The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

[rwelts]

1986 Celebrity 210V cuddy cabin. Runs good, on trailer but on lake every weekend.

1. water has gotten in via the engine cowls and soaked the floor and then the foam under. i replaced a bunch of the deck a year ago, but didn't realize it was deeper. the correct fix would be to rip out the engine, and replace all the wood and foam.

2. engine has 750 hours. compression is ok.

3. stern drive needs lower end rebuilt (at max wear limit)

i re-did all the teak and painted the stripe. it looks good (pics attached)

so, if it was your boat, rebuild/restore?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

so, if it was your boat, rebuild/restore?

Depends on how deep my pockets are...

Sweat equity is what makes restoring and owning a boat possible for me...

If I had to make a fat down payment and 60-100 or more monthly payments...I might not be in the water, ever...

Not to mention, by restoring my boat, I know how well its built...

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

Yep ^^^

 

[rheagler]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

If you really like that boat, go for it. You will find plenty of support here. If you are already thinking you may want something different, get out now while you can. Don't expect to get any money you put into it back. You will get back the satisfaction of knowing you fixed it up yourself.
As far as if it were mine, I'm a tinny guy. If it was a tin boat I would do it. I had a glass boat first. I put a floor in it, still didn't like it. I gave it to the guy I bought my tin boat from.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

Less smart then my smart phone :sleeping:

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

well thank you for the thoughts. did a bunch more investigating and "cost-igating" lol. will be sending pics as my son and i redo it. it came down to not wanting payments (or having deep enough pockets for that lol) AND any used boat may have the same hidden issue. add to it, my son and i will get a project together and we have a winner. so, thank you for your input and thoughts. now for the prayers. LOL

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

well boating season's end is upon us (or those of us with winters anyway). so i have started the rebuild. will update from time to time as we go. here's the "before" but without seats.

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

day one. lots of wet smelly (heavy) foam and i wouldn't even call it wood at this point. i see where some previous owner tried to do a quick fix. also, for those with super-vision, yes the transom needs some help cant' do much there until i get the engine out and that is for another day.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

and so it begins

Good luck.

Build a support cradle before you really begin tearing into it.

As an I/O, you shouldn't have to pull the cap to replace the transom.

Be sure to take LOTS of measurements pre-tear down & during demo so you'll have good records of how it fits together.

I like to take pix w/ a tape measure visable:

 

[GT1000000]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

Congratulations on taking the first steps to restoring this boat to WAY better than it ever was from the factory and creating a super life experience for both your son and yourself...
We'll be here along the way to help out any way we can and cheer you on to a successful completion...
Best of luck and most of all, Have Fun!

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

I have been measuring my butt off, lol. its currently sitting on a bunk trailer with pretty solid support, do you recommend more?

and considering how the transom is setup, there isn't a cap. i am getting ready to yank the engine hopefully this weekend and off we go. thanks for the words of wisdom as always.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

Pix of you boat on it's trailer would be helpful.

But as you are likely to be removing the bulk of the internal structure for the hull (transom, stringers & deck), IMHO, you should support it in addition to the bunks.

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

I am adding some support just to be safe. its sitting on rollers (center line) plus bunks (8' long) so its pretty solid but i am adding two more lines (essetially bunks) of support. no hurt in extra. can't do it until i get the engine out though - have to drag the thing down to a spot a friend can jerk and drop in my truck.

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

ok all, got the rest of the carpet up and found the first 1/3 of the deck to be rock solid. should i tear it up anyway, or prep and glass it over when i do the rotted part?
thoughts, comments, slaps to forehead etc.....?

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

On my boat, it turned out that the condition of the structure under the deck dictated how far I went in removing the deck. I didn't have wooden stringers or bulkheads to deal with, but I did have wet foam. I removed decking (and foam) until I reached the point where everything was dry. Then I patched new decking in to the old.

The last thing you want to do is go through all this work only to leave wet foam and/or wood underneath the deck. Sooner or later, that would come back to bite you, and you'd be looking at a similar project. Best to do it now and make sure everything is dry and solid below deck.

Jim

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

Jim,

thanks. I think the entire issue with this boat was a poor cover on the aft end. thus all the rot towards the aft. once i get more forward (towards the helm and into the cuddy) its obvious that it was either never wet or what was wet dried correctly. I hate to rip up good just for the sake of ripping it up. also, if i leave some of it intact, there is less risk of torquing the hull as there would remain some strength while i work on the aft.

rob

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

Yep, I wouldn't tear up any more than is necessary, either. I was just trying to say that sometimes, the deck can be solid, but the foam beneath can be wet. Its not a good idea, in my book, to leave behind any wet foam, even if it means removing some decking that isn't bad (yet).

If everything beneath the deck is dry and the stringers are solid, though, no need to remove any more than that. It might be a bit easier to have the joint between the new deck and the existing deck meet over a bulkhead, but even that isn't entirely necessary. I built just such a 'floating joint' when I joined the new and old deck surfaces, and it's so solid I'd defy anyone from being able to figure out where that joint it.


Jim
Good luck and keep the progress reports coming!

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

well, day two or at least a more solid 4-5 hours work. wet foam pretty much up to the cuddy bulkhead where of course its dry.
the appearance is the glass went 3/4 way up, everything above that is completely rotted out which makes sense. engine coming out week before thanksgiving so progress will pick up more then. took 10 bags of wet foam out today. only probably 1 bag left and some cleanup. I do understand some of the comments on other threads about how fast they push these things out. there was a live well with a 6in drain hose that went, into a well with no drain. so when its done, won't be that way, lol.

sorry for glare. the sun was blazing (even though the temp wasn't but it made a for a great day to be out there)

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

As part of the process, the side boards (creating storage space and making it look nice) are also being redone with new wood and vinyl. i got a quote from a local place for 1500. insane. i priced out the vinyl and wood. add in staples and if i get REAL creative, piping and the total was less than 400. I have to say, the lack of a good cover in the back of the boat can create a real mess. I will edit this and post pics later today. some of the sides were held together by the vinyl and nothing else. its going to look very nice when done though. I saved all the teak pieces to add the character back in with the new vinyl.

 

[rwelts]

Re: The general "should i or shouldn't I" question...

question for the experts. In the attached pic, you can see where i am finding what looks like the glass is showing a double piece of stringer i would guess for support (right next to my shop vac wheel). Thoughts?
also, i hate the small channel at the bottom of each section where the foam is. that seems to collect water and then cause rot. ideas?