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"My Girl's" Refit
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/20/08 - 6:50 PM
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Hello Guys,
I took the time today to work exclusively on my preferred project.I took the console off and came to the conclusion that it never did have a grab rail installed due to the fact that is doesn't have the fastener holes that would have been there if included.
I carefully removed it and placed it up front.You will notice the carefully laid wires to the starboard side.
Take a look at My Girls Refit Project Gallery Album
Now if your eye follows the wires and can see close to the starboard bow side a DRAIN that is plugged. I've tried to vacuum it, put a wire through it and didn't get it to exit.
I wonder where this thing drains?Have you ever seen anything like this before?
now at the bottom of the wire tunnel entry point I have seen another drain that again seems to be going in a mysterious direction..Does that look familiar to you?
I am wondering if those entry point for water could possibly be draining in the gas tank cavity berth?
(Removed dead link to photo)
"The jig is up" I have carefully removed the seal surrounding the gas tank hatch and all stainless fasteners.I've left a bit of skin on that nonslip surface until I got wise enough to put a rag below my hands when forcing the sealant out.I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tank had been recently replaced with a new unit and that the top hatch cover was also replaced and in perfect condition.
The foam surrounding the tank is saturated with fresh water, and yes I did taste it to be sure.So the fluid had to come from topside.
I am wondering about taking the tank out next to be sure all water is removed.Those drains are really on my mind as I have the nasty suspicion that they may be draining in the tank cavity..I am studying on how to proceed at both starboard drains solutions as there doesn't seem to be any point of entry to have a look and see unless I was to cut the deck where they are located.Where do they drain? Have you been there before? 
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/24...319gf3.jpg
Edited by Joe Kriz on 05/04/09 - 5:17 PM
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/21/08 - 5:46 PM
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Wow,
This is obviously quite the puzzler as a lot of you guys are looking but no one has any answers as yet..
I have crawled through those orifices again and yes they are drains without brass rings atop.I can clearly see a factory installed (how else) 90' copper elbow pointing toward the stern area.By chance someone may have this "option" on their decks for the 1975 models..
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/21/08 - 10:40 PM
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Monday Jul 21,
Today was a reasonably good day.
I worked at removing the minimal amount of foam surrounding the gas tank.At first I used a two inch wide metal putty knife and cut to the dept of the blade the foam around the fiberglass rectangular structure housing the tank.Next I used a small 1.5' cut off saw and carefully made my way again on the outer perimeter of the glass enclosure.I then carefully cut the foam against the metal structure of the tank itself.
Next I removed the foam two inches at a time with a larger flat head screwdriver.I did leave the stern section alone as it was too hard to get at.
I then put a visegrip on the protruding welded metal tab midship to the unit and reefed.T he tank came out effortlessly and was removed from the berth.
The sheet of soft underlay was next removed to see about 1.5 gal of water just laying there.The rectangular figerglass berth was found to be sound and TOTALLY independently sealed from the rest of the boat sections. A welcomed sight.
I have made some headway in solving my two starboard deck drains as I found them to be connected by an underdeck tunnel. More on that later.
Serge.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/83...325ga4.jpg
Edited by Joe Kriz on 11/11/08 - 5:43 PM
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| sraab928 |
Posted on 07/22/08 - 3:04 PM
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Serge, its looking good -
I pulled my console today and took a picture for you... here is what mine looks like - as you can see - no hole.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v47...081632.jpg
Edited by Joe Kriz on 11/11/08 - 5:43 PM
Scott
1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8 |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/22/08 - 4:07 PM
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You are right Scott,
Thank you for having taken the trouble to look on my behalf..
I have figured out that someone with some know how of the under deck configuration (factory or not) did install these two drains.
I have proven last night after a lot of digging with a stiff coat hanger and my shop vac that these two orifices were connected by an under deck tunnel.
I have put the vacuum hose to the one and got suction to the other. Ahem!!
After having squinted for a moment or two, I've figured out that the theory in this installation is;
When water does swamp the bow/front deck section, this drain will channel water from the front section through the underdeck??? tunnel and exit this water into the splash well cable entry to the round conduct that leads strenwise.
The question for me is.
Is this under deck front tunnel waterproof?
Is there a possibility that water can or has seeped from there and lower sections?
Has anyone opened up these front starboard decking areas before and seen the configurations of materials?
I had an eye opener upon being contacted by a very fine shipwright having done some work on these models..I have not heard from him again..We can view his experiences at http://www.hatterasgear.com/73outrage.html .Wish that he was around to give me a look and see.
More to come later.
Serge.
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And dont give up.. |
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| sraab928 |
Posted on 07/23/08 - 4:48 AM
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Check out Rob's (blue_northern) thread on low profile outrage conversion - he has his whole floor up right now...
Robs Outrage thread
Scott
1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8 |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/23/08 - 11:59 AM
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Hello Scott,
Thanks a bunch for thinking of me and my ongoing questions..
From what I could see from the vantage point of the open deck photo, the "tunnel" joining my two drains goes underneath the exposed area from Rob's decking..It seems to possibly go underneath the plywood section seen at left by the well.Hummm..
I sense that I am getting closer to the answer.
Thanks again Scott.
Serge.
Dont lie
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And dont give up.. |
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| Blue_Northern |
Posted on 07/23/08 - 4:07 PM
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Serge,
I got your PM and will be glad to help the best I can. I do not have a drain in either of the locations you have in the front or under the console. That is all new to me. The most intriguing part of yours is that there is no access to the area under the deck without cutting it up. That should result in some type of cosmetic scar around the area. Anytime you have an opening through the hull surface it is capable of allowing water into the boat. I must say I have looked a quite a few of these models and yours is the first to have this "option".
Rob
1973 Outrage/Lo-Pro Conversion |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/23/08 - 11:19 PM
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Hello Rob,
Yes, You are right,
I have found this drain installations to be very intriguing indeed.
I have had a good long look at your ongoing restoration and am pleased that you are "doing it right".
I wonder if ; since you have the decking removed on your project, You could carefully ascertain as to what lay beneath the plywood board just ahead of the cable splash well..
I have a feeling that there may be a tunnel of some sort. I think that someone had to be pretty well versed in the blueprinting ( and probably had them)of these sections in order to install the drains.My point is; prior to closing these holes, I would like to have a pretty good idea that no water had gone below..I wish that I was there looking at your unit with the decking off.Would you know what lays beneath the exposed section?Without going at with a chainsaw that is.
More tomorrow.
Dont lie
Dont Cheat
And dont give up.. |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/24/08 - 9:09 PM
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Thursday the 24th July.
Another good day as I did manage to do a bit more on my project.
The gas tank was dried and inspected.This replacement tank was installed about ten years ago The bare aluminum showed some a certain amount of pitting but nothing more then 20% of thickness..
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/39...327mk5.jpg
I did give it two coats of primer and four coats of good "signal red"marine enamel that I had left over from previous projects. I can say that I will always smile when thinking at my tank below deck painted with my lucky color..
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/8610...331rn2.jpg
After carefully inspecting the stern I could see that the bottom drain plug hole inside wooden structure was permanently wet..I did cleaned up and soaked the blackish residue with a rag and cleaned the hole with a round steel brush from my tool crib.
The wetness kept coming back and seeping on the inside wood..
I decided to drill a pilot hole on the center of the stern live bait well and was glad to see dry white foam from the 1/2" bit.
I then fished a length of clear tubing coupled to my shop vac .Nothing at first but when hitting the bottom of the lower glass, I began to see water been sucked out but only intermittently..
I then decided to drill another hole at the bottom on the keel as far back as safely possible. Drips but no steady flow of water showing.
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/21...328uu5.jpg
To assess the extent of the water invasion, I did cut out a 14" square floor section out
of the aft gas tank berth section and was rewarded with the fact that this area's foam is absolutely bone dry and pristine white.Except for the brown resin atop of it that is.
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/86...330aa4.jpg
I did slice a small square piece of foam to the bottom to assess any degree of water content and was happy to see total dryness..Makes this kind of intrusion very worth while one way or the other when you really think about it doesn't it?
I am happy to say that I have refiberglassed the section to my satisfaction today.
On to the next challenge.
Edited by Joe Kriz on 12/01/08 - 12:03 PM
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| sraab928 |
Posted on 07/25/08 - 4:20 AM
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Keep up the great work Serge! Glad to see you foam looks so good!
Scott
1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8 |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/25/08 - 1:28 PM
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Thank's Scott,
I'm keeping a very close eye on Rob's and Your projects.
After all, don't we all have the same models?
Back to work.
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And dont give up.. |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/25/08 - 10:25 PM
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Friday July 25 08.
The floor section on the tank berth has been re fiberglassed to my satisfaction.
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/32...332lc2.jpg
After having measured six cups of water from drippings in the past three days, I decided to fully assess the extent of the water logged foam areas.
The logic being that where there is that amount of water dripping theres bound to be more somewhere.
The next step was to trace the cutting path with my fateful thin disc cutting blade.
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/42...333qq1.jpg
The glass section was easily taken out and was found to be somehow cracked to the right. I will be re enforcing this area with glass.
After removing the panel I was again pleasantly surprised to find the foam mostly dried and unsaturated.I removed an eight by eight section to the glass and waited to see what was to be next.
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/7258...334ji3.jpg
I did sliced in the foam as you would in a cake to see the degree of saturation. As you can see not a heck of a lot there.
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/90...335np1.jpg
Fifteen minutes gone by in grinding the sides of the cut out piece, I came back to the stern to see some water oozing from the right side of the exposed foam area.I brought my attention to the right side of the stern and assessed to water to be coming from the transom itself..on the right side that is.
I did inspect every fastener and decided that all will be resealed just to be on the safe side. I zeroed on the aft starboard side and gathered that most of the intrusion had to be coming from this "wound".It will be carefully repaired.
http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/44...336sd5.jpg
I have as you can see already dremelled some of the spider cracks from my transom.This will also be addressed in due time.
A very good day.
Edited by Joe Kriz on 12/01/08 - 12:05 PM
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| sraab928 |
Posted on 07/26/08 - 4:51 AM
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You are really moving on your project - at this rate by the time I get back from Florida you will be done!
Scott
1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8 |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/26/08 - 6:42 AM
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There is hundred of work hours to be done on this unit.
It just happen that I am on vacation and that I am having fun working on her.
A note of caution tough, grinding off gel coat is a messy business.Not to be attempted without proper safety equipment.The dust is pretty hard on the eyes if not completely covered by goggles.
I am debating on what to do with the decking.The molded non slip on the tank cover is an issue that will have to be addressed.Too many nooks and crannies.I am looking.Plenty to work on. I did picked up the bow railings from Joe.He will be shipping them next week..
Have a great Vacation.
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Dont Cheat
And dont give up.. |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/28/08 - 9:18 AM
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A very busy week end,
First off, It is good to see that no more water ie seen dripping from the stern area.
Nothing is showing up oozing out of the glass/foam exposed sections.
I have also addressed the gaping wound on the starboard stern section
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/27...337xi9.jpg
It is still to be finished today.
The port section had to be seriously worked on today as previous repairs involved some glass spacer having been set in place between the cap and the hull and fastened with screws..I think that I used most of my cutting tools for this one.Had to go from the inside cap areas..
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/80...338ew7.jpg
I have also as you can see sanded down some stern sections with a DA sander with an 80 grit paper.
More to come later.
Edited by Joe Kriz on 12/01/08 - 12:06 PM
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| Blue_Northern |
Posted on 07/28/08 - 11:18 AM
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Serge - I worked on mine this weekend also. I looked at the area you had mentioned in front of the cable port and there is nothing but foam in mine. I have no idea how you got a drain fixture in yours. ???? Keep the info and pics coming as Scott and I are following your progress.
Rob
1973 Outrage/Lo-Pro Conversion |
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 07/29/08 - 9:25 PM
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Tuesday July 29th.
An interesting day as I worked with a truly cloudy condition hoping that it would not turn to rain..I was lucky enough to be able to progress a bit more.
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/19...341tx9.jpg
I did some cosmetic touch ups to the starboard stern area.I am not totally displeased with the results.I filled several holes dotting the transom and did more sanding to the area.It is to be noted that since I did isolate any rain water from getting to the repaired area; the exposed fish box area has been bone dry..All cubic slices of foam were neatly replaced in the right order and generously dabbed with a top layer of resin before resetting the panel in place.
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/71...340mq7.jpg
The area was carefully resealed using cloth and several layers of resin.I was also glad to re enforce the cracked section before reassembling.
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/60...339cs8.jpg
While this was setting, I did concentrate in phase one for the port stern section.
I repositioned the aluminum bracket holding the cap to the hull and reglassed the joining sections.Tomorrow if the weather holds, should see this section been dressed up and ready for the eventual gel coating.
Later.
Edited by Joe Kriz on 12/01/08 - 12:07 PM
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| ritzyrags |
Posted on 08/03/08 - 7:13 PM
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Sunday, Aug 3
I was sanding the cap again today and the glass is mostly sound.
I came upon one of the reasons as to why my unit is showing vertical stress cracks on both gunwale sides.
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9620/olympusphotos345nt9.jpg
I did found that at the forward quarter bow section on each sides, the plywood inner inlay had a junction to the next front pieces and had through time become some how loose; thus allowing a certain amount of "flex" to the quarter bow section.This unsupported flex being absorbed by the gunwale cap sections showed to have it's toll on the gellcoat structures.Hey, maybe just one of the factors involved here but, what the hay; made it worthy of mention anyway.
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/5159/olympusphotos347hd0.jpg
I did dremelled the cracks and filled them with resin and vinyl ester 3M filler.
I am presently re fiberglassing the front under gunwale sections with cloth and resin.
The port stern section repairs are being addressed with the same resin and 48 hrs later the 3M filler.
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/4769/olympusphotos349tc2.jpg
While these sections are settling I have been sanding my starboard section to a nice mat finish.
I will thank all of you guys for helping me with you advices and positive remarks.Thanks for the valuable inputs!
Edited by Joe Kriz on 12/01/08 - 12:08 PM
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| sraab928 |
Posted on 08/04/08 - 4:36 AM
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Looking great Serge! Check my post out - I did update it with a few things I did before I left... As you know Im away for 3 weeks but do have Internet access.... I will be keeping track of your progress... so no slacking!!!
The areas you have dremelled out.... when you fill them and sand them do they feel smooth? I would think you have to get them perfectly level or it will show through the new Gel or Awlgrip.
Keep up the strong work my friend!
Scott
1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8 |
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