Hey /diy/, I'm looking for anyone who has some boatbuilding experience.
This past weekend I bought a 30-year-old 15' bass boat in pretty bad shape with the intention of making it last at least a few years before I decide if I want to step up to something nicer (I'm new to boating and fishing). Aside from a lot of superficial problems, a good section of the boat's floor is fucked up from multiple years of water. I'm currently ripping it all out of the destroyed plywood and foam and trying to figure out what I do next.
What's the best way to install new foam and flooring if I'm just trying to make this thing usable? Do I really need to replace the stringers if they haven't turned to total mush? This isn't going to be a long-term thing and costs are mostly irrelevant because I know I'm going to end up losing money on this regardless of what I do.
Pic is not my boat but it looks a lot like this
Post pic of boat.
I am not a boat builder but I repair them on occasion.
Once the hull is in good form you can almost literally do anything you want.
>>1001412
The boat is a 1985 FiberKing Bomber. I literally just started ripping the floor/wood/foam out today. It's interesting because only the wood from the stern to slightly in front of the cockpit; at a certain point, everything moving forward is totally fine.
>>1001419
Probably was stored at an angle with the bow higher than the stern. Thats where the water would collect so thats where the rot is.
>>1001419
Is the foam necessary for whatever reason? We just ply/pine/greenheart for structure, then fiber glass for the form and gel coat for the weather resistance and finish
>>1001459
Flotation foam keeps your boat from sinking immediately in the event of hull integrity loss or your boat taking on water. The Coast Guard actually mandates that boats of a certain size (I think less than 20') be fitted with foam at the time of building to meet level flotation standards.
>>1001419
So, if you're just planning on using this for a few years, I would do the following:
-Rip out all rotten deck and stringers, anything that looks water damaged
-check the inner hull for delamination (pic related) of the fiberglass. Especially around seams and corners. Repair. Can be dirty and ugly, so long as it's watertight and strong enough to take stress of turns and vibration.
-Replace foam, stringers, and floor using marine grade plywood and sealing the edges with marine adhesive.
-Now, instead of trying to rehab the paint job, I would recommend getting a roll of Marine Grade carpet and just doing the whole interior and rail with it. Cheap and easy. For the exterior hull, wash/rubbing compound/wax.
I think you can get it up to snuff for <$400
>>1001533
Delamination example
>>1001503
>floatation keeps your boat from sinking
I figured that quite some time back. But I was just wondering what the purpose was but I now see you guys have floatation standards where as we have no maritime standards that have been updated since the 1940's
So last night I spent an hour or so clearing out as much of the wood and shit as I could. Everything looks fine except for this crack running several feet across the area underneath the floor. How do I repair this?
![fiberglassboats_resized[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/RXN8aAT.jpg "fiberglassboats_resized[1].jpg")
>>1001700
>Everything looks fine except for this crack running several feet across the area underneath the floor. How do I repair this?
That looks like a stringer under there. Grab an angle grinder with a flap disc. Cut out the fiber glass and try to pull that piece out in tact if you can to use as a template. It's likely rotted and desu if you're going this deep you might as well replace all the wood and have a boat that will last a few decades. How's the transom? That's the part I worry about most. And fucking fuck foam. It's the number 1 reason for old boats rotting away. Water gets in and can't get back out. Wet foam just sitting there next to your stringers and deck for eternity weighing down the boat and generally being useless. I wouldn't refoam. Hell I'd rather fill the voids with empty 2 liter bottles.
>>1001714
Thanks for the advice on the stringers, I will get on that later this afternoon. But about the foam - what about closed cell foam? It just worries me to not have foam or something in there when the boat is so old.
![Stringers[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/i6nEjCC.jpg "Stringers[1].jpg")
>>1001769
>But about the foam - what about closed cell foam?
You can try it but almost every old fiberglass boat restoration does without any foam at all. It's better to allow the area under your deck to air dry. This is why your store it nose up/plug out. If you're paranoid I can see using it. It's not necessary. Once you've restore the wood and fiberglass you'll have a stronger boat than when it came from the factory. If you're dead set on foam then you'll wait to add it after you've got the deck installed and glassed in. Cut some big holes in deck pour foam mixture in, let expand, cut off excess then refill holes and glass over your hole patches.
I hope you like getting itchy. I see lots of grinding and glassing in your future. Be sure to keep us updated. There's lots of good info on old fiberglass boating sites.
![tm128[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/hab5zZ6.jpg "tm128[1].jpg")
>>1001359
Make sure you're geared up before breaking out the grinder. You don't want to breath fiberglass and a disposable suit will help a lot with the itchies.
>>1001544
It keeps the water out if you get a hole. Very good idea, desu (air filled bags or plastic bottles like this guys >>1001714 says - just to give you a few extra minutes in the case of water ingress)
>>1001714
What a dream machine
>>1001817
Eugh I remember the itchies. Used to love getting high off the acetone and resins tho
Any progress anon?
>>1004251
I too am interested by this project.
OP you should take pictures throughout the process and then share them with us when you're done!
Make sure boat has a title if in the US, or it's junk. Old boats are worth very little and rarely worth fixing. Old motors OTOH can be profitably parted out on Ebay.
KNOW what your area required for paperwork. Don't guess, ask DMV who usually deal with titles.
![1962-dorsett-17-fleetwood-express-cruiser-boats-ad-bdb9c89bdf341789b979ca6ef77d7008[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/WjbzaaK.jpg "1962-dorsett-17-fleetwood-express-cruiser-boats-ad-bdb9c89bdf341789b979ca6ef77d7008[1].jpg")
>>1004648
>Make sure boat has a title if in the US, or it's junk
This is true. It's why I kept the title for the boat and trailer that got smashed by a tree. If I find another old boat that is missing the title I can get almost free and use my documents on it. Serial numbers weren't required until, I think, the 70's so there's no way for anyone to know that my 65 Dorsett isn't a 63 Performer. I don't even know where the serial number on my title came from. The boat never had a serial number and if I wanted to I could have a serial plaque made with whatever number I wanted.
>>1004673
Good you! It's nice to see someone doing the smart thing.
>>1004678
Wow most countries couldn't give a shit about boats. Land of the free indeed (couldn't help myself - sometimes wish we had some wort of mandatory registry as a way of reporting dickheads)
Hello /diy/, another update:
Thanks to unrelenting rain and illness I have been unable to do much in the last week, but I've gotten most of the floor out and done a little more snooping around. I've run into a few problems here, however.
-There's not a lot of room under the console and livewell, and of course the closer you get to the starboard side of the boat the smaller that space gets. It's too narrow for my angle grinder or Saw-Max to get to, so I need a more creative way to get out the last little bit of flooring there.
-I thought about de-capping my boat to get at the flooring under the seats and in the bilge area, but it turns out my boat doesn't have a cap - the top is just tabbed in. Putting new floor down is the easy part here; getting the old shit out requires more work and thinking since the flooring is so hard to access with everything in the way.
-After some exploratory cuts on the raised portion of the floor (which is basically just three or four layers of plywood nailed into the wood that makes up the floor for the rest of the boat), I found that all of the wood except the floor-level layer was fine. Of course, that section is also filled with waterlogged foam at the hull level. I am debating ripping all of the good stuff out, which will require more muscle and time than the rest of the floor, or just leaving it and glassing over the gap.
-The transom, for now, is not damaged. However, the dipshits who put the motor on this boat did not mount it correctly, and it clearly has been putting strain on it for some time. Just for peace of mind, I'm going to brace the transom once I fix the mount.
>>1004673
I am located in TN, where boats and trailers do not have titles. It came with bill of sale and bill of origin plus the previous owner's registration info, which is all you get and all you need. The boat has a HIN and I'm familiar with the make and model. Besides, I knew it was junk when I purchased it - that's sort of why I purchased it in the first place!
At this rate I would have just cut along the edge of the floor and tear all that shit out
>>1001359
I once went down exactly the same road as you are. I gave up because I got tired of rotten wood, endless grinding, and nasty ass epoxy. Also, it was getting expensive real fast.
My next project boat was aluminum. Way, way easier to repair. Highly recommended...
>>1006287
I mean, that's exactly what I'm doing. It's just not that easy because of all the irremovable pieces hanging over the floor. Shitty pic related.
>>1006364
But that's the fun of it! I went into this knowing I'd lose cash on it, that it would be a sort of stepping stone into working with boats and marine equipment that I could use for a few years until I hock it and get something a little less messy. I think more than anything what gets a project done is commitment. Set realistic goals for each work day/week, write down everything, and just do it. But I'll definitely keep aluminum in mind when project #2 rolls around.
![picbroup8015[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/O18PZ4I.jpg "picbroup8015[1].jpg")
>>1006275
>(which is basically just three or four layers of plywood nailed into the wood that makes up the floor for the rest of the boat),
I felt like an archaeologist ripping out my old deck. Must have been 4 or 5 layers. Instead of ripping out the rotted wood (thanks fucking foam) someone from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's just laid a new plywood deck and called it good. Must have been 2 or 3 hundred extra pounds.
I can't tell from your pics but the deck (upper part) and hull should be joined at the rub rail. I had to remove the rub rail and extract a million fucking staples and cut the two apart. Don't be afraid of cutting the console or live well out. You can re-glass them in again. Also when you decap it you might want to use some threaded rod like pic related to keep its shape until you recap it.
Pic related is from an epic thread on iboats where a guys named oops! extended the entire hull of his boat. It's really fucking impressive and taught me not to fear cutting shit out. You can always reglass.
BTW: does that happen to be a ski-twin hanging on the back?
