Looking good. Sea Ray should hire you!
I'll second that! Thanks for the info!
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Looking good. Sea Ray should hire you!
:thumbsup:This came in via private mail and I thought it should be shared to all:
My reply to Bob's question below
Bob:
Thanks for the kind words regarding my project. I am a project guy and this is just one of my many projects I have gotten myself into in my life.
If you have water under your water tank then you have a leak somewhere. Likely places are windshield front stbd corner where wires lead in to cabin, side windows (they are leaking - trust me), horn mount, rub rail (source of leaks through the screw holes) and the air conditioner condensate pan. There is no secondary condensate drain and it just drains in to the bilge. Could be leaking galley sink drain or plumbing. How about the shower drain? Mine was leaking big time right in to the bilge port of the stringer. The anchor rope compartment leaks from the capstan and searchlight. Water then rots out the bulkhead and flows through the storage compartment and in to the bilge. It should not be damp in this compartment. Check the drain under the little hatch.
If you have water under the tank you may have water in the foam filled compartment below and that is very bad because your stringers may be rotting. I would cut some access ports and have a look. Fresh water is the absolute worst for rotting wood. You need to remove the tank and figure out what is going on underneath.
If you want ten times more work than replacing the side windows with my system then by all means glass them in. That is a whopper of a project. What are you going to do on the inside? Gonna look pretty weird. Me, I like to see out and not live in a cave. At the very least you have to remove the side windows and frames. The frames were siliconed in and silicone is a terrible sealant. Clean up the frames of all old silicone down to bare metal. Clean the fiberglass of all silicone using scotch brite pads and mineral spirits. Seal them back in with 3M 4000UV. If you can let the openings dry out for several days with fan blowing. (Big Tarp over boat). Fill in any rotted areas with rot stop epoxy that will harden when damp.
When reinstalling the frames make sure all the screws are bedded in 4000UV too. You will probably find some screws with rotted wood below. Not a big deal as the 4000UV is really tenacious stuff and the frames will never leak again.
If you don't want to fool with the new acrylic and rubber gasket system then fill the openings in the frames with 5200 series aluminum, .090" thick. Use a 4-40 flat head SS screw every 12" and lots of 4000UV sealant like I did in the forward window. That way the next guy who gets the boat can put the windows in if he chooses.
If you don't mind I am going to post this on my CSR thread so others can learn.
Al
On 5/27/2012 10:38 AM, bob wrote: Good Morning Al,
My name is Bob Wood and I live in Delaware and boat on the Chesapeake Bay Near Annapolis and Baltimore areas.
I have been watching your restoration on but CSR and your own stroboflash page. I continue to be amazed at the scope of the work you have tackled. I have the same model Sea ray only in the 1989 version. As you know, not much changed over those two years so it's very helpful to me to see "inside" your boat. I've owned mine for three years and have been working on many small projects and I'm finally getting caught up on the deferred maintenance. While I have not faced most of the issues you have, I have had to deal with leaking stanchions, water under the freshwater tank ( still not exactly sure where that's coming from since I've pressure tested my water tank and it's sound ) and various other nagging little issues. However, I'll need to do something in the near future with the windows and windshield frame, etc.
I was wondering if when you considered the side window work did you consider removing them entirely and just glassing in the openings or even perhaps some other form of window? My windows don't leak yet but the seals are in bad shape. I have all the Taylor rubber parts for all the aluminum frames, both glass seals and screw covers and all my glass is in good shape. The previous owner purchased all the seals and I assume just realized the scope of the work and bailed on the project. This year I've moved into a covered slip so leaking isn't a serious problem for now. I may tackle this project next winter but I really was just wondering what your thoughts were on the idea of eliminating the windows entirely.
I am impressed with your eagerness to tackle this project and willingness to share your experiences. I also inherited a boat from my father that I restored and it's one of my most treasured possessions. I hope you have enjoyed the work you've done and get many many years of boating enjoyment from it.
Bob Wood
Were do I get the screw covers from? 8338990 taylor Made, I believe is the part number.
I've been using these ProMariner 20 chargers on two of my boats. I use Odessey AGM 2150 200ah batteries (2 on each boat) and these chargers bring them back from nearly door nail dead in a couple hours. The charger runs very hot but the entire board is potted in epoxy so it stands to reason (no air cooling). I'm very impressed with the case and potting :grin: I wish my ECU box was that well sealed, it looks like it would work under water. I blew one of these chargers switching batteries by accidentally striking the leads to the charger together. Apparently some big caps inside shorted enough current to destroy the charger. The new ones have fuses on both pos and neg leads to prevent this.
http://www.amazon.com/ProMariner-amp-ProSport-Battery-Charger/dp/B001BSRLQ6
-BL