http://boatbuildercentral.com/prodde...=LM_9443_1%2F4

Use this to bed the to the tank. Also epoxy coating it will insure a longer life of the tank. Etching primer will be needed to bond correctly .

Boat looks good and clean work makes it easy

Thanks for the tips guys. I plan on etching then epoxy coating the tank. I wanted to use foam in a couple spots to kind of secure the tank a bit more than just the fasteners but scratch that idea I guess. Is the foam bad because it traps water against the tank?? I am also wondering how to ground the tank and boat? Should all the grounds (batteries ect.) and tank be connected?

Check out Dave Pascoe's article on how to install gas tanks if you haven't already read it - it's been posted on here many times.

Regarding grounds and bonding systems, check out the "Grounds & Grounding", "Bonding Systems" and "DC Systems" sections Pascoe's article on electrical systems. Some folks don't necessarily agree with every thing he writes, but I've read a couple of his books and many of the articles on his web site and he seems to have a lot of first hand experience with most of the stuff he writes about!

I would just ground the tank to the fill for safety against static spark when filling.

grounding system on a 20fter is a little excessive. I have seen stray current at a marina destroy a lot of stuff in boats that were bonded and grounded. that otherwise would have been fine

If I were to cut out the transom for a 25" motor would the cutout be 25" above the keel? I am contemplating scratching the hermco bracket idea...

We did mine at 26.5" with advice from others on this site as well as the glass guy that helped put in my transom.

This^^^

Cool thanks for the info!

Definetly go at least 26.5 inches. Been there done that at 25 inch and I'm in the top holes still

So trying to decide which arjay product to use to bond the floor to the stringers. The core bond is polyester based and seems like it will do the job. The vinyl ester is a little more expensive and I'm just wondering if the extra money really needs to be spent.

For bonding I use epoxy usually but sometimes vinyl ester. Those two have a way way higher peel strength than standard poly. Much less likely to separate. Poly is great for molding parts, lay ups and new glass work but for repairs and bonding go with something stronger.

Thank you I will be going with the arjay 7121.

I was just told by a guy at a fiberglass store that Bostick would be the best way to go as far as bonding the floor to the stringers. I'm not sure how I feel about that. He said putties have much more of a tendency to crack and the flexibility of Bostic is what you want to bond your floor to the stringers. Any input on this matter??

I usually don't use pre-made putties but mix my own from epoxy resin and just add the additives to it. I sometimes use the VE due to I had 55 gallon drum of it and it worked well to even tho epoxy is more flexible. I add some different thickeners and also milled fibers to strengthen the putty and haven't had no cracking problems with VE. I can see cracking tendencies when using a poly base putty but even then look at the potter built hulls that were bonded together with "potter putty" it is a basic poly based putty that is super brittle that will crack if you hit it with a hammer. Not many of those boats had problems with floor separation that I have heard of and out of the many I have cut on it is hell getting it apart sometimes and that's after 40 years! I think using a VE product like the AJ 7120 or 7400 (with the milled glass) would work well. It is designed to do what you are doing and will bond twice as good as the original potter putty and be much more flexible to prevent cracking. The Bostik stuff looks to be good for General Construction like concrete and cabinetry but a boat I wouldn't use it in. There product is designed for a different market. I would use a proven method of 40 years with the aid of modern better resin. I never used ArJay but it sounds like a good product and I have heard good reviews on it from the boat world. I never heard of the other stuff until I Goggled it.

Thank you very much! Decision is final I will be using aj 7121.

7121 is the way to go, you will tear the fiberglass before it brakes loose. you cant believe how solid the deck is in mine. you can jump up and down and it feels like you are on the sidewalk.

also 7121 is vinylester based

I haven't posted in awhile and have been busy. tightened up a bunch of loose ends before installing the floor. Put the floor down with arjay 7121, glassed in in, and started building the cap. Its flipped upsidedown right now and will get a couple layers of biaxial on the bottom.

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Nice work. Very clean layups.

Thanks Blue Heron. Ive been trying to do it right :D

Surf'in Safari
 

Afishin, It broke my heart to see you cut that Safari up, but it looks like you will have a spectacular SeaCraft when you get done. Good Job! Remember, they squirt pretty good without too much power so don't hang something goofy on the back and move the "Center of Bouyancy".

Think I've decided on the 200 etec.

Lol I know I upset a couple guys on csc and rightfully so. Guys on here have been a big help and I've enjoyed the whole itchy process. It's been quite a journey and am starting to get excited to see it looking like a boat again!

Looking good! It will soon be time to fair all the surfaces true, then the real fun begins... lol

One question, what brand / type of material are you using for the floor & bulkheads? The white stuff? I assume it is a high density foam of sorts?

It's called celtec. I get it at fiberglass supply depot in Ft pierce fl. The guy highly recommends it and it's really nice stuff to work with.

Anyone have any good tips on how to flip the boat upside down. My thoughts were to use a buddies crane. Should be do able with a swivel/pulley on the rear 2 ubolts and just a single strap on the Front u bolt. Then spin it by hand. Seems like it would be pretty easy.

Go on YouTube, they show many people flipping Custom Carolina boats and you can watch how they do it. Some use tires and some just cranes with two cables and hooks. The bad thing is once you get it to the point it will balance and want to roll it over past that point it will want to flip over fast. You almost need one crane/lift to lift it up and pull it over and a second one to catch the weight and then lower it down.

Watch these back yard guys do it: They have rocking back ground music too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8DRAGn8dfg

This one is my favorite one from some time back: This is the best way to do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh1KZgGoe08

afish there are some thing that cant be taught and you got them. great work on the boat and don't worry about seafari guys, remember this forum is repairs and mods!

clean lay up and the work on the gunnel cap is clean

Thanks Billy! It's coming out really nice I believe. Can't tell you how many hours I've spent just sitting in the boat brainstorming lol. I tell ya Denny gave me some flack at first but has been so willing to share info and pass on knowledge. I'm really glad I joined this site and appreciate all the comments and support I've received on this site.

Alright finally back to work on this sucker! Got quite a bit done on the console while working midnights. Raised and cored the bottom. Changed the top to accommodate my electronics and other stuff.

Finished installing the bulkheads and boxes for fuel fill lines. Also put a backing block for the d-ring.

Used a crane to flip it over hokked to the front d-ring and an eye bolt in the drain plug hole. Worked pretty well. Couldn't manage to get any pics of the process. The keel damage was a bit worse than I originally thought and the repair that was done was even worse.

Got the old repair ginded out and put some fresh glass in and shaped pretty nicely. Also had a little repair to fix on one of the strakes. Sanded the entire hull once and filled all the imperfections with polysilk. Probably one more round of sanding and filling till I will feel comfortable to start rolling on the new gelcoat.

Andre...
Looks great, but you have no excuse for not showing up, living 4 blocks from
all of us being at the Sportsmens Lodge and Ferndale Lodge
at this weekends gathering ....:rolleyes:

You missed some great chow last night..:D

I was almost gonna come hunt you down!!

Wish I had know you were here! You should have hunted me down!!!

The boat is coming out great. Have you thought about spraying the gel coat? You will save tens of hours of sanding if you spray over rolling. Plus it's a lot easier to get even coverage spraying then rolling. You can get a cheap gun from Harbor Freight that will work good. I spray it all the time with some duratec or patch aid mixed in. You don't need a huge compressor either. I have a craftsman that I think is a 30 gallon and it keeps up fine. It will really save you tons of time. Keep up the good work.

Damn Bones, I guess that "gathering" section on our forum is too tricky. We need to get our moderator, "crash" Danny, to work on simplification!! :)

Didn't even know there was a gathering section