Boat works … Feb 2020

Definitely not a fishing post! If you follow this blog, then you know we had a fuel tank failure on the woody too. So fishing for me has come to a halt, and it has been all about boat repair of late.

I spent the month of January gathering supplies, prepping the fuel tank coffin, getting the tank built, and getting stuff ready. Status on the first weekend in February …

Coffin pretty much ready to go, lots of peanut butter, chopped strand matt and gel coat

Tank day finally came! Like all things you anticipate, the freight service missed a Friday delivery, and I lost a weekend! I was so mad …. 😦

Being a weekend warrior, that really hurt time wise. Patience finally paid off, and I got the tank delivered the next Monday! Very pleased, workmanship was spot on, epoxy coat looked good, and I got a chance to measure, scratch and plan the install and order additional parts (elbows, anti siphon valves, etc).

Delivery day!!!!

In the mean time, I templated, cut and laminated the floor panel from coosa board and 2 layers of 1708 fiberglass.

Laminated panel
Dry fit … bueno!

I also cut and laminated floor joists from coosa pieces

Floor joists, 3/4 by 3” coosa strips, laminated with resin and chop strand matting

Install weekend! My neighbor jimmy has a bobcat, and his son, fishing bro matt and another helper came to the rescue.

Tank! 173 gallons, 3 internal baffles, new pickups and sender unit. Epoxy coated hot rod!
Over the rail – photo courtesy robin who watched from a safe distance
Fit like a glove! Lagged into the stringers
Lot to see here. 2-part foam under the tank to seat it, and then along the sides. Fuel fill and vent hoses connected. Ground to the fill fitting, tank and batteries, and sender connections in, floor joists epoxied in place

I really underestimated the amount of foam I needed. I had bought a half gallon and ended up buying another gallon, and then had to make 2 runs to stock island to buy 2 more half gallons. I spent 600 dollars on frigging foam!! I had no idea 😦

Floor laminate glued and nailed in place.
Then I kinda screwed up :(. First fiberglass laminate went really poorly. I ended up grinding most of it off and starting over again.
Second try – I applied thickened resin (peanut butter) and chop strand matt strips around the joint between the coosa flooring and the deck. Grind, grind, grind! Ended up working very well
Then I covered a Full layer of 1708 glass over the whole thing
Allot more grinding and another 1708 patch and I am happy!
One more round with the grinder and sanders, then I put in a layer of waxed gel coat so it can all cure properly! looks pretty good to me!

There you have it – the rough install is done! I ended up putting 5 1708 laminate layers on the floor, and burned through 6 gallons of resin and two big buckets of cabasil. Also probably breathed enough dust to shorten my life 10 years!

Robin and I are going to head to see Laura, Kyle and Lilly week after next so I am at a good stopping point.

All in all, really happy with the result so far! When I get back to it, it is fairing to make all surfaces flat, and paint/non skid application. Then it is time to install hatches etc, and get back to fishing!

Phew!

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