Transom and stringer repair questions
 

I'm looking at a mid eighties twin engine 311 Formula that has some "high" moisture readings in the transom and off the chart moisture readings under the gas tank area as well as
some delamination in the same under the gas tank area on the bottom of the boat. It was suggested that it would be repairable, but I'm not going to be able to handle this job myself.
What kind of $$ would one expect to pay a shop to do this kind of repair? I'm guessing that the gas tank area would be the most urgent. Could I have the work done in two jobs,
first the gas tank area and then do the transom later? Or would it be more cost effective to do it all at once?

What year, engines, drives? How much under market? How nice is interior? How far you gotta go to see it, drag it home?

It should all be done at once, and I'd guess that it could suck up $10-20k pretty quickly. Also the lifespan on the rest of the rigging is due to be up such as gauges, trim pumps, etc.

I would approach it as a full restoration.

1000$ per ft of repair plus de and re rig

Having to pay someone to do it, probably more than the boat is worth. Pass.

So far as I can tell, the exterior is above average, the cabin area is excellent and all the upholstery is great except for some stitching coming loose on the sundeck/engine cover. The running gear seems great, but who knows about whether to
freshen it all up or not. The gauges are mint. But, I can figure the mechanical stuff out. I was mainly wondering about the rest. It would definitely have to be a super deal or I'm out. But I want to have some basic information about the
stringer/transom replacement costs before I get too much further into this deal.

Any estimated costs are going to be subject to what is found after the repairs reveal what cannot be seen. I would proceed with extreme caution and be prepared for higher than expected costs.

Even if it was free I wouldn't take it.

That will easily run into the 20k range to have it fixed right.

like said before, if you have to pay for this repair, more than the boats worth...does not matter how good it looks on the outside

Seems the only folks who take on a resto. of this sort have a boat the holds its value such as a retired racer, Cig. Apache etc. (I'm sure there are others, not purposely excluding anyone). I'm not sure the boat you are asking about is one of those.

Keith

There is another group who do this. Those who don't know better. 2000 bucks for this 40000 high perf boat? Only needs engines, drives, inter and a little wood rot! How can I pass this up?

Huge job, and it you don't have an "in" with someone to do it you're looking at some huge money. The 311 is one of their best if not the best of their classic boats. I've been around Formula for a long time.. even soaking wet they're still tanks, but I've not seen one that had the bottom delaminating. The bottom of the Formula 311 is solid core so the delamination is really called blistering. This is probably caused by flexing of the hull which resulted in cracks being created allowing water to get into the voids. Until it's fixed, it gets worse and worse.

The only way to tell how bad the moisture is and (ultimately) how much rot there is would be by removing the fuel tank and inspecting from there. You could also take core samples of the transom, stringers, and bulkhead to get a feel for how bad things are (or aren't).

Lastly, moisture meters are not completely accurate; they only look for water content. It's a boat. It's come into contact with water. It's going to be wet. If you really want to know the condition, have the boat examined with an infrared camera. That'll tell you what's actually there.

I know you've been searching for a long time... lots of luck!

For what nice 311's can be had for I would walk, that's going to turn into a 20,000+ job and more.... because when you take it apart the list will be endless of small stuff and even bigger things that need replaced, I hate that Formula uses foam...its a huge sponge, and then they did not seal drilled holes I do not know of but maybe one 311/357 that has not had hull issues from rot... I started my 32 Baja this way.. after 15,000 I stopped and bought a dry Cig no power and never looked back....