And away we go...
 

With the weather up here in the northeast getting worse, I decided to start working on my 20SF without fishing it first. She just barely fit in the garage and momma is not going to be happy that she lost her parking space to a boat.
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First I gotta clean up the inside then ill work on getting the console off. The windshield and grab rail had to come off to fit in the garage so demo has officially started. I'll put some 2 inch foam in the garage door opening and get a quality propane heater for the cold winter days/nights that ill be working on her. And away we go!

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At least I won't have to leave the boat to much to get to my tools, work bench is about 8 inches away on the port quarter.

Great Job Chance, be careful, it appears your head will be about 8" from the overhead beam!! Oh well, you'll only whack it a dozen times or more before the job is completed anyway :p

If you haven't already, you might consider removing the trailer and closing the garage door if you don't think you'll need to move the boat around much this winter.

I've only hit my head once today in about 3 hours of work. I should have the console completely stripped and ready to be removed by tonight.

I think I'm just gonna keep the boat on the trailer for the sake of less work. I also removed the sliding rear bench seat to give me some room.

Nice Work! I loved following your 23' build. In fact I used it as inspiration when I built the pilot house for my 23'. The 20's are a great platforms and very versatile in that you can fish them both inshore in skinny water and can also pick your days and head offshore. My first boat was 2001-20' SeaCraft and it was one fishy boat, from tatoug to bluefin tuna that boat caught them all.

http://www.amazon.com/Fulton-Bolt-On...sim_sbs_auto_5 One of these will help or drop it down on tires and you won't hit your head again.

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As promised I got the center console all disconnected from electrical, fuel, steering and throttle. I'll have to pull the boat out when I get some help to lift out the console. I plan on fixing it this winter and will reuse it. The deck is soft in many spots and also will be replaced. Once I get the tank empty ill inspect it and have it tested. Looks pretty good if its original.

Console removed
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This wire was actually bent over into the fuel fill. Know idea why or where it goes yet
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Fuel tank aprox 40 gallons
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Port side of fuel tank looking forward. You can kinda see where the deck dips in towards the lip where the cc use to be. It is very soft all around the cc,
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That's most likely the tank ground. You'll want to reconnect it to the fill when you put it all back together. The other end should be attached to the tank somewhere, most likely near the sending unit.

I finished pulling all remaining wires after work and snapped a few more pictures.

Only bilge pump in the boat connected by 3 different hoses and some duct tape.
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Aft looking fwd from splash well
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Console
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This is all that's left
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I'll hopefully siphon the fuel to the vehicles tomorrow.

sawzall that trailer.

Today I siphoned the fuel tank the old fashion way. I hate the test of gasoline but I was able to fill up two vehicles and still have about 10 gallons left over in jugs. The gas tank was removed and then the deck was removed. The gas tank seems to be in very good condition. I have about an inch of fuel still in there but no place to put it until tomorrow. After it is dry I will clean it up and pressure test it. I think my new plan will to get a new under deck tank made and cut about 8 inches out of the console to give more deck room. So starting tomorrow I will start the clean up phase and see how much water is in the foam. Besides pushing down on the top of the foam to check for water is there any better way? The stringers all seem to be in good condition as well. However, this boat is tittled as a 1973. i thought the stringers were changed to the box style in '72. the original HIN is not visible or never existed. Is there any other way to help determine the actual year of the boat? Once I get it cleaned up,I will get some more pictures.

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Prior Owner: Hope and a Prayer U. PhD - Marine Vessel Maintenance

New owner: Univ. of Let's Get Real - PhD - Living is a Good Thing!

I have no idea what that means Lew.

My '72 has 4 stringers; I've seen a '73 Seafari with box stringers, which I think is the first year they were made. Sometimes a boat was built one year but titled later, so that's probably what happened to yours. If you have a metallic load capacity sticker, it may have the hull serial No. on it which might give you some clues. Don't know where they put them on the cc's, maybe on console somewhere. Picture below is what mine looks like.

I have the sticker on my console but I can't read it due do fading. I poked around in the foam between the stringers this afternoon and it seems pretty dry in most spots except for one area that was pretty wet by where the console was. I also took out Lot of the big junk of foam by the casting deck as that is where the fuel tank might go.

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While I have the deck up I wanted to look at the scuppers and how they were attached. The first of these pictures is the port side and looks awesome. The second is the starboard and does not look so good. It does not really matter as I plan to raise the deck and go out the transom with the scuppers after I fill the existing ones.

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I was surprised to see that the deck does not actually sit on the stringers themself but it sits on the hardened potter putty. I new there was potter putty under the deck but I figured it would have been compressed a lot more during installation.

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You can see in this picture that the top of the deck is actually 1.25" above the stringers.

I will be removing all the foam in next few days. After that I will have some questions for you all. I used a simple claw hammer to remove the foam on the port side already and it came up pretty easy. Some spots right next to where the console was had a heavy odor of fuel at the bottom of it. I'll put up some more pictures later tonight.

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The port side foam was wet only on the aft 4 feet is and only about a half inch up from the bottom. The starboard side was all bone dry.

When I put the new deck in after I raise the stringers, do I just glass it to the sides? If so shouldn't I also add some height some how to the remaining 4 inches of old deck that is left so the new deck has support around the edges? If I don't, wouldn't the edges be a week spot with no support under them and only being supported by the glass from the deck to the sides of the boat? This is way down the line but I have always been curious and in other rebuilds I have never seen a clear cut decision on this. Thanks for the help as always.

The bent over wire in the fuel fill was most likely a ground that ran back to the fuel tank and points beyond. My 20' SF had the same thing only broken off at the fill but still attached at the tank. A mechanic friend said that this is a Coast Guard requirement.
Rod

So if I raise the deck 3 inches, by default do I have to raise the transom to 25 inches and thus get a 25 inch shaft engine? Could I just build up the splash well a little higher and use my 20 inch shaft for a few more years?

Yes that would be the easiest to do it.


No and yes to those questions but IMHO it would be better to bite the bullet and make it a 25 inch transom or better yet bracket and full transom while you have it all tore apart. :)

strick

I am so undecided now with what to do. Here is what I think I can get done this winter in order to fish it next summer.

1. Put new deck in at original height keep everything else stock and fish it for the next few years knowing I have a good strong deck under me.

Or

2. Raise deck, leave 20 inch transom use current motor, build up splashwell and save transom job for a few years down the road.

Leaning toward raising deck 3 inches and raise splashwell and save transom and motor for another time.

Over the last few days I have just been grinding. Stringers are all done in preps for raising and glassing them. And I'm half way done grinding for the height of the new deck. For those that have raised the deck, how high should I grind on the sides so I can get decent glass on both the deck and sides when it comes time? Basically what width of glass did you use to join the new deck to the sides?

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Rule of thumb.......the more you grind, the more you fair and sand. And sand. And sand.

Looking good!!

Why raise the the floor & glass / grind like Don has stated? I like the Carl Moesly design.. Put pvc 90* angle and run them out the transom by criss-crossing the scupper drains
(Port drains to stbd- stbd drains to port) You also can add the Rabud ball fittings. Read the Scupper threads from the search function.

Think about it ;)

I like the moesly design as well, but if I can eliminate two holes below the waterline, I'd rather do the extra work and raise the deck and have two holes above the waterline.

One downside to raising the deck on a 20 CC is that, unlike the Seafari which has a raised padded coaming that's about knee-high, the gunnel on the CC is pretty low to start with. If you raise the deck too much, the coaming will end up down around your ankles! That high coaming is nice when you're fighting a big fish!

While th thru hull scuppers are a pita I don't see the point in raising the floor. since you have access now, I think Dr Gucci's scupper options will save a lot of time, money and be safer for passengers. I'm not a big fan of the through hull scuppers but they are effective underway.
I think you just plug 'em and run drains out the back. Criss-cross tubing or just go straight out and add a pair of Rabuds. Dang, that was a lot of foam. Nice clean work. Keep them updates comin.

While you're going for it, I think strick mentioned raising your transom to 25" - best advice of all me thinks... 25" transoms are a no-brainer, especially if you have the skills to do it yourself. Shaft extension is a cheap improvement and insurance policy.

Cheers McGill

On my 20sf I raised mine 2 inches. The boat self bails. It's a lot of work and I chose not to do it on the 20 sceptre that I am currently restoring. Mostly because I'm being lazy. On the 20 sf you have to watch your freeboard so I went 2 inches instead of three. Good luck....your in deep now and I'm sure it will turn out nice.

strick

Hey strick, how high do I need to grind on the sides to ensure a good strong bond between the deck and sides? I'll be adding 2.25 inches to the stringers plus a half inch deck plus glass top and bottom. In short, what width glass strips should I cut to make it good and strong? Thanks

Feather 12-1. IE 1/4" = 3in. min.

I don't really know what the example of 1/4 inch indicates. I understand how to feather it in good. I guess what I really need to know is how wide should the glass strip be. Does it need to be 12 inches wide or will a 6 inch wide piece do just fine. Thanks

i dont know if your boat is staying on a trailer when not in use but instead of raising the deck, you can build a sump like another member did for his deck drains. i dont remember the name or id link to it. but there was a sump with a 1500 or 2000 gph pump that both of the deck drains into and then gets pumped over. then you dont have to raise the deck and you only have 1 thru hull. when its on the trailer in your yard put a drain plug in the sump and pull the plug so rainwater goes into the bilge and out of the main bilge drain. if its in the water all the time then this idea might not be for you.

I appreciate all the concerns about raising the deck and the labor involved and the reduced freeboard after completion, but I have already done too much work grinding stringers and sides after pulling foam to turn back now. I am only 5'8" and usually fish alone or with maybe one other so I'm also not overly concerned about the deck height back aft. Plus this is a 6-7 month project that I will complete this winter in time for the spring next season. Unfortunately I don't have the finishing skills of a lot of you, but I will do my best when it gets to that point. I do not expect showroom condition but I do expect pretty good for a beginner results. Please keep the input coming regarding things you all learned during your rebuilds (especially those who have raised the decks)

It's not too late !

Get these S/S deck drains. They have the Ping Pong Ball like Rabud but built-into the drain. You can use the existing deck area and run the water out with heavy gauge bilge pipe out the side vs the transom with a S/S thru hull making sure the thru hull is a little lower than the floor. It does not matter if the thru hull is below the water line.

This is the same set up I have in my flats boat that works perfectly ;)

http://www.marinewarehouse.com.au/im...re/scupper.jpg

I have a set of these...did not work for my purpose, PM me if you are interested,

From the pictures it appears that you have went up the sides of the hull far enough. Make sure you grind deep enough into the glass to get a good bite.

strick

Capt chuck, I appreciate and respect your opinions and obvious knowledge about seacrafts but I got my heart set on raising the deck and bring the scuppers out the stern. It may not be the popular choice but its what I'm going with. Thanks for providing alternatives though, I'm sure ill ask many more questions through out the rebuild

Scuppers are out of the deck. Now I need to fill em up and start raising the stringers

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Capt Chuck Any chance you know the manufacturer or distributor/store for the SS version you mentioned. After a quick internet search, I only found the plated Perko versions and plastic version by TH marine which can't be disassembled and cleaned.

Thanks

Okay with the scupper tubes removed from the floor. After I grind a good size circle around the old drain tube on the hull, what is the best way to lay up the glass to cover it. Small circles of fiberglass increasing to large circles or vice versa? Also, all I have worked with in the past is mat fiberglass. What type of glass should I use for this repair? I'm a novice fiberglasser, and would appreciate any help. Thank you

So I got 1 sheet of 3/4 marine ply and cut into strips to raise the stringers. 3 strips per stringer for a total raise supposedly of 2 1/4 inch so far. However I'm only gaining about an inch on the side stringers and 1 1/2 inch or so on the two middle stringers. As I mentioned earlier the old deck sat diretcly on top of the old stringers up forward but about 3/4 inch off the deck on potter putty back aft. There will a 1/2 inch deck on top of everything. Does anyone else's deck not sit directly on the stringers back aft? So I won't be sacrificing too much freeboard as originally thought. Hopefully it will be enough height to exit scuppers out the back when everything is said and done and glasses in place.

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