i have a baron sportsman 5.6 it is a realy great boat and seen lots of fish over the side since i had it lol wot do u need to no

Cool, Can I pick you're brains?
Does it have an active or non active core? What type? Under where the fuel tank goes seems to have no drainage. I will explain further, when we got our boat, we started to strip it down, when removing the fuel tank, one that is only half the size as the fuel tank compartment and obviously not standard equipment. Someone has drilled holes to mount the brackets for the fuel tank. These holes have let water in under the compartment in the hull. I have cut out an inspection panel after draining all the water out there seems to be no drainage through the stringers and floor beams. Have you seen this section of you're boat? Ours was an inboard Volvo so in front of the engine well there is a small round hole very low but no access through to the other boxed off sections. I have tried to unblock the hole and have ended up with some foam on the end of a metal rod so I stopped there and cut the inspection panel to see where it was going. The metal rod was going up the middle if the bottom stringer and water in the boxed off section has no way to enter the bottom stringer, do you undertand what my issue is? Regards, Darryl

Do you have any pic's you can show me of your Baron Peter..I need pic's of inside of the hull bare as poss [no floor] or part removed.. Hard to find pic's like that... Have you had yours very long Peter ? Thanks Darryl

HI.... The best new's, Some help avail.... She sounds like a beast how big is it ?Can't wait to see some pic's Mine is only a 19 " was told it had a volvo penta 120 or 140h/p.Do you have any pic's of your's with no floor as i would like to compare mine.. I have put up some pic's under a diffrent heading above this one i think... Have done some work but a bit stuck with how to sort out what we found under the fuel tank spot...[Will put up pic if u whant to see] How do i find out what max motor size is for my size baron ? What is your first name kingfisher549 ? Thank's for any help you can provide... Regard's Darryl

When I purchased the baron it came with a pod and very little else. the previous owner had done some work that I had to rework. Sounds as if your baron had the same problems mine had. Under the fuel tank area are two small stringers that have very little access. The area is not filled with foam and i suspect what you pulled out with the rod was fibreglass after it had been effected by fuel. Under the main floor you will find four individual sealed pods on each side. Two of these were full with water when I removed the floor. The pods had seperated from the floor making it slightly soft under foot. Bog had been used to connect pods and floor together. At this stage I decided to remove the floor and pods replacing them with extra stringers and bearers also raising the deck at the same time by 100mm. The inside walls of the hull were also given four extra coats of glass. I removed the transom and built a new rear end with a bilge area that has a bearer which four stringers run into down the length of the boat. By raising the deck I have been able to make it self draining, build kill tank, esky, and live bait tank below the deck. Above the floor the pockets have been shortened and areas built to hide batteries switches and pumps. All this work was completed by myself except the final paint job which John from Murchison Boat Builders completed. Trials at this stage excede my expectations at 5000rpm the boat is travelling at 54knots and turns with ease at 35knots. Cant even get the sides of the rails wet. My name is Anthony

Wow a lot of work, All worth it by the sound's of it..... That is one quick baron !

All this talk of Baron projects has me looking pretty hard at the one listed on boatsonline.

The thing with projects is I say it would be ready for this summer but more likely next summer.

.. Deep v hull on the 18'6 and above.. How much is the one you have seen... Darryl

Just had a look at the$ 3,700 RED one i think thats the only new one.. Good project can spot a few isssues with it..Good buy at that price.. and can tell u were to look for other prob spot's, If u go to see it... Cheer's  Darryl

Thats the one. Not sure I can be bothered. My rough math says it would be $20k at least once done, so assuming a 100% budget blowout  looking at more like $35k.

For that I can get a boat ready to go, save myself 18 months of work and be on the water straight away.

Also, the deck space on this would be a bit short on for me, knowing how much I had with the Chivers, this would be less I imagine.

Any luck with any build pic's... ? Did you remove V berth...

Darryl I will look for photos of the boat as I built it. Yes every section of the boat was customised even the bulk head and cabin. The boat was totally stripped and the inside gutted ,also removed old transom, The hull received four layers of glass before new stringers and bulk head were replaced and the deck raised 100mm allowing for a selfdraining deck. this allowed me to put a large kill tank, live bait well and an esky under the floor. the length of the side pockets have also been reduced to add areas next to the seat to recess speakers and lights. At one stage the boat was held in shape by ropes and I was able to pick the back of the boat up from the transom. Reel boats and Maitenance in Geraldton built the pod and bow rail. Murchison Boat Builders did the paint. All attachments came from Max Marine believe they have just retired on the profits from what I spent. Will add pics ASAP, goodluck. Keep the boat after it is finished very hard to find a better riding boat on the market at its size.

Darryl,yes I did remove the v birth and glassed the floor with the rest of the hull. Built new bunk storage similar to the original. Built in walls to create a full cabin which works well and creates more structural strength to the boat and places to mount equipment.

Do you know what the boxed of section under each side of floor is for... did u use polly or epoxy resin's , I would like to use foam to make in floor catch tank out of but polly eats into it [well so i have been told ] so i might have to cover in epoxy then polly into boat... any one know if it is ok for epoxy to go over polly ?   Thank's Darryl

Darryl the boxes under the deck were used for strength (stringers) the system was used because the boxes could be made seperate from the hull and glassed in at any stage before the deck went down. The problem was that in many cases "bog" or left over glass was used to fix the boxes in and the deck to the boxes. In several Barons that I have looked at the floors are soft because the floor has seperated over time. It is not a huge job if you want to keep the boxes and not raise the deck or have anythinng else under the deck but the fuel tank. With some work the under floor area can been made very strong and the deck secured properly. used epoxy resin on the boat and had no problems with the foam under the floor. Flow coat over the floor and in under floor spaces worked well creating a hard work surface. The hatch tops are all made of 4mm ali that allowed me to seal the tanks and have a flush floor. I will take some pics tonight. I have lost pics from the early part of the build as my laptop crashed and died.

Cabin looks like a new one... who's boat is this one ? totaly different stringer set up to mine.... Any chance you can find out were pod came from ? If a home job do they have the mold to make another ?    Cheer's Darryl...

Hello 

I have just posted some photos of my project Baron Sportsman / Outrider.

As far as I can acertain she is the last for the moulds before the moulds.

I purchased hert as a new bare hull with only the stringers and full size 50mm transom fitted

I have completed the internal cabin area, Cabin bulkheads, Floor area and side and rear storage pockets, underfloor tank and storage etc.

Windscreen fitted

Home made bow rail  and bowsprit etc.

Home made aluminium bouancy Pod fitted and 115Hp 4 stroke engine Mounted.

Hydrualic trim now also fitted.

Still a long way to go but hope to get her in the water this summer.

The stringers are made using a foam filled fibreglass box section (about 1/2" wall thickness)

The angled spaces between the fibreglass frame sections on each side of the hull have been filled with bagged foam and a 15mm hardwood marine ply floor has been installed. (the floor has been fully glassed on both sides prior to installation to ensure long service life) 

I hope this info is of use to you

Fetsy

Sorry missed a couple of words

She is the last boat made from the Baron moulds before the moulds were destroyed by a fire (as far as I can acertain)

All work is new and carried out by me at home.

The pod is made from 6mm aluminium plate with the engine mount being fully  boxed and braced (also home made). 

I was thinking the floor looks too clean to be an oldie. Looks good mate, keep on pluggin..........

I have just joined, because I am interested in talking to other Baron owners too. I recently brought a Baron Outrider 1900, same as the Sportsman, but with a factory fitted outboard frame (pod?).

 I found the factory fitted fuel tank a bit sus, replaced with stainless cruz tank, done other work on her as well. Has a Yamaha Saltwater series 130HP fitted, ample power.

 Problem is the boat wont stay off the plane, when all I want to do is putt along.

Other owners please join in!

If you're going to totally reglass the boat, why don't you glass a pod on?

I am located in Melbourne

Here are a couple of extra photos of the pod.

I designed and made the pod myself

It is 600mm long with and volume of approx 0.15 M3.

This is to counteract the leaverage applied by the motor being mounted further back thus aiding the boat to sit even in the water while at rest.

Under way the Pod is clear of the water so has no bouyancy effect in this situation.

The pod was designed to minimise the amount of weld joints and water traps thus increasing the overall strength and corrosion resistance of the pod.  

I can make more if required but it is a costly exersise due to the amount of material, welding and powder coating involved.

Mounting is via 10 x 1/2" SS bolts through the 50mm transom with 50 x 6mm backing plates mounted on the inside of the transom.

The original idea was to weld twin swim platforms directly onto the pod but I have opted for a seperate fibreglass unit that will mount just above the pod 

[img]http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x258/stikky0/P061108_1942-1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x258/stikky0/P061108_1943.jpg[/img]

Cheers

Fetsy

I have had a few that say "not following the hull can cause cavatation" have you tested it out in diffrent conditions... ? It does look the part Well Done..Your were lucky to score that boat .. Big bucks or fair?.... Thanks for your help

The pod needs to be clear of the hull line as it is the hull that creates the dirty warter and the whole purpose of the pod is to put the prop in the clear water further back .

The pod is initially set at 27" to allow for about 2" water rise with movement either way for fine tuning during sea test.

I have been warned that I may have problems in some conditions but have also fitted 12 x 9" Hydrualic tabs to help this.

 Have not had her in the water yet (this summer I hope).

Darryl pics of the finished Baron with raised deck.

A bit of info that may be helpful to anyone replacing the steering gear. My baron when I purchased it, the mechanical steering was seized solid. I couldn't afford hydraulic so had to go mechanical.

My other boat has standard mechanical as they sell in the shops, with this I have to constantly steer, and the faster I go the harder it becomes.

 Reading up there is other gearboxes available. Std mechanical gearbox ratio is about 3 to 1, Hydraulic is about 5 to 1.

 Teleflex make a unit of 4 to 1 and it comes with a brake. Its called a "No feedback helm".

When I fitted this, I found it was very heavey to release the brake, and thought I was in big trouble, but fitting a 15 inch wheel fixed this.

The great thing about this helm is that you dont have to hold the wheel when traveling. The steering is locked. As soon as you move the wheel the brake releases and one is free to make course adjustments.

If you want to read more Goggle "Teleflex No feedback helm SH 4910" This unit is held in stock in Aussie warehouses, its just the chandlers that dont stock it.

There is a Korean unit also stocked here in Perth, dont go near it, bad experience.

did it cost once finished... Darryl

The complete system including the helm, cable and bezel and mount cost me about $370. It will have gone up a bit now. The lager diameter steering wheel 15" cost me a further $100.

I have all the part numbers etc if you need to go and get a quote.

 At this stage I have no complaints about this helm. It may be a little heavy to turn, but the energy saved by the brake when traveling, far out weighs that.

Ian

What size motor was the steering turning?

130 Hp.

I am just wondering if anyone knows when the baron moulds were destroyed , and who the last dealer was who sold these boats .

Also just a bit of info for baron custom , midway marine at rockingham sold a beautiful restored baron with a very good looking pod and a 130 honda a couple of months ago , maybe they might help you out with a bit of info if the buyer is still a customer of theirs .

will try them ... cant hurt to call..    Darryl

Hi  Kingfisher549 ,Any chance you can post those pics again as I cant view them and Iam very interested in what you have done

Cheers

Just been doing up my baron and replaced the mechanical steering system.

Got the lot excluding the wheel for $250.00

It was a teleflex system and came in a box complete with helm, cable and wheel shaft, basically the whole system bar the steering wheel.

Easy to install, took about 2-3 hrs with basic tools.

The standard teleflex steering was cheaper, which is what you would expect. I find the "No feed back" sysem really good, you just set a course and let go of the wheel, until the next course change, rather than having to have a hand (or two) always on the wheel.