Deck Replacement 18 SF

[uncleboo]

Originally Posted by Samsdad57

Following with interest in your rehab.

I'm replacing my tank and hoses at the moment, and noticed the access holes that would be under the deck cap near the fuel fill. Wondering if they were like that from the factory or not to get to the fill and vent lines during assembly? I'll probably just put a 6in round deck plate on the side as I've seen before.

Would like to know if you've sourced a fuel tank shop, or who you'd recommend?

Those holes are indeed from the factory. Made the fuel hose replacement very easy. I had a friend build my tank. It's at least 1/8" thick and he added another baffle in it. Slid it as far forward as possible trying to improve the center of gravity.

[uncleboo]

Sorry for the delay... reason coming.

After getting the floor out, I proceeded to make a template of the rear section to, #1 give me a guide as to where to position the aft corner sections when reinstalling and #2 to make cutting that $243.00 1/2" baltek a more comfortable experience. Moved on to getting all of the rest of the coring out then made a template of the transom.

[uncleboo]

Oops.

[uncleboo]

Tired of fighting the pics...they"re coming how they come.

I decided to leave all the factory foam in as it was all dry. After getting the mess cleaned up, proceeded to cut the transom core and floor sections. The plan was to use all the cutoffs for reinforcements. I used the 1-1/2" material to make supports to raise the floor. Since I was raising the floor 3-1/2" fore and 2" aft, I cut the pieces and attached them on end for the added support and to make the it easier to cut the angles.





Used a piece of aluminum stock as a straight edge to see where my high spots were. Got real smart and taped some emory cloth to it so I could 'mark' the high spots. Worked great.

[uncleboo]

Forgot to explain...I decided to mimic the location of all the Potter putty instead of boxing and glassing the raised portion of the stringers. I actually have more surface area the way I did it for support than what the putty allowed. After cutting the floor sections and test fitting everything...(climbed in and out of the boat about 75 times during this process), I glued the supports in with an abundance of 5200. After the 5200 cured completely, you could hit the material from the side with a hammer and it was solid as a rock.

[uncleboo]

[uncleboo]

At this point, I was about ready to take to a friend's shop in Durham for the glassing and painting. I went up 3 weekends and helped, just didn't get all the pictures I wanted. Kinda got carried away grinding back on the inside of the liner.

[uncleboo]

Recored the gunwale caps, the fuel tank hatch and the aft corners with the 1/2" baltek. Turned out nice and solid.




After much thought, we decided to glue the floor coring down to my supports. Did not glass the underside. I can't remember the name of the adhesive he used, but, it was green and a 2-part epoxy in a double caulking tube. Pneumatically dispensed.

[uncleboo]

Laminated the transom coring with 2 layers of the heavy woven fabric. Used epoxy.

Went up the second trip and got the floor laminated. wet the floor area and put the thinner fabric down before putting the old skin in.

[uncleboo]

After this trip, I didn't go back for a few weeks. He glassed, filled and faired the floor and reattached the fuel tank compartment before I went back. He used Imron that matches extremely well. When I did go back, June 27, with hopes of bringing her home, he hadn't sprayed the non skid. My hopes sunk! He told me to start taping out the shiny areas and we sprayed it. Waited a couple hours and drug her ass home! One happy day for me!









...and she's finally home!