KC wrote:
On 11/6/2014 1:34 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 06 Nov 2014 09:41:33 -0600, "James"
wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:

On 11/5/2014 9:40 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 04 Nov 2014 16:35:34 -0600, "James"
wrote:

Hi Group, I'm presently looking at a 1977 28' Bayliner with a 350
Chevy OMC engine and Volvo 270 drive. The owner says he has the
same engine in his tournament ski boat which is a Mercruiser
engine. I don't know if he's referring to the fact that they're
both 350 Chevy's or Mercury built the OMC also. I haven't gone to
see the boat yet. The picture of the engine shows that it's
definitly a Chevy and OMC. Jim

===

It's important to understand that boats that age develop issues
other than the engine and outdrive. Frequent failure points are
rot in the transom, cockpit floors and stringers. Any one of
those problems puts the boat into the negative value category
meaning that it is more expensive to fix than the boat is worth.
The electrical system is another area that is frequently
deteriorated beyond repair. Spending a few hundred bucks for a
good surveyor can be the best investment you ever make.



Oh yeah. Rot. That '82 Century I owned had rotted stringers running
port to starboard just forward of the engine. I put some pressure
treated "sister" stringers attached to the solid sections on each end
of the rotted ones and then soaked the rotted sections with
anti-freeze.

I've fixed rotted stringers in our pickup campers with System 3 Fixrot.
Great stuff makes rotted eood really strong.

===

I would not recommend fixing rotted stringers with epoxy. It's a
band aid cure at best. Stringers on a boat are subject to a lot more
stress than stringers on a camper, and if your camper breaks in half
after hitting a pot hole, it is not nearly as serious as your boat
breaking up after hitting a wave. There was an incident near here a
few years ago where a boat broke up after hitting a wave. There was
one fatality and a bunch of serious injuries.


Sounds like this guy knows his stuff, they do make "epoxy" mixes that are
specifically made for the purpose of fixing rot. With laminates (shredded
glass, kevlar, etc) mixed in, I believe these products may be up to the
task of repairing rot on a boat... They even make stuff to fill in a rotted transom...

And it is a marginal repair at best. The rotted wood has no strength as a
filler fiber. I tried gitrot on my camper where the back corner where the
jack attaches was rotted. After a couple days, I figured the strength was
nil. So I ripped out the rotted area and fitted in sealed wood piece.
After seeing the results, I would use an epoxy filler like rod doctor, etc.
only in a dire case.