From: alan@km4ba.uucp (Alan Barrow)
Newsgroups: rec.boats
Subject: Re: Bayliner Boats
Date: 23 Aug 92 04:47:00 GMT
Organization: km4ba's packet radio gateway

In <RRUSK.92Aug14142736@rcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com> rrusk@ssd.csd.harris.com (Bob Rusk) writes:


>The mid-60's fiberglass Starcrafts were fairly heavily laid-up.  I've seen
>the stringers and floors rot, but I've never known of any problems from
>inadequate layup in fiberglass Starcrafts from those years.  If you don't
>feel the hull flexing, you're in good shape.

Heavy/thick hulls are not necessarily the strongest. Many layers of glass
cloth with the *optimum* amount of resin is strong. Less layers of cloth
with more resin is both weaker and heavier.

The best fiberglass hulls are hand laid cloth, and the excess resin is
squee-gee'd off. Maverick gets 10-15 pounds of resin off of a typical
hand laid hull with a squee-gee.

They also use 100% no wood construction-

    1/4" thick walled fiberglass box stringers (4"x6" cross section)

    Hand laid glass hull

    Diviny of Klegecell closed cell structural foam decks and
    transom.

The near the keel of my "lightweight" flats fishing Maverick, the 
glass was 1/2" thick when I drilled for a water intake.

Yet the sides are much thinner.

Most cheap boats are "chopped" glass... short fibers that are mixed with 
resin and sprayed in. You can tell one by the "random" pattern the fibers
make, and the surface is rough and has many "points" to stick you.

I have never seen this method used on racing boats, or better pleasure
boats. Only on consumer grade. Most Florida makers will not use this
method though it is cheaper.

Most Florida designed boats (like my Maverick) use all stainless fittings,
have no uphoulstry, carpet, and usually very little teak trim. If you use 
you compromise the boat looks trashed in 1-2 years. If you want padding, 
you use heavy vinyl with closed cell foam that are removable. (mine uses
sailboat fittings to hold the seat cushions.)

The hulls are lighter, letting you use a smaller motor. (or have a better
margin.)

The deck/cabin is totally self bailing. All hatches are guttered and use 
stainless flush hinges.

Even the outboards use Teleflex hydraulic steering as cables are 
a maintainence nightmare.

Most also have Bennet Hydraulic trim tabs though the boats do not
need them.(IE: they are not corrective, just make life easier.)

Understand this is on 18' fishing boats that cost about the same as 
an upper end metalflake bass boat, yet the contruction is a totally
different class.

So understand why people are skeptical about the bayliners. The people
who repair them are fixing things that do not break on better boats.
(like rotten decks and stringers.)

I plan on owning my boat for a long time. (It is an 1988 model.) Even
now, friends with carpeted boats of similar ages are having problems with
their finish. Mine still shines up nice, though it has been well used
in Ga and Fla.

So, it depends on what you are willing to live with. In the Florida Keys, 
Bayliners are referred to "chlorox bottles". (As in: Did you see the 
idiot in the "chlorox bottle" run over that diver down flag!)
I am sure there are some nice things about bayliners, and some nice 
people own them. But in Florida, it brands you as rank beginner, and to
be avoided. (Even worse if the boat is from Miami or Ft Lauderdale. :->  )

My $5.23 worth anyway!!!  :-)


 Alan Barrow  km4ba | I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack
 jab@               | ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched
 hpuerca.atl.hp.com | C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
 ..!gatech!kd4nc!   | All those moments will be lost in time -
         km4ba!alan | like tears in rain. Time to die.          Roy Batty
Newsgroups: rec.boats