Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

[Dan Schmidt]

I remove the deck carpet from my 1992 Bayliner Capri 2050 this past weekend, and this is what I found. The pictures don't do this justice so let me explain. The worst areas are:
1 - Aft area under the rear seats adjacent to engine compartment
2 - Bow area in front of ski storage area

In these areas the wood is very wet and there is definite wood rot at least on the surface. However, none of the areas seem to have sagging or really weak areas, so it's not yet rotted through. When I walk over these areas it seems firm.

I spent 3 hrs yesterday reading through the past posts, and it seems Bayliner Capri's have issues with rotting decks. I learned a lot so far, but I still have a lot of questions. There isn't a comprehensive guide which pulls it all together, but rather a lot of bits and pcs., broken links, and a lot of advice to "search the archieves". I'll continue to do this, and if I get up to my elbows in this one I'll document my process with your help.

I am an experienced and well equipped woodworker and don't usually have an issue tackling new challenges like this, but my issue (like most of you) is time. It's already June and I'm not thrilled about losing this season of boating. So hopefully I can do a limited repair to get me ~5 years of boat life.

My first few questions:
1) Since this is not an advanced stage of rot (some surface rot, but overall the deck seems very firm), is it possible that I've caught it early enough to scrape down, dry thoroughly and epoxy over?
2) My next best step in the process? My thought was to clean down the surface to bare wood to get a better look at the damaged areas.
3) for #2, what is the best method? I see a lot of angle grinder use. Do you use a sanding disk attachment? What grit? Has anyone used a belt sander?

 

[i386]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

The deck needs to come out IMO. If it is early stage like you say you'll only need to replace the deck and not the stringers and transom. You won't know any until the deck comes off. If the top of the deck looks like that, the under side may as well.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

I agree with i386, but you won't know for sure until you look underneath. Easy and quick method is to grab the 2" hole saw and cut out a few holes in key areas. Avoid cutting directly over the stringers. Inspect the foam for water, inspect the bottom of the hole core for rot too. If you check 6 places and all are dry, just epoxy the hole cores back in place, scrape off the bad carpet and poly/gel coating and lay down a layer or two of epoxy and glass.

If its rotten, or soaked foam, cut out the floor using a small circular saw set to 5/8" and make the necessary repairs. replace foam, stringers, check transom, etc.

See Realguns bayliner floor & stringer job called "project long haul" on shareaproject.com where he did just that.

 

[oops!]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

wow......hey look guys........a bayliner that isnt totally flaked rot.



a deck by it self should only take a good week of evenings.

but i still have the sneaking suspision the foams wet........

the problem is.....its a bayliner capri.....(i own one too) if you dont fix it now, you wont have a boat in 5 years.

you could just throw another peice of wood over top of that one......that will give you 3 seasons....but after that, the boat will be toast as the rot will expand twice as fast, and the transom & stringers will be gone as well.
after that you could sell it as a project boat.

but i would take the week and do it and be done with it.....fixed....

if the foams wet.....the stringers are shot.....(there foam too....no big deal)

 

[Dan Schmidt]

Bayliner Capri Deck Restore: The Demolition

Bayliner Capri Deck Restore: The Demolition

Oh boy. Now I'm up to my elbows in this project..... I did what you guys suggested and took my holesaw to several areas of my deck. You called it --- wet foam.

So out came the skillsaw. I cut out the aft deck sections that you can see in the below photos. What I noticed:
1) The foam in the far aft was VERY soaked with wood rot above it.
2) The foam just to the aft of the seat bases was damp but not soaked.
3) This is OPEN CELL foam????? I can't believe it. Why would Bayliner use open cell foam? Seems crazy to me.
4) I found what seems to be foam fill holes used by the factory in the far aft of the deck. Seems Bayliner did their filling here, and then just epoxied over. This epoxy cracked and the rest is wet history....
5) There is another layer of plywood over the fuel tank area. This is very solid (and dry) wood. Clearly no foam beneath and I don't plan to rip this up. Let me know if you disagree.
6) There was a small (~5" x 5") square pc. of plywood floated to the top of the foam on either side of the engine area as you can see in the first picture. What is this for?

Then, I removed what I could of the foam. This came out pretty easy with a 3" wide scraper.

7) From what I can see of the stringers: they are a nice amber color and show absolutely no signs of rot.
8) It's clear that the far aft of the deck will be more difficult to get up because of the vertical wooden structure behind the rear seats. I need to pull all of this out and rebuild it I guess. Urg..... No other way to get the deck up and the foam out.
9) Further to the bow, I really don't want to mess with the seat bases. These look to be a real pain to tear out and rebuild. I'm tempted to replace the foam in the rear only and call it done. Again, the foam is MUCH more dry in this area (slightly damp, not wet).

I would appreciate any and all constructive comments.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

If you are satisfied that the stringers are solid, then you should be OK to just replace the back half. I would try to remove as much of the foam from the front half as possable. Maybe rent one of those roto-ruter cable augers for cleaning out sewer pipes to rip out the damp foam up front. If you can get enough of it out, the rest may dry over time. But just leaving it intact, it will never dry at all.

But the bottom line is time and expense vs your planned usable life of the boat. If you plan on upgrading in 3 or 4 years, then just do the back half and all will be good. If you plan on handing down this boat to your grand kids, then rip out the entire floor and do a full restore. Its your time and money. Only you can decide what your future plans are for this boat and your boating needs.

BTW, it is not open cell, it just looks that way when it gets broken or deteriorates. It was closed cell when poured 16 years ago....

 

[pattimac]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

I have a 91' and am in the begining stages of what you are doing. However, I have been unable to locate a saw that will allow me to cut closely to the edges. A standard 7 1/2 inch circular is almost unusable in all but the center straight cuts. How did you cut at the front and rear of the seat supports, for example?

Fortunately for me, all the foam I have removed so far is basically perfect, except for the very bottom "grove" along the stringers has a small amount of water from when (I think) I washed it out after covered storage for 3 years. Had I known that the Bayliner simply brushed on resin over the plywood, I would have yanked the carpeting up the day I bought it and put fiberglass down.

I don't have to take the rear seat supports out, but I would like to cut a 45 degree angle as close as possible to aid in glusing down the new stuff, but I can't find a tool that will get that close that can be handled in these tight areas.

We bought it as our first boat and we've enjoyed it, but at 60 years old now, I hate to have to fix something that was so easily avoided by a few more dollars from Bayliner. Thanks for any suggestions re: a cutting tool idea.

 

[contractorguy]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

Hey Pattimac,
I got the little saw blade attachment for the rotozip. Called an xwheel.

Cuts a fine line and is easy to handle.

Watch out for that fuel tank!!

 

[rccadd]

Re: Help...Another Bayliner Capri Deck Restore?

i am also in the middle of the same project 1991 bayliner capri. My floor was rotten but i think my stringers are ok. As for what tool i use the Hckzall

http://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...=2625-21&CategoryName=New+Products+and+Offers

this thing will do some serious damage but is small enough to fit into those tight spaces. Also can be used with one hand