Repairs to houseboat

[Afubar]

I've been reading here for the last several months. I bought this 33 foot home built houseboat at the end of August 2008. It was built in 2000 by a older gentleman who has since had a stroke that really affects his speech. Because of that, I've been limited on the info that he can give me about her. What he did give me though, was some pictures that were taken when she was built. This is a pic of her when I bought her:

Now for the problems, When we were loading her on the trailer, the previous owner didn't quite get her lined up right and banged up her bow:

before this, no water was in the center bilge area, now there's a slow leak, bilge pump handles it fine. Then, sometime after I put her in the river, I must have banged her on some rocks because I found this area when I pulled her out in early November, approximately 4 to 5 feet back from the first ding in bow.

There appears to be some cracking of the fiberglass in front of that:

Guess I should mention that the hull was covered in 3 layers of glass toped with a rhino lining type spray on layer.

From reading here, I know a good repair is made from the outside and the inside, I can't do that here as there is no access from the inside.

Also when I pulled the boat out of the water, noticed that there appeared to be a bad spot on the port stern area. I got hit in that area while on the water about a month before.

Please be easy on me, I'm an old broad and this is my first boat, I have taken the Oregon boating course and passed it, but have never really ran one before. I am learning. I have done some simple wood work and engine repair before and I love power tools.

So whats the verdict? Thanks in advance. Kaye

 

[legoman67]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

OUCH! that last pic is going to be a tricky repair. first it shows that the transom and probably all the stringers have seen some serious water damage, and will need replacing/repairing, but fixing the hull up around that hole is going to be tricky aswell. You will probably need to make a mold around it, then layup that section of the hull from scratch again. Is the boat wood hull? if so lets hope the rot hasnt spread too far yet... Check out the hull extension thread for an example of molding the hull section

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=234392

It also looks like it has created some pretty serious cracks all the way down the hull too.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news

on the good side, nothing in impossible, just a lot of time... the guys on here can take you through the entire repair step by step...

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

Thanks for the reply Legoman67, I know it's not going to be fun, but what's a gal to do?

Here's a pict of the hull while it was being built, the damaged area is right on the keel (at least I think that's what it's called)

And yep, the boat is wooden, I'm told he used 3/4 inch marine plywood with 3 layers of glass and one layer of Rhino Liner. The picture above is while the glass was being done.

Here's a picture of the inside of the hull:

The stern damaged area, about 1.5 feet from the corner, the wood is not rotted. It only appears to be that immediate corner area.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

Hi there Afubar, and welcome !!!

Man that really does look ruff, to say the least , in your pic, is that the bottom of the hull down about a foot ??? if it is that hole corner looks rotten !! I would move up about a foot and take some core samples !!! John

 

[Bondo]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

but what's a gal to do?

Ayuh,... Find yourself some strappin' young buck that knows Carpentry,+ Fiberglassing...

It's a pretty cute boat,... What's it Powered by,..??

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

John, I'm not sure I understand, If I move up a foot from the damage to the stern I run out of boat.

Bond-o - she's powered by a 4.3 OMC. Believe it or not but I have a picture of her pulling a water skier.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

From the looks of it, the gentleman that made it used the wrong resin and wrong type of glass, not what you wanted to here, just the way it is.

He should have used epoxy on the wood, it bonds much better, plus he should have used a woven and/or stitched (continuous strand) product instead of mat. Had he done these two things there would be little or no damage from the cracked laminate and less chance of rotten wood.


The good part is the fiberglass is easy to fix, the bad part is the wood will be difficult to fix if the rot continues further into the structure.

Time to start digging and see how much is rotten.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

HAHAha sorry Kaye, what i meant was move forward a foot of two and take a core sample , but i think ondarvr is right you need to tear in to it farther, and see , i really hate to say it but she is a mess and going to take a heck of a lot of work !!! John

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

Okay John, I did that, to the left of all the rot on the stern the wood is good. I've been reading here alot and wonder if the stuff that Donnyskz1 used on his transom repair might work here? He used something called nida-bond. Nowhere on their site did I see what it would or would not bond too, anyone know? Am thinking if I can remove all of the rotted wood, then build a barrier on the inside and outside and pour this stuff is that a locial way to go??

Yeah, I know she's a mess, and I know I probably goofed when I bought her. But I have her so now the problem is what do I do to make it better.

Also note, that I have very little working space on the keel or the bow. I will not be able to remove her from the trailer to better access anything. This puppy is heavy and as far as I know there are no marinas in the area with a lift that I know about. I kinda live in the middle of a desert with only one redeeming feature, the Columbia River.

I'm not afraid of hard work, I just need advice. (and the weather to improve, can't glass in this temp yet, but I will work on removing the bad wood.)

Thanks guys
Kaye

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

John, do you think that Marine Tex might be an option on the bow and keel? Have been reading your comments on other threads about it. If I take a dremel and grind out and rough up the exisiting glass and wood in those areas? Maybe????

Thanks

 

[salty87]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

problem with your dings is that wood is exposed. some of it looks pretty dark too. slapping a patch over it will just hide the problem. each spot will need to be checked for the extent of rot. that will decide how you need to attack the repairs.

the transom corner doesn't look fun. you can see the glass delaminating and peeling back in a sheet. how far does that crack run?

i wonder about the bed liner too, could be locking moisture in. might be holding everything together at the same time.

looks like a really fancy DIY operation, at least he had a nice yard.

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

Salty97 - I pulled the glass away form that area so I could see how bad it was. It really wasn't all that easy to rip away. Area affected appears to be less than 1.5 feet.

 

[legoman67]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

The nidacore is very thin, and requires molding, it is usually used for the transom of fibreglass boats where there is a layer of fibreglass on each side of the wood, grind the wood out and the fibreglass acts as the mold for the nida-core or seacast. You only have a bad external layer of fibreglass, and as far as i can tell no layer on the inside. I would start by ripping up the floor above the damage and seeing how far it goes. Then if it were me i would make a clean cut and cut all the damage out and reconstruct that corner from scratch with wood, followed by afew layers of glass on the outside. You wil also want to repeat this proccess over all the other damaged areas. You want to seal all the wood from the water as best as you can. Rotten will will just keep going and getting worse until you isolate it. Just adding more wood to the damage will work for a season or 2, then it will be all rotten aswell. you have to get rid of the rot and start with fresh wood.

Once all the rotten wood is dealt with i would cover the entire hull in a layer or 2 of roven or biax cloth, this will give it strength aswell as keep the water out. Yes the cloth will probably be expensive to cover the entire hull. but that would be the correct way to do it. The hull will also need a bit of prep to prepare it for the new cloth.

others may have other idea's, but that is what i would do.

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

legoman67 - I think before I rip up the back deck, I will try lifting up the engine cover and taking a gander from there with a strong work light to see what I can see. Then if I must, then the back deck will come off.

Any ideas on the bow and keel area?

Thanks all, I really appreciate the ideas.

 

[legoman67]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

yeah, if you can survery the damage another way that is easier, i cannot see all the in's and out's of the boat through the few pics.

What sort of access do you have to the inside of those other damaged area's? the one on the bottom of the keel may be hard to do anything other then just resealing the outside with fibreglass and hope its not too bad. Seeing as the keel is the center of support for the boat, and with only one layer of mat on the external the boat wont hold together if you start cutting the keel out. cant really see the extent of the bow damage. maybe afew more pic's would help.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

yeah, if you can survery the damage another way that is easier, i cannot see all the in's and out's of the boat through the few pics.

What sort of access do you have to the inside of those other damaged area's? the one on the bottom of the keel may be hard to do anything other then just resealing the outside with fibreglass and hope its not too bad. Seeing as the keel is the center of support for the boat, and with only one layer of mat on the external the boat wont hold together if you start cutting the keel out. cant really see the extent of the bow damage. maybe afew more pic's would help.

Yep I agree with both your last post there legoman67, The keel is going to be the biggest problem , being it so hard to get too !!

Kaye ummm your going to have to take the deck out back there , just to glass the new wood back in even if the wood is good down there !!

Also you can get a 20 ton bottle jack for 60 bucks at harbor freight, then you can get her off the trailer !!! and get to the keel !!! and I also agree the wood looks petty dark where she split on the keel !! thats not a good thing !!!

The marine tex isnt what you really need here , epoxy is the ticket here , marine tex would cost a small fortune, epoxy isnt cheap eather but it what you need then you can make your own peanut butter !!! John

Ps marine tex we will use last just as a cover on the epoxy !! ok

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

"Also you can get a 20 ton bottle jack for 60 bucks at harbor freight, then you can get her off the trailer !!! and get to the keel !!! and I also agree the wood looks petty dark where she split on the keel !! thats not a good thing !!! "

And what do I do with her off the trailer? Once she's on the ground, her keel would be on the ground. same problem, can't think of any type of frame that will hold her, this is one heavy item. I've read about how others have gotten smaller boats onto supports by dipping the front of the hitch, bracing the back and then "walking it out" but maybe I'm missing something, not really seeing how that would apply here. Remember, I'm an old broad, you're gonna have to "spell" it out for me. LOL Thanks

Legoman67, no access from the inside of the boat to the other areas, with that thick beam down the center, there's just no access from the inside. Will try to get better picts tomorrow if the weather cooperates with me. Even thought I live in a desert area, this is the rainy season and with the rain comes wind (just this past Tuesday resulted in gusts up to 65mph)(average total moisture last year was less than 6 inches, so far this year we've gotten 3.65. Come Mid April to mid October, total rain will probably be less than 2 inches). Plus this spring has been on an average of 15 to 20 degrees cooler than normal so glassing will have to wait until Mother Nature gets over herself.

Thanks for the help, will see about better picts on Friday.

Kaye

 

[Afubar]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

Okay, did a search and read bunches here. I see how it can be done and will try to get the boat off the trailer.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

Yea kaye it shouldnt be that hard to get it off of there , Just take your time and go very slow !!!!!!!!!! if your doing it on the grass or dirt put a board under the jack stands , that way they wont sink !!!! John

 

[legoman67]

Re: Repairs to houseboat

yup, the bottle jacks really help! it does take a long time though. took us 4 hours to get ours off. But the ground was uneven which made it a little trickier. having 2 or 3 guys helps. You at least want 2, one to watch the boat at all times, and one to move the trailer. When jacking have one supervising well the other jacks to make sure nothing is going sideways(litterally!) We had 3 of us and it worked great, one guy on each side of the boat well the trailer was being pulled, and then we rotated around getting the crawling under the boat job.
Basic steps:

1. lower trailer tonge all the way to the ground, in turn lifting stern up.
2. Anchor the boat to a large tree or another vehicle that wont move!(we dug our tractor into a hole and used that)
3. block up stern
4. jack up tonge, lifting the stern off the trailer, set tonge onto tow vehicle
5. jack up the bow as far away from a crossbrace in the trailer as possible, just enough so the entire boat is not resting on the trailer(we only were able to move about 2 ft inbetween moving blocks)
6. pull the trailer forward as far as you can
7. block up the bow, move the jack around trailer cross brace
8. jack up boat, and remove block
9. repeat steps 5-8 as many times as needed until trailer is free

here are afew pics of us in action back in october.