268DA owners

[Getaway]

Has it ever bothered you guys that the huge engine cover flexes when you walk across it?

Short of glassing some supports to the underside of the engine hatch, have any of you done any additional supporting to minimize the flexing? I was almost thinking of some nylon bumpers maybe glued to the top of the exhaust manifolds (just thinking out loud here).

Also, It bugs me that sometimes it cracks and creeks where the edges dig into the trough where the cover seats. Have any of you put some molding around the cover to quiet it up?

Thanks for the input!
Bob

 

[JohnGordon]

Mine doesn't flex at all.

I put some rubber weather stripping around the edges and it made a bit cushion for the cover. It lays right on the lip when the cover is closed. It killed me seeing the amount of gel coat that was getting worn away from the cover grinding. The other benefit of the weather stripping is that it really cut down the noise. I have the access cover for the fuel tank off right now and I am going to put the weather stripping around that too.

John

 

[BlewByYou88]

Not to judge, but are you a big guy? Mine dosnt flex either.

 

[88dancer300]

I also used a rubber weather strip on mine. But the strength of the floor in my dingy concernes me !

 

[1956olds]

mine have carpet strips around the inside of the floor panels,they flex a little but i am not too worried about it.

 

[Getaway]

LOL! The SS Fat guy is awesome!

I'm 6'4", 200lbs, so I'm not a chunky munky, but I'm not little by no means.

It does not flex much, just a little. Maybe if I put the weather striping down, it will make things much better. Now that I think of it, the flexing is more after the hatch has been off for a while. After it has been back on, it seems to have formed it's way back to the original shape. My hatch was off the boat since around October as we reconstructed the transom and stringers.

 

[popeye]

I am 6-0 and weigh 210. Never noticed any flexing....?? Just lucky I guess...

 

[Overpowered]

im 6'1" 210lbs and my engine hatch with 2 people on it does not flex at all

 

[Getaway]

Really? I would have thought they all flexed some. That is a huge span across the engine room and it is tough to support that large of an area without having some flex.

I'm surprised nobody else has complained about this. I'll do more investigating. Maybe my underside supports have loosened up some.

 

[yankytuna]

I'm 6'1" 225, I've never seen any flexing out of the engine cover. I wonder if it's become delaminated or water got in and has maybe rotted the support?

 

[yankytuna]

I have found that over the years of anti-fouling paint being put on coat over coat that the boat has started to weigh way too much. I weighed mine with empty tanks and was shocked at the weight. It was supposed to weigh 5800 with full tanks. I found 8 different coats of paint on the hull. Trying to get that stuff off has been fun.. I have a single 260 Merc with alpha drive.

 

[AntVinTas]

Yankytuna,
I noticed that also, when my boat was put on land for the winter. I'm the second owner, and while the the original owner kept everything in near-mint condition, he just re-painted the hull year after year.
I had the marina sand blast the bottom, man it looked smooth after that and what a difference in the performance the following season!
Actually, I believe it was soda blasted.

Well worth the cost!!

 

[yankytuna]

did you have to repaint the hull after it was soda blasted?

 

[yankytuna]

I found that the anti fouling paint weighs 35# per gallon. It wouldn't take much to add a lot of weight to the bottom of the hull. I heard that easy off oven cleaner works. Well it does but not well. I'm trying to try some of the swtuff from west marine that suposedly removes multi layes of bottom paint. Anybody used the stuff?

 

[AntVinTas]

Yes, it was re-painted. She stays in all season long. If I kept the boat on a lift, I wouldnt have, but since she soaks in salt water for 8 months.....better safe than sorry....

 

[KayKook]

No flex here that I have noticed in my short ownership time.