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Particle board?!


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Ok, so I am having some dry rot repaired, and when the guys at the shop tore into things they gave me a call and said "you gotta come look at this." They showed me that all of the wood from the engine forward was 1/2 inch particle board. There wasn't even resin or any kind of sealent on it. The guys at the shop said that they have never seen particle board in a boat before. And they can't find any evidence that the boat has been repaired before, so that means it came from the factory like that. Its odd though because they said that they have worked on boats just like mine (a 1988 malibu skier) and never seen this situation before.

So whats up Malibu, are you still cutting corners during production from time to time? Pretty much the only thing holding the front of my boat together was carpet.

Crazy.gif

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HOLY CRAP! I used to work at a particleboard plant and that stuff does not last long with exposure to water. It's hard to believe that Malibu would use PB for boat construction.

Daniel

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My 1990 Skier is 3/4" plywood that is covered with resin. I have done minor repairs on mine like where the drivers seat bolts to the floor and the cover behind the engine box.

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there were other shady things too. The out side support stringers sat a hair higher than this inside stirngers (where the engine is mounted) so they stapled shims to make up the difference. It looked like crap, like something that I would have done. Even the 1/2 inch plywood that was used was not marine grade, but at least that had a thin coat of resin on it. I know it was built 18 years ago, but doesn't Malibe keep their employees forever, I want to go down there and kick somebody in the nuts. I suppose it is a little late for a nasty letter.... Do you think that they still have records going back that far showing who worked on what boats... pointless I know.

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I'd bet that the boat has been worked on before by a shade tree mechanic

Me too. Mine ain't built like that.

Make that 3 votes. Even if they didn't find evidence of it doesn't mean that it isn't possible. Probably the most likely explanation IMO.

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I'd bet that the boat has been worked on before by a shade tree mechanic

Me too. Mine ain't built like that.

Make that 3 votes. Even if they didn't find evidence of it doesn't mean that it isn't possible. Probably the most likely explanation IMO.

Well the original owner is a member, but I can't remember his screen name. We have talked before and he said that they never had any work done on it... who knows.

'88 under the bow of your boat is there a step-up, or does is the floor the same level from nose to tail? that step-up "false" floor under my bow was all particle board, aswell as the floor around the drivers seat. Maybe when they get it all torn out they will have more info, maybe find some evidence of previous repairs....

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I'd bet that the boat has been worked on before by a shade tree mechanic

Me too. Mine ain't built like that.

Make that 3 votes. Even if they didn't find evidence of it doesn't mean that it isn't possible. Probably the most likely explanation IMO.

Well the original owner is a member, but I can't remember his screen name. We have talked before and he said that they never had any work done on it... who knows.

'88 under the bow of your boat is there a step-up, or does is the floor the same level from nose to tail? that step-up "false" floor under my bow was all particle board, aswell as the floor around the drivers seat. Maybe when they get it all torn out they will have more info, maybe find some evidence of previous repairs....

I think it's all on the same level but, I will have to check. If yours came from the factory that way, perhaps they ran out of plywood and where the employees were paid partly on incentive, they improvised to get the boat out the door.

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I'd bet that the boat has been worked on before by a shade tree mechanic

Me too. Mine ain't built like that.

Make that 3 votes. Even if they didn't find evidence of it doesn't mean that it isn't possible. Probably the most likely explanation IMO.

Well the original owner is a member, but I can't remember his screen name. We have talked before and he said that they never had any work done on it... who knows.

'88 under the bow of your boat is there a step-up, or does is the floor the same level from nose to tail? that step-up "false" floor under my bow was all particle board, aswell as the floor around the drivers seat. Maybe when they get it all torn out they will have more info, maybe find some evidence of previous repairs....

I think it's all on the same level but, I will have to check. If yours came from the factory that way, perhaps they ran out of plywood and where the employees were paid partly on incentive, they improvised to get the boat out the door.

that is exactlly what the guys at the repair shop said... it was a friday boat.

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  • 2 weeks later...

GW, My storage area under the bow is raised, just beyond the battery box well.

I think the key to being happy with an old boat is not trying to make it like a new boat. I've got a sizable soft spot in the floor under the back seat that I keep treating with Git Rot. I put a 6" wrench on the motor mounts yesterday. Some of them are tight. Some get sort of snug but, not tight and I know if I crank on them I will strip them out. They were like that about 10 years ago when I tried to tighten them up. Eventually, I will have to get into this stuff but, there's no hurry.

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Their is no way 1/2" particle board would last more than a year or two in any boat (with the exception of edwins)! It would literally fall apart in a few years - no way you could ever get 18 years out of it. It had to be redone by a cheap a$$ idiot. It doesn't take much to make something look stock on a hand built boat.

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It doesn't take much to make something look stock on a hand built boat.

Apparently not because when GW bought that boat and posted pics, it was the 1st one that I've seen that looked considerably nicer and cleaner than mine.

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Their is no way 1/2" particle board would last more than a year or two in any boat (with the exception of edwins)! It would literally fall apart in a few years - no way you could ever get 18 years out of it. It had to be redone by a cheap a$$ idiot. It doesn't take much to make something look stock on a hand built boat.

Well I bought the boat with 190 hours on it, so it wasn't like it was getting "used" for 18 years... anyways I'm going to side with the professionals that are currently working on my boat. And yeah the PB didn't last 18 years it was held together by carpet in some areas.

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I don't know Abe. That boat lived in an awfully rainy part of the country & IME it can be worse to just let a boat sit than it is to use it. Think about it, your boat was in beautiful shape, right? I could see that myself last summer, & easily believe that it only had 190 hours on it. Okay, so if we go from there, that means that it sat on its trailer or (even worse) moored in the water ..... a lot. I know from personal experience that it's very, very hard to keep a dry boat on that side of the state, even if you don't use it. So, if it did sit a lot, wet a good portion of the time, the floor would rot out even if it was built with the correct materials for that time. If you've got a person that decides, "Hey, I should sell that boat, I really don't use it much", then discover that they've got a rotten floor, what do you think they'd do to get it sold?

If on the other hand, it did come from the factory like that, Tony's right. The particle board would have given out long ago under those conditions & in that environment. If it was on this side of the state, maybe. But not in the valley. That stuff doesn't hold up to water at all.

You can believe that it came from the factory that way if you want & it's certainly possible, but not all that probable IMO. I can't imagine why a boat builder would even have particle board on hand. Think about it, where in a boat would it be used?

EDIT: Just to clarify - I'm not stating any of this as fact, just trying to look at the facts & draw a conclusion based from there as well as my own experience with boats in that particular environment. A lot of assumptions have been made in this thread & this is merely an attempt to follow what I believe to be the most logical explanation. YMMV

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I've read this thread over and over and over now I will make one simple comment. I seriously doubt it was done at the factory. :)

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I don't know Abe. That boat lived in an awfully rainy part of the country & IME it can be worse to just let a boat sit than it is to use it. Think about it, your boat was in beautiful shape, right? I could see that myself last summer, & easily believe that it only had 190 hours on it. Okay, so if we go from there, that means that it sat on its trailer or (even worse) moored in the water ..... a lot. I know from personal experience that it's very, very hard to keep a dry boat on that side of the state, even if you don't use it. So, if it did sit a lot, wet a good portion of the time, the floor would rot out even if it was built with the correct materials for that time. If you've got a person that decides, "Hey, I should sell that boat, I really don't use it much", then discover that they've got a rotten floor, what do you think they'd do to get it sold?

If on the other hand, it did come from the factory like that, Tony's right. The particle board would have given out long ago under those conditions & in that environment. If it was on this side of the state, maybe. But not in the valley. That stuff doesn't hold up to water at all.

You can believe that it came from the factory that way if you want & it's certainly possible, but not all that probable IMO. I can't imagine why a boat builder would even have particle board on hand. Think about it, where in a boat would it be used?

EDIT: Just to clarify - I'm not stating any of this as fact, just trying to look at the facts & draw a conclusion based from there as well as my own experience with boats in that particular environment. A lot of assumptions have been made in this thread & this is merely an attempt to follow what I believe to be the most logical explanation. YMMV

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oops...

Anyways, from what "know" about the boat. When I bought the boat I did gather a lot of info on it. So I am not really making that many asumptions at all. It spent the first part of its life in California, then Southern Oregon, then Portland. I am the second owner if you don't count Bridge City, the dealership where I bought it. The Original owner and I have talked, though not since I discoverd this rot, he is a member, and I think his screen name is "blake044" or something like that, or at least that is what it was on the old site. Anyways from what he says the boat was never moored and was alway kept in doors, except for the few months that it was at the dealership. I have reason to think this is true based on the condition of the gel-coat, and of the interior - no mold or mildew, or cracks, or weathering of any kind. So...

If the original owner did a "quick-fix" with PB, right before he traded it in for a new malibu then all this rot would have happened in a year. actually it would have happened in the 3 months, because I did notice a soft spot in the floor when I purchased the boat - I just didn't care because the transome and the stringers were good, if just figured a little rot in the floor came with the territory of buying a boat of that era.

Plus if it was a quick fix just to get the boat sold, why would someone take the time to make it look like stock work right down to the "bones" insted of just on the surface.

I know it doesn't make sense that the factory would have done this. But the original owner owed this boat for 16/17 years, and based on every other aspect of the boat the original owner of the boat was extremly anal it. So it doesn't make sense that the original owner did this either. Heck this boat was probably only $13,000 brand new, so it was paid for long ago. And finally the cost differance between PB and marine grade ply wood would only be a couple hundred bucks.

Anyways I think I can track down the original owner and see what he says...

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So, are you getting the boat put back together or not? Will you have it for this season? Hope so.

Yeah the boat will be rebuilt. It should be done the first week of June. I am actually kinda excited about having this work done. It will be like a brand new boat when I get it back. I always had big plans for this boat, I just had to carry them out a little sooner than expected.

Oh and I did send the original owner a PM, so I'll see what he says.

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Of all the places on a Skier that would rot out, the raised area below the deck seems the most unlikely. GW, was the particle board rotted there?

My boat has been moored for July and August since 1992. It has gotten plenty wet. The areas I've replaced are the observer's seat base,(the whole thing was rotted), and the access panel in the floor. The area under the rear seat on the starboard side is soft. The rest of the boat looks good. I'd love to peel some carpet back on that raised area under the bow. I'll check it out this weekend.

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Yeap pretty much everywhere that was made of PB, it wasn't to bad under the bow, but it was rotting. It was around the drivers seat, and the ski pylon that was really bad.

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