Fuel Tank Hatch repair

[RWilson2526]

Originally Posted by reelapeelin

Hey Rob...gotta pull the tank hatch on the 21...the lid itself feels solid, but need to see what's goin' on under there...any words of wisdom on gettin that puppy off?...

Mine came up pretty easy....there was a nice caulk job in the seam between the hatch and the floor but fortunately there was no bead on the flat lip of the floor under the hatch ....so just cut around the perimeter with a razor knife, took out the 6" round access plates, grabbed a hold and pulled. Came right up.

[racrx7]

drilling the holes in the composite

I will we doing this same repair as soon as it warms up some. When you say "composite" exactly what material did you use to recore it with? I was under the impression just good plywood would work? Also what thickness of composite or plywood should I use for this repair?
Thanks

[reelapeelin]

Originally Posted by RWilson2526

Mine came up pretty easy....there was a nice caulk job in the seam between the hatch and the floor but fortunately there was no bead on the flat lip of the floor under the hatch ....so just cut around the perimeter with a razor knife, took out the 6" round access plates, grabbed a hold and pulled. Came right up.

Whew!!...sounds better than expected...was thinkin' it was gonna be a wrestlin' match...

[RidgeRunner]

Originally Posted by racrx7

I will we doing this same repair as soon as it warms up some. When you say "composite" exactly what material did you use to recore it with? I was under the impression just good plywood would work? Also what thickness of composite or plywood should I use for this repair?
Thanks

http://www.coosacomposites.com/nautical.html

There are different products out there but plywood is what the factory used, on mine they laid out small blocks of 1/2" plywood and glassed them in with the chopper gun. I rebuilt using Coosa but now I am not sure about density. Cost a bunch but glasses easily. I am almost immune to the itch but I can look at a sheet of Coosa and start to itch. http://www.coosacomposites.com/nautical.html
Plywood will work just fine, I recommend 5/8" or 3/4" ACX or BCX FIR on the low end and Marine Tech brite or pressure treated and Kiln Dried After Treatment (KDAT) on the high end. Some say not to use pt because of bonding issues. All these plywoods have such a smooth finish you need to rough them up a little to aid in adhesion IMO, essential if using pt. as it has a tendency to be case hardened after drying. Marine Tech has fewer voids in the interior plys and is better but only by a small margin.
I stock and sell Marine Tech in 3/4 PT KDAT and I have a pontoon boat builder that eats it up. He glasses the topside with good success.

Reel, you like the swiss cheese, LMAO. I filled every hole on my 20cc rebuild. I was shocked at how many holes I had to make in that baby for all the rigging. Wore out a roto-zip and challenged more than one hole saw. Your 74 model looks like swiss cheese but not for long. I'll have it looking like Havarty in no time. Pass the mayo.