Mike's 77 22-2 Rebuild

[RickK]

Just getting you thinking about it in advance - it's real hard after the fact

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Next up will be building bulkheads and rigging tubes and anything else that needs to be done before I close it all up so I started planning the deck layout the other day to get ready for it. I dropped in the melamine sheet that I used to clamp up the transom and set in the console, livewell, gas tank, a cooler, and a fan that is about the same depth as a leaning post to get a feel for it all.







I also sketched it out once I got everything where I think it will work well. It should be to scale lengthwise (each line is approx 1 ft) but not quite side to side. I set the tank to the side on the sketch because it will be partially under the console. I'm planning to put an access hatch under there so I can get to the sending unit if needed. I'm also debating whether I should make a large semi-permanent hatch in case I ever need to remove the entire tank.



I am thinking this layout should give me plenty of room to walk around everything and keeps the tank slightly forward of center. If anyone has any thoughts I'm open to them.

[RickK]

Adding a tank hatch is a Chevy/Ford thing. I wasn't going to have one but was persuaded to add one.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

I was talking with my dad again tonight, (who always seems to have the best ideas) and I think a good compromise may be to plan out where a hatch would be and tape off those lines in the non skid. Then I don't have to worry about keeping it sealed and if I ever do need to remove it, I know exactly where to cut.

[theFunsmith]

I took good dimensions of the tank area, in case it does ever need to be cut out. With access plates over the plumbing, and sender unit, the only reason I would need to access the poly tank is a total tank failure like a rupture, which I am hoping never occurs.

[RickK]

Sounds like a plan.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Hoping to get back to it after being out of town last week. I also had a workshop set up in the backyard so I have a place to work on things outside of the boat. I'm pretty excited about that!

So now my question is, do I need to make a new coffin for the fuel tank or can I just add supports to the bottom for it to rest on? It seems like that would be the most logical next step before moving on to the bulkheads, rigging tubes and floor layout.

[RickK]

If you want to contain any fuel leaks, then a coffin would make sense, otherwise do what you want.  I split 3" PVC in half, kinda, and rested my tank on three of the halves and put bulkheads fore and aft.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Ok cool. Containing leaks was about the only consensus I could find while searching. I'll look into the PVC pipe as well. Cheaper than buying a sheet of PVC board. Thanks!

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Not being able to work on the boat for the past few weeks got me a little antcy, and I wanted to do something to give me a sense of accomplishment so I started cutting out the floor panels. I also wanted to get an idea of how much scrap Coosa I will have for bulkheads, etc so it worked out.

I thought about it for a bit and decided a good way to get accurate measurements would be to tape a sharpie to a straight 2x4, lay it across the stringers and then trace a line around the inside of the hull.



I then marked it every 6 inches which I could use to get a set of measurements that would be easy to translate to a board in the shop.

I got the first one cut tonight and it laid right down in place with only a tiny bit of trimming with the Dremel.



Hopefully I can get the rest cut and put a layer of glass on them this weekend. That raw Coosa is some itchy stuff!

[perchman97]

mike,

What’s the deal with that center stringer/keel? Mines rotted out and not sure if it’s worth cutting it out completely or glassing it back over with new core. I also have 4” wide x 1-2” plywood running down both sides of it glassed in. Don’t want to add extra weight and spend my time doing something that equates to nothing structural or needed. Let me know

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Hey Perchman. I just cut the top of it off while I was doing the other stringers and dug the wood out. It was pretty much completely rotted out so it only took a few mins. I've seen where some people just remove it completely but I didn't feel like grinding it out so I just refilled it with some 4 lb foam and glassed it back over.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Got all the floor panels cut to size and cleaned up with the sander over the weekend. I found them at marine surplus for a great price but most of them had some remnants of paper and mat stuck to them that needed to be taken care of. (You can see it in the last picture) A little bit of dust later and they are all good as new. 

I started glassing them up Sunday night and they are turning out nicely. I was thinking about doing one layer of 1708 on the bottom and one on the top for now and then adding another layer across all of them once they are in the boat. Thoughts?

I'm also loving the new workshop I had set up. It's so nice to have a dedicated place to work that you can just walk away from at night without having to lug everything back inside.

[mshugg]

You sound like you’re on track with 1 layer on the bottom and an eventual 2 layers on top.  That’s what I did on mine and it’s solid.  The only downside to applying the final layer as a separate step is extra sanding between applications.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

True, I didn't consider that. Looks like I'll have a little more sanding in my future. What's a few more hours at this point, right?