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80's malibu skier engine mount problem


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I just bought this 19' malibu skier with trailer and accessories for 1100 dollars. The problem is that the boat has sat uncovered for some time. The hull is in great shape, the floor is mostly in great shape, the pain is great, motor turns over, stern drive looks immaculate. The problem is that I can't see under the motor supports to see what is holding the motor up. One side of the motor has smashed in the fiberglass rail it was mounted on and now sits 3 inches lower than it should. I am trying to figure out if there is some kind of support other than fiberglass that the motor is sitting on. I can't really see anything because of the fiberglass, and the other side is fine so I was trying to find some kind of design drawing that would show me what is under there? It seems ignorant to only mount the motor to a formed fiberglass rail. Anybody with some ideas or maybe have heard the same story coming from somewhere else might can shed some light on what can be done?

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stern drive looks immaculate.

?? I just bought a 1990 skier, but this statement confuses me. Boat should be an inboard so you have the motor in the middle, a short driveshaft going to a prop, and then a rudder. What are you referring to when you say sterndrive?

Anyways there are two "stringers" that run up and down the boat. The engine sets inbetween these two stringers. It is supposed to be 2 big pieces of wood covered in fiberglass to prevent rotting, but I suspect the wood has been completely rotted and you are left with a fiberglass shell.

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?? I just bought a 1990 skier, but this statement confuses me. Boat should be an inboard so you have the motor in the middle, a short driveshaft going to a prop, and then a rudder. What are you referring to when you say sterndrive?

Anyways there are two "stringers" that run up and down the boat. The engine sets inbetween these two stringers. It is supposed to be 2 big pieces of wood covered in fiberglass to prevent rotting, but I suspect the wood has been completely rotted and you are left with a fiberglass shell.

ahh u just answered my question thank you. I couldn't see if there was ever any wood there so I was beginning to wonder. Sweet so it is an easy fix then. Pull stern off, the intermediate and boot. pick up the engine and replace the wood. Even though I plan on redoing the fiberglass since I replaced a sheet of wood up front, is it ok to replace the rotten mount wood with treated 4x4 post or will the chemical in the pressure treated wood damage the fiberglass hull?

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ahh u just answered my question thank you. I couldn't see if there was ever any wood there so I was beginning to wonder. Sweet so it is an easy fix then.

Uhm...have fun. I think. But welcome the the Crew anyway. Keep us posted as to the repairs. With pics of course, we love pics.

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martinarcher

ahh u just answered my question thank you. I couldn't see if there was ever any wood there so I was beginning to wonder. Sweet so it is an easy fix then. Pull stern off, the intermediate and boot. pick up the engine and replace the wood. Even though I plan on redoing the fiberglass since I replaced a sheet of wood up front, is it ok to replace the rotten mount wood with treated 4x4 post or will the chemical in the pressure treated wood damage the fiberglass hull?

If you think so then you are one ambitious dude. This should give you a better idea of what your in for...

http://picasaweb.google.com/myfourday

Edited by martinarcher
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Hi - I'm going to jump in and help with some more detailed info.

If you have one of the old Malibu I/O sport boats - with rotten wood, just brace yourself for a project. And by project, I mean time, talent and money. You may be just the guy to get it done - have no idea. But it sounds like you dropped some dollars and something that sounded like a deal - and it may be - just depends on your capabilities. From what you wrote so far - it's not safe to put that boat in the water.

An old Malibu I/O has wood throughout. I don't know specifics of how the boat is built, but I know that the builders of the 80's used wood in stringers, transom, core of the hull, floor, and most build-up components of the interior.

If you have a boat that was stored outdoors for a long time, you almost certainly have wood rot.

As it turns out - your thinking about boat construction may need some tuning. Making a boat out of 100% fiberglass, including mounting the engine to fiberglass rails (actually solid or synthetic cored fiberglass frame members that run the length of the boat) is indeed how boats are built now. It's best-practice, and has proven itself over time. It's not ignorant as you mentioned.

If you have an engine that has sunk into a rotten stringer by 3", you are most certainly in for a project that includes gutting the boat and repairing the stringers. It's not a workable fix to tuck a pressure treated 4x4 under there, bolt a lag screw through an engine mount and hope it will all hold. The stringers are the rigidity of the boat front to back. They hold the engine down and keep it from twisting under torque and load...but just as importantly, the keep the boat from splitting in 1/2 while in the water.

Also, if you have rotten stringers, you likely have a rotten transom. Take that drive off, remove the transom plate and you'll likely find gooey remains of what used to be wood, sandwiched between layers of fiberglass. Again, no structural rigidity to handle the torque of the boat going through the water. It will fail. Transoms get replaced every day. It's very doable - but it's not easy and it's not cheap.

That's what I know. If you are new to this whole thing, you may want to get someone who knows boats involved to give an assessment of what the boat needs and start from there. Just my $.02.

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Good Luck. The pics that MA linked you too will definitely show you what you are in for. I wouldn't go as far as saying it is an easy fix.....but lets hope. Upload some pics and everyone can chime in with tips. Good Luck!!!

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Good Luck. The pics that MA linked you too will definitely show you what you are in for. I wouldn't go as far as saying it is an easy fix.....but lets hope. Upload some pics and everyone can chime in with tips. Good Luck!!!

Thank you so much for the input I really appreciate it. The reason I say it has to be easy is because I will be doing all the work myself since I can wrench, build, and any other trade that is needed to finish this project. I hate to think that that the whole boat is rotten. Only one side of the mount was rotten the other is fine. I will post some pics as soon as I can, thanks again for the input.

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Also, if you have rotten stringers, you likely have a rotten transom. Take that drive off, remove the transom plate and you'll likely find gooey remains of what used to be wood, sandwiched between layers of fiberglass. Again, no structural rigidity to handle the torque of the boat going through the water. It will fail. Transoms get replaced every day. It's very doable - but it's not easy and it's not cheap.

The whole backside of my boat is one inch think fiberglass with metal plates supporting the step, and the ski hitch. So i guess that is one less thing I have to do right? Well it looks like I need to go ahead and pull the engine, rip up the flooring, and restart lol.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Also, if you have rotten stringers, you likely have a rotten transom. Take that drive off, remove the transom plate and you'll likely find gooey remains of what used to be wood, sandwiched between layers of fiberglass. Again, no structural rigidity to handle the torque of the boat going through the water. It will fail. Transoms get replaced every day. It's very doable - but it's not easy and it's not cheap.

The whole backside of my boat is one inch think fiberglass with metal plates supporting the step, and the ski hitch. So i guess that is one less thing I have to do right? Well it looks like I need to go ahead and pull the engine, rip up the flooring, and restart lol.

Ok I have removed the transom (Mostly dry rot not goo), stringers (they were goo), and replaced them with pressure treated 2x4's for the transom and 4x6 for the motor mounts. Sorry about the pics I have no way to upload them since my laptop is being borrowed. I will post when i can. I have a question about another repair though. I have a very small crack in my exhaust manifold (very small), and was wondering how to fix it. I hear that you need to drill an indention at the end of the crack (to stop spreading), use thermosteel to fill it in then grind the excess down? Is there anyone that can confirm or deny this method?

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Hi - I'm going to jump in and help with some more detailed info.

If you have one of the old Malibu I/O sport boats - with rotten wood, just brace yourself for a project. And by project, I mean time, talent and money. You may be just the guy to get it done - have no idea. But it sounds like you dropped some dollars and something that sounded like a deal - and it may be - just depends on your capabilities. From what you wrote so far - it's not safe to put that boat in the water.

An old Malibu I/O has wood throughout. I don't know specifics of how the boat is built, but I know that the builders of the 80's used wood in stringers, transom, core of the hull, floor, and most build-up components of the interior.

If you have a boat that was stored outdoors for a long time, you almost certainly have wood rot.

As it turns out - your thinking about boat construction may need some tuning. Making a boat out of 100% fiberglass, including mounting the engine to fiberglass rails (actually solid or synthetic cored fiberglass frame members that run the length of the boat) is indeed how boats are built now. It's best-practice, and has proven itself over time. It's not ignorant as you mentioned.

If you have an engine that has sunk into a rotten stringer by 3", you are most certainly in for a project that includes gutting the boat and repairing the stringers. It's not a workable fix to tuck a pressure treated 4x4 under there, bolt a lag screw through an engine mount and hope it will all hold. The stringers are the rigidity of the boat front to back. They hold the engine down and keep it from twisting under torque and load...but just as importantly, the keep the boat from splitting in 1/2 while in the water.

Also, if you have rotten stringers, you likely have a rotten transom. Take that drive off, remove the transom plate and you'll likely find gooey remains of what used to be wood, sandwiched between layers of fiberglass. Again, no structural rigidity to handle the torque of the boat going through the water. It will fail. Transoms get replaced every day. It's very doable - but it's not easy and it's not cheap.

That's what I know. If you are new to this whole thing, you may want to get someone who knows boats involved to give an assessment of what the boat needs and start from there. Just my $.02.

I agree with the difficulty of the work because it was not easy removing stringers, and the transom. I built the new pressure treated frame and will be taking in to an expert to cast the transom and the stringers because after two weeks I am burnt out on fiberglass. When I made the comment about boat building it was because my motor mount at the time looked like just a half inch piece of fiberglass that the motor was bolted to. That's when I thought boat building was ignorant. I would agree with building them with solid fiberglass not just a half inch sleeve like I thought. It only looked like that until I got down to the gooey wood when I pulled the motor out. Is it expensive to have them cast solid fiberglass mounts ,and stringers?

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I agree with the difficulty of the work because it was not easy removing stringers, and the transom. I built the new pressure treated frame and will be taking in to an expert to cast the transom and the stringers because after two weeks I am burnt out on fiberglass. When I made the comment about boat building it was because my motor mount at the time looked like just a half inch piece of fiberglass that the motor was bolted to. That's when I thought boat building was ignorant. I would agree with building them with solid fiberglass not just a half inch sleeve like I thought. It only looked like that until I got down to the gooey wood when I pulled the motor out. Is it expensive to have them cast solid fiberglass mounts ,and stringers?

For whatever it's worth, here's my progress on what sounds like a similar restoration. The stringers in mine weren't as badly rotted as yours, but I'm replacing all the wood anyway. I don't know what it costs to pay someone for fiberglass work, but it's probably more than you paid for the boat.

Wood cores (or boats) aren't necessarily bad, they just have to be built right and properly sealed. After tearing apart my boat, I'm pretty certain Malibu wasn't building boats in the 1980s for the long run. I would rather build with wood, but that's mainly because I think it's more workable and pleasant than fiberglass work. I agree with you though, after finishing this one, I won't restore another fiberglass boat.

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