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1992 18.5 MA Rebuild


dfmcintosh

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My father bought the “Mav” in 1992 direct from Scott at the lauderdale boat show. He took the summer off that year and we spent 2 months in the keys on it and then 28 more years fishing it in Texas and the keys. I was 13 at the time he bought the boat and we have had a lot of great memories on it. My dad discovered a leak in the hull and subsequently had several quotes for repairs by glass guys in the Keys. All said the stringer had become unbonded and the hull cracked from flexing. I somehow talked him into bringing back to my shop in Texas to do it ourselves. Work is sporadic and slower than normal thanks to covid and it sounded like a good idea. Time will tell... below are pics of the first day on the brand new boat, just left Caribee boats in Islamorada and slid over to Lorelei’s. 3F57196E-A088-4E6C-82FF-BCAF0A745478.thumb.jpeg.303f17ff3a0a5b043b4df7100ed9f644.jpeg

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Nothing picture worthy today. We pried and pried on the cap but backed off for fear of cracking it somewhere really inconvenient. I ended up cutting the bottom of the battery hatch out and it pried up fairly easily. There was one blob of glue about 2” across bonding it to the stringer. I will take pics next time of the process we use to remove the cap. We have a game plan now at least. The cap can be jacked up all around the cap/hull joint so it’s where the cap is bonded to the hatch liners that is the problem. We are going to cut the hatch liners out and remove them then pry the cap off just aft of the rear cockpit bulkhead. Pictures to follow when we get back in there. 

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Man, this is going to be a fun thread to watch.   If you haven't already found it, there is a sticky of my MA adventure addressing a delaminated stringer.   In hindsight, I could have left the cap in tact and simply re-tabbed the stringer in, since it was in the stern and the issue was isolated to a fairly small area.   A couple of questions for you:

1) What size is that MA?  Is that an 18 or a 21?

2)  Where is the stringer delamination?   Can you see it, or is it in an inaccessible area?

3)   I was told NOT to remove the entire cap, because it would actually change the shape of the hull and cause more damage, no idea if this is true.   If you plan to remove the entire cap, though, it might be wise to build a jig around the hull to maintain the shape and support it.   Again, not sure if what I was told is true or not.   

4)  Are you going to replace the tank, wiring, and pumps at the same time?   

What an amazing project to watch, especially since your dad was the original owner!

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1 hour ago, whichwaysup said:

Hi Whichwayisup, I did read your thread and it was helpful in pushing me over the edge to do this! Congrats btw, beautiful boat and thanks for documenting that. 

1) What size is that MA?  Is that an 18 or a 21? 18’6”

2)  Where is the stringer delamination?   Can you see it, or is it in an inaccessible area? 

Cannot see it yet, going to remove just the rear cap and leave rear bulkhead like on your boat. 

3)   I was told NOT to remove the entire cap, because it would actually change the shape of the hull and cause more damage, no idea if this is true.   If you plan to remove the entire cap, though, it might be wise to build a jig around the hull to maintain the shape and support it.   Again, not sure if what I was told is true or not.   

I don’t think we are going to remove the whole cap.

4)  Are you going to replace the tank, wiring, and pumps at the same time?   

We will be completely rewiring, installing a new tank and replumbing.

What an amazing project to watch, especially since your dad was the original owner! 
My dad and I have always been project guys so this is a great way to spend time with him on a project that we both dearly love. To put it into perspective I’ve spent almost 3/4 of my life fishing on that flats boat, so it means an awful lot to me. It was also his first and only new boat purchase and was and still is his “dream boat” 

 

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3 hours ago, whichwaysup said:

Mods - if this thread continues, it may be worth moving it to the general forum.   I know these rebuild threads get a lot of interest!

The rebuild thread will do fine here.. Vintage Maverick is the right thread for other owners wanting to see the process and others can search it up..

This will be an awesome photojournal..

Marc

 

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One more trip down memory lane... our dog, my grandmother, my dad, my grandfather and I. A one time occurrence that summer of 92’ in Islamorada. Hard to believe we got my grandmother out there. Pics of what’s underneath the battery hatch coming, headed to my shop to grab stuff for the day and will snap a picture. 

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These pics show were we cut the splash well to separate the cap from the transom and also the battery hatch. There is a small blob of glass and resin as well as a good bit of foam that was holding on to the bottom of the liner. It pried up fairly easily and we are hoping the rest will too, but expecting them not to.

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On 6/22/2020 at 7:01 AM, whichwaysup said:

Very interesting.  Your stern stringer and bulkhead design is very different than my 2000 MA.    Is your tank up front vs midship like mine?

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I was thinking the same thing, we have been using your thread as a guide( thanks again) and I was surprised to see how different it is. Our tank is under the console so I think the exact same location. There was a lot of water trapped in the foam outside the stringer in the rear quarters. We will be adding a tunnel like you did to allow water to get to the bilge. I was also surprised to how much foam there was in the boat. I didn’t think it was built like that. 

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Yep - your comment about the foam is exactly what the guy doing the work shared with me - couldn't believe how completely waterlogged it was.   He said I probably lost a hundred pounds by getting that water logged foam out of there.    We replaced most of it, but with the channels, water has a place to drain.   Unfortunately, the stringers themselves are foam filled, so over time, that foam is going to absorb water.   Funny how everyone hates the idea of wood stringers, but sometimes I think the foam filled box stringer is more susceptible to problems than good old wood.  One thing is certain, they both have limits on their life expectancy.   

I wonder why nobody does composite stringers,, or maybe they do.   

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First pic shows how wet the inside of the box stringer was. We chipped it all out and vacuumed it out then set fans to dry the foam going forward. 
 

second pic shows the tag on the tank. 48 gallons! I didn’t remember it being that big but wow. Also, if anyone is paying attention there’s something on that tag that Doesn’t jive with the story line. If anyone catches it, there’s a story there..

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The cockpit deck popped out with a shotgun bang as the glass let go on the bottom of the cockpit sole. I was lifting it with a cherry picker and lifting the boat and trailer together. After about a  half a beer we both jumped as the boat went BANG and the deck popped free of the putty. These stringers feel rock solid. They aren’t pretty, but you can walk on them and they are very ridged. The stringers aft of that bulkhead were a mess and we cut them out to inspect. Both cracks are right at or around the strakes that are under the box stringers.
 

The thing I don’t know is how important is the actual foam inside the box stringer? there was absolutely zero glass delamination of the stringer. Pictures show how the foam is no longer in contact with the hull bottom. I have no idea if this matters at all or not. Anyone have any information or opinions on that? 

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34 minutes ago, ofdphildo said:

The tank is a 2001. The boat a 1992.

Bingo! 
 

so 9 years after my dad bought the boat, we were out fishing and he was wading a few hundred yards away. I started smelling gas fumes. Turns out the bilge pump was pumping straight gas overboard. I was fishing from the boat (lazy 22 year old at the time).
 

We made it back safe and sound, and amazingly Mr Deal shipped the boat back to Fort Pierce, replaced the tank and shipped it back to Texas out of warranty! My dad couldn’t believe it at the time and we were talking about the customer service today and how great they have been. I had forgotten about another story that he reminded me of today:
the summer he took delivery, the Yamaha pro-v 150 kept overheating and alarming. Tech at Caribbee said the lower unit was shimmed too tight from the factory and would need to be replaced. So Scott Deal, the owner of Maverick, drove a lower unit down to Islamorada personally to get us fixed up as he knew we were only there for a couple of months and time was precious. I’m sure Scott knew he had a lifelong customer then, little did he know the guy would hold on to that one boat for the rest of his life... they were neighbors for the last 6 years by a strange turn of fate and discussed it more than once Im told.  

 

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10 hours ago, dfmcintosh said:

Bingo! 
 

so 9 years after my dad bought the boat, we were out fishing and he was wading a few hundred yards away. I started smelling gas fumes. Turns out the bilge pump was pumping straight gas overboard. I was fishing from the boat (lazy 22 year old at the time).
 

We made it back safe and sound, and amazingly Mr Deal shipped the boat back to Fort Pierce, replaced the tank and shipped it back to Texas out of warranty! My dad couldn’t believe it at the time and we were talking about the customer service today and how great they have been. I had forgotten about another story that he reminded me of today:
the summer he took delivery, the Yamaha pro-v 150 kept overheating and alarming. Tech at Caribbee said the lower unit was shimmed too tight from the factory and would need to be replaced. So Scott Deal, the owner of Maverick, drove a lower unit down to Islamorada personally to get us fixed up as he knew we were only there for a couple of months and time was precious. I’m sure Scott knew he had a lifelong customer then, little did he know the guy would hold on to that one boat for the rest of his life... they were neighbors for the last 6 years by a strange turn of fate and discussed it more than once Im told.  

 

You know, this story goes a long way towards changing attitudes towards MBG.   I love their boats, and have had many people tell me, in their search for an MA, that they've regretted their decision to buy something other than an MBG build because the Hewes/Mav/Pathy lines really are top quality.   But it always seems that their customer service gets mixed reviews.   I hate to hear that, and even though I'm a vintage owner with no hope or expectation of support from the company, it tends to have a corrosive effect on loyalty to the brand.    You hear stories about powerpole, and you just want to do business with them.   

To hear a story like this has the opposite effect.   The fact that Scott would stand behind his product so well (gas tank issue) and personally deliver a new lower unit makes you want to do more business with the company.

If folks out there have similar, positive experiences with MBG, we really ought to make sure they get highlighted on this forum, maybe a sticky topic.   People in the market find their way here.    I'm sure that the mods have an idea of how many views a day this forum gets, but it's probably a lot higher than the handful of guys that regularly post.

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