[bill.deweese]

Paul,

Bear with me as I am trying my first picture attached to the post (thanks for the assist ShabahZ250!)

This is the not-so-glossy-brochure view of the mounting from my re-deck project last Spring. As I circled on the left and right seat, the metal plate is sandwiched to layers of plywood and laminate and the whole thing rests on the top of the stringers. As indicated the all the voids are filled with floatation foam. So nothing is going to fall.

Mine is 1996 and I am not sure if it was age or salt water boating, however I lost a few bolts when they came out as it took a lot of force to unscrew them. Just make sure that you use the same length screw for depth of penetration. ;o)

We just took measurements from two screw holes from each mount from a fixed location and then after the carpet was in place put each pedestal back in place.

Since there was a post worrying about puncturing a fuel tank. I thought I would give a visual of the compartment and the "plastic" tank. The tank in my configuration is 35 gallons.

The only sad thing is that I never took any pics of the finished project. It looks nice though. I will get some pics in the gallery as soon as I can get some time with the boat.

By the way, I mentioned getting good marine carpet from Lowes... I was there last night and I re-found the swatches. The company that this comes from is Lancer Enterprises in Dalton Georgia (http://www.lancerent.com/). I remembered that it had a Knight or horse on the logo.


Thanks,

Bill DeWeese

[WetWilly]

Hi Bill,

Great post!

I really like the pictures, it's not often you get to see what's underneath the deck!

I'm especially curious about the middle picture, I am assuming what looks like a center spar running under the fuel tank is really the water drain tunnel to the bilge, is this correct and how does the water drain from the tank chamber itself?

Can't wait for your "after" pictures!

Thanks,
WetWilly

P.S. Thanks for the update on the carpet too.

[Paul F]

Thanks, Wet Willy!

Your response may allow me to do something that I had been thinking about the last few years.

I've been considering trying to find different pedestals that would allow my front seats to sit 3 to 6 inches higher. Looks like if I can find one that matches the bolt pattern in the floor, I may be able to do it.

Any suggestions on finding them?

Paul

[bill.deweese]

WetWilly,

Here is a view toward the rear bilge. The middle spar is a channel for bilge to run aft and pass through the mouse holes in the center of the bulkheads at the rear of the ski locker and the rear of the fuel compartment. Actually unlike the ski locker that is all laminate build-ups, the fuel tank is cored. The two flanking "pillows" or "panels" that run along the sides of the fuel compartment , left and right of the center channel. So the fuel tank rests on those and that leaves about a 2" round channel from the ski locker back to the rear bilge. This coring was a plywood sandwich. The coring could have accomplished a dual purpose of raising the fuel tank up to allow the drainage channel and to protect the fuel tank from extreme impacts.

Notice that my two bulkheads *were* spliced. I was experiencing some delamination and some stress fractures along the stringers and these splices were coming unglued. Now I have double bulkheads with new bulkheads laminated to the existing ones and the stringers are all re-laminated. The ski locker and fuel compartment are all gel and web like the rear bilge so I don't have any yucky carpet in the ski area.

Note to self: Next time you buy a boat, even a sub-$10,000 deal, hire a surveyor. I never removed the carpet in the ski locker to examine the stringers. Actually, I could not figure why the guy was selling a $12,000 boat for $7,000. At the end of the day I have less than $10,000 into it, the hull/stringers/deck are all rebuilt and it runs wonderfully, so it is not all bad.


Thanks,

Bill DeWeese

[WetWilly]

Originally Posted by Paul F

Thanks, Wet Willy!

Your response may allow me to do something that I had been thinking about the last few years.

I've been considering trying to find different pedestals that would allow my front seats to sit 3 to 6 inches higher. Looks like if I can find one that matches the bolt pattern in the floor, I may be able to do it.

Any suggestions on finding them?

Paul

Hi Paul,

I would give West Marine or Boaters World a call, they have quite a selection of seat pedestals to choose from.

Here is the link to West Marine:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...&storeId=10001

Here is the link to boaters World:
http://www.boatersworld.com/seating-...ciseating-boat

Hopefully, they will have something to fit your needs!

I'll try to see if my pedestals have any manufacture sticker on them, never hurts to go OEM...

Good hunting,
WetWilly

[WetWilly]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the fast follow-up! The pictures are definitely worth a thousand words! They really put the hull structure into perspective and since I’m a kind of visual type of guy, I really appreciate them.

Wow, that’s a lot of work you’ve put into your hull! Now you've got me wondering about the condition of my stringers too... The good thing is, you’ve certainly made a stronger boat! I liked your idea of doubling up the bulkheads, bow riders need all the support they can get.

Did you do all this work yourself or did you have someone else do the repairs? I’m curious because I want to know if this is a project for the Do It Yourselfer or is it better left to the Pro’s? I’m still trying to find reliable repair faculties around my area as some of our projects are a little much for me now (the old body ain’t what it used to be…).

I’ll be waiting for those “finished” pictures of your interior!

Thanks,
WetWilly

[bill.deweese]

WetWilly,

I found the problem just as we kicked off a huge kitchen remodel. So I went to a local shop that was high-end and did primarily insurance damage work. When I got his estimate of $5,000, I freaked out and then I parked the boat for 9 months as my kitchen project did not leave any budget for the boat.

In the 9 months though, I geared up to do it myself. I read tons of books and figured out what needed to be done. The following spring a boating fiend turned me onto a retired fellow that worked doing hand lay-up for Monterrey boats. So we did the work together. I did the deck demo to get the best estimate of the work, he did the lay-up and then I put the boat back together and recarpeted it.

So, at the end of the day "we" did the work and I spent like $1,500.00 on it all.
I have some more home projects underway now and work has kept me off the water. I will unwrap my boat soon though and get some pictures on my gallery.

Thanks,

Bill DeWeese

[Tom]

The neck to our '94 Talari gas tank was cracked and now we're going to put the new tank in. I have removed the access panel near the engine and cut back the carpet where the plywood floor is. I have removed two screws that are near the engine that attached the lower plywood to the stringers. There are two floors, one on the stringers and another above that for which I can find no screws. It appears to be glued to the lower flooring and then caulked around the outside edges. I can't figure out where to go from here. I'd like to do this myself, but may have to resort to the local shop. HHHeeelllppp!

[Reed Hatch]

I can't fugure this out. I have a 1996 Z252 shabah. No carpet and a full removeable fiberglass floor. It has electric captain chairs that need to be removed but then you just unscrew the floor. the pictures I'm seeing don't look anything like mine. Let me know what's up. Thanks Reed PS By fiberglass I mean gel coat finish with a diamond type texture.

[zariah]

I have a 1993 20' Mariah, Bowrider and am installing a new pedestal seat. The former owner put in the back to back seats and left the old hole in the carpet where a pedestal must have been. I was thinking to install the new pedistal on top of my new carpet with #14 or #16 stainless screws (if I can find them) into the plywood. Good idea?
Zariah