1981 19ft Seaway Project

[Tunascapes]

So I have been wanting to start this thread for quite sometime but work and fishing season has been getting in the way. Now that all of our boat are on hard ground it is project time. I have mentioned it a few different times here but I currently am in the process of rebuilding a 19 seaway center console from the early 80's. I bought the boat local for short money knowing that it was the boat I wanted long term for our inshore boat. The boat right off the bat needed decks and paint so I figured I would add an in deck fuel tank because I can't stand having an on deck tank like in my 17 whaler. So that was my downfall, because now I am down to a bare hull and doing a complete rebuild. Story of my life. Once the decks were off the stringer system was junk, not the end of the world because they need some tweaking anyways to fit the fuel tank, then I decided I didn't like the stern splash well so not that is gone, and then I decided after seeing the condition of parts of the deck I couldn't leave the front bow platform so now that is gone.

Right now I have the stringers made up for layered 1/2" plywood alternating the grain on each course. I am ready to start putting things back together at this point I am just waiting on my epoxy and cloth order and my fuel tank. I am going to use speedy tanks. We used them on the 26 seaway for a new tank and they gave me decent price for a custom 33 gallon tank to fit in the deck. It is going to be a very shallow tank at only 5 inches to fit below decks. I decided for a few extra dollars to have them put a pickup in the front and back to give me two different options in case I run into an issue with usable fuel in such a shallow tank.

I am looking forward to getting this going I tore out the deck in may or june and have just been "analyzing" everything since.

 

[Eastporter]

This is the fun part! Don't forget to take lots of pictures for us.

 

[Tunascapes]

Will do. If anyone has any use for the 80hp merc that is in the pics let me know. I think it is a mid 80s motor that is supposed to run strong. To be perfectly honest I never ran it because I have no intentions of using it. I have the binnacle control with 16ft (?) cables and the main harness that can all go for very cheap.

 

[tunaorlater]

post the engine for sale on one of the whaler sites, thoseguys love these engines for the 16's. Good luck with the project!

 

[deck boss]

Ahhhh....... I know the feeling of gutting and analyzing. Looks like it will be a fun project. I am not a big fan of splash wells either, just cut mine out last night while I was waiting for the steaks to cook on the grill.

 

[Tunascapes]

Starting to get in a little bit of a groove now on this project. With the decent temps yesterday and today I was able to get the stringers cut and scribed to fit pretty well. I did get a first coat of epoxy on both of the vertical sides and two coats on the cut edges. This is my first time using US Composites epoxy. I have read where others like the product so I figured I would go with it seeing the cost seems to be decent. My shop was probably 50 degrees last night, I did not run the heat, and there was no issue having it kick off and be dry when I checked it this morning. I am using there thin epoxy with the fast hardener and so far it is decent to work with. Seems like it will wet out nice. Just spent the last 3 hours doing all of the final grinding on the inside of the hull and getting all the final bits of old plywood deck out so that I can hopefully get the springers glassed in place over the next few days, since there seems like a bit of warm weather coming.

 

[Eastporter]

Looking good! Make sure you get those exposed edges with epoxy (x3) so they are waterproof too. It's hard to tell from the photo, maybe you hot coated them and I can't see it. I put my pilothouse together in the garage in the early spring when temperature was cool- I ran a cheap space heater and it made a difference in getting the epoxy to harden.

 

[Tunascapes]

The edges are nice and saturated at this point. Everything will get wrapped in 1708 when they get put in place so there will be plenty of protection. I have heat and a wood stove in my shop so I can get good working temps. I really just let them sit last night as an experiment to get a feel for this epoxy since its my first time with this. I am hoping to get some more progress over the next 2 days with decent temps. I need to do some organizing inside to get the boat in for the winter.

 

[Eastporter]

The 1708 biaxial is pretty heavy duty glass. It soaks up the epoxy but provides a very strong structural lay up. IMO it is best to lay up wet- you can soak it in a paint tray or on releasable fabric and squeeze out the excess before you put it on. I had to apply the large transom pieces dry and saturate with a brush--it took forever! The plastic scrapers are excellent to get the air out and push the epoxy through the mat. I also recommend laying multiple layers at once to get a chemical bond also. When they "kick" the chemical process bonds them together. I did this with my transom, tabbing three 6" layers of 1708 in a staggered pattern over the seam and it is very cost effective and strong. After mixing the epoxy to the manufacture's directions it will last a lot longer if you pour it into a plastic paint tray. It will kick on you very quickly if you leave it in a plastic paint container (I learned the hard way) using West System. The yellow rollers (short nap) for the epoxy didn't work on the fiberglass for me, but excellent for rolling onto bare plywood.

 

[Tunascapes]

Thanks for the suggestions. I usually try to do a wet lay up on things, I guess it is just how I have seen my dad do things so I just started doing it that way.

That is good to know on the multiple layers. I was just thinking this evening if I could do multiple layers it would make my life a lot easier to get the stringers done while I have some warmer temps for a few days. I was unsure if it was a good idea or not but I will probably give it a go.

I do have a questions for everyone. What should I do for a drain tube? Right now there is a typical half ass seaway contraption but I guess I don't know how the a standard through the transom drain is setup. If I use a brass drain on the outside of the transom with a threaded plug what is used for the tube?

 

[Eastporter]

I was going to put a bilge drain in (plastic threaded by Moeller) but decided against it. I think the Moeller product is a good one, but the brass might look better.

 

[Tunascapes]

Today was an interesting day. I realized, out of no where, right before I was about to set the first stringer that because the boat was sitting on the roller trailer with no grid system the hull was flexing around the rollers. That could have been very bad. Luckily I had my cat at the house so in short order I lifted and rolled the boat off the trailer and had it on blocks and stands so the hull was sitting nice and true. My scribe job on the stringers was much better and they sat perfect by eliminating the roller lumps.

I laid out a 3" strip of some mat I had and got everything nice and wet. I then set the stringer in place on the mat and and then ran some strapping from the outside edge of the old floor over the stringer and tacked it in place with a few screws so that everything was at the correct height and plumb/level. Next I ran four sections of 1708 tape up and over to hold everything in place. With no grid system in the boat the hull has a tendency to flex a little when walking so the goal today was to get one side tabbed in place so the hull was stable and then get the next one in tomorrow. Once everything is tabbed and dried it will be easy to walk all around and get the stringers completely wrapped in 1708.

I am raising the deck height 3/4" so that is why I was able to run strapping straight across to keep everything at the correct height. The old deck was 1/2" plywood and 1/4" of glass. I have never run this boat but I know our 26 seaway always needs to have the scuppers plugged soon as we stop or else it is wet feet or boots. I figured better be safe and raise it slightly. Plus it will be much easier to set the grid system and the deck with the small lip running all the way around the boat.

 

[RKrough]

Wow you are moving right along. I had to stop on my boat and get a shelter going since I'm gonna soon run out of good weather

BTW Are you going to put any fuel tanks under the deck? There are a few tanks on Ebay that work and aren't too expensive.

 

[Eastporter]

Looking good! Have you decided what you're doing for the new sole (deck)? I went with 3/4" pt plywood (dry) and it is really rugged with no flexing.

 

[Bill]

Ya no kidding flying right along with that sucker..my buddy just drove down to CT this weekend to get a 19 seaway..he got a good deal on it..hoping that he gets his ass in gear and starts posting pics..were you able to use the old stringers for the template? I ran into the same thing when I did mine interms of the boat wanting to warp.. I just did blocks right at the transom and 2 stands on each side midships and a V jack at the bow..took a level and put it on a 2x4 across the boat and adjusted as necessary..obviously huge to have the boat level for the stringers and the deck install..
what are you going to use for the deck? and you were getting a 30 gallon 5" tank made right? good call with the 2 suctions.. I only have 1 pick up on the forward end of the tank and only get 15 gallons out of it ( also a 5" tank).... and the wire chase.. how are you going to run it with the tank in the middle? 3" PVC and then cut the stringer to get it in the center or? found that wire chase was a real pain in the ass with the tank in the middle but after a while I got it right

 

[Tunascapes]

Thanks guys. I am just lucking out right now with the weather. This week is sort of an in between week for work, we finished a few constructions projects over the last 10 days and since the leaves are late this year we are just filling in with nonsense work until we start chasing leaves 24/7 so I can get away a little and keep this moving.

I am going to do a center tank. I have not ordered it yet because I wanted to get these stringers in to just double check my height etc before ordering a custom tank. I wanted to go with all composite as practice for hopefully a larger project down the road, but to be perfectly honest I just could not justify the extra $1000 in cost. Also in such a small area I just don't see how much weight I could possibly be saving. Because this is not our tuna and I will just be kicking around in shore I just felt it wasn't worth it. What I am going to do is still use fiberglass I beams, 3x3, and notch them into the stringers. For the ease of installation and the added support vs a 2 by I think the few dollars more will be worth it. Since all the supports are going to be a grid pattern I am going to go 1/2" ply and probably 2 layers of 1708. Once I get everything in place I will put a 1/2" sheet over it and see how much flex there is.

My thoughts on a chase tube is to use pvc and cut it through the stringers. In the last pic I put up, not the greatest shot, you will see in the back corners of the boat I have an angled piece that ties the side of the boat to the transom. There is plenty of room in this to shoot a chase tube up into this and do a nice boot up under the gunnel for the wires to come out. This should make it nice and clean. I think, if I plan this out right, I will have the forward pickup and sending unit under a hatch just inside the the console. Right now on the 26 we have a hatch just behind the pilot house for access and its a PIA standing on it etc so I would like to get that hatch in the console. If I can get that done I will send the chase tube right up the front corner of the console so I can mount fuse panels, vsr switch, battery switch, etc. coming down the side of the console. In theory it would all work but I just need to get a little further to make sure.

 

[Bill]

Think you got this figured out.. I have never used the composite stuff but I asked around and did a bunch of research and everyone said 3/4" would be fine for the deck as long as you
Coat the underside of it.. Your talking say $120 for the plywood .. I also read minimum space between stingers I think was 20" without using deck stringers but you can check my facts..I put a number of transverse(?) members on thenfront and back of the tank and a few on the outboard sides of the stringers .. I didn't take pics of it stupidly but of you look at my midland rebuild there is actually a few more pieces and the gas tank ..
Back to your stringers... Were you able to use the old ones for templates? Just wondering how much of a pain in the ass it was to figure out deadrise once you got to the forward 2-3' of the stringers.. Mine sucked to do

 

[Tunascapes]

Bill I was able to save one of the stringers for a template. The side that touches the hull was pretty accurate I just had to add some height for the higher deck. The one I was able to save I babied for weeks around here so it didn't fall into a million rotten pieces and make things much harder.

I guess I really need to decide what I want to do for a console since it is going to matter soon when I need to run chase tubes.

 

[Bill]

Did yours come with a console or? if not there is a good deal on ebay right now for a few consoles but not sure the height you need.. check out these and the rest that this guy has for sale..under $200 with free shipping? good deal..Fiberglass Boat Marine Center Console | eBay

I lucked out.. some guy had an original (but nasty) midland console in CT last winter for $75.. my dad just happens to go there once a week for work so I scooped that up..even had original stickers on it..not sure what you are running for wires etc but I tried to get away with 2" or 2.5" I forget.. long story was a big waste of time and with the sterring cable, throttle cables, engine wiring harness etc it had to be 3".. just my .02

 

[RKrough]

If you are pricing custom tanks, I just got a quote of $380 for a 14x5x60 16 gallons

from Marine Tanks, Fuel, Water, Storage Tanks, Luthers Welding in Rhode Island 8-10 day lead time