86 19ft Bonita rebuild

[aiezzi]

So after a going through a few boats and lots of looking i found one I'm going to attempt to rebuild the best I can. This wasn't my first choice in boats but with spring being right around the corner I need something. There was a 196 family fisherman in ny I was prepared to buy but after driving 180 miles to buy it the entire starboard side of the boat was destroyed and repaired very badly the cap and hull side were bowed extremely bad and just decided not to get it. This boat has some rot around hatch openings and and needs some work but I figure with time and money she will be a gem.

[aiezzi]

so after buying this boat for 300 and getting it home, i started deciding what i should do to it. the PO really did not do a good job at repairing this boat at all. everything was very half assed, the existing hatch opening are being supported and framed out by pt 2x4 and the hatches have alot of rot due to never sealing the wood. ill post some pics of them later.  he tried to raise the transom by glassing a pt 4x4 on to in and lagging it in place. the glass work that was done is not good it did not bond at all to the existing glass because he never grinded through the gel coat. so once i had my game plan i started sanding, i started with 60 grit paper to break through the grey and once down to primer i bumped it up to 150. i still want to do one final wet sand of 400  or more to smooth it out then compound, buff, polish, and wax the hull. i have only got about 24 hrs of work done to it and i can already see it starting to take shape.tell me what you guys think. well onto some pics what it looked like when i bought it


just got her home and in my drive way.

let the sanding begin




one of my buddys helping out






here is a shot of the transom repair/ raise

all gone just need to clean it up now, finish sanding primer grind some cracks and lay some glass.

[aiezzi]

also im looking into replacing the sole of the boat with nidacore. can anyone give input of lamination layup or thickness of the nida core needed for the sole of the boat. i do not know how many stringers there are in the boat or the condition. im planing cutting the sole out soon in a month or so. ive tried looking some info up on it i was thinking 1/2" with 2-3 of layers of 1708 and 1808. any input is appreciated

[RickK]

Full length strakes, aggressive looking too.

[fitz73222]

Haven't seen one of those old girls in a long time. We sold lots of Bonitos in the 70's and 80's. The boat was your basic "rolled hull" just glass over plywood, nice exterior gelcoat in white, blue, wine (burgundy) and this mustard baby brown, splatter finish interior. The owner of the company's name was the Colonel; never new his real name but met him a couple of times. We sold loads of 15' and 17' tri-hulls. You could get a 5CBR (cant believe I still remember the hull number) 15'2" walk through windshield tri-hull with a folding convertible top, back to back folding seats, manual tilt 70 Evinrude, 2 six gallon tanks, bilge pump, battery,tachometer, and a Gator galvanized tilt trailer with life jackets, anchor and line for $3295.00 ready to go. We sold a couple of your boats, with inline six 115 Mercs as standard but you get it with a new Merc 135 V6 "Marathon" and it easily busted 44-46 mph. The boat ran very nice in just about anything you put it through, it was light and turned on dime, a little tippy at rest if I remember but when your 19 years old running creeks at 40 mph who cared about tippy at rest! I really never new what happened to the company or the boat line but I can vouch for the hull design; that boat ran!

[aiezzi]

Thanks for the info on the boat. The boat isn't the prettiest thing in the world but for the price I couldn't beat it. The transom  and sole seem solid. But the layout isn't for me, so I plan on finishing it out nicely. The sole is very uneven and the glass work is very rough. I want to cut out all of the interior and replace it. I want to finish the gunnels replace the sole possibly the transom, and add some livewell/storage and put the tank under the sole. And attempt to make it a self bailing hull. But I am pretty sure I'm going to have to raise the floor 3-4 inches.

[slvrlng]

My neighbor in Englewood Fl had one just like yours back in the day and it always amazed me how nice it would run into a chop. I agree with Fitz with the right motor it would fly! I would think you will be fine with 1/2" ply as long as you glass at least one layer on the bottom and two on top. I am sure it had wood stringers and those would be my main concern looking at how the PO treated it. Your pics are pretty crazy to look at, almost like you are peeling a "wrap" job off what is underneath.

[aiezzi]

Well that's is good to know about the ride. The bay she will spend the majority of her time in can get pretty nasty. I can't believe someone would want to paint over the gelocoat with that terrible grey. I still have to finish the other side. The transom I am looking into doing nida pour. The stringers I may try and steal the aquasport design. Make a mold like Rick did because I want to try and keep this boat as wood free as possible. The sole I want to do with nidacore. The hull sides I want to build up some and make a finished cap for it and integrate a pulpit in the bow since I need to rebuild that anyway. I was also thinking about possibly closing the transom and getting a 12" offset bracket because I'm looking for a 100-125hp motor for it. But I just don't know how that will affect the boats handling. I'm researching it now. Any opinions or advice is appreciated.

[Blue Agave]

Thanks for the info on the boat. The boat isn't the prettiest thing in the world but for the price I couldn't beat it. The transom  and sole seem solid. But the layout isn't for me, so I plan on finishing it out nicely. The sole is very uneven and the glass work is very rough. I want to cut out all of the interior and replace it. I want to finish the gunnels replace the sole possibly the transom, and add some livewell/storage and put the tank under the sole. And attempt to make it a self bailing hull. But I am pretty sure I'm going to have to raise the floor 3-4 inches.

IMO the transom is a must, along with the stringers.

[aiezzi]

The transom core is pretty solid. But if I  am ripping out the sole I might as well do it all. I found a 2000 yamaha f100 for 200 that has a bad rod bearing. Does anyone have any input on this engine? I am fully capable of doing the rebuild but I want to know if anyone has had one or knows if they are problem motors

[aiezzi]

here are some pics of the lovely interior






here is a pic of the transom core, it got a little wet from the rain we had yesterday

[slvrlng]

Yikes!!!!!!

I can't believe someone would do that to a boat! They even painted the rodholders!!!

There is a paint remover for fiberglass. There will be areas you just can't get off by sanding.

http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=72&prodid=113

[aiezzi]

I know it's terrible, I can't believe someone could do this. I've been looking into the strippers. The inside is being stripped down everything cut out and re fabed in.

[Aswaff400]

my boat before my osprey was a 17 ft bonita v-hull, for a boat with a completely rotten sole, she was pretty solid. sold it to buy my first truck...
 if what you see is rotten that bad on the surface, i cant imagine(well i can) what it looks like under the skin

[aiezzi]

That is very true. The sole it's self is solid everywhere but it is very rough and uneven. I want the boat to be a good finished boat like many of the rebuilds I have seen here. My father has a entire roll of glass for me, I'm not sure what it is though he said he thinks mat. He also has some molds for electronic boxes and floor storage for me also. So I will be able to have some real storage on this boat. I will post pics of the electronic boxes and molds when I pick them up over the weekend. Once the weather clears up ill be really tearing into it.