My seacraft overhaul-

[Miles Offshore]

hey finesse , thanx- the tanks are sitting on a thin piece of rubber and directly on the hull. the foam didnt completely encapsulate them and after i just popped the port side tank that foam wasnt wet at all- go figure. anyways i plan on painting my new tanks with 3 or 4 coats of epoxy primer and then using solid silicone rubber strips 1/2" thick underneath going the length of the tanks. i will put a little foam back in just to keep the tanks from shifting but the epoxy primar should be enough to keep the foam from contacting the metal and causing it to corrode. Ill do some pix when i get the new tanks. Now just to pay for the new tanks- (might be a divorce sale soon!)

[74Formula233]

hey finesse , thanx- the tanks are sitting on a thin piece of rubber and directly on the hull. the foam didnt completely encapsulate them and after i just popped the port side tank that foam wasnt wet at all- go figure. anyways i plan on painting my new tanks with 3 or 4 coats of epoxy primer and then using solid silicone rubber strips 1/2" thick underneath going the length of the tanks. i will put a little foam back in just to keep the tanks from shifting but the epoxy primar should be enough to keep the foam from contacting the metal and causing it to corrode. Ill do some pix when i get the new tanks. Now just to pay for the new tanks- (might be a divorce sale soon!)

Great pics.....give ya credit for going thru all of that but you'll know what ya got after!

Twin tanks......looking at somewhere between $1500-$2000, no?

[Miles Offshore]

"Twin tanks......looking at somewhere between $1500-$2000, no?"


trying to get a better deal but thinking you are right in the ballpark

[Proheat]

Miles- I'm not a paint expert, but if you just put primer on the tanks- I think that primer would draw moisture and hold it. I believe that thats what a primer is for- its kinda like a sponge and a medium between the paint and the tank. This is just my 2 cents .


Anyways- great restore/ repair job!

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing the pics!

[Miles Offshore]

hmmmm, thanx proheat- good points- i will keep them in mind and give it more thought- maybe prime em and paint em. both of them are finally out now anyways- shewww- hell, if i can get em to last another 20 years like the last ones then ill be 70 and hopefully my kids will be totin me around in a big paul mann or something,lol.(wishful dreamin)

[Miles Offshore]

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.

It only 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 havnt quite figured out how many photos I can throw up on one post before it tilts me. I have more work done that I will add on after a while showing my new tanks installed and current the state. Craig

[Miles Offshore]

I am far from perfect to say the least- if you see something I should have done different please voice up your opinion also (Jawz,lol). If I agree I will change it and if not then you can tell me "I told you so",lol. Someone already mentioned to me about the automotive style crimp connections in one of the photos under my exhaust hose. ( I am also posting this on the classic seacraft site) (boat **** as it is known) That was something I did not opt to change because they looked good to me when I inspected them. I didnt realize they were not marine. I dont use anything not marine that I replace- now that that is clarified I plan on replacing them. Easy enough. That is a good example of what I mean- thanx again- hope you guys get something out of this- thanx for looking and any constructive critisism. Craig

well since its raining its ass off here are a few more-

first here is a pic of those screws that punched the hole in the fuel cell vent line- i have rerouted the hose so it doesnt come in contact with them but I need to put some chafe protection for the screws before I resecure the wires.



Im getting ready to foam (uhhhggg) in the tanks in a few spots and am putting some wood wedges back in to keep the tanks/cells from shifting when the foam expands. The tanks are the same shape as the bottom so it is important that they stay in the right spot- this is the way they were originally installed- i could also strap the tanks down but havnt decided if its even worthwhile-



Here is the new fuel line and vent line from the tanks forward



Next is the inside of the transom cleaned up- the hose is for the remote bilge pump yet to be installed- it sux that there is no room for a standard pump but thats just the way it is- I am going to rig a "Y" valve into my seawater intake so I can use the motor to pump out large quantities of water if needed (hopefuully never) That aft pump is really not much good. water never gets back that far of any appreciable quantity- great design feature



Just a couple more pix before I foam them in and replace that deck- hopefully before that next tropical event (shhhh) maybe it wont come- knock on wood









thanx again- craig

[Admin]

Wow Just so you know everytime you post i read this thread

Great Job man your boat is going to be like new once you finish working on her this summer U will have all winter to think of more things to do next summer

[Miles Offshore]

thanx John- i see the number of reads but still wonder if there is a desire from others to see my progress. I do know a few people that like the post/thread. Next summer my azz, this boat will be fishing by thanksgiving barring any major snafu!!!!!

[matey8941]

i love reading these kinds of posts....ur doing an awesome job dude keep it up and go catch some fish