I’m not usually “that guy”, but I’ll start this thread off by saying; I’ve heard Bayliners are “cheap boats” or “junk boats” go ahead and keep those comments to yourself. I’ve grown up with them and love them. My Dad has owned 5 and we’ve always had great experiences with them.
So the back story,
My Dad bought this boat from a guy in St. Louis 2 years ago. Was told the boat ran, but was left uncovered for 3 years and the interior had succumb to the elements. He low balled the guy at $300 and he took it. My Dad then put it in storage and it sat there until last Wednesday.
2 weeks ago my Dad came across a great deal on a big block Crownline and decided he’d rather buy a new boat than spend time on the interior of the Bayliner. He approached me and asked if I would take the boat and and fix it, and use it. Well, my wife and I had been talking about a boat but weren’t ready to pull the trigger on that chapter of our life yet (I was still in the “fix the jimmy and enjoy it more” stage). He the said, “it’s yours for free if you’ll use it”. So we decided to bring it home earlier this week.
The boat was covered in mold and moss. So the first stop after the storage unit was the car wash.
Once I spent a good 30-45 minutes at the car wash, the boat looked really good from the outside, and my wife could finally start to see the potential this thing had.
So the next day I decided to get it running before I spent too much more time on it, only to find out something like it had a bad engine or a locked up lower unit.
Swapped the AGM battery from the K5 temporarily and picked up a new ignition switch with key since we didn’t have the original. First test fire resulted in a single “click”. It sounded like the starter was locked up, but I wanted to make sure that was it first. So I cranked the engine over by hand to find out it freely rotated. So I swung by the parts store with the old starter and picked up a new one.
Next it was time to get my giant 6’2” 260lbs butt next to the engine bay and become a contortionist to replace the starter.
Once replaced, the engine would turn over, but would not fire. A little bit of starting fluid revealed it had spark, but no fuel. Decided to start cleaning the screen in the carb and replacing the spin on water/fuel separator. With the fuel lines now cleaned out, the engine would run for about 5 seconds then die.
While trying to diagnose where the issue was, I managed to break off the anti-siphon valve only to reveal a very rusty ball valve. It was so rusted that it broke extremely easily.
After a run to the local boat house and the valve replaced, the engine fired up and purred beautifully. Ran it in the driveway for 30-45 minutes and made sure there were no run issues or overheating.
After a beer to celebrate, my Dad talked me into a maiden voyage to a nearby lake to see how it ran on the water.
So after 3 days of work, a free boat had me smiling big.
After fighting the issues with the 8.1 swap on the K5, this boat was a much needed victory.
So the next steps with the boat are as followed:
I also have plans to replace the captains chairs with bolster seats to help me see over the windshield instead of the top bracket being directly in my line of sight. There will also be sound system upgrades, and eventually some engine upgrades to squeeze a few more hp’s out of it.
So the back story,
My Dad bought this boat from a guy in St. Louis 2 years ago. Was told the boat ran, but was left uncovered for 3 years and the interior had succumb to the elements. He low balled the guy at $300 and he took it. My Dad then put it in storage and it sat there until last Wednesday.
2 weeks ago my Dad came across a great deal on a big block Crownline and decided he’d rather buy a new boat than spend time on the interior of the Bayliner. He approached me and asked if I would take the boat and and fix it, and use it. Well, my wife and I had been talking about a boat but weren’t ready to pull the trigger on that chapter of our life yet (I was still in the “fix the jimmy and enjoy it more” stage). He the said, “it’s yours for free if you’ll use it”. So we decided to bring it home earlier this week.
The boat was covered in mold and moss. So the first stop after the storage unit was the car wash.
Once I spent a good 30-45 minutes at the car wash, the boat looked really good from the outside, and my wife could finally start to see the potential this thing had.
So the next day I decided to get it running before I spent too much more time on it, only to find out something like it had a bad engine or a locked up lower unit.
Swapped the AGM battery from the K5 temporarily and picked up a new ignition switch with key since we didn’t have the original. First test fire resulted in a single “click”. It sounded like the starter was locked up, but I wanted to make sure that was it first. So I cranked the engine over by hand to find out it freely rotated. So I swung by the parts store with the old starter and picked up a new one.
Next it was time to get my giant 6’2” 260lbs butt next to the engine bay and become a contortionist to replace the starter.
Once replaced, the engine would turn over, but would not fire. A little bit of starting fluid revealed it had spark, but no fuel. Decided to start cleaning the screen in the carb and replacing the spin on water/fuel separator. With the fuel lines now cleaned out, the engine would run for about 5 seconds then die.
While trying to diagnose where the issue was, I managed to break off the anti-siphon valve only to reveal a very rusty ball valve. It was so rusted that it broke extremely easily.
After a run to the local boat house and the valve replaced, the engine fired up and purred beautifully. Ran it in the driveway for 30-45 minutes and made sure there were no run issues or overheating.
After a beer to celebrate, my Dad talked me into a maiden voyage to a nearby lake to see how it ran on the water.
So after 3 days of work, a free boat had me smiling big.
After fighting the issues with the 8.1 swap on the K5, this boat was a much needed victory.
So the next steps with the boat are as followed:
- Fix a few “soft spots” in the floor and lay down some new carpet.
- Take it to an upholstery shop that is local here to get an estimate on an interior redo.
- Spend the summer enjoying the boat while I try to finish the K5 once I have a wiring harness.
I also have plans to replace the captains chairs with bolster seats to help me see over the windshield instead of the top bracket being directly in my line of sight. There will also be sound system upgrades, and eventually some engine upgrades to squeeze a few more hp’s out of it.
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