May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

I would core test the transom from the inside down low by the drain hole, and around any already existing transom mounted accessories. Same thing with the stringers (maybe through ski locker ) . I would also core sample the foam all the way down to the boat hull, and in a few different areas too.

I'm not exactly eager to start drilling holes into fiberglass, but what do I need to do exactly? How deep do I need to drill for a representative "core sample?"

Would it simply suffice to unscrew, say, the depth-finder and take a peek at the hole, searching for fragments and particle chunks?

I'm similarly not really eager to start drilling holes straight down into the bottom of the boat... Not to say I'm completely against the idea, but at this point I'm wondering (since it seems that chunks of floor might need to be replaced anyway,) if it would almost just be simpler to pull up the section of floorboard that was replaced one-upon a time, to take a first-hand glimpse at the stringers. I dunno, maybe that's more work than I think it is.

Hell, maybe I could pry it up just enough to shine a light and a camera in there.

The boat looks better than what you suggested it might be, you need more data to cost out the repairs needed. What's the issue with the outboard? why is it junk?

I'm fond of assuming the worst, so I can always become pleasantly surprised when things are better than that.

The outboard's powerhead is essentially fried. It overheated and seized a number of years ago, and given that it was never a particularly reliable motor for us, in addition to the fact that those old OMC VRO's were allegedly prone to catastrophic failure, it just doesn't seem worth spending the couple of grand to rebuild.

Also, dumb question (possibly) on that topic. Where would I measure the lower-unit to determine the correct shaft length on any possible replacement? Most of the outboards I see for sale in this power-range are 20-inch/long-shafts, does that seem correct?

Thanks again.

 

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

Okay, here's a brief reply 10 days in the making.

I pulled up on part of the floor and shined a light through the gap to catch a glimpse of what was underneath.

... more fiberglass?

Is it possible the whole thing is fiberglass or fiberglass composite? My "boat guy" feels that if the structural part of the craft were made of wood, we'd see obvious signs of fatigue in the hull, of which there are none.

Pics attached:

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

no it HAS wood stringers... Although that part of each pic is too close and blurry, it LOOKS like the stringer along the bottom edge of each pic... it will most likely be wrapped in fiberglass but will be wood inside.....

And no you won't see anything wrong with the outside of the hull till right before it rips open.

 

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

no it HAS wood stringers... Although that part of each pic is too close and blurry, it LOOKS like the stringer along the bottom edge of each pic... it will most likely be wrapped in fiberglass but will be wood inside.....

And no you won't see anything wrong with the outside of the hull till right before it rips open.

I was under the impression that as the stringers weaken you start to see fatigue cracking in the fiberglass underneath?
... or at the very least you hear tell-tale dead "thunks" when you lightly tap on the hull with a mallet.

All the same, I drilled into a couple of spots on the floor and got clean powder up -- where else should I be drilling/looking?

For reference on the pics, the orientation is peering through a gap between the floor and ski-hold, so the bottom is the bottom, and the farthest bit is against the hull. Best pics I could grab, given how narrow the opening was.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

Go to the restoration section and look at some threads on rebuilds.... Look for pics of stringers.... There are a few styles but after reading a few threads you should better understand

 

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

Go to the restoration section and look at some threads on rebuilds.... Look for pics of stringers.... There are a few styles but after reading a few threads you should better understand

I took your advice and poked around over there a bit before stumbling onto this thread -- I think I've got a good idea now what stringers are supposed to look like. Is this kind of what you were trying to point me to?

The real question then, is how do I figure out where they are relative to the floor? Short of ripping up the entire floor or stumbling upon the original construction blueprints.

I hope I don't seem ungrateful or too impatient. I'm fascinated by all of this, honestly. I'm only suddenly feeling a little bit rushed as a very suitable outboard has suddenly sprung up on craigslist, and whether I'm going to push forward or not, I'm going to need to decide sooner rather than later.

Thanks again.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

No you don't seem ungreatfull at all... You are actually taking it better than most... This is always hard to swallow the first time and most will argue till the bitter end.....

the thread you posted shows one style of stringer but there are others.... Example is they might be solid wood instead of ply and they are sometimes wrapped in fiberglass....

For starters I would GUESS that they are about 2 1/2 - 3 feet apart from each other... You MAY be a le to locate them by thumping on the floor the way you would to find a stud in a wall....

SADLY tho since the floor was replaced with unknown skill I would remove it and do exploratory surgery.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

You can do a google image search for "deck boat stringers" and get a pretty good idea of what you may have.

 

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

No you don't seem ungreatfull at all... You are actually taking it better than most... This is always hard to swallow the first time and most will argue till the bitter end.....

That's always good to hear. I'd like to think my many years of being on car forums has helped. I mean, I could argue, sure, but at the end of the day it's still my rig, and while I beseech and deeply appreciate the opinions of those more experienced than me, the decision-making, and consequences are still 100% on me.

the thread you posted shows one style of stringer but there are others.... Example is they might be solid wood instead of ply and they are sometimes wrapped in fiberglass....

For starters I would GUESS that they are about 2 1/2 - 3 feet apart from each other... You MAY be a le to locate them by thumping on the floor the way you would to find a stud in a wall....

Okay, good note on the style of stringers.

Actually on that last bit, this might sound crazy but... since you compared them to wall studs... what are the odds a stud-finder would be helpful to me? I'm gonna try to go back tomorrow if I can. There's a marine shop I've got a lead on an outboard with that's up near that way, so I could swing by the boat itself before heading to the shop to check out a possible motor I suppose. Hell I could possibly get their take on the thing too.

SADLY tho since the floor was replaced with unknown skill I would remove it and do exploratory surgery.

*sigh* I'd prefer to avoid that at the moment, if I can. I know if I move forward and decide to take-in this boat, I'll be ripping up the floor and replacing it anyway, but I'd like to get at least a season (or two) out of it before delving into that project. I thought about perhaps removing the driver's seat, and cutting a two or three inch hole underneath where it mounts (so it would be inconspicuous when remounted) ... something I could put a small mirror or camera into so I could have a peek under the floor.

You can do a google image search for "deck boat stringers" and get a pretty good idea of what you may have.

I'm trying to find some examples with limited success. How about this one?
or this perhaps?

 

[gstrom11]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

this perhaps?

I think this one would represent a better example of a deck boat, i'm no expert though...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

I didn't click on ur last two links (slow Internet where I am) but my point wasn't that ur first link was wrong but rather you could have just about anything under that floor.... Nobody who hasn't ripped open the bowels of that exact year, make, and model could say just what it looks like....

Unless you pull up at enough of the floor to expose stringers to your drill bit you can't really determine whether you can use it for a season or not..... There is also no way to know what was done when the last guy was in there....



EXAMPLE... A friend of mine paid way too much for a 60's glass boat from his uncle who had paid big money to have "new floor and stringers" installed by "the best boat shop around"..... I was out in this boat with him all day with no problems.... The second day we went out again and a few hours into the day I started to notice that it felt like the floor might be moving when we hit each wave....

I spent about 20 minutes trying to convince him to slow down and head for the ramp so we could check it out and then I looked back to see the engine nearly under water....... As he started to turn for the dock the engine sucked in water and died...... I called another friend for help....
With help we managed to tow it to the bank where it sat on the bottom till we could procure a 2500 gph bilge pump and two big batts from my boat..... That pump along with two guys manning buckets and 4 more in the water lifting at the sides was just able to float her and get the water level down to the floor height....

The hull that had looked perfect with no signs of damage the day before now has a 6' rip along the bottom....

The "new stringers" turned out to be 2x4's attached to the old rotten stringers with drywall screws to provide a mount for the new floor.

Later that week the engine and drive were pulled a d the boat was hauled to the landfill.

 

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

I didn't click on ur last two links (slow Internet where I am) but my point wasn't that ur first link was wrong but rather you could have just about anything under that floor.... Nobody who hasn't ripped open the bowels of that exact year, make, and model could say just what it looks like....

Unless you pull up at enough of the floor to expose stringers to your drill bit you can't really determine whether you can use it for a season or not..... There is also no way to know what was done when the last guy was in there....



EXAMPLE... A friend of mine paid way too much for a 60's glass boat from his uncle who had paid big money to have "new floor and stringers" installed by "the best boat shop around"..... I was out in this boat with him all day with no problems.... The second day we went out again and a few hours into the day I started to notice that it felt like the floor might be moving when we hit each wave....

I spent about 20 minutes trying to convince him to slow down and head for the ramp so we could check it out and then I looked back to see the engine nearly under water....... As he started to turn for the dock the engine sucked in water and died...... I called another friend for help....
With help we managed to tow it to the bank where it sat on the bottom till we could procure a 2500 gph bilge pump and two big batts from my boat..... That pump along with two guys manning buckets and 4 more in the water lifting at the sides was just able to float her and get the water level down to the floor height....

The hull that had looked perfect with no signs of damage the day before now has a 6' rip along the bottom....

The "new stringers" turned out to be 2x4's attached to the old rotten stringers with drywall screws to provide a mount for the new floor.

Later that week the engine and drive were pulled a d the boat was hauled to the landfill.

Holy crap that's a f*cking scary story, if I may say so.

Point taken I suppose.

I think I'm going to take my cutting bit and drill through the sides of the ski-hold -- I believe that's going to give me my best glimpse of the stringers without yanking the whole floor.

I've seen on other threads that many stringers get coated with fiberglass to insulate them, does that mean they can still look A-OK externally, but still become structurally weak later on? Is that why we core drill them for representative samples?

It sounds like finding them is only half the battle -- after that point I need to cut some holes to see if they're okay, right?

Holy crap, am I actually learning stuff?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

Correct they can look great but actually BE plastic bags of mush....

the sides of the ski locker MAY BE the stringers

 

[KDMatt]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

Correct they can look great but actually BE plastic bags of mush....

the sides of the ski locker MAY BE the stringers

If I drill into them then, I'd know for sure one way or the other, right?

 

[Pony]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

This boat was one that had been sitting for some time and they took it out without checking for anything. Throughout the day water was leaking in, and eventually the motor fell back and tore enough transom to let water come pouring in. They keyed to music to be funny, but obviously the subject is not.

As far as the stringers, I would guess there is a good chance that they built the ski locker between a couple....but they also could have butted up some wood next to them to wall the sides. I don't think there is much of a way to be sure of anything without cutting up some of the floor. Since the floor was redone, there is no telling what type of bracing was added instead of fixing what was there or what they screwed into without sealing etc.

If it were me, I would drill into the sides of the locker and see if you get dry wood shavings to come out....that is a start. At this point any small drilling you do can be sealed should everything check out ok.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

It's time to sit down and accept the facts..... the floor almost always rots out AFTER the stringers rot out... the floor has rotted TWICE now..... Most similar boat of that age have had the stringers rot out because they do not have self bailing decks and are not constructed in such a way as to keep the wood dry when exposed to weather..... The few that are not rotted out are meticulously cared for and always stored inside by their owners.... THIS boat is not one of those OR the deck would not have been replaced in the first place..... 999 out of 1000 it is rotten and not worth fixing $$$ wise.... IF and only IF the boat is sentimentally worth months of work and a couple thousand dollars in materials for you to repair then stop worrying about a motor and bring it home, get out the tools and start tearing it apart...... IF it isn't worth that then forget it and start shopping for a great deal on a complete running boat.... you can likely find a whole package for quite a bit less than you will have in this one and without the months of sweaty ITCHY work.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

These don't have stringers... the floor is the only wood in em

28 FT WEERES PONTOON (1981) + 1993 MERC OUTBOARD MTR

 

[Cptkid570]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

smokeonthewater - how did you come up with your figure that it would cost a couple of thousand of dollars to replace the stringers in this boat?

I'd like to see some people on here that have replaced their stringers and give an itemized breakdown of how much they spent to do it.

KDMatt - do realize that when you come onto a message board such as this, you are going to get horror stories. Also know, that if you get a good engine and, lets say that you eventually do replace the stringers, then you will have a solid boat that you know inside and out. There are many pleasures of owning a boat that you have personally taken apart and put back together. 1. The pride that you built it yourself. 2. The knowledge that you'd learned of the boat you are in. 3. How much money you will save on repairs because you can now do your own repairs because you learned so much about the boat.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: May have just 'inherited' a deckboat...

If the boat needs a motor, stringers, floor, carpet, and nothing else the. A couple thousand is a very low estimate IMHO

 

[Cptkid570]

I didn't realize you were including the price of a motor in your $2,000.

I'm just wondering the cost that others have spent to replace their floor and stringers. Seems like every time someone on here posts that they are looking at a boat or are getting a boat, everyone is like....Oh gosh, you better make sure the stringers are ok or else!!!! Realistically, it isn't that huge of a job and if you are careful with where you buy your supplies, it isn't all that expensive. So, a "free boat" + the cost to put new stringers in yourself can still = an inexpensive way onto the water plus a new found hobby.