85 OVERNIGHTER PROJECT

[gw204]

Ok, just wanted to clarify. If you look closely at the pics of both sheets you can see that there is a 4 inch difference in the cuts and they were cut at a 45 degree angle. Will try to post some better pics.

Focus is not real good on these shots, but please look close. Is this what you meant?

Yep. That's the general idea.

However, instead of cutting the ply at 45 degrees, I would have used the grinder and tapered the pieces back about 6 inches. That would have given you an 8:1 scarf (bevel back 8 inches for every 1 inch of thickness). The farther back you bevel, the stronger the joint. Does that make sense?

I don't think you're going to have any issues though. The 45 degree cuts and 4 inch difference in placement should be good enough.

Nice job!

 

[midnight-rider]

Great Job

It's a thing of beauty the way you brought her back......

 

[Curmudgeon]

.. bought this boat from some shmuck who knew she was in rough shape but failed to mention anything. All I knew was I wanted a GRADY, bought the first one I found in my price range.

Did ya feel as dumb as I did? "Break Out Another Thousand took on a whole new meaning. Luckily my problems were a trailer and, like, everything mechanical inside the hull.

Really nice work ... :wink:

 

[cdwood]

Curm, ran the boat for a couple seasons, probably could have gotten it for less but really wanted to be moving forward. Didn't see any point in beating myself up over it. Hell I was in a Grady, life is good.

More on the other upgrades coming soon.

 

[cdwood]

Alright now, went to the trouble to get her in the garage, now what?

Knew the gas tank was probably original. Pulled the tank and found just what everybody here said I'd find. Corrosion at all the points of contact with the neoprene cushioning. Not something to mess with, just get a new tank.

What a pain to get the old tank out, had to cut out 2 inches of floor in the back just to get it to lift straight up.

With the tank out decided all exposed wood needed to be addressed.
The vertical 2x's replaced with new pieces, triple coated with epoxy.

The original support 2x's were a pretty complex cut but still in excellent shape so they got sanded and triple coated as well.

Next pics show the wood back in place and the starboard on top of the support 2x's on the bottom of the tank

Can't seem to find a shot of the tank in place but you get the picture.

Next is the tank hatch recoring. Pretty straight forward stuff here with some good advice from a former poster regarding cuts around the screw holes and filling with epoxy to prevent water intrusion into the new wood.

Next post will cover electrical upgrades and instrument panel replacement.[/img]

 

[gw204]

Nice job!

What the story behind that Black Max? Cool engine. I used to have one on my old 204. Very fuel efficient for a 1985 carbed engine.

 

[richie rich]

CD...nice work....question....why did you decide to use starboard under the tanks on top of the support stringers? Are you glueing rubber or vinyl strips to the tank to absorb any shock load?

 

[cdwood]

GW, engine siezed, knew I wanted something fresher, tried to part it out but no takers. Pulled the lower unit and cowlings, junkman got the rest.

richie, felt starboard would be a better cushion for a number of reasons,

it's fairly soft but firm and should'nt trap water against the tank.

No other material between that and the tank.

 

[richie rich]

CD,

just a couple of thoughts before you close the hatches on this job.

The 2 main reasons why your tank wore out was moisture between the rubber and the tank and friction between the rubber and the tank.

Since rubber gives and forms a tighter seal than starboard, you will still get moisture inbetween the tank and startboard which is even less intimate to each other so you really haven't eliminated that problem.

Secondly, since the tank will lay right on top of the starboard, and will jockey around when pounding the waves, the friction between the tank and now starboard has not been eliminated......so in reality, you haven't removed the cause of failure from the previous time. Also, it looks like you screwed the starboard into the wood because epoxy won't stick to it...aren't you worried that the screws may back out over time and dig into the tank?

One of the other guys on the forum posted some pics of his gas tank replacement and he showed what most folks do today to remedy the initial problem. He glued the rubber or vinyl strips to the tank with 5200, especially around the perimeter of the rubber. This way, no moisture can get between the rubber and tank....problem 1 solved, and since the rubber is now part of the tank...the movement below deck will cause the friction to move between the rubber and your wooden stringer, not the tank....problem 2 solved.

The Starboard may be soft in terms of drilling and screwing into, but its not very close to what rubber can do as far as absorbing shock load.....I'd like to hear what other guys have done with their tanks to see if this makes sense.....you did such a nice job on the rebuild, I'd hate to hear you have a gas leak a few years down the road......JMO

 

[cdwood]

richie, put the starboard against the tank hoping that since it does'nt absorb any moisture that none would be held against the tank for any length of time. The screws thru the starboard were embedded in 5200 to seal the holes and hopefully to keep them from backing out. Also, when the tank went in it was so tight that I can't imagine there being any significant movement even when full.

Pretty sure the old tank suffered mostly from the corrosion issue which is why I wanted to get away from any rubber like products against the tank.

As far as glueing plastic to the tank my concern there was that the bond is only as strong as the paint on the tank. Felt there might be a possibility of that letting go.

Appreciate the feedback tho... it's all good.