1987 23 Center Console Project

[Chrismacholz]

I wanted to start a thread since I'm starting down a path that I can already see is starting to become a big project.

I've had the boat about a year and a half now and I'm getting really familiar with all of the issues that can appear on a 30 year old boat. The previous owner kept the boat in great shape, but it's been about 15 years since the last repower/rewire and I decided I would tackle a rewire project this winter. We routinely took the boat 15-30+ miles last year and I want one less thing to worry about when we're out there next year.

Since I was tearing all the wiring out of the console anyway, I thought it would be a good time to pull the console, open up the tank hatch, and take a look at the original tank. I also have a few soft spots around the console that I would like to take care of while this is apart.

As usual, it's turning into a bigger project than I expected. I'm doing the work in my driveway, so it will be slow for a bit until things warm up.

Feel free to follow along, I could definitely use some pointers along the way.

Here is what I'm starting with:



And here is a drawing of my deck soft spots (and interior pics) I've been sending around for estimates. I'm having someone take a look at it over the weekend to give an estimate to fix these spots. If its too costly I am going to attempt the repair myself this spring.



As for the wiring, it's a real corroded mess right now. Look at this main feed for the switch panel...

[Chrismacholz]

Well, I had a highly recommended fiberglass guy from my area come to take a look at the floor to get an opinion of what to do. He metered the whole deck and also hit it with the phenolic hammer. The whole deck was found to be at least partially wet, but the only delaminated areas were around the center console. The casting deck was found to be dry and solid.

He gave an estimate of $4k to recore the deck and hatches, which I thought was fair, but I'm not ready to drop that kind of money just yet. He also insisted that I don't need to fix the floor right now, and I could easily get away with using the boat as-is for a few more years before worrying about it. I would love to try to tackle the project myself, but with no place to work on it over the winter, I fear I'll still be on the hard for the summer and missing the fishing season.

So I'm thinking I'll stick to doing the rewire this winter and leave the bigger project for the future. It's a shame since I found a great T-Top and console (at a steal!) that I'll have to pass up since there is no way the deck will hold a t-top in it's current state.

[FLexpat]

Buy the console.
Put Seacast in the soft spots for now
Mount it and fish til it wiggles too much for you
Meanwhile, look for a winter work place and plan the future deck rework

[Chrismacholz]

Originally Posted by FLexpat

Buy the console.
Put Seacast in the soft spots for now
Mount it and fish til it wiggles too much for you
Meanwhile, look for a winter work place and plan the future deck rework

I would love to be able to implement a quick fix like this. From what I've read the seacast is pourable and you need to remove the rotten material in order for it to have a place to go. I also looked into Git Rot or just injecting epoxy and it seems like that won't work if the deck is wet.

I did see a post about this stuff called Inject a Deck, which is a structural foam that you inject into a small hole, and supposedly it works very well in moist areas. I emailed the guy and he said it was drillable and will hold the load of a t-top. I have not heard any good/bad reviews online about it.

[Chrismacholz]

Since the weather warmed up I've been hard at work tearing out all of the old wiring. I started by pulling up the floor panels behind the console to get easier access to the bilge. I immediately saw what looks like a possible repair to the port side stringer. Or is there a chance it came that way from the factory?



I found a lot of wires that were cut off and a lot of questionable connections. Nothing on this boat had been wired with heat shrink terminals. Every connection was falling apart, some broke as soon as I touched them.

Everything had to go. There were at least 10 wires going nowhere. Here's a little bit of what came out:



I bench tested the 2000GPH bilge pump and float switch. The Rule Super Switch was garbage so it was replaced with a SureBail which came with a 5 year warranty. I was originally set on a WaterWitch but read a lot of mixed reviews.

The bilge was cleaned up and pump and float switch rewired. A little more cleanup was done after this picture and before I sealed up the deck again. I also cleaned up and rewired the gas tank, new ground wire and new hot lead for the sending unit.



Now my target is the console. I bought a new battery switch, ACR, fuse blocks, bus bars, battery cables, etc. I drew a wiring diagram so I have a reference when putting the whole thing together.

Here's what I'm starting with under the console - this shot was before about 10 dead wires were removed that were headed to the bilge. It's already much cleaner than this.




I'll post more as I make progress.

[FLexpat]

It did not come that way from the factory - not sure what it was, maybe the stringer broke loose and was glassed back down??? Check outside of hull there to make sure it was not cracked/repaired.

[Bigshrimpin]

Yikes!!! stringer on the right . . . good lord.

[Chrismacholz]

I think Flexpat is right, it looks to me like the stringer slightly separated and they glassed it back down. There's no visible damage on the outside of the boat, but the boat is bottom painted, so I would have to take it down to the gel to see. I did have a survey done when I bought the boat and the surveyor sounded the hull and did not find any major repair areas.

I'm not too concerned right now, but I did reach out to the previous owner who owned it since new to see if he can shed some light on the repair.

I will re-address it when i'm ready to do the floor in the future.

[erebus]

Originally Posted by Bigshrimpin

Yikes!!! stringer on the right . . . good lord.

"There, I fixed it!"

[Chrismacholz]

Making some more progress on the wiring. I learned a lot during this rewire and I think the next time I have to do one of these it will come out much cleaner.

I still have some cleanup and labeling to do. It's kind of hard to get good images inside of the console with so little room (steering lines are blocking the picture), but this is where I left off: