18 SF Rennovation---many questions along the way!!!
 

Well, I decided to start one main thread on my 18sf instead of jumping around and confusing myself. Again, I purchased boat for son to use in about 10 more years..I will use till then!!!

I decided to concentrate on hull sides first to keep the neighbor happy!!
I used Interlux Primer and finish coat I used Interlux Perfection. I filled holes gouges etc, faired and then sprayed the primer and rolled the three final coats. Do not have to worry about raising transom already done from inside. After discussion with other CSC members etc. I decided to go with a basic white exterior and black boot stripes with basic black decal, due to ease of touchups and minimal fading etc.

Next I will focus on rubrail and exterior hardware (bow and stern eyes etc.). Then I will move to interior- fuel tank replacement, recore fuel hatch etc. etc.

I will update on progress as time permits (doing this in my spare time). I plan on keeping this boat as simple as possible!!!

Here is where I am now..final coat on exterior completed with stripes and basic stickers.


-Fred

Looking good Fred. Keep up the good work!

Excellent first step

You go Fred!!! Looks like you are moving in the right direction!!! Very nice!!

Thanks guys for the comments and motivation..again just keeping it simple.
Today I was able to remove the t top and leaning post. I think I gave myself a hernia lifting top off of boat!!!!
I also just did easy things today..just cleaned up the stern eyes and installed the ball scuppers...
I got a 6 month old Lab yesterday so he and my son took up most of my time!!!!
Some pics..
-Fred

Engine Mounted
 

Well..I have not done much to hull. I did get a 1998 Merc 125 mounted on the back though with the help of Don Herman. Will start more work on hull next weekend..... time and interest permitting.
I also have a new to me trailer coming...my trailer has seen better days.
Figured after talking with other CSC members that this motor will be fine and it is under 350 lbs. I took a ride on my friend's 18' with a 150hp and it is just too much engine for me.
Here are some pics
-Fred

Question on console placement!
 

What do you guys think about console placement?

I plan to remove the console this weekend as well as the fuel tank and was wondering about console placement down the road.
I have read where on the 20's the console is moved back/forward 5 inches for a better ride?
I was thinking of doing this on my 18sf. I do not really have an issue with weight and I will have the room...what would be viable...leave as is or move console back...would it help in the ride on this particular size boat...any other pros or cons??
Also, I plan on redoing console to blank slate and revamping the whole layout for my instruments and will need input and pics of console layouts for this in future!!!!
Thanks all for the help
-Fred

I moved mine forward 6". You will be happy with the way the 18 rides regardless of console placement +/- a few inches. The best improvment for the 18 is to leave it light in the stern. Trim tabs will help you control the heel from quartering wind and seas. Worth the money in my opinion.

Totally different animal, but I'm going to be moving the console in my Mako 17 forward about 8" for a number of reasons:

1. To help offset the weight of today's heavier engines (I haven't picked one yet).
2. Hopefully get it to self bail a little better.
3. Give me a little more room in the stern to move around.

Thanks for the input guys...glad I asked the question BEFORE I decided to move console back...so looks like I will go ahead and leave as is...and well enoguh alone..I could see how moving console forward could help regarding engine weight and self bailing etc.
Tabs are down the road as well!!
Thanks again!
-Fred
Also...since I am here... I attached a pic of tonight's sunset that I took while on my evening walk..I have to turn off the darned date stamp on my camera!!!

I moved my console forward 3" if that. Any more made my big footed friends turn their rudders sideways.

Weight is the theme. Balance. My slacker loves the full livewell under my chairs. I know it sounds like it is behind the CG, and it is, but she loves the weight there. Rides more like an inboard. OK, that may be a reach.

Cheers,
GFS

Great sunset Fred! I have made a few posts over the last year about the 80's 18 console placement. First of all the 80's 18's have a different console then your Potter 18 (as you know). The 80's console was moved close to a foot forward from where yours is located. I believe this was done to correct the stern weight issue as you discussed. Red18 has your boat (Potter Era) and knows that config.. Good idea to keep it there and you may even improve the CG by pushing forward like all the 80's 18s have done. The boat is looking good. Great weight choice with the 125 Merc. and the extension leg.

Sandy...thanks for you input...so will this perform like an inboard...heheh..I love reading your posts!!!

Danny...sunset not on the Lox. or your side of FL but will do for now until I can hit the lotto!!!
Thanks for the additional input...concensus!!...I think I will move up a little...then I will have more room especially for watersports stuff...
Thanks Again
-Fred

Every high court needs a few jesters.

We can fish 2 folks behind the LP and well combo.

Bigfoot can sit on the console seat. Barely.

Cheers,
The Flying Pigs

'76 18' almost done
 

after 30 years of use itAttachment 984

Attachment 985 was time for a refurb

I just bought an 18 SC about two months ago so I have really been enjoying watching your progress. Its looking great! Glad you went with the off white.

T Man---nice!!!!----love your color choice..could you email me some more pics of your 18...especially hatches and console windshield and console setup pics..trying to get ideas!!!
Thanks Beaver--the off white was the easiest color I have worked with too...I roll and tip..I do not have proper equipment to spray finish coats so I have gotten used to rolling and tipping...I did not even have to tip the off white!! again I used Perfection..my second choice for ease of application...first choice I wanted to go with Signature
-Fred

Attachment 986

Attachment 987

Attachment 988

Attachment 989

Fred, the round hatches on the fill and sending portions of the tank cover are standad West Marines. The one in the transom is made by Jim Black & Assoc. which I got from Great Lake Skipper.com. The mfg# 581-714-05 and GLS#1013485. It's 7" X 14" and costs $60.00. It was the only one I could find to fit in the transom well. Seems well made. I have have other pics of the console wiring if you want. Thanks, T-Man

Hey Fred, I hear there was a fire at the Signature Paint facility?? Too bad if true, I like the product. Seeya

Don, Chuck and I have been doing some research on that. The word is that he's in the process of rebuilding, but I don't have a contact number for him yet. Denny

Thanks Denny, I remembered Skipper and Carla mentioned it last time I saw them in Key Largo. Too bad for Tom, hope it works out!!

Don...fire was terrible...Capt. Chuck found it out a while back when he went by Tom's house for me..it was burned to the ground...at least no one was hurt. I contacted the local red cross in Stuart and also spoke with Martin Cnty. Fire Rescue ...but have yet to get a forwarding number etc. Hopefully Denny and Capt. Chuck will have better luck in locating a telephone number!
here is a link to the article
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/dec/...rdens-house-f/

T-Man...thanks so much for the pictures....just what I needed....like the dash setup...I have my switches etc and intend to do a similar setup.
I was looking for a hatch at the Marine Liquidators place down here and could not find one that would fit in transom well...
I will look into Greatlakes Skipper!!!
Questions---
Would it be to much trouble to get dimensions of your windshield..or a pattern???
I am going to attempt to cut and bend my own!!!!


Continuing on.......
I did not do anything to the boat this weekend but I did pick up a roller trailer for it...I will adjust and switch out when I get motivated!!!!
I decided to go with a roller trailer due to the following:

1) Cheaper and not that popular in Florida....thank goodness !!!
2) Everything is adjustable
3) I love how easy it is to load a boat if setup/done properly...especially on low tide or a steep ramp.
4) Denny's "Bushwacker" topic on using and setting up roller trailer properly makes roller trailers that much more enjoyable to use!!!

-Fred

Attachment 1005

Attachment 1006

Be happy toeasure it once it's back at the house. The first winshield I replaced some years back was done by a local company and made out of lexan. The workmanship was OK but not great. This one came from UPD Plastics and it fit great. THe winshild is 3/8 acrylic clear and the dashcover in 1/4 tinted grey I think. They have the molds for '76, I think they were a year earlier or later but the exact match.

I included some pics of the wiring under the console. The guy who is doing the work (Ryan Bore)l glassed in some composite blocks for the boards and also for the wiring coming out of the floor. He is fabricating a "boot" of sorts where the wiring comes out of the floor to keep water from getting down there. T-man

T-Man
Thanks for those pics..a boot is a great idea for wiring exiting the floor..as well as mounting blocks..I will add it to my list.
Looking forward to measurements ...I am still a long ways off though from a windshield so no rush!!!!
UPD did a great job!!
Thanks again
-Fred

T-Man...
Could you also post the part # for your rub rail setup..and where you purchased it.. I am having a hard time locating a close match???
I just ordered my Jim Black hatch from GLS...
Thanks so much
-Fred

Rub Rail
 

Fred, I actually got the info. on the rub rail digging through the Forum. I ended up getting it from West Marine because it was chepest there plus it was in stock. It's a Taco Marine product, there part number is #V11-9795BBK502-2. The WM number is #9108283. It was $248.34 with shipping and a $20 discount. It's the complete kit. Good luck, T-Man (Manning).

PS..if y'all know anyone looking for a nice 1975 18 ' a friend of mine is selling it. It is in real good shape and ready to fish. It's located in Lafayette, LA.

Well....got some done today....rained off and on and lack of motivation on my part.....
I did get my rub rail, hatch for splash well (thanks to "T-Man") and low profile antenna in the mail...
Today I removed the console and fuel tank hatch....fuel tank has no date on it ... going to pull it and check for pitting, leaks etc.
here are some pics of my slow progress.
I plan on running up to HD and get a 4x4 and then use my comealong to pop tank out...hopefully......
I obviously have to recore fuel tank hatch and do some work on console..I am going to bring console back to a blank slate and I have new gauges and a lowrance etc. etc. I am going to mount in console.
Hopefully tank is ok!!!!
I am going to pressure test tank as well after I do some research on proper way to pressure test!!!

Some more pictures...I also switched out my trailer to my new to me roller trailer...no more 2x4s holding trailer together!!!
-Fred

Fred,

I noticed your new trailer only has 16 rollers supporting the hull, and boat needs to come forward a bit on the trailer so aft rollers are under the transom to support motor weight. You might have to move the winch stand forward a bit.

My trailer has the same set up on the front rack but it has 2X more rollers on the aft x-member and they're spread out wider from keel to chine to better support the hull and make it a little more stable on the trailer. Although that 18 is a fair amount lighter than my boat, it wouldn't hurt to have a few more rollers under it on the rear rack/cross member. Here's a shot of the roller setup on my trailer:
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...20pics/005.jpg

The next time you get up to the marine salvage place in Ft. Pierce, you might check to see if they have any EZ Loader pivoting U-shaped Roller Brackets which would allow you to increase the number of rollers; look for a good deal on a Powerwinch too while you're there! Here's a close up of the U-Brackets:
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...20pics/002.jpg

You might also want to add 1 or 2 keel rollers on that rear x-member too. My experience is that the SeaCraft hull is so deep up front that the keel wants to hit the rear x-member before those rollers out to the side start to contact the hull unless you dunk the trailer real deep, and the whole purpose of a roller trailer is that you don't need to dunk it!

This one shows why you need a center roller on that aft x-member!
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...eatrials09.jpg

Thanks Denny...I will follow all of your advice...
I will have to give you a call when I get more into the trailer..I had a trailer just like yours under my Seafari and I loved it..This trailer is lacking in rollers and I thought I would be ok with the limited amount of rollers due to weight of boat....


Denny...Do you think it would be ok for now to just move winch stand up a bit to get the rollers directly under the transom more..??? Dont want to compromise the hull/stringers while I am working on boat!!

You should come up one weekend...once I pick up rollers..lunch on me...we can put it on stands and go at it!!!
Thanks for all the info Denny!
-Fred

Well, I was finally able to get fuel tank out. I used a 4x4x8 that I rented from Lowe's and my come-along, as well as various pry tools...hammer and shovels.
The tank will need to be replaced and had pitting on the top..the underside was ok?
I cleaned up the tank coffin and will be reordering a tank or will see if I can find a close match at Surplus store.
-Here are pics.

Fred,
You probably don't need to move it at all till you hang a motor on the transom! The SeaCraft hull is so stiff, especially the original Moesly and early Potter 4-stringer 20's up through 1972, that you can actually get away with a pretty marginal trailer. I had a cheap Magic Tilt trailer under mine till 1985; it had short bunks under the back and 4 or 5 keel rollers which I never liked because if those keel rollers aren't perfectly in line, you'll have much higher localized loads at any high roller. I think Potter started pinching pennys in '73 when he changed from 4 stringers to the two wide box stringers and I don't think that design is quite as stiff, but I've never heard of anyone having a problem with the later hulls. Maybe a better way to describe them is to say they're "just a little less overbuilt"! I'm guessing the 18 stringer system is similar to the later 20's.

I figure my boat, as it sits on the trailer with a full tank of gas and no added temporary coolers, etc., weighs about 3200 lbs. (Will e-mail you the weight spreadsheet I put together; once you start adding up all the little pieces of gear, the total can be a real shock!) With 24 rollers, that works out to about 133 lbs/roller, which isn't very much. I can actually wiggle the individual rollers at the transom with the boat resting on them! Your 18 with no console, engine or any other gear in it probably weighs a lot less than that, so your load per roller may currently be less than mine! I wouldn't worry about adding rollers until you start putting the boat back together and hanging the motor, etc. Denny

Thanks Denny,
I will look at your spreadsheet today and work on a Spreadsheet for the 18 SF.
I do have motor hung so I have to move the boat forward this pm....I will run up tomorrow to look at surplus store for rollers! I sprayed pb blaster on all bolts etc so I should have no problem swapping out the wobbles!
-Fred

Im afraid to look under the hatch of my 18. I pulled a tank on a chrs chraft restor I did. The initial pop when the tank finally released about made me piss my pants.

Fuel Tank
 

I am installing my new 47 gallon aluminum fuel tank next weekend. posted another topic regarding tank install questions.

Fuel Tank Preparation etc.
 

I picked up my fuel tank from my friend's fabrication shop and got busy with prepping and priming it today. I was able to get some great deals on line for Interlux InterProtect 2000E and my local West Marine Store matched it.
I have made several posts to show my process up to this point.
Pictures of new tank and my helper and owner of the boat!!!!!!!

I then cleaned up (sanded and wiped down with acetone) the coffin and got my poly strips secured with 5200 per Pascoe.
I was able to get these strips at Home Depot for a cheap price. I did not measure just eyed where they should go and left them a couple inches on each end shy of the length of the tank.
Here are pics showing cleaned up coffin with the strips bedded with thick bead of 5200.

Next, I roughed up the aluminum tank to accept the Interlux InterProtect 2000E (Thanks to all who gave me pointers on this process, and the proper material to use). I was going to use an aluminum etch wash...but ..I remember restoring an MGA with my father...the MGA had aluminum fenders and the aluminum etch turned black in high humidity...not bonding correctly to the aluminum. I opted, per others and the tank fabricator, to rough up the tank and then apply the product.
See pics....

I also installed screws on my sawhorses to keep the majority of flat area suspended above the sawhorses...
Further, I did not use a roller pan...I just dumped the Interlux onto the surface and rolled out with a roller...I did the underside first..flipped the tank and then did the top and sides..I got the interlux on there quite thick etc.
Here are pics.

With the remaining interlux..I rolled out the coffin..had just enough to sweak by on the coffin due to the fact I layed down the interlux pretty thick on the tank...
Next I will recore tank hatch..replaced hoses and install tank...probably tomorrow or next weekend...
A picture of the coffin.....
-Fred