Re: OMG , i need help , BIG TIME !!! 1985 invader deck,hull ???
Re: OMG , i need help , BIG TIME !!! 1985 invader deck,hull ???
Check Don S's helpful tips sticky at the main restoration forum homepage,
here
Once you've read thru some of those linked pages, find a post by oops & read thru his hull extension thread
Find a post from WoodOnGlass & click the links in his signature line. Good references
The last thread link on Don's tip page is friscoboater's SeaRay thread, go thru it & his other thread. He also has a YouTube channel w/ lots of videos that helped pull everything I was reading together & it made much more sense.
There are a bunch of great threads, scan thru the 5 that are at the bottom of your thread page. The Iboats server lists threads that are similar to yours at the end of every thread.
Scan thru some of the posts & threads on the Restoration forum homepage. You will quickly learn to recognize helpful & knowledgeable members as you read their posts & the info & help they give.
I suggest that you spend a lot of time reading thru & learning about the demo & put back of fiberglass boats. When you've read all you ever thought you wanted or needed to know about them, read at least 50% more.
Call ahead & ask for extra patience & commitment to carry you thru the process. It can be daunting at times, scary & depressing at times, but ultimately rewarding when you've finished & put her back in the water.
Ask for the same patience & commitment from friends, loved ones & especially spouses. This will test their resolve too, a good bit of this will be easier w/ additional hands, but can be done solo.
It may be a totally involved 'gut' job, but the Iboats crew will help you along the way. If they overlaid a 2nd layer of plywood deck & glassed over it, I doubt you will be thrilled w/ what it is hiding under there. So the 1st order of business is to open a hole in the deck & take a look around at the bilge & stringers. The cracks at the upper motor mount holes do not appear to be good news. Don't over cut thru the deck. Set the saw at 5/8 or 3/4" and stay away from the edges where it meets the hull sides. No reason to make more work for yourself but cutting thru the hull. It will happen, most of us do it, it can all be fixed. But it will be quite a bit of work, quite a bit of materials, and w/ no motor it will tend toward expensive.
BTW: The light at the end of the tunnel may be a train, but it is probably on the other track
It can all be fixed no matter how bad it looks. It just takes money, time & the desire to finish it.
All that said, unless you LOVE this boat, LOVE the lines of the hull, LOVE the look of the cap & bow, you may find it more satisfying, easier to sustain completing and much more rewarding to work on to shop for a different project boat with a motor & a style/look/size that you LOVE. Without a motor, this hull has plenty of problems, and may have been a donor boat purchased by someone else for it's motor. You may want to do the same..........
