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rot removal and repair
Submitted By: bendeho
Date Created: 06-28-2006
Description: bought a boat as a project that needed a "little" interior work.......
here is the description from e-bay:

18.5' Phantom Ski Powerboat w/ Trailer in TX
Vehicle Description
18.5' Phantom Powerboat item# 25-49312013-2349 FREE TRAILER
Construction: Fiberglass
Engine Make : Cobra
Engine HP : 175
# of Engines: Single
Engine Type : I/O Engine
Fuel : Gasoline
Trailer : 1 axle
Donor comments: This powerboat comes with a FREE trailer and an outdrive.
According to the donor," The trailer is road worthy." However, we have
not inspected this item and can not verify the donor's claims. This ski
boat needs a new floor and rehopolstery. The engine has not been ran in
a few years, but the donor said he did not have any problems with it
when it was last used. The outdrive (lower unit) has recently been
rebuilt. We cannot confirm these statements, sold as is where is.

The trailer is a tandom not a single, the engine runs like a dream and the previous owner provided documentation to the rebuild of the outdrive by a "reputible" dealer in the area. The dealer told the previous owner that there was what appeared to be a little rot, and should be looked at. Problem was, they did not say that until after the work on the outdrive was completed???????
see the project to follow.
Tools / Materials: Go to the Boating Store


this is the beast
paint is oxidised, but i think the "clean" and waxed spots show the original color pretty well.

wow, nice carving of the side there guys! and i love what you have done with the wireing!
needs a litt work, should have it on the water soon.....


cut that hole with an axe???
under the battery there is more rot running forward. looks like i need to decide weather to remove the top of the boat, or to cut out the lounge area and turn it into a casting deck....?

this area is in good shape on the top side, but the stringers and floor under it need to come out and be replaced.
lounge area


highlite is soft spot
after removing the engine, mounts, stringers and foam from the back end, i felt for rot, thanks to i-boats members advice, and found a "soft spot" in the transom below the exhaust coupling.

using the probing method to determine the extent of the rot, it looks as though it is a little bigger than a small soft spot. so here goes the rest of the disasembly. first comes the lower unit...
gotta love an engine hoist!


(Insert New Caption)
then the gimbal assy comes off...

and the inside portion of the transom assy.
looking back, I could have saved a lot of time and effort by just removing the 6 bolts that hold the inner and outer transom assy togather......, but following the service manual to the letter on this one!

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view from outside transom
at least the underside of the transom assy mount looks to be intact, no damage.

visual confermation of the soft spot i found from the inside.
is no bueno!


reference measurement take for later, will need to have this to rebuild to the correct thickness.

with the inside glass split along the edge of the outdrive mount area, the "spot" looks more like an area to me! a little more exploratory surgery to determine the extent of the cancer seems to be in order.
more like soft area


not looking good for the original transom.
with the transomectomy about half done, the patient is looking like it will pull through, although it will be a long road to recovery.

the next step in the surgury will be to remove the remaining "mounted" components and complete the transomectomy... more when this step is completed.
more removal of mechanicals required


forward floor removed
with the last of the floor removed, the extent of the rot is now known.
i would recomend to anyone doing a simmilar repair to just go ahead and tear up everything, because the rot is like cancer; if you leave ANY of it behind, it will spread.

with the forward section "roughed out", the extent of the rot is now visable. the grey carpet runs up the hull all the way to the seam. must have been installed prior to the top half of the boat.
forward section removed


spreading cancer....
with the inboard side of the forward stringer glass removed, you can see that the rot is spreading to an area of the boat that is higher than the bilge, yet the wood is still wet and rotting.

with the entire floor and stringer system now removed, the hull seemed rather "floppy", so i installed a cross brace in the forward section of the hull. just drywall screws from inside the cockpit in a W pattern on each side of the opening. holes will be patched and painted along with the rest of the area later.
temporary support


empty hull
i also tied a piece of rope between the cleets in the mid hull area to help reduce the "floppy" that is now present.
the sander in the pic is a little slower than the angle grinder at removing the first layer of "stuff" inside the hull, but when hooked up to the shop vac, it makes for DUST FREE surface prep!!!!!!

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