Got a boat...well sort of. (Now with pictures)

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

Tom Schindler

Well-Known Member
1st Gen Owner
V6 Engine
Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
13,973
Reaction score
2
Location
Akron, OH
I know there has to be some boaters here, so here goes.



My brother aquired a Bayliner Capri with a Force 85 HP outboard. I think the length is 17'.



He got it for free, so he doesn't mind putting a little money into it to get it running.



The motor runs fine. We havent put it in the water yet, but when he last ran it, it ran great. Last summer my brother had the opportunity to take it to the lake a few times and he said it runs good.



The guy he got it from took it out of storage and parked it at his house. Well, he never used it much that summer and forgot about it. Some critters got into it and chewed up some of the seats, though not all. They also chewed up some wires, but it looks like the wiring is simple. the floor is rotted in one spot, but the rest is rock solid. It sat all winter with the cover with a giant rip in it and got soaked with water, ice, snow, and other crap.



I am not sure of the exact model number as I have been unsuccessful in finding an ID tag anywhere on the boat.



It did come with an Escort Trailer and a Title for the motor.



From what I have been searching on the internet, we think it was made in 1983. I know Bayliner make middle of the road boats, so we are not expecting much. Maybe a weekend here and there until we either realize we like having a boat or just get rid of it. If or when that happens, we can decide to buy something better or to forget about a boat.



Anyone know of any good resourses for Bayliner boats? Maybe some information about the older models to compare what we have and anything else we might need/want to know.



As it stands, here is what it looks like the boat needs.



Seats, the back to back ones for the driver and passengers.

Floor, but only in one area. (Can we cut that area out and replace it with new wood?)

The seat cushin for the rear seats, next to the Transon. (Could we recover them ourselves?)

The seats for the bow (it is an open bow) are cracked, but not that bad. I don't think it is worth replacing at the moment unless we decide to keep it.



The trailer should get rewired, no biggie. The trailer has new(er) tires. It is a little rusty, but no biggie.



I can post pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.



Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.





Tom
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I went to Bayliners website and using the floor plans they offer, I pieced together a layout of the boat we got.



It should give you an idea what the floor plan looks like.



[Broken External Image]:





Tom
 
Hi:



There are several boat places that have good deals on the parts you will need. Boat U.S and West Marine are a couple of well known ones. I'm sure there are local outlets of these north of you somewhere(closer to Lake Erie). Both have nice web sites too.



Specifics:



Seats, the back to back ones for the driver and passengers.



Either one of the above places should have what you need. I had to replace mine a few years ago(due to age…the foam was shot…) and got them from Boat US. Standard stocked item with lots of options.





Floor, but only in one area. (Can we cut that area out and replace it with new wood?)



Yes you can, but the edges of whatever's left after you cut out MUST be sealed with fiberglass resin. Same with the replacement piece. In this environment, rot will get going really fast if you don't. My worry would be that the current rot has got into the stringers on the boat(the wooden cross-pieces that hold up the floor). If so, a product called Git-Rot will probably be the best way to go for now so you don't have to rip those out too.





The seat cushion for the rear seats, next to the Transom. (Could we recover them ourselves?)



Yes you could. They will also be fairly cheap to have done at an upholstery or marine canvas shop.





The seats for the bow (it is an open bow) are cracked, but not that bad. I don't think it is worth replacing at the moment unless we decide to keep it.



Again, Boat US or West Marine have them if you want to price them out. Lot's of different styles and colors. If it's just the seat cover, the local upholstery or marine canvas shop can do that too.



Hope this helps a bit.
 
I am not sure of the exact model number as I have been unsuccessful in finding an ID tag anywhere on the boat.



Try the upper corners on the stern. Either on the transom or the side. It should be impressed into the fiberglass as a stamp. This is where the ID is supposed to be, and you will need that number to register it here in Ohio.



Clemons Boats have been a large Bayliner dealer in N. Ohio for a long time. Bayliners of that era are usually regarded as a bottom line boat because of poor workmanship in the fiberglass. Some are fine, and others are just pure junk. Guess it depended on what mold it came out of... If yours has lasted this long, it's one of the good ones! The current Bayliner offerings are much better than the older ones.



I had a 22' SeaRay until last year. Hated to sell it, but it was a 1975 and was starting to have some problems. That, and a lot of the parts were being obsoleted... I'm now boatless for the 1st time in 20 or so years. Seems strange... However, with the cost of gas, I might just be boatless for a few years, unless an irresisable deal comes my way!



I bet CoastieJoe might be a good source of info too! :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If I were you, I would replace the impeller in the motor. It is a cheap part that can completely ruin the motor if it goes bad. I speak from experience on this one, had a 15HP Johnson on my first boat, impeller went bad and now I have a Johnson anchor! They should be replaced every year or two, and immediately if buying a used motor, if you don't know the complete maintenence history. Sounds like a great boat, especially at that price (FREE), but I wouldn't want to see you spend money on seat, floor, and stringer repair, just have the motor blow up on your first or second trip out. Good luck and happy boating, I love having my boat behind my Trac!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tom, check the transom and the rest of the deck very carefully. The worst achilles heel on older Bayliners is water intrusion into the deck and transom. They used a poor grade of plywood for critical structures. It's strong enough, but has no resistance to rot. With a bit of luck, no water got to any critical structures and it is sound.



If the transom is soft at all, take the motor off, and junk the hull. Find a sound hull to put the motor on, or sell it. It's not worth rebuilding that hull because you can get a sound hull for a lot less than the cost of rebuilding.
 
Tom, the floor repair is basically straight forward. One of the keys is to replace the bad section with marine grade plywood. It is a bit higher in price but is some quality product. It will take the water abuse that comes with boats. Every time you clean it, go swimming, skiing etc etc you will have water on the deck.



When you remove the section the target it so cut the defective section out in such a way that your cutting JUST through the flooring and directly over top of the support that is supporting the floor.



If that is not possible cut it out as need be and build in lateral supports as required. Many people will use 2x4's and then wrap they in fiberglass to help with both strength and water absorption.



The re-covering of the various items in nothing. There are all kinds of canvas and reupholster vender's in your/our area. Literally hundreds of them.



The back to back seats can be bought brand new pretty cheap.

For example, here is a "sleeper seat". Close to 300 dollars but a nice set. The seats spread apart and create a sleeping area. You can buy the same thing that does not open for about half the money.



[Broken External Image]:



Trailer, being a bit rust is not a big deal on a boat of the size and weight your have. The key is the structural soundness, the suspension, and the bearings and hubs of the axles.



I am not too far from you and have been around boats for about 33 years. 23 of which in the Coast Guard. I'll be glad to help you out if we can hook up.



Also, the out board is worth a pretty penny. They are WAY OVER-PRICED. So if the transom is trashed you will be able to sell the outboard with no problem. Especially now that boating season is here.



Some thing else I wanted to say but don't recall what. If I think of it I'll edit the post..
 
Well, today we got the engine running. Fires up as fast as my Trac does, even after sitting for almost a year. It runs nice and smooth. We dumped the gas and are replacing it with new gas.



The Transom feels strong. We replaced the right wheel bearing since it got wet and was rusting. Pretty simple. The rust on the trailer is surface only. Nothing to be worried about at all. The Hull has some cracks in the fibreglass, but they look surface only. (I do NDT and I have seen my share of cracks, been doing it for 11 years)



My brother said he found some seats for the boat somewhere for $200.00 for two of them. Cheapest I found online is $175.00/each. Besides that, everything looks pretty good...for free.



Hopefully we will get it on some water today to take it out and see if it is something worth messing with. Just because it looks good doesn't mean it will float.





Tom
 
We are back. Engine fired right up and run us at about 30 MPH. Not too bad.



I am not really into boating, never have been, so it was a So-So for me.



I will be uploading pictures soon.





Tom
 
Here are some pictures of the boat. Some alook good and others show some of the damage to the interior.



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:



Well, what do you think?





Tom
 
Basically, you have to decide what your intentions are.



Keeping it.... Then take the time to recover the interior with the color scheme of your choice. Your going to have to do it all for the most part to get it all to match. I owned a 27ft Sea Ray with twin I/O's (292's). Had it for 12 years. My wife and I re-did the interior our selves. Turned out very nice and increased the value of the boat.



If your not going to use it so to speak or your going to sell it then you should still re do it for the most part as it will be in a better condition to sell the boat for the most money.



Cosmetics is huge. If it looks ruff it is assumed it was treated ruff even if it wasn't. Anyone looking at it now will be saying it will cost them a grand to bring it up to good condition.
 
Nice little boat, especially for free. Have the engine serviced and the water pump replaced and it will probably run forever. Lube all the steering, shifting, throttle cables and connections. Make sure you have a good bilge pump. Purchase at least two extra drain plugs. Keep one in your tow vehicle and one in the boat storage. Replace/reupholster the seats and you will have alot of fun this summer on the cheap. Well except for the gas issue.
 
Looks full of potential, Tom!



I see you already thought about the wheel bearings in the trailer. The first warm day around here the highways are full of boats sitting along the sides because of blown tires or fried wheel bearings! Folks don't think to service the bearings or even check the tire pressures. As the tires heat up, they blow.



I should think that you could easily redo the interior with some marine-grade vinyl.



www.jcwhitney.com probably has decent parts for cheap.



Good luck, but don't forget the lifesavers and a cell phone!



 
We took it out. Runs good. We do need life jackets, and the interior redone.



My brother is the type of person that will let me use anything he has as if it was mine, so I will have complete access to it whenever I want.



The shift linkage works great. No binding or anything.



We will need to rewire both the trailer and the boat. Fortunatly, the main cable, the one that goes into the engine is intact. The wires for the lights and horn are chewed up. Simple wiring system, so that is no sweat. I think I will buy new lights and wire them up this week sometime.





Tom
 
Try www.overtons.com



they have a lot of boating supplies from tubes, skis, seats, covers, trailer parts, etc.



never bought anything, so can't vouch for price/ service/ etc. just know it's a source!
 

Latest posts

Top