Full restore or partial fix?

[fishKILLER1987]

I have just acquired a 1978 24' Robalo 230 center console. The boat was the victim of a hurricane and sustained significant damage to the hull. I would like to eventually do a full restoration job on her and take it down to the stringers and rebuild, however I lack the time and the funds to do such a job right now. The boat is in very good shape minus the damage and some blemishes from sitting in the water for a long period of time. About 1 1/2 years ago, just before the storm, the boat was operated on a regular basis and was very well taken care of. I have checked the transom to the best of my abilities and it is solid as a rock and the hull seems to be just as solid. My only concern is that if I just do a quick fix on the hull and get her back into the water she wont be as stable as she would have been had I replaced stringers and so on.

Would it be such a crime to just patch the damage to the hull and get her on the water for a couple years until I can tare her down for a full restore??

Also, how can I tell if the stringers are rotted??

 

[NoKlu]

Re: Full restore or partial fix?

We need to see pics of the damage. If the stringers are damaged to the point they are no longer doing the job they are intended to do your boat could break apart. The transom and stringers are the frame of the boat. They are there to distribute the loads across your hull.If the frame is broke bad things can happen. Do a search on core samples. That is the best way to check the condition of the wood. Down in the Non boating technical topics forum you will find detailed directions on how to post pics. Most of the long time iboaters will not klik on thumbnails so post them at 640x480.

 

[oops!]

Re: Full restore or partial fix?

if its the same boat in thinking of.......just repair the damage....

i cant see why the strings or transom would be shot......just bounce up and down on the motors for a bit....if they move the whole back of the boat...then the transom is shot and dangerous.....out side of that...just fix the hole in the boat and get fishin !

 

[fishKILLER1987]

Re: Full restore or partial fix?

Oops,

Yup same boat. The first thing I did when I got the boat was bounce up and down on the motor....solid as a rock! Which is why I think that for the mean time everything in good enough condition to where I can simply fix the damaged side(which isnt too bad to begin with), and get her out on the water. Then a few years down the road when I have the resources to do such a job, I will begin a bottom up restoration. Like I had mentioned earlier, the boat was well taken care of before the storm. Always garage kept and only in the water when it was being fished on.

Also, there is no soft spots in the deck. The whole boat is pretty solid considering the 1 1/2 years it was neglected after the storm. So I think I will stick to my original plan and fix the damage and save the bigger project for a later date and time.

As always, thanks for reading my thread Oops. I appreciate your advice.