My bottom is softer than I anticipated!!

by John
(Elgin, Oklahoma)

I've got a 1966 Century Resorter, 19'. Purchased as a "project" and has it ever been one.

We were almost done (we thought), after countless hours and a bunch of $$, and we learned that the bottom is not in as good a shape as we thought.

It did have a decent coat of bottom paint on it when we started, and we didn't take it completely off, just some sanding and patching of some of the obvious bad spots.

The previous owner had sprayed a "rhino liner" type product on the inside of the bottom (bad idea), so we couldn't get a good visual of the condition of the wood, and fixed what we thought were the only trouble spots.

It is apparent now, after a maiden voyage that almost ended in disaster, that we have some significant work to do on the bottom.

The rest of the boat is near perfect and a real eye catcher.

The dilemma: do we try to do the repair ourselves? (We have access to expert woodworkers) Or do we take it to an expert in this arena and fork out some more $$, or sell as is and take our beating and move on.

I'm not comfortable with a way to get it turned over to access the bottom.

I have plenty of lifting equipment, but have never tried anything this fragile.

I would welcome some feedback and I will try to get some pics on here as well.

Comments for My bottom is softer than I anticipated!!

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Aug 29, 2013
Replacing bottom
by: Fred Alt

I have almost the exact same problem and was considering my options.

I don't have access to any professionals but I have started to look for help in the Portland, Oregon area and will try to do as much of the work as I can.

If you take a look at Lady Bens site, wooden boats for sale, you'll see that money put into a good restoration will be recovered at resale.
Good luck




Aug 21, 2012
Soft Bottom
by: Mike

If as you say you have access to “expert woodworkers” and “plenty of lifting equipment” I’d say go for it, do it yourself.

I don’t think that she will be quite as “fragile” as you seem to make out.

If you have any problems posting photos you can just email them to me here at mike@diy-wood-boat.com as attachments and I can resize them etc and add them for you.

After all that work turning her into an eye catcher it would be a shame to quit now.

Bottoms have been successfully replaced by amateurs with a minimum of equipment, so I'm sure you can do it.







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