So I decided to foam in the tank deck, but not glass it in. It doesn't seem worth the effort. It is stuck down solidly with the foam, resting on the keelson. I plumbed two 3/4 PEX tube from the fore and aft tank compartment bulkheads. I recommend it. It can be bent to conform to the hull easily.

At any rate, I will do what moeller says and put foam padding between the tank and where it rests. But I will just foam that in under it. So it would be tank- 3/8" foam sheet- 2-4" floatation foam- hull/ stringers.

The tank is just under the (main) deck. I am not 100% sure how (if) to restrain it that way. I can put some foam in a bag and squeeze it between the tank top and the deck? Straps would be really tough to do, I think.

Any thoughts?

After some guide coat and sanding, the patch is okay enough to gelcoat for something that is below waterline and under antifouling paint. If I long board the gel coat, I don't think you would be able to tell it is there. There are a few voids at the layer overlaps, but I guess that will happen with upside down glassing. The gel coat filled them nicely- they were quite shallow.

So the boat was in storage from September 2014 to May 2017.

I winterized it per the Mercruiser manual for a heat exchanger equipped 350 MAG MPI back then, and it started after about 2 seconds of cranking today. Phew.

So now I need to re-winterize it. This year was mostly completion of the fuel tank area and fixing some bilge plumbing, and some power washing.

I have a few questions:

The engine is a 2004, with a new lower unit circa 2007. I think it has been in fresh water once since 2007, and never in salt water since then. I winterized the seawater side with polyethylene glycol in 2014.

It has the closed cooling for the engine. But I am concerned about the rubber parts for the exhaust and the I/O bellows. How long do those rubber parts and the manifolds last? I don't want to hydrolock something that runs so well.

That looks like a very high quality repair. Better than some "professional" repairs we have come across. Nice work :)

Thanks! I learned from the best! This forum has given me excellent guidance for repairs. It's really amazing the quality of the help you get here.

The engine still runs so next season is finishing the tank deck, a little cleanup, maybe new I/O bellows, and running it some.

i/o bellows over the drive shaft, replace every couple of years to be safe, you are way overdue. If its like a Volvo, the exhaust bellows have holes in them, no dangerous buildup of ice. The other rubber hose in the exhaust system should be very thick and should be fine. Basicly, if its thin rubber, replace it

Winterizing tip- buyer beware
 

I got burned by West Marine this week. Well not really but I bought marine and RV antifreeze from them. The stuff by the door was $2.99 a gallon. That seemed good. But it isn't safe for winterizing engines as it has no propylene glycol. Just ethanol. The text saying it isn't safe for engines is in fine print. I noticed AFTER I used it and had to do it over with the good stuff.

So it goes back in shrink wrap tomorrow. Next year it will get tanks and bellows and a forward mini bulkhead. And a slip, I hope!

I am busy stripping the teak(?) louvered door. Any suggestions on finish? It had a lot of what might have been spar varnish on it. I have teak oil but not sure that's what I want.

My 25 has wonderful looking varnish on the door and interior teak, put on by the previous owner, must be at least 10 years ago. Very durable stuff; I treat it roughly. He said it was an Epiphanes varnish product, but I don't know which one, lots and lots of coats, probably 10.