# High level project overview - would appreciate input



## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

I’d place everything in the console… battery, switch, fuse/breaker box. Keep it as simple as possible. Hit that sucker up with some bar keepers friend a brush and even a power washer. You can scab the console with with plastic cutting boards to cover the major holes. You could always go with battery operated running/anchor lights. It’ll save you from having to wire them. Less headaches. Paint use can be cheap one part or expensive 2 part. That’s going to depend on which way you want to go.


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

I would like to put everything in the console - the problem is the fuel tank takes up almost all the room. On the one hand, it’s really nice having it directly plumbed to the console and since it’s like 20+ gallons, not having to fill it often. OTOH, it’s 20 years old, and takes up all the room. So I dunno.  Picture below — I’ve since scrubbed it and it looks a lot better, believe me. 

I did scrub the interior of the boat with simple green and Clorox. I don’t want to hit it in earnest until I can patch some screw holes, which I’m letting dry, but I couldn’t stand the grime.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

What about going with a 6gallon tank under the front deck? Or trying to fit the 20 gallon in there? For inshore you’re not going to be burning a ton of fuel.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

One other point about fuel tanks - particularly on boats... Having a fuel tank that you don't have to fill very often invites trouble in the form of water condensing on the inside of a partially filled tank (just like it does on the outside of your car when conditions are right...)... That's why most of us try to always keep our fuel tanks topped up..... Once any moisture beads up on the inside of a fuel tank it then gradually drips down into the fuel and finally winds up under your fuel... (water is heavier than fuel...). There it stays forever until it builds up enough to mess up your motor... or just stop you wherever you happen to be (another of those "ask me how I know" deals..). So you either need to keep that tank topped up - or go to a smaller tank and keep it topped up.... 

"Aren't boats fun"?


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

I forgot to mention, you’ll want some weight on the bow of that boat.


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

Yes, I should probably be more respectful of the water-in-gas thing than I am. I try to run ethanol-free, and keep my separators maintained, but otherwise don’t worry much about the level in the tank.

If I go with a 6-gallon, I’d be able to get the battery in the console, too, which would be nice. OTOH, I’d have to figure out how to increase the length of the battery cables from the outboard — I don’t think they’ll reach (not at the boat, at present).

The tank would also be brand-new and not 20 years old, though I don’t see any cracks with the current one — just a swollen side.

@birdyshooter — why do I need more weight up front? It ran ok last year with two adults at the console, and by removing the rear deck, I’ve probably taken 80-lbs off the stern; more if I move the battery to the console. It’s not a great ride, regardless: more or less like an old Carolina Skiff I once owned.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

Smaller flat bottoms always performed better with distributed loads in my experience. Yours might float differently. Best to have the gunnels parallel to the water without a “live load” on float. Since you have it gutted, I’d float it and move the battery and gas weight around to find the sweet spot.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

I fit a 12 gallon fuel tank underneath my back deck, and cut a hole in the deck for the fuel cap. I have a group 27 battery up front for the trolling motor and I ran #6 tinned wire to a fuse block inside the console. Added new switches in the console for the accessories, and added a hot wired bilge pump with inline fuse. My cranking battery is in the console and is for cranking and Lowrance. Everything else runs off the accessory battery in the front.
I sprayed in Raptor line bed liner in all the interior of the boat. 
I agree with birdyshooter. Weight distribution is just as important as total weight.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Glad you not using that old has tank, it probably leaks
I'd use 14-16 gauge tinned copper wire. I don't envy your job. But starting with all pulled out is better


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

fishnpreacher said:


> I sprayed in Raptor line bed liner in all the interior of the boat.
> I agree with birdyshooter. Weight distribution is just as important as total weight.


Very interested in how that came out — did you spray the Raptor yourself? Short of a pancake compressor I don’t have any spray equipment, and was thinking about rolling out smooth white Durabak, and maybe spraying some of that rattle-can splatter paint.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

ncmarsh said:


> Very interested in how that came out — did you spray the Raptor yourself? Short of a pancake compressor I don’t have any spray equipment, and was thinking about rolling out smooth white Durabak, and maybe spraying some of that rattle-can splatter paint.


James (JC Designs) suggested it to me, so I went with it. I have a small 5 gallon compressor and although not optimal, it did the job. I don't have a water separator, just a pressure regulator. The Raptor kit comes with spray gun, tint, base and hardener, and it all mixes in the base bottle and screws to the spray gun. I did the total inside of a 16ft Carolina Skiff with front and back decks and center console, took 6 quarts. The Raptor liner is textured, so no need to go back and splatter, unless you just want the look. This is during, and my finished look. This was a couple of years ago and still looks great today, if and when I clean it up.
And just remember, prep is key! I used a wire cup brush on a grinder to scuff all surfaces and make sure there was no residual wax or grease.


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

That came out great! I also like the no back-rest. That’s smart - it just gets in the way, imo.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

ncmarsh said:


> That came out great! I also like the no back-rest. That’s smart - it just gets in the way, imo.


Thanks. There are a few things I would do differently if I were to do it over, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out.


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## flysalt060 (Aug 5, 2012)

Basically you have the same boat I have, mine is a Carolina skiff. Sundance was supposedly started by folks who left CS. Sundance meant to be a little more snazzy. So yes you have foam underneath the floor. I like the idea of removing tank from center console. I have been seriously considering it. There is no storage, except underneath the bow. A friend with 19dlx has 2 6 gallon portable tanks.


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

Quick update and a problem. 

Console is coming along nicely - started sanding now that all the holes are patched, but discovered 80 grit is too aggressive. The gelcoat is pretty soft. God I hate sanding. But I'm going to go up to 120grit, and then...paint I guess with something. It's tempting to spray everything with bedliner, like fishingpreacher, but I like the console/helm to look smooth and polished.

Here's the problem. I've patched most screw holes in the deck, but couldn't figure out why my splashwell keeps getting wet. There's some water inside the hull the weeps out of some old screw holes in the splashwell. I'm planning on drilling these holes out a little, but maybe I need to REALLY cut a big hole inside the splashwell? Or a temporary hole below the spashwell drain at the very bottom of the transom? You can see that black area in the splashwell where water is seeping out when I crank up the jack stand.

In theory there isn't supposed to be any wood in these boats, so I don't know how much a problem this is. It seems to float fine, and get up on plane adequately.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

It’s going to be hard to tell how much water she might be holding onto. Crawl under the boat with a rubber mallet and start tapping on the hull. You should be able to get a good idea from the sound with where the water is at.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

There are lots of videos on youtube about Carolina Skiff hulls being waterlogged and what to do about it. I drilled the transom of mine and used an extension in the bit to get as far inside the hull as possible. If you have a waterlogged hull you will get wet foam. If so, you've got a choice of what to do about it. I was OK, no wet foam. Then I installed garboard drains with 5200 to seal up the holes.


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

It's tricky. I have a couple holes I've drilled out in the transom where some old hardware had been installed. One of those was weeping a bit of water, but just a bit. OTOH, I've enlarged the hole (it's only one) in the splashwell where water was coming out and with a ShopVac and a nozzle (hacked it out of a funnel) I've pulled a couple _gallons_ already. 

So there's some void somewhere under the deck that was holding a bunch of water. The hammer test is useless to me -- I'm not a skilled enough 'tapper' and the trailer bunks affect things, too.

I know about the Carolina Skiff issues, but hoped Sundance would be immune or not have the same foam deal, but.... <sigh>


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## Littlefish (11 mo ago)

fishnpreacher said:


> There are lots of videos on youtube about Carolina Skiff hulls being waterlogged and what to do about it. I drilled the transom of mine and used an extension in the bit to get as far inside the hull as possible. If you have a waterlogged hull you will get wet foam. If so, you've got a choice of what to do about it.


Looks like he needs those options. You preaching or fishing this evening?
Was in Lavonia last week, saw one like yours. Looked as good, but had been faired and painted inside. White/white/chrome.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

Littlefish said:


> Looks like he needs those options. You preaching or fishing this evening?
> Was in Lavonia last week, saw one like yours. Looked as good, but had been faired and painted inside. White/white/chrome.


Just kicked back relaxing this afternoon/evening. We had Sonrise service at 7 this morning, breakfast, then our regular service at 9. I thought loading up and going fishing this afternoon, but laziness called, and I answered.
I'm not very familiar with Sundance boats, but with what I have seen, they are very similar to Carolina Skiff in design and construction. This means there are possible water intrusion issues. Stringers in a Carolina Skiff run across the hull and are made of a foam composite. So water can get trapped between the stringers. If a hull is waterlogged, about the only sure fix is cut out the floor, remove all the saturated foam and replace the foam and floor.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

I’ve always wondered if you could bore through the ribs from the transom then pump some gas in there to dissolve the foam. Sure, you’d be without floatation, but you wouldn’t have a waterlogged hull.


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## flysalt060 (Aug 5, 2012)

Wouldn’t do that above. You can do what another friend did. Figure out how long the extension for bit needs to be and drill 2 holes in either side of transom. Let it drain and take a wet vac and suck rest out.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

Yeah it’s a horrible idea, but something my dumbazz would try. Otherwise you’re looking at cutting the entire floor out. Once that foam gets ahold of water, it ain’t letting go.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

My only other idea is to bore through the transom as far as you can go, jack the trailer up on the front, then turn the boat into a greenhouse with clear plastic over the summer.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

I have seen videos of guys drilling through the transom the length of the floor, then drilling a 3 or 4 inch hole in the floor and forcing air through the floor and blowing air and water out through the transom. I can see how this would remove some of the water, but as said, once wet, that foam holds on to the water.
If all else fails, buy another hull and swap out everything.


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## Littlefish (11 mo ago)

So is this the flotation foam between the hull and sole, or is it a foam board that is an integral part of the hull? This has me thinking of building instead of buying used.


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## birdyshooter (Sep 17, 2019)

It’s foam between the floor and hull. It might act as a stringer the way these boats were designed and built. Image sandwiched plywood in a vertical orientation. That’s pretty much what you’re dealing with on these boats.


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

I drilled out the old screw holes in the splashwell and all the water seems to be coming from one of them, only. There's not really anything substantial coming from anywhere else, including the transom, so I'm not inclined to go running a 10' drill bit through the boat just to see. The shop vac seems to have done the trick and I'll put some heat on the area. I may put an additional layer or two of glass in the splashwell, too.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

ncmarsh said:


> I drilled out the old screw holes in the splashwell and all the water seems to be coming from one of them, only. There's not really anything substantial coming from anywhere else, including the transom, so I'm not inclined to go running a 10' drill bit through the boat just to see. The shop vac seems to have done the trick and I'll put some heat on the area. I may put an additional layer or two of glass in the splashwell, too.


Have you isolated where the water is coming in? Is it the splashwell holes or did you have some other holes in the floor? Just curious, Inquiring minds want to know....


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## ncmarsh (Oct 29, 2021)

fishnpreacher said:


> Have you isolated where the water is coming in? Is it the splashwell holes or did you have some other holes in the floor? Just curious, Inquiring minds want to know....


I don't really have any idea. My suspicion was the screws in the splashwell -- there were a couple that weren't sealed properly and there's always 1/2" of standing water. From the photo, I've overdrilled a couple holes and the only water came from the big one in the lower left. There are clearly some spaces under the deck, but w/out cutting out the deck, I don't know what I can do. 
Things seem dry at the moment - I can't work on this anymore for about a week, so that will give it an additional chance to dry out.


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## Mike Haydon (Dec 19, 2019)

I second the bed liner. I use a kit from finishmaster. It's their SMART brand tintable gallon equivalent kit. Same as the other posted about the raptor liner. It's only $119. I have done several boats with it and even a roadster floorboard.


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## JC Designs (Apr 5, 2020)

I’ll chime in…
First things first, trailer it to a landfill, recycler and get a weight on it. Subtract weight of trailer then compare the weight with what she is supposed to weigh. Sundance ran their foam logs fore/aft so getting most of the water out shouldn’t be too bad. An air blower with light pressure through the screw holes that held the console down will push the majority out into the well.
I highly recommend glassing the console down opposed to screwing it down. 2 layers of 1.5oz csm just over the mount flange and 3” out will make for a rock solid install that won’t leak water. Same goes for the stupid rigging track/ trip hazard lol! Then, glass the holes in the well over with a couple layers 1.5oz csm. Now you are ready for paint.

You can paint the console and bedliner the rest for the best of both. Just paint the console first and allow plenty of cure time before taping and masking, then blow your bedliner on and pull the tape. Use a professional autobody tape to lesson your chances of peeling the fresh paint and get a nicer line.

We used to carry Sundance when I was at a dealer way back and you would be ahead replacing that tank with a 12 gallon if you ain’t making 200mile round trips! Would shave 48-50lbs instantly.


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## Mike Haydon (Dec 19, 2019)

JC Designs said:


> I’ll chime in…
> First things first, trailer it to a landfill, recycler and get a weight on it. Subtract weight of trailer then compare the weight with what she is supposed to weigh. Sundance ran their foam logs fore/aft so getting most of the water out shouldn’t be too bad. An air blower with light pressure through the screw holes that held the console down will push the majority out into the well.
> I highly recommend glassing the console down opposed to screwing it down. 2 layers of 1.5oz csm just over the mount flange and 3” out will make for a rock solid install that won’t leak water. Same goes for the stupid rigging track/ trip hazard lol! Then, glass the holes in the well over with a couple layers 1.5oz csm. Now you are ready for paint.
> 
> ...


At first I thought you were telling him to take it to the dump!😂😂


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