new guys Mate in need

[Demus]

I will try and keep this short as possible to get started with.

I am a new guy looking for some helpfull info. i wrote an intro in the new members section. thanks in advance every one.;)

boat: 88' 251 convincor.

problem: crack in fuel tank. tank removed, foam surrounding tank soaked with fuel, now removed. front and rear ply wood of fuel tank comp. roted from fuel. stringers and floor of fuel tank comp. much, much better, pass tap test, but i am concerned they may have fuel in them. :shakehead: Floor soft where rear seat was screwed down.

what would you guys do next.
what to do about the possible fuel penitration into the boat and getting the tank re- foamed in ??? are the things i am most concerned about

I am thinking: partial floor repair. Have tank fixed.

The engine is out by the way.

I am a pretty handy guy and do most of my own stuff, that goes for cars, boats, house ect. just for some back ground on me. I can aprecciate being over my head and needing to pay some one as well. :)

I am also thinking giving CM a jingle would be good start.


Help me get my boat back in the water as soon as Possible guys!!:cheers

[jdinvt]

Thats strange. I have an 87 251 convincor. I dont have the fuel tank leak like yours, but I did have to replace the floor in the same spot as you. Mine was on the right side of the rear bench. I used a jig saw and cut out from the rear edge of the gas tank compartment and almost the the Batt. box, there is thicker wood there so I only went to that. I left about 6 in from the side and went up to about where the bottom seat bracket meets the floor and I also replaced the whole center section that covers the tank, that part wasnt bad but I did it anyways. After the peices were cut and set in, I screwed them in, used clear silicon to fill the cracks, and layed fiberglass cloth around the edges, and covered the plywood with fiberglass resin (mixed with hardener of corse) and now im putting in two different colors of carpet just to break it up some. John

[pony3xp]

I cant' say much about Convincors, but one member told me early on that where there is a little problem, there is probably more. I took the advice and ripped my entire interior/floor out, and at least 1/2 of it was rotted. (87 Starflight). I can't wait to start the rebuild but I got a few projects in front of it at the moment:). My boat was neglected for sure, so that really made my decision easy.

While I am no expert, my bet would be that your rot is as much from water as it is from fuel (probably more). Tough to tell without seeing it, but you may want to look around. I was new to this site (and checkmate floors) in Jan 08, but I now know that had I looked, i would have been able to find some of the soft spots with just a little poking/pushing, etc.

Good luck, and there is a ton of help here on the rebuld aspect. Look around, see what guys have done, and don't be too afraid. I have done some limited stuff already (my skills are probable the same as yours) and it seems pretty easy with all the advice on here.

BTW, The BEST TOOL i have bought so far is a cheap angle grinder (and dust mask). They are great and REALLY helped a lot.