up fiberglass and resin. I also went with epoxy over polyester and epoxy is about twice as much.

First bit of advice... Don't panic and don't get worked up over it.
Secondly, can you part out the boat, motor and trailer to recoup what you paid for it? If so, then you'll need to make the decision as to whether to do the rebuild or scrap it out. If I could have recouped my purchase price on my boat, it would have been parted out.

 

[rlshepard]

Re: First Boat

Welcome to the "I bought a rotted out boat" club.

Heh thanks; Do i get a membership card?

It doesn't take any real skill to rebuild a boat

Oh well then... I'm in!

...and money.

But it's just a lil fishing boat... are you saying it's gonna cost me $1500 - $2500 to do this :cold: The wife is not going to like this at all....

First bit of advice... Don't panic and don't get worked up over it.

Yeah, not much point is there? I mean it's water under the deck right? grrr

can you part out the boat, motor and trailer to recoup what you paid for it?

I don't think so, of course kinda doubt that I'd get my money out of it I rebuild it. I mean at end of this I just want a nice reliable boat that I can take my kids fishing in you know.... maybe drag them around on a tube from time to time... nothing fancy...

 

[bakerjw]

Re: First Boat

Rebuilds aren't terribly expensive but they're not cheap either. And you really can't expect to get your money back out of it. But in the end I know that my boat will be much better built than when it came from the factory. Better, stronger and lighter. Plus I'll know exactly how it's laid out on the inside.

When I look at my hull, it is a monster. I figure that a new boat without an outboard would run me at least $25K. I'll have around $7,500 in it when all finished and it's what I want so I'm content with that.

Go read up some of the other threads on here and some of the sticky ones too. That will give you a good idea of what you're up against. You can always buy some materials in advance and spread the cost out. Polyester resins have a shelf life so they don't like to sit.

Also read stuff by Woodonglass. His posts are very informative.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First Boat

Reading thru some resto threads will help you better understand what you're likely facing.

Although different in style, size & purpose, most fiberglass boats are built similarly, so reading ANY rebuild will be helpful.

Read thru Don's helpful tips:
How To's and Other Great Information

Look for Oops hull extension thread & friscoboater's SeaRay thread. They both are IMMENSELY helpful. Particularly the videos frisco posts. Helps pull what you're seeing in text & thread pix all together & help it make sense.

Study WoodOnGlass' graphic"
"Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"

It is a daunting task, that will have you at the end of your useable rope. But, it can be done, it can be done well, and it can all be done by you. Almost all resto's start similar to yours: Carp, I may have bought a waterlogged & rotten boat, please help, I have no idea what I'm doing, the Admiral is going to kill me......


BTW: The Admiral is how we refer to the wife.

SWMBO is also popular (she who must be obeyed)

Sorry, no membership card, at least the dues are cheap :facepalm:

If you don't count all time & materials to do this task. Especially when you count your labor as free

But hey, at the end of this journey, you do end up w/ a trophy of sorts: The newly rebuilt boat

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: First Boat

If you are really wanting to restore this boat and make it a sound vessel then you will need to invest the time and money to do so. As has been stated, a new boat motor and trailer of this size wiil set you back a minimum of $15K. If you watch your budget and shop wisely you can restore this boat using Poly resin and glass for around $1.5K IF the motor is good. Maybe a bit less, and she'll be as good or better than factory. You can't buy a boat anywhere for that price that would be in that good of shape. For me, it's well worth the time and money you'll invest. Check these out..."Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"

(Click the Pic to download and view the PDF file)

View attachment MaterialsList.pdf

 

[jigngrub]

Re: First Boat

But it's just a lil fishing boat... are you saying it's gonna cost me $1500 - $2500 to do this :cold: The wife is not going to like this at all....

Take your wife to a couple of boat dealerships and and let her look at the price of brand new boats, then explain to her that for the money you put into this old boat you will get a like new boat for just a very small fraction of the cost of a brand new one.

... and you can show her what happens when you try to operate an old rotten boat out on the water, like this one:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...ir/16-fiberglass-tri-hull-rebuild-624747.html

... and this one:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...pair/tore-transom-how-repair-pics-615108.html

... and some pics from various other repair threads:



Look at it this way, you don't want to end up like this:

... with kids in the boat, do you?

 

[rlshepard]

Re: First Boat

Guys,

Thanks a bunch to everyone, I'm feeling a little more confident about my ability to do this, of course now I have all kinds of Ideas on how to set it up soo much better...

Of course I'm also now terrified that my Transom is going to fall off in the middle of the lake before I can acquire the necessary supplies... Thanks jigngrub :lol:

Of course I still have to convince the admiral this is the way to go... but If just start slowly acquiring CSM and such then maybe it'll just happen....

 

[f16driver]

Re: First Boat

Best of luck to you, I recently undertook the resotration of my boat, and let me just say that after you replace all the rotten wood, you will not only know your boat will perform the way it was meant to, but will know your boat inside and out better than most boat owners do. Don't be afraid of the fiberglass, it is very forgiving and easy to work with, as long as you take the necessary precautions while sanding/grinding and work in open areas so you don't inhale the fumes. Again, best of luck!