1978 SRV-260 need hull/transom structure details for rebuild...

[White90GT]

The tank has holes in it and I'm hoping to have a friend who does aluminum welding build me another or rebuild this one if necessary. I just don't want to cut it up so I can use it as a template for the new tank.

I've watched every single one of Jay aka FriscoBoater's videos. After I finish this boat I may haul it up to his lake and bring him a case of beer. I think Coors is his beer of choice from the videos.

Now back to removing the entire engine bay deck cover?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Do you have some better pictures of the area that you're talking about possibly having to remove?

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I've been down this road before. There's going to more holes - at least weak spots - it's very unlikely that the tank is going to be worth trying to save. Gas tanks are NOT an area you want to take shortcuts on or try to put a bandaid on - safety needs to be the #1 consideration. And... a good welder won't need the tank intact to make a new one. In fact, he would really only need measurements. Keep in mind what I said above about how it should be done so you do it better than it was 40 years ago.

 

[White90GT]

Well, where I left off I had the fuel tank at a point where I thought I could just grab it with the front end loader and pull it out...nope, not happening. I couldn't get it out of the engine bay hole. It was wedged hitting the front and rear of the opening. I ended up notching the rear of the opening as it looked like it would be easy enough to rebuild. I got it loose enough to get above the engine bay hole, then it become wedged between the front of the engine bay opening and the rear wall/rail and I'm not cutting that area. So that brings us to today. I looked further into the deck that is just above the engine bay and determined it is a separate piece from the front deck and I needed to remove that. Not just to get the tank out, but to get a new one piece transom in. No way the transom was going just through the engine bay hole.

So I dug in today finding the support rails on port and starboard sides that are fiberglassed to the sides of the hull and found that it looked like it was just resting on those, but had glue/glass on the sides which held it in place. So I whipped out the Dewalt 4" grinder and went to town on the port side between the deck and the side of the hull. There was close to a 1/2" gap there that was filled with glue/epoxy. The 4" disc without the guard on was just large enough to cut through the epoxy and I'm able to lift the deck up on that side about a 1/2"-1" at this point at the front, still something holding it and I haven't gone to cutting on the other side or the rear yet.

It started getting dark, so I spent a little time wrestling with the fuel tank by hand and it wasn't as heavy as I thought. Still probably 70-80 lbs, but I was able to pry up from the bottom to get it raised in the front enough that it opened up the gap at the rear enough to clear the wall/rail/gunnel (is gunnel the proper term for the sides of the boat from the deck up to the top of the sides)? So now the tank is completely loose and out of its coffin. Just too heavy for me to completely lift up over the gunwale and throw out of the boat. That's where I stopped for the evening. Enjoy the pics below:

A shot from the rear of the rear deck area above the engine bay with the fuel tank cocked and wedged...


Port side look at the raised lip of the engine bay cover...


Starboard side look at the raised lip...


This is the front of the raised lip with a Teak facia board removed. Surely SeaRay didn't put this together with scraps of wood like that? Looks like someone else tried to reinforce it or something???


Overview shot of the lip of the engine bay deck cover...


This is the port side a closer look at how the deck is mated to the hull...


A shot just below the above so you can see whats underneath...


A shot of the bulkheads around the fuel tank aka the fuel tank coffin now that its removed...


The fuel tank standing up against the starboard side of the engine bay opening...


Specs on the fuel tank...

 

[White90GT]

Well, tank is completely out. Foam from around the tank has been removed from the coffin. Removed the fiberglass skin from the sides of the coffin to see how far the rot goes. Unfortunately for me it looks like there is rot extending into the cabin. Once I started cutting the forward bulkhead out that is in front of the tank, I started stabbing into the sole/floor between the fiberglass layers and it looks like some of that is wet. Then I drilled another couple of core samples on the port side under the stairwell just forward of the tank bulkheads and found wetness there. The samples I had drilled up in the front under the benches both port and startboard had looked good, but not far back from there it looks wet.

I looked at what it would take to pull the shower stall out and it looks like the entire helm has to come out. It is a separate piece and looks like it is just screwed in, but it is pretty big. Kind of like a van, there is a big area in the middle that gives you head room for sitting up in the aft birth. That big center piece is all part of the entire helm. So I have to make a decision at how much further I want to take this. Right now I have basically zero dollars in it aside from a few sawblades for the sawzall and my own time/labor of deconstruction.

I sent another text message to the guy with the other sedan bridge boat thats here in my neighborhood, but he still hasn't responded. I guess I'm just going to have to stalk him and drive by his house a couple times a day to try and catch him home. I don't really like the sedan bridge style for a family cruiser boat, but if the hull and structure is all good in that boat, its the only one I've found in Texas that has the exact same twin motors in it.

Here are a couple of pics after the tank was removed.

The coffin looking into the cabin/bow...



The starboard side stringer/tank bulkhead...


Port side stringer/bulkhead...

 

[Lazy Daze]

That's too bad, Carl. While anything can be fixed with enough time and money, I think the final nail has been put in the coffin on this one. Strip it for whatever items you anticipate being valuable and haul it away. Window frames, bow rail, all the teak... for example. It could be worth something to you or to someone else down the road and maybe you can at least make a few bucks to compensate you for your time and effort.