TheGreatWatusi Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 After selling my 2200V Pathy a few years ago, I'm back in the MBG family and hope to never leave. I was looking for a project boat and I think I got it with this 16' 87 Bayfisher. Came with a 95' Merc 150 EFI (per serial number, not cowling) that the prior owner was going to bolt a Bob's nose cone on but never did. Engine supposedly runs but after bolting the lower unit on it either has an issue with starter or the battery isn't good. Engine isn't a priority at the moment, will eventually sell it as the plan is to repower. Upon initial inspection, there are definitely soft spots on the deck / places you can see the rot, a transom to be concerned about and prior 'improvements' with minimal attention to detail. Side note, it was stated by the prior owner that the last time they ran the boat (over a year ago), it was clocked at 64mph...if that is true that is "hold onto your butts" kinda speed on a boat like this, especially if the hull was in similar condition to now. I'll post lots of pictures, but the 2.5 hour drive at 60mph home was uneventful (which I deem a success!). Plan is to restore anything needed to provide a family skiff for years to come. Many thanks in advance for the knowledge already on this forum (I have read most) and any insights the community can provide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stpetebullman Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Wow you're doing this all on your own?! Sheesh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shallowminded6 Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Awesome congrats!! Cant wait to watch this one. Do you have any past experience doing glass and gel coat etc.? What area are you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toeknee217 Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Awesome little project boat you got there! I have a similar setup except on an 18'. I wonder how the back end sits in the water with that much weight back there. Usually they're powered by 90 2 strokes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Great project! Yes it is a wood boat. 150 on that, better fix the transom and soft spots first. I know Mr. Bob Hewes had a 175 on a Redfisher 17 and it ran in the low 70's. I will get a copy of the pic and post. Good luck, alotta information on here so keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatWatusi Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 This will be a large undertaking but I've got help from a friend who has done some of this before. I'm in St Pete. Started removing anything screwed down and gave it a quick rinse. Also got the engine off and poling platform. As you'll see, its confirmed a new transom is needed. Also, it appears in a prior restoration they cut access into the floor on each side near the engine (which I can't figure out yet why this was done). I'm confident to say we'll also now be doing stringer work as these are / have been holding water and I can feel soft wood reaching in (see last photo...I held my phone in the access hole and took a picture of the stringer...the area circled in green is the deck, the area circled in red is the stringer). Also, looking at photos of every other 87 Bayfisher, it appears they all have recessed bow and stern decks. This boat has a flush deck on both. Taking a look underneath, it appears it was cut and raised. Progress will be slow given other life priorities, but slowly it will get there. I can't figure out why the photos don't rotate correctly (tried rotating to compensate on computer before uploading and it still isn't putting them on here correctly). If you know the trick, let me know Here is what happened when we pulled off the last screw of the poling platform... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted August 3, 2020 Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 Going to be a labor of love fur sure! That is not the original platform and from the looks of the repair area you've shown, an attempt was made to fix a few soft spots in the floors, which is typical! My old boat flowed water when I was removing the screws for the tabs. You have original spray rails, that was a big source of water coming into my bilge, screws loose, holes where screw had been relocated. When I removed them it looked like the boat had been in the Vietnam war going down the Mekong Delta and got shot up pretty good, there were so many holes, I think I counted 36 on one side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatWatusi Posted August 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2020 Still slow going and only got to work on the boat a few times. Worked on getting the cap off and with the help of a painters knife was able to get 90% of the cap loose. The stern required the help of an oscillating tool. Next we will be on to the floor to see the real damage to the stringers. The hull is still holding water beneath the floor so very curious to see why. Before cutting the floor though I'm thinking we'll put some 2X4's across the top to keep it from flexing. Open to any recommendations on the best method for this. Has anyone enclosed the rear deck on these boats? Doing that will require a change to how the deck drains though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shallowminded6 Posted September 1, 2020 Report Share Posted September 1, 2020 On 8/30/2020 at 8:55 PM, TheGreatWatusi said: Still slow going and only got to work on the boat a few times. Worked on getting the cap off and with the help of a painters knife was able to get 90% of the cap loose. The stern required the help of an oscillating tool. Next we will be on to the floor to see the real damage to the stringers. The hull is still holding water beneath the floor so very curious to see why. Before cutting the floor though I'm thinking we'll put some 2X4's across the top to keep it from flexing. Open to any recommendations on the best method for this. Has anyone enclosed the rear deck on these boats? Doing that will require a change to how the deck drains though. I would reach out to Reel Loco. He did a Light Tackle, newer than yours but pulled the cap etc. maybe 2x4 notched out to hold the sides in place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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