Thanks guys!!
A new floor was already in the plan, but I was hoping to get at least one season of use before having to tackle that project.. Oh well, such is life with an old boat..
While the floor is out, I plan to correct a problem that was created when a factory Century swim platform was added after the boat was built.. This boat was originally equipped with only the standard transom ladder, the original owner took it back to the dealer after a year and had them install the factory swim platform.. In order to install the platform, they cut off the bottom rung of the transom ladder and sealed the holes in the transom.. Then they used a hole saw to cut a pair of round holes in the floor at the transom and dug out the foam underneath to be able to mount the outboard platform supports.. Unfortunately, they didn't cut any limber holes in the outboard stringers to allow any water that got in the hole they cut in the floor to be able to drain to the bilge.. I'm planning on removing the remnants of the transom ladder and leaving it off as it wasn't installed on boats that were ordered with the platform from the factory.. You can see the large round hole that was cut in the floor in the pic below..
100_2693
by
cc_john67
, on Flickr
The new floors will be stopped about six inches short of the transom and I'll glass in a stringer to support the end of the floor after cutting back the foam.. The outboard stringer will also get a limber hole cut so any water that enters that area can drain straight to the bilge.. Doing the floors this way will allow me to cut both rear sections from a single 4x8 sheet of 1/2" plywood, another half sheet will make the two forward sections.. The two sections of the floors meet at an existing glassed in support that is glassed in between the engine stringers and the chine on each side of the boat.. The new floors will be cut from 1/2" BC exterior plywood, fitted to the boat and soaked with as much CPES as they can absorb before being glassed in.. The outboard stringers are also going to get a heavy soaking with CPES before the new floor goes down to address the minor amount of rot in the parts just under the deck.. So far, all the test holes I've drilled show that only the top inch or so is affected and that is mostly in the back of the boat where the top of the stringers were exposed.. Where the stringers were covered by the floor, the mild steel staples Century used to fasten the floor to the stringers still have a solid grip and show no signs of water intrusion when pulled..
The new floors will be covered with a vinyl flooring material as I HATE carpet in small boats.. I'd love to install the old school Nautilux like was used in the cockpits of the old Chris Craft cruisers (looks like white planks w/caulked seams) but it's no longer available.. I'll probably end up using MariDeck vinyl from Overton's, I've sent off for a sample set so I can determine which color will go with the blue interior..
MariDeck Vinyl Floor Covering
Sabre,
The old 318 was leaking oil from nearly every seam, oil was dripping from the back of the starter from all the oil the flywheel was slinging around the bellhousing from the old leaky rope rear main seal.. The original cork end seals on the intake were virtually non-existant, along with the hardened, cork valve cover gaskets.. I've got a fix for the old Chrysler cast oil pan that will enable me to connect a pump and drain all the oil during an oil change.. Chrysler's marine pans don't have a dipstick tube that reaches the bottom of the pan like other marine engines do, and in this particular installation the installed angle of the engine has the drain plug at the highest point of the pan.. Once I get my "fix" installed I'll post up plenty of pics and a detailed writeup in the inboard forum..
As far as oil changing equipment.. I have the old Jabsco 12VDC reversible oil change pump that's mounted to a 5 gallon bucket, it makes short work of annual engine & transmission oil changes on my inboards.. It has enough capacity to drain the engine, transmission, and generator's engine oil before having to drain it.. Once everything is refilled, just hang the hose into the empty oil jugs and flip the switch to pump the old oil into them for disposal.. My trick for changing oil filters without spilling a drop is to first loosen the filter with a filter wrench, then slip a gallon size Ziploc freezer bag (the heavyweight ones) over the filter.. Use the bag as a glove and unscrew the filter letting it drop inside the bag, leaving the open bag under the filter mount to catch any drips before mounting the new filter..