I Need A Shrink !

[seafari25]

Strick

I noticed in Connors pics, his fuel tank hatch is roughly half the size of ours. Ours goes right to the stepdown. I assume yours was the same as Connors before it was cut out. I guess the difference is that we have one tank and you guys have or had 2 and I guess they slid the one under first before installing the 2nd.

That being said, I know you have to rebuild yours and wanted to give you my thoughts. Ours is loosening up at the joint and is a little spongy where it meets the stepdown. It gets a lot of traffic and I think there should be at least 1' of solid floor at the top of the step. Even better if you have more, like Connors.

My opinion is based on the fact that the hatch hasn't really deteriorated much in the last 15 years since she's been under my care and knowing how much traffic she saw in the charter days so it was a little spongy 15 years ago. The rest of the hatch is solid although dipping a little in the middle.

You'll notice I use the words "a little" a lot. My theory is, when I start to use the words "a lot" a lot, thats when the major resto will begin.

[strick]

My desk top computer is down so it may be a few days before I'm able to post any pictures showing what I have done with the floor and deck hatch on the 25 seafari. It has more support then the original design and will not ever sag or get spongy...ever again

strick

[strick]

Hopefully this will work as I'm posting from my lap top wireless modem. Some more shots showing the area were I reinforced the deck and area were the big hatch will sit. In the original design the deck sits on top of two stringers that sit about 5 foot six inches apart. The hatch that accesses the fuel cell sits on a lip in the middle of this large span.

Although the deck on this boat is solid the one on my other 25 seafari is spongy in this area because of a lack of support under the deck and water intrusion in the deck core. In the pictures below you can see were I've added a 1 1/8 plywood encapsulated in glass and bonded to the hull. Both the deck and the new hatch will sit on these supports offering more support to the deck and hatch as well.



















Mold for fuel hatch. This hatch is going to be about 6.5 feet long.













Hooking up the sander to the shop vac makes sanding much more enjoyable





Adding flange to the mold. The base of the mold is 1/2 inch plywood sanded on one side. I did not use mdf because it is
too flexible to for such a large hatch.



Mold ready for lay up. There is 4 coats wax and 6 coats PVA over this.








A shot showing the scuppers that drain out the side of the 25 seafari



Mounting block for the seacock






First coat of Gel coat for the engine compartment and bilge








Back to the fuel hatch... two coats of duratec



Two layers of heavy mat and one payer of 1708



Cabosil and then 1/2 inch wood coring





More cabosil fills the gaps between the squares



More 1708 over the squares



trimmed and ready to be removed from the mold













Test fit






I left it high on purpose so I can later trim it flush.





Shaquille O'Neal can jump up and down on this hatch







working on the base for the fuel tank. It will be glassed on both the top and underside then bonded with cabosil and
glassed to the hull.



I managed to get the cap primed yesterday evening just before dark.




strick

[seafari25]

OR...you could do THAT. I wasn't even thinking that you could do it that way. That's going to turn out sweet.

That surely covers what I was trying to convey to you about the top of the step needing to be solid.

You may have read what I said on Connors thread about the drainage in the stepdown. I was just curious as to what you had planned for yours.

Brandon

BTW I wasn't rushing you on my last post but I'm sure Pavlov's dog is happy now

[BigLew]

Hey Strick,

I like your thru-hull mounting block work, very neat and clean. Is it for the DS-ducer? I've been led to believe that it might be worth the extra effort to set it verticle to the waterline with a counter cut set of wedge blocks mounted one on both side of the hull to offset the deadrise. Just asking.

[strick]

Thanks guys for the cheering and input.

Brandon- I did read what you and Conner had said about water drainage in the step down area. I'm still thinking about how I want to tackle that problem. Part of the fuel tank will sit under the step down. I was thinking some 1" flush mount SS round deck drains with a bib for a hose under the deck. This will allow water to drain around the fuel tank and into the bilge. This was my first thought...I just got to look at different kinds of deck drain hardware and see what will work best.

Lance- The block is for the seacock. I'll be putting in a flush mount transducer with a tilted element somewhere in the engine compartment.

Despite this boat being 25 feet long there sure is not much room for things. I decided to take Spidercrabs advice and not make things too complicated for myself....so I've given up on the idea of an in deck fish hatch. Did not want to move the fuel tank forward and change the center of gravity. The fuel tank will be about 7 feet long and will be shaped similar to the hatch so it dips under the step a foot or so. There will be a small fresh water tank just forward of the fuel tank.

strick

[gofastsandman]

Beautiful work Strick! Fast too!
Spidey`s right about the convenience of fish bags, but I surely like a nice box to incarcerate green meanies in a hurry. A nice green Cobia broke a light spinner years ago, and almost got me too. What about a box in the transom cap centerline? Flip flop hatches?
Cheers,
GFS

[Titaniumboy]

Strick,

Great work!

I found the thread on your rebuild from 2 years ago last fall. Spent a crazy amount of time reading all 20 pages. Learned a lot. And I just found your new project last night.

We're about 45 minutes from where you are and we boat in the Delta also.

A couple of questions, if I may.

1. Back in page 4 in your post 81730, you show both the fuel hatch and the forward hatch. Why does the fuel hatch have all of the little wood squares, and the forward hatch doesn't? And why did you cut the wood into little pieces instead of leaving as one large piece of wood?

2. Where did you learn how to make molds out of MDF? Are there any good books on the methods you are using making custom marine parts out of fiberglass?

I'm looking forward to more pictures and posts on your project.

Titaniumboy

[SBD]

Looking good as always.

[strick]

Hermit- the sides including the 1/4" corecell are a little over 3/8 inch thick. The top is 1/2 inch thick including the 3/8" corecell. I can stand on the top without any flex and I weigh about 190. The seat box weighs 41 pounds.

Biglew- The seat box pictured will be used to store dead fish. The other one I'm making will have a small livewell in it. Both will have liners glassed to the underside of the seat box with appropriate plumbing and both will be foam insulated. Below is a picture of the harbor freight tool I use to cut glass.




Ken- I get by with about 5 hours sleep... believe it or not I have been working 10 hour days lately. Most of the work is done at night and weekends. I usually don't leave the shop till around 10-11 O'clock...and I have help with the sanding that needs to be done...I have not been out fishing since November...most importantly my family is very understanding about my boat addiction. I just want to get this thing finished so I work fast BTW you are moving along nicely on the 27.

Titaniumboy- both hatches are cored with plywood cut into squares. If you go back and re read the project from 2 years ago you will get the answer as to why we core with squares instead of one big piece of wood.

thanks fellas for all the cheering

A photo of some red California Poppies that I snapped last year



strick