Mini-Schiada Resto

[DBMX]

I recently picked up a 1986 Mini Schiada with a 40 horse Yamaha on it. Overall, its in pretty good condition, but does have some issues with the bottom. From what I can tell it sat in the water for a long times, so the gel on the bottom is bubbled and there is a crack in the gel on the bottom towards the back about 4" long.

My understanding was that it had not been run in a few years, but the motor seems pretty strong., It needed a little work to get going, but I ran it around Marine Stadium a few weeks ago and it ripped!

However, there are already a lot of upgrades like gas tank and battery up front with a dividing wall, Livorsi gauges (with GPS speedo), good stereo/speakers, trim tabs, and a fin on the bottom. There was also a second drain plug added to the very bottom, so it has two (cockpit and below sub floor). I don't know what the condition of the floor is, but from what I was told it is in good condition. It has new carpet and I haven't pulled it up yet to look at it. I also don't know (but assume) they cut the foam out of the bottom?

So anyway, its mine now and I want to go through it and do a bit of a restore. I've read a bunch of the posts on here where people talk about adding extra support, but I haven't seen too many pictures of additional stringers, or support that was added. I spoke to a guy at the river last weekend who mentioned he put added support in the back of his ("Its mandatory"), but I did not get a chance to see it. Does anyone have any pictures or can point me in the direction of more info?

My plan is to use it this weekend (I'll seal the crack with some epoxy), and then Labor Day to figure out any other kinks or things I want to update after tearing it down (Like moving the wall a but further forward since I'm clearly taller than the last owner. I'll start working on it this fall with hopes of having it back together by next Memorial Day.

I'm going to take it by Orange County Boat Repair tomorrow to talk to them and get an idea of what all will be involved. Some friends have had great luck with them and I spoke to Sal Jr last week and he had some good info, etc. I plan on talking to a few other places as well before figuring out who I will take it to.

I already messaged @RiverDave and will be calling him soon, but would love to hear what others have done, any lessons, what they would do differently, etc. Any recommendations for Gel/Glass shops that have done other mini's?

I'll add some pics later and plan on keeping this thread updated as it goes along.

 

[Racer56]

Post some pictures.

 

[lenmann]

There is a post in the thread linked below of a Mini that the @Hammer glass/gel guys did some work on. They haven't posted much up lately so not sure what their status is as resource.

Fiberglass and Gel Repair- Take a look !!!

A good friend of mine decided to start doing some gel repairs on his boats.. As it turns out a few other friends of ours wanted some work done too. He has decided to take on customers one boat at a time. No derigging, he doesn’t have the time. He’s a member here but doesn’t spend very much...

www.riverdavesplace.com

As Racer56 said, post up some pics, especially the crack in the hull. You'll get lots of help here. I believe @Outdrive1 has the Mini market cornered currently, so he would be a good resource to network as well.

 

[DBMX]

Here's a few pics:

Heres a close up of the dash. I like the set up and don't think there's too much I would change.

Here is what the bottom looked like when I picked it up. Clearly left in the water. I've since cleaned it up as best as I could.

Here is a shot of the crack:

 

[DBMX]

There is a post in the thread linked below of a Mini that the @Hammer glass/gel guys did some work on. They haven't posted much up lately so not sure what their status is as resource.

Fiberglass and Gel Repair- Take a look !!!

A good friend of mine decided to start doing some gel repairs on his boats.. As it turns out a few other friends of ours wanted some work done too. He has decided to take on customers one boat at a time. No derigging, he doesn’t have the time. He’s a member here but doesn’t spend very much...

www.riverdavesplace.com

As Racer56 said, post up some pics, especially the crack in the hull. You'll get lots of help here. I believe @Outdrive1 has the Mini market cornered currently, so he would be a good resource to network as well.

Thanks! Hammer/RSS are on my list to talk to. Their work in that thread is pretty incredible looking.

 

[DWC]

Love to watch a mini-project! Mini-Schiada is even better. Hope you’re able to get it fixed up as painless as possible. Looking forward to the seeing the finished project.

 

[Outdrive1]

That’s the one from east that had the cup holders in the dash. It was for sale for a couple years.

You’re gonna have to cut the floor out. Run two stringers. Lay up at least two layers of mat on the bottom. Have the floor stop after the back seat. The bottoms are paper thin, and if the boat hasn’t been fixed, it’s going to need to be fixed.


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[cofooter]

Nice find! Crack may be be deeper than just gel. Hopefully the fiberglass has not soaked up too much water and they can just grind it down and re-gel.

 

[Outdrive1]

I see what he did. He removed the non skid at the dash and filled in the holes. All that gel work and the crack wasn’t addressed first? [emoji2361]


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[DBMX]

That’s the one from east that had the cup holders in the dash. It was for sale for a couple years.

You’re gonna have to cut the floor out. Run two stringers. Lay up at least two layers of mat on the bottom. Have the floor stop after the back seat. The bottoms are paper thin, and if the boat hasn’t been fixed, it’s going to need to be fixed.


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Yes it was from the east coast. I bought it from someone who brought it out here and did some work to clean it up. He mentioned there were holes and stuff all over it he filled. I assume it needs more work than he thought (ie reinforcing the bottom, crack, etc).

 

[Outdrive1]

Yes it was from the east coast. I bought it from someone who brought it out here and did some work to clean it up. He mentioned there were holes and stuff all over it he filled. I assume it needs more work than he thought (ie reinforcing the bottom, crack, etc).

I know Corey. I’m surprised about the condition of the bottom. And new carpet knowing the floor has to be cut out to fix the cracks in the bottom. You can’t fix theM properly from the outside.

It is what it is at this point. Just move forward and do it all correct so you don’t have to fix it multiple times. I’ve restored a handful of these boats and still own some. If you need specific information, feel free to ask questions.

The boat that Hammer fixed had the same problem. The previous shop half assed the bottom, but gel coated the inside floors. It all cracked and came apart. That boat is my neighbors. Not only did RD own it, another friend did as well, and it lived in my storage for a period of time.


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[DBMX]

It is what it is at this point. Just love forward and do it all correct so you don’t have to fix it multiple times. I’ve restored a handful of these boats and still own some. If you need specific information, feel free to ask question.

The boat that Hammer fixed had the same problem. The previous shop half assed the bottom, but gel coated the inside floors. It all cracked and came apart. That boat is my neighbors. Not only did RD own it, another friend did as well, and it lived in my storage for a period of time.

Yes, that is my plan.... Do it right the first time. I'm not looking to use this thing a few years and then ditch it.

 

[DBMX]

First shakedown trip this weekend was mostly a success! No major issues (didn't have to paddle or get towed ) The thing runs good and gets on plain pretty easily, even with 2 adults in it.

Only issues:
1) There was a leak with one of the drain plugs. From what I can tell it was hitting foam on the inside and bottoming out/cross threading it before it was fully tightened. It took on quite a bit of water while sitting at our beach for a few hours and I noticed it when I went for a cruise in the afternoon. I got home last night and poured water in the back behind the seat and it immediately started coming out of the bottom plug. I guess there is a hole in the floor by the upper plug that allows water to go below the floor? This is added to the list of things to figure out after Labor Day? I got the foam area cleaned out this evening and the plug threads in much easier and seals now. I just need to reseal between the fitting and the hole.

2) The motor runs rough when idling or below 1/4 throttle. I am going to pull the carbs this weekend and clean them out, check the reeds, etc.

Other than that it was all good. I'm looking forward to a winter project going through this thing.

 

[Outdrive1]

If you’re getting water in the bottom section under the foam, I guarantee the bottom is cracked. Everyone one of these needs the bottom fixed. Not a big deal though. Cut the floor out. Scrape out the foam. Add a couple layers of mat to the inside. Fix the outside cosmetically and you’ll get another 20 years out of her.

Looks good on the water. [emoji106]


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[135pilot]

Here's a few pics:
View attachment 1035442 View attachment 1035447 View attachment 1035448 View attachment 1035449

Heres a close up of the dash. I like the set up and don't think there's too much I would change.
View attachment 1035450

Here is what the bottom looked like when I picked it up. Clearly left in the water. I've since cleaned it up as best as I could.
View attachment 1035451

Here is a shot of the cra

First shakedown trip this weekend was mostly a success! No major issues (didn't have to paddle or get towed ) The thing runs good and gets on plain pretty easily, even with 2 adults in it.

Only issues:
1) There was a leak with one of the drain plugs. From what I can tell it was hitting foam on the inside and bottoming out/cross threading it before it was fully tightened. It took on quite a bit of water while sitting at our beach for a few hours and I noticed it when I went for a cruise in the afternoon. I got home last night and poured water in the back behind the seat and it immediately started coming out of the bottom plug. I guess there is a hole in the floor by the upper plug that allows water to go below the floor? This is added to the list of things to figure out after Labor Day? I got the foam area cleaned out this evening and the plug threads in much easier and seals now. I just need to reseal between the fitting and the hole.

2) The motor runs rough when idling or below 1/4 throttle. I am going to pull the carbs this weekend and clean them out, check the reeds, etc.

Other than that it was all good. I'm looking forward to a winter project going through this thing.

View attachment 1038833

That’s probably the sickest one I’ve seen yet. Totally jealous!

 

[WTR&PWR]

First shakedown trip this weekend was mostly a success! No major issues (didn't have to paddle or get towed ) The thing runs good and gets on plain pretty easily, even with 2 adults in it.

Only issues:
1) There was a leak with one of the drain plugs. From what I can tell it was hitting foam on the inside and bottoming out/cross threading it before it was fully tightened. It took on quite a bit of water while sitting at our beach for a few hours and I noticed it when I went for a cruise in the afternoon. I got home last night and poured water in the back behind the seat and it immediately started coming out of the bottom plug. I guess there is a hole in the floor by the upper plug that allows water to go below the floor? This is added to the list of things to figure out after Labor Day? I got the foam area cleaned out this evening and the plug threads in much easier and seals now. I just need to reseal between the fitting and the hole.

2) The motor runs rough when idling or below 1/4 throttle. I am going to pull the carbs this weekend and clean them out, check the reeds, etc.

Other than that it was all good. I'm looking forward to a winter project going through this thing.

View attachment 1038833

All these mini threads and I got to ask… did you ever get the repairs going on this one?

 

[DBMX]

All these mini threads and I got to ask… did you ever get the repairs going on this one?

I forgot I posted this!

Yes I did. Finally got it back in the water this spring for some test runs and used it all M Weekend. I will get my pix together and post something later this weekend.