After slow progress since my last update and looks like I am getting a "free trip" via Unckle to Seattle for a few weeks my progress will continue to be slow so I thought I would update my progress . I did remove the old tanks and had new ones fabricated.While I was waiting for the tanks to be madeI took care of some other stuff since I had the hatch removed. I replaced my 4" exhaust hose, Ran new bilge hose,and also removed and replaced all of the fuel lines.One of the things I found when replacing the vent lines on my starboard tank was a nice hole in it that from the looks and location appears to have come from a screw being turned into the hose when the cap was screwed into place via the rubrail. That was a good find.The limber holes that drain from outside the outboard stringer into the bilge were also clogged up and I cleared them up.
Makes good sense to replace all fuel fittings and hoses when replacing tanks. For whatever reason I have had problems finding my new fill hose so Im still waiting on that and also new sending units for my tanks which I will replace after the new hatch is back in place.
I zinc cromated them and then painted them with rustolium before reinstalling into the boat.
It was a good time to repack the stuffing box on my rudder which was a major pain in the ass because of the very limited amount of room in the hole.I had made some feeble attempts at breaking the packing gland in the past but since it was not leaking never got it done. I ended up having to heat it up with a torch to finally get the nut to break loose. There was quite a bit of shaft play before I repacked it and afterwards it is now gone. Im real happy to have gotten this fixed.
While the other work was going on inside the boat I finished painting my main deck hatch and think it came out really nice. Heavy on the nonskid with 3 additional coats of easypoxy on top of that.
The bilge area is ready for my new gas tanks- I placed 1/8" silicone rubber strips in various locations underneath the tanks to set on. I staggered them as well to allow some air flow and drainage if needed(i dont expect water to get up this high but you never know). I also have routed my new remote bilge pump hose, rerouted my hydraulic steering lines and transducer cable along the inside.
Heres a before pic of the inside of the transom before I got the wiring cleaned up along with the new fuel lines installed. Note the two thin lines where I figured out my trim tab pump is leaking a minute amount of hydraulic oil. Gonna have to figure out why but right now Im not too concerned- hopefully only a gasket/seal or something. (Just something else,lol)
That is as far as this post goes- I have more work done that I will add on after a while showing my new tanks installed. Craig
