TOPIC: Is my boat salvageable?

I have a 1992 Maxum Cuddy Cabin that I got 7 years ago in good condition. Due to a number of excuse that don’t matter at this point the boat has been sitting on the trailer unused. I had a tarp over it but water still managed to get inside the cabin and after not checking on it for almost a year I went to visit it today to find a foot of stagnant water on the deck and mold climbing the walls. I am painfully aware that this will cost more than the boat is worth to fix but my question is can it be fixed? If I put the time and money into it will I have a reliable boat in the end or will I always be battling electrical issues and mold?
If this fixable than my next question how much can I tear out? Everything is covered in carpeting including the ceiling. Where there is not carpeting there is textured vinyl wall paper. Am I going to make it worst by just ripping everything out or is there another approach?
Would appreciate any advice on this matter. Thank you!

I'm not an expert on mold remediation, but from what I've seen a job like that should be handled by the experts. (Or at least get their opinion on how to proceed.) Sealed suits with breathing apparatus would be necessary to protect the person(s) ripping out as much of the interior as possible. The rest would have to be washed down with bleach or whatever solution they recommend. Breathing mold spores down into your lungs attempting this job on a "DIY" level could prove a fatal mistake!

Maybe I watch too much TV these days, I just don't want to see you do permanent health damage attempting this task. It sounds like you've already beat yourself up over how it got this way, so we won't go there. Hope it all works out for you, good luck and let us know what you decide.

Enough time and money will fix any boat.

All old rotten boats have mold and mildew in them and I haven't heard of anyone dying from tearing one apart and putting it back together yet... but tearing out the old rotten boat structure can give you a respiratory infection if you don't wear protection, especially if done indoors. Wear a NIOSH approved respirator when tearing out your boat and you'll be fine.

Uncover and drain your boat and let it dry out for a little while.

You'll have to do a full restoration on your boat... this means ripping out decks (floors), removing rotten stringers, and removing the rotten transom. Then replace it all.

It'll probably cost somewhere around $2K just for the material to replace the structural portion of your boat (stringers, transom, and decks), then you'll probably have to spend that much again replacing the cosmetics (carpet, paint, seating, etc).

How are your carpentry skills, and how much free time do you have?
Jigngrub is likely pretty close on the price, and you sure don't want to pay someone to do this. The good part is you can likely make it better.
Take a lot of pictures before you get too far.

Personally I wouldn't worry a lot about the mold, unless you plan on sleeping on the boat. If you eventually do sleep on it, make sure you kill all that mold. Since you are doing a complete redo, that should be taken care of anyway.

Give us some more pictures of the whole boat. Is everything else in good shape, most importantly the engine!

98% of mold will not harm you. Ridding mold is easy (real easy in a glass boat). 1 cup of bleach to a gal of water and spray every thing till wet. .

Then wash off with clear water.

I will have to dig out my notes on what you can spray on it to keep it from coming back, however a hint is it is the same power that you buy and mix with water to spray on plants.

Maxum92,

WELCOME ABOARD.

yours, satx

Welcome aboard. I'll throw my 2 cents in. I wouldn't assume right off the bat that the transom is shot just yet. Yes spray it all down with the bleach water mix that Tall Texan described and let it dry out. I'm assuming it has an i/o for power. Make sure all the water is out of the bilge. Fresh water won't really hurt the wiring or the engine, it's the salt water that eats it alive. As long as it's completely dry you should be ok. That doesn't mean the engine is completely ok, it just means it will be a lot less work to get it running again if it was comepletely under water in the bilge.
As far as the transom is concerned I would do the tap test on the outside and see how it sounds, if it "thuds" anywhree it could be water logged inside. I would drill a small hole on the inside, say 3/16" diameter drill, about a 1/2" deep or so and see what the wood looks like coming out as you drill. If it's black your transom is probably waterlogged/rotted and will need to be replaced. If not you can just fill the hole with a little epoxy.
The is probably toast if it was under water for any real length of time.
If your boat is actually outboard powered then make sure you have the plug pulled so all the water can drain, if you haven't already done so. You can still do the tap test on the transom and drill it to check the wood inside.

That's just a good start, there's much mroe to do but that should keep you busy for a ilttle while until you see what you're really up against. Once you've doen that let us know what you find and we can give some guidance from there.

Bob