what to do ??wood mariner

[ricketyantiques]

Im considering rebuilding a boat friend has that has been sitting outside for years. the ribs,joist?? not sure of names are in good shape.bottom needs rebuilt ,planks are all brass screwed in. ??? My question is there are areas of small cracks between planks ,what keeps water out?? A nother friend is making a chris craft cold molded,fiberglass mesh..)can planks be fiberglassed over??thanks .would love to talk to someone in the know my cell 813 558 0740 (Rick) thank you

First,
welcome to the asylum!

Next,
a few pictures would help us to sort which craft we are talking and to which extend it might be worth a restoration.

Regards
Richard

[ricketyantiques]

here are a few photos ,thanks

[TeddyDiver]

Doesn't look so bad.. You got to do some knocking around to find out all soft spots to evaluate the reality. And get it under a roof..

ps. might be a bit worse now bcs those pictures are taken 2008..

[druidking]

That's a good observation, but it's not necessarily true. Perhaps the batteries in the camera had died and he just didn't feel like taking the time to set the time on it once he got charged batteries into it. It happens to me all the time. Course my camera goes through batteries like they're air.

By the way, from what i can see that's a nice looking boat. by the looks of it I think it's a motor boat though. Am I right? I prefer sailboats. Even so, Don't get discouraged. I see potential in it. I would love to see a side view of it.

[ricketyantiques]

sorry about date ,never reset camera. I got inside all through it and with a screw driver pushed on the support pieces (ill call them joist ribs...) the hull or shell was spongy on bottom 1/3 up so Im sure would need replaced. the mahogany boards or planks other than being weathered are firm .top deck is very weathered need to star over if decide to do this ,???? is MARINER a common boat or type of Chris craft .any help here as well be great . worth restoring ?thanks for any help anyone can contribute.dont want to dive in blind

Originally Posted by ricketyantiques

I got inside all through it and with a screw driver pushed on the support pieces (ill call them joist ribs...) the hull or shell was spongy on bottom 1/3 up so Im sure would need replaced. the mahogany boards or planks other than being weathered are firm .top deck is very weathered need to star over if decide to do this ,???? is MARINER a common boat or type of Chris craft .any help here as well be great . worth restoring ?thanks for any help anyone can contribute.dont want to dive in blind

The ribs are named frames.

The hull is planked in mahogany as it seems (and you assume), thats good.
The "spongy" bottom planking means the bottom is gone. Definetively it has to be replaced when possible, because: Most probably the entire shape of the hull is not what it was anymore.
But that are assumptions, by so far.
Can you provide more pictures of the interior? That would help to check how deep the damage is already.

And, yes, a view of the entire boat would be nice too.
I´m sure one member will chime in here, knowing more about the Mariner brand.

Regards
Richard

[alan white]

You have batten seam construction, mahogany or phillipine mahogany over same. Mid fifties Chris Craft?
Be prepared to spend huge time/ resources on this boat. and more on maintaining it. more photos would be nice. Are all the parts and pieces there?

[alan white]

What keeps the water out is a combination of swelling of planks and battens behind the joints/ seams. More pics please. I restored one of these a couple of years ago.

[Landlubber]

...go look up Chris Craft restoration on the net....I was doing one earlier this year, there is no easy way to do the repairs, if the job is worth doing it is worth doing well.

...no fibreglass...it will only devalue the boat and produce short term results. I was in contact with PAR at the time, asking him if it was possible to do any "new" methods of shortcuts, and he said the same....nup. it is all back to scrath and do it correctly.....as you would expect from someone that does it for a living, and does enough of them to really know, not just guess.

[ricketyantiques]

I hope these photos help. insides are bad,but as said before have been in it and skeleton is for the most solid ,bottom planking not so good

It is sitting on that trailer for years? That means it will have come out of shape to some extend.

The question is not if it can be restored, the question is, does it make sense and is it affordable.

Some pictures of the interior are really necessary to comment further on the substance left.

And I agree with Alan and Landlubber, especially on the "no glass on that" issue.
You either use the same materials and methods as the original, or you waste your time and money.

We have guy in Germany making showpieces out of rotten firewood, but at what price......

Be well aware that a newbuild from scratch most probably will come out cheaper than restoring this one. But if the boat has some connoisseurs value it might be worth the effort.
I can´t tell, I just don´t know these boats.

I wish PAR would be still around............

Regards
Richard