Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Well folks, there's no turning back now. I have the t-top off, console removed, and every removable hatch taken off. Time to start cutting! I've been doing lots of reading here in what I could find about this repair but have my own list of Q's. I know you guys will get me through this.

My boat has the standard large console. The flange on the bottom of the console is all cracked and worthless. I was thinking about building a new flange on the inside, and once it is done, then cut off the one on the outside. Has anybody done this? Will there be enough room for a 1" or so flange on the inside or will something get in the way?

We cruise first and fish second with our boat so I am planning to build a bench seat on the front of the console. I plan to hinge the front door on top instead of on the side so it will have enough strengh. It will be like a Contender console, even with the hydraulic ram.
After reading some info on here it looks like 3/4 inch coosa is the way to go. I think the coring is 1/2 now so this will be a problem around the gutters for the fishboxes. Should I suck it up and do the extra work and go with 3/4 or is 1/2 enough?

The stringers are hollow right? So there is no rot I need to worry about correcting in the bilge while the boat is opened up right? It seems like there is some rot under where my batteries go - the flat spots on the port and sb sides of the bilge aft of the gas tank. Is this part cored with wood? I have not cut into it to check yet.

I'm going to need a new fuel tank too. First, where can I haul the boat to get rid of the old one? It's half full of fuel. Second, which tank is the best to go back in?

Lots of Q's but I'm excited about this project.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim,

Please take and post pictures of the project, as I may be following in your footsteps at some point doen the road.

Good luck.

Thanks,

Peter

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim

You have a lot of choices to make regarding how to proceed:

First I would drain your gas off into a few small tanks and pour it into your cars to get rid of. Taking it to someplace to dispose of it doesn't make sense since you can recycle it and save the money for the coosa.
Regarding the deck rebuild, I opted to save the top skin of glass. I made a cut around the outer edge near the gunnels, peeled the top skin away from the wood core, scraped the wet / rotted wood away from the lower skin, let it dry out for a few weeks and then recored with a combination of core cell and plywood ( around the edges where the console would be fastened). Once the core was glassed in, I put the top skin back on. I replace with 1/2 inch material and I do not notice any deflection so I believe this is all you will need. Once the skin was glassed in , I ground a 12:1 bevel along the seam all around and added alternating widths of cloth into the seam to spread out the load along the seam. The seam was widened to a width of about 3 inches in this step and then filled. A bit of fairing along the edges and you should be ready to paint or re gel coat!

As far as the console is concerned, it would give some consideration to reglassing the outer lip as this would be the least amount of work. Two or three layers of cloth applied to the bottom should do the trick. If you want a smaller console or one with an internal lip, I would consider taking a trip to Fla. and visiting the Dania flea market or one of a number of fabricators or boat manufacturers, that have been discussed in earlier posts. One of the nicer consoles available directly from a manufauturer is made by Dusky. SeaVee also makes a great console but I don't know if they will sell one to you.
Good luck with your upgrades. Rich

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Hay Jimmy looks like your getting ready for some work and maybe some practice and advise for Mike and my boat. I'm waiting for some warm weather and Johnnie Vicco to move back here to CT to get going on my project. Make sure you take good notes and pics. Good luck Jim Vic

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Thanks for the tips dink. My deck surface has been painted a bunch of times and is pretty cracked and worn out, so I really can't re-use the skin. I am going to use all new glass.

Hey Jim! So it took my post to get you out of the woodwork here :D Have you started on your transom yet? I need a load of coosa for myself like the one I brought for you.

So how do I syphon the gas out of my tank and into my gas caddy? can I just literally syphon it? How do I get the gas flowing?

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Yacht Jim, I really do want to buy a plotter from you, just haven't decided which one. Even got my tax return back. Anyway, I know I can help you. Stop in a truck stop. Ask for a large diameter syphon hose with the brass check valve. It's the coolest thing you've ever seen provided you have stolen, I mean, swallowed gas before. It will be about 15 feet long. Place the open end in the container you want to syphon fuel TO. Preferrably lower, gravity will help, and be faster. Next, place the brass ball/check valve inside the boat fuel cell, until it is below the level of the fuel. Then just shake back and forth a half a dozen times and the clear tube will fill. It's pretty amazing. Be careful, this is MUCH faster than traditional methods due to the added diameter of the hose. Do not leave unnattended! This is really fast. You'll have it the rest of your life. I can't get over how often we use them around the shop, boats, diesel trucks, and transferring racing fuels. They're really sharp if you've never seen one. Hope this helps. Part II.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/Consel%20Refurb/index.htm

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/DSCN3543.JPG

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/DSCN3931.JPG

strick

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim,

Assuming you have an outboard you just diconnect the fuel hose from the engine and pump the ball and the gas will start to syphon (put the empty tank on the floor and run the hose to it so it is lower), I use this method to fill up my gas can for the lawn mower all the time. Another option is an external electric fuel pump from the auto parts store.

Jim thanks for the great price on my Navman GPS, ICOM VHF, and MY Furuno 600...I have more money in my electronics from BOE than I spent on my hull!

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Great ideas on the fuel guys! Duh, i forgot all about the primer ball. If that doesn't work I got a truck stop about 8 miles away that will have one of those syphons.

Strick, you did an awesome job on that console. I'm not that motivated though :D If I try to do that I won't have my boat in the water until next year, and that's just not acceptable. The way you switched the sterring wheel looks like a doable project for me. That was pretty slick. I'll have to move all my gauges over too. Hmmmmmm...

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

You dont have to go thru all the trouble I did. I was trying to show how I mad the inward flange like you asked about. I think you could do it fairly easy. :)

strick

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

A pic of how my consel is bolted to the deck. 5200 is under the flange as well.

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/DSCN4360.JPG

A link that shows how I made the flange on my leaning post. :D

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/SeaCraf...st%20Livewell/


strick

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim

I used the hose off my engine, as well. Filled a 4-5 gallon can in about 5 minutes. At 2.35/gal at the pumps pour that gas into your cars. I removed all but about a half gallon. Be sure to tilt the bow up so the pickup gets as much as it can. Make sure you have a way to stop the flow. I plugged the line with a small tube and clamp between fill ups. Dink

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

I made some progress last weekend. I built the flang around the inside of the console, built a new bulkhead inside the console out of coosa, cut off the outside flange around the console, did some filling and fairing, and mocked up and built the bench seat. Last night I added some more glass to the inner flange. I also started tearing up my old deck but I'm not taking pics of that because I don't wnt to be reminded of how much of a pain in the ass that is! There is also a pic of a deck hatch I cored. Now on to fairing....

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0003.JPG

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Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim,
Looks good. I like how you made the console seat full-width. I always liked that idea on the Silverhawks, but theirs were narrower. My buddy has one and you feel like you're going to fall off it.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Looks like you are doing a great job on this CC. I spent tons of time on mine when I did my boat but I really wanted to save it and use it. I took the seat off the door and filled it in and had tons of holes I had to fill in as well.

Before
http://classicseacraft.com/fellowship/medium/0005.jpg

http://classicseacraft.com/fellowship/medium/0007.jpg


After
http://classicseacraft.com/fellowship/medium/0046.jpg

http://classicseacraft.com/fellowship/medium/0035.jpg

http://classicseacraft.com/fellowship/medium/0036.jpg

FellowShip

_______________________________________________

My motto: Just for the Grins :D

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

I had the same seat on my old contender and I was going to mount Harken flush hand holds on each side of the seat. Here is a picture of them

http://www.harkenstore.com/images/062.jpg

here is the web page

they are common in the sailboat scene for a clean no snag handhold.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Hey guys tell me more about coosa.I saw that hatch in one of the deck rebuild project.was the wood replaced with coosa and do you fiberglass it like you would the wood.will it work under the deck instead of wood. Thanks Keith

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Trayder, those hand holds look awesome. You just solved something that has been bugging me.

Coosa is a dense foam material that has fiberglass woven into it. It has great compression strength, although not as good as wood, and can be threaded into, again, not as good as wood though. The benefit is it is lighter and will not rot. It is very stiff too. I am going to use it for my whole project.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Thanks for that info. My question is are you going to use it in addition to wood?What does the hatch have in it on the deck rebuild pictures.Thanks Keith

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

i am looking at a 23 cc ob with spongy decks. you sound like you have been thru it, is it tough and would you do it again. i would have to have it done by a glass guy what should it cost. the boat also needs transom work

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim,

Yesterday, I just bonded the new coosa deck on my 23cc. If I
can get the pics to post I will do so.I cut out the existing deck about 1 1/2"from the hull side leaving a flange.I rabbited the coosa panels so they would slide under the flanges . I had to totally rebuild the port side including the sub-deck using epoxy and a layer of 2415 stitchmat sandwiched between two layers of 1708. The coosa was easy to work with. I added two layers of 1708 to the bottom of each coosa panel. I bonded the coosa panels to the sub-decks with FGIC's 2:1 bonding putty.
It is a really solid deck. Oh yea , I used 1/2" bluewater 26
coosa. I will now lay down two laters of 1708 @ 45/45 and 90/90 with a layer of 6oz. cloth on the top.I still haven't deceided whether to paint or gelcoat the inside. A lot of sandinding and feathering to still do.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

It's exactly 3 months after I started my deck project. 12 gallons of epoxy, 4 panels of Coosa, and 1 gallon of awlgrip later I am just about done. I'll try to get pics soon. I took pics all along the way but I think I accidently delete more pics than I take, so I don't have much to show for it. I now know every square inch of a seacraft deck from 3 months of building and sanding! The new deck is solid as a rock and flat as a board. I couldn't be happier with the results. All the painting is done and looks outstanding except for a misc bug or two, but I can't expect it to be perfect doing it out in the backyard. All that is left to do is non-skid and re-assembly.

I did a lot of Gucci touches that I'll post pics of. Most ideas came from this site so its nothing you haven't seen before. The list includes:

1. bench seat on console door
2. built-up and faired the flange around the dash on the console - now there is no flange
3. removed the flange around the bottom of the console and made a new one on the inside
4. built a composite forward anchor locker bulkead that looks like it was supposed to be molded in
5. Flush mounted the hinges for the fish boxes

It was a very fun project, but holy crap, alot of work! It should be together shortly. I'll try to post some pics.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Learned a good lesson last night in a rush to get some awlgrip appplied. Don't awlgrip outside just before dark! With having to work full time and wanting to get the boat in the water asap it is hard for me to find 3 hour windows to awlgrip during the day, except on the weekends. With the tsunami we have had the last 10 days I have been trying to squeeze in awlgriping sessions any time I can. Well, last night I had what appeared to be a good window, I sanded down my console, prepped it, and started shooting 2 glorious coats of awlgrip. Went on perfect like a mirror. I went out a few hours later to check it only to find that there was no shine on the horizontal surfaces. I guess some dew had landed and the rest is history.

Soooo....I woke up this morning and went out for an inspection to see just how dull it was and it looked like a nice storm whipped through because all of my masking film had blown on to the console and stuck! Sounds worse than it really is, it just left a slight textured surface.

There is no damage, it just needs to be lightly sanded and painted again. The biggest pain about it is I will need to buy a little more awlgrip to finish the job since my gallon is almost depleted and I still have the non-skid left do to.

All I can say about awlgrip is I am having a blast painting this boat. Me and my brothers went in on a Fuji Q4 HVLP turbine sprayer which makes the job very easy and rewarding. I learn a little more about applying a perfect finish with each coat. Now if I could just find some sunshine and a few hours....

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Hi Jim,

Sounds like you are pretty close :rolleyes:

The weather windows this year has been a pain in the arse. I was getting delayed on my projects by weeks before i finally decided to retarp the boat.

Keep us posted with some final pics,

- Nick

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Took the morning off because it is going to be nice all day to do the casting deck non-skid and paint the console again. Non-skid is going great but I got a run on the side of the console and turned it into a complete cluster trying to fix it. Back to the drawing board, need to paint it again! This console just refuses to cooperate. I can paint for 6 sessions without a run, but as soon as i get near the console I get a run :mad:

I'm going to go out and take some boat porn pics while I wait to put on a final coat on the non-skid. I'll post them later.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

When I did the paint job on my 23 CC on the final coat of the outside of the hull ¾ the way done great day to paint and no problems and I am starting to have confidence in what I am doing and starting to relax and actually start enjoying MY accomplishing “Painting A Boat”. Well guess what?? MY NEIGHBORS CAT JUMPED UP INTO THE BOAT FROM THE TRANSOM REALIZING HE’S FULL OF PAINT HE SLIDES DOWN THE SIDE THAT IS NOW TACKING UP AND STICKY. If I had a gun close to me that Cat would have went from 1 to 9 lives real quick.

FellowShip

_______________________________________________

My motto: Just for the Grins :D

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

I know the feeling (kind of, I think I would have shot the cat too). Here are some pics I took today, a bunch of them. Basically some things to note are the bench seat I made for the front. The cutouts in it are for the slick Harker hand-holds Trayder pointed me to. You can see the haydraulic rams all painted white yacht style that will raise and lower the front door. This works so well you might think it was factory equipment. I have part numbers if anybody else wants to do it. You can notice at the bottom of the console the flange is gone and now on the inside of the console. This turned out really well. You can see the casting deck with two coats of paint, one more was put on after the pics.

There is a pic of my two cockpit panels showing the support I put on the underside. I weigh about 240 and hate when things flex!

There is a pic of my aft bench seat the covers up the engine well. This will get a couple of rod holders and a backrest at some point.

There is a pic of my newly reupholstered leaning post. Some pics of the awlgrip shine (see the reflections). A pic of my dash and one at an angle to see the finish. It is a 100 year old piece of mahogony that is an inch thick. Turned out great.

There is a pic of the new radar I put on, new style Raymarine. A pic of my painting get-up on wheels. it usually has a vacuum on it too, just roll it down to the boat and its got all the goodies I need. And a pic of the Fuji sprayer. This thing is great, I have been painting everything. The dog won't even come near me anymore because I was sizing her up for some primer.

Hmmm, I think that is it for this batch. My camer sucks and it was very bright so a lot of th epics are washed out but it is boat porn none the less.

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0012.JPG

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http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0023.JPG

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0024.JPG

Here is a pic of today's booboo.

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0025.JPG

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http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0030.JPG

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0031.JPG

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0032.JPG

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http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0034.JPG

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0035.JPG

Making do with a little bit of space.

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0036.JPG

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0037.JPG

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/...t/PICT0038.JPG

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Way to Go Fellow-Ship!!!

Shelter caring for small cat found covered in stars and blue paint
By Linda Fusco, Broward Post-Gazette

Who would paint and stripe out the fur of a cat? If you know the answer, you could be in line to get a $500 reward.

Betsy Geter, of the Animal Rescue League of Western Ft Lauderdale, washed a year-old tabby cat found completely covered with stars, stripes and blue Sterling paint. The female cat, though uncomfortable, maintained a friendly disposition.

The cat was picked up on Frankstown Avenue by Broward County Sheriff's Animal Control yesterday morning and taken to the Animal Rescue League of Ft Lauderdale in Cooper City. The cat is female and appears to be about a year old.

The cat also appears to be the color of Morris the Cat, though that's hard to determine because so much of her body, including her ass, is coated with Sterling paint.

"We're not sure whether this was an accident or done intentionally," said Jim Long, communications director at the league. "We think it was intentional because of the extent of the coverage." Mr. Long was quite upset over the whole ordeal. "I've never seen anything like this before" I would like to catch the(beep)(beep) that did this" I'd cut his "censored" Off!!

Shelter workers bathed the cat with dish detergent, but the bath didn't make a dent in the paint. "That Sterling is some hard crap" "We're letting her relax and settle down" before trying another kind of bath, Mr. Long said. "We'll probably try a nontoxic paint remover,Acetone is out of the question, which we'd test first on a small portion of her back end fur."
If the paint cannot be removed, the cat will have to be shaved.

http://www.whypaintcats.com/Chaplin.jpg

[img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] :D :o :eek:

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Way to go there Jim. I'd be interested in seeing your CC door set up when you get all the hardware put on it. I tried to make a CC door on mine that would have shocks on it and it would flip up ward like the ones you see on the Sea V's but I got frustrated with trying to make it work right and scraped the idea. Good Job and keep the porn coming please :cool:

strick

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

I made a lot of progress over the holiday but it wasn't without problems. Sunday afternoon I put on my final coat of awlgrip on the non-skid. It was my last drop of paint and the last coat the boat needed. As soon as I shut off the compressor I hear a big rumble. A huge storm rolled through that took our island by surprise. It certainly was no predicted. Anyway, I am doing the painting outdoors so you can imagine the panic that set in! I called in the troops to bring over some tarps, but in the meantime I decided to find the closest overpass or cover. The boat hasn't moved in 6 months and I couldn't get the engine tilted up, but she did fine. On the way out of my community I met my brother so we decided to get her tarped up right there. Got a cover on from one of my brothers donzi so I thought we were in the clear. We parked it next to a big building the broke up the wind. Turned out it was a huge storm that had hail and the winds broke down some signs and trees. Thought we were in the clear. Took off teh cover in the morning to find out that the cover leaked...a lot! So the paitnjob was ruined. Back to the drawing board on that one. Had to sand it down and repaint it Monday morning. It's now not perfect like it was when I finished Sunday, but it's still acceptable. The only real remains of the storm are some yellow stains on the paint from the masking paper. I hope some On/Off will get it off or something...any ideas?

Here are the latest photos. They are in no particular order but here is what you will see. I could not find hinges big enough off the shelf for my hinged front door so I bought some industrial ones and drilled the holes, rounded the edges and polished them myself. They turned out great.

There is a pic of my dash. Time to bolt things on!

There is a pic of inside of my console and how I have the batteries mounted. There are wires going all over the place at this point, haven't routed or secured any of them yet. You can see the blue sea acr.

There are some pics of how I did the non-skid too. I used the west system stirring stick to radius the corners. I sprinkled out the non-skid with the container pictured with the red top.

There are some pics of my console door in the up and down position. It really turned out great! It can be raised from just a little tug with one finger.

That's it for now.

http://www.byowneryachts.com/images/seacraft/10.JPG

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Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

Jim,
Very nice work. What type of lifting rams did you use for the console door? My Seabird's console has a similar setup, but with a vinyl-clad, somewhat waterlogged foam and plywood seat that probably weighs 2 times that of your glass door. I'd like to do something similar because #1 - I'm tired of lifting the friggen thing to get under the console, and B - I'm tired of getting slammed by the seat when it comes crashing down on me because I've knocked one of the dowels I use as prop rods out from under it while working inside the console.

Re: Complete Deck Rebuild - 23 CC
 

go to http://www.mcmaster.com/ and click on the link for "gas spring". It is in the transmission setion. I bought the non-stainless 35" 50lb rams.