Haines Signature 1750LE floor

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by Miles B, Aug 18, 2018.

  1. Miles B
    Joined: Aug 2018
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    Miles B Junior Member

    Hi

    I bought my first boat last year. I believe it's an 89 model. Structurally it's very solid but has suffered from a cheapskate owner who took a lot of shortcuts. I've torn up the filthy cheap carpet and want to replace it with an EVA foam product. I suspect the tank is not original but I don't know enough to be sure. It sits on top of the stringers, and there were holes cut in the carpet for the sender and whatever the other opening is. The carpet was then in three pieces as the center section on the tank is a little higher than the sides.

    I'm looking for some advice on how to fix this to get it ready for EVA. I would like the floor to be at one level. Should the tank be sitting down between the stringers with a hatch on top? Or should I build a false floor above the glass side floor sections and tank?

    I also want to move the tank forward while I'm doing this. The boat is very stern heavy in the water, porpoises and bangs over waves with a slower speed and rougher ride than I really think it should have. This is probably because of the heavy outboard, batteries, and the reported tendency of these hulls to "suck down" in the stern. It does have the strange hole cut through the hull just in front of the motor with the vertical pipe venting under the splashwell.

    My plan is to move the tank forward by moving the small bulkhead in front of it up to the cabin bulkhead. This will move the tank forward about 18 inches. I may also eventually move the batteries too.

    Can you please let me know your thoughts on approaching the floor leveling so that I can get to work on putting the EVA flooring in, glassing some seat boxes and buying new seats?

    Thanks!
     

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  2. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    As you can appreciate, it is very difficult to offer advice without eyeballing on the spot. No doubt this design pre-dated heavy 4 strokes, which I assume is fitted. Moving tanks forward is a partial solution. but when the tank starts to empty, the effect is lost. What material is the tank made from ? If you have any intent to "lock" that existing tank in, so that getting it out would be a drama, then you need to be sure it is not going to develop a leak, and both stainless and alloy tanks have a finite lifespan. But I will await your advice as to what it is made of.
     
  3. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member

    Tank is aluminum. Motor is a 1990 Merc 175 2 stroke. Not super heavy but right near the limit of the spec once you consider the 10kg oil tank, and in fact 25hp over limit. I would prefer to have the tank removable. I am yet to get it out to see if the bottom is corroded but I doubt it. I also want to get an idea if I could trim the tank's flanges down to sit it down between the stringers rather than on top.
     
  4. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Obviously if it is badly pitted on the outside, that is a demerit, but frequently they go from the inside, where watery sludge lies. And it is pretty hard to see inside them, behind baffles. You can use an endoscope to inspect inside, to some extent. If you baulk at the idea of replacing the tank "on suspicion", it is possible to encapsulate them in glass ( with a suitable resin, not cheap polyesters). Depending on the tank. some would be harder to do than others. It doesn't really matter how well the resin adheres (not very), so long as it is a continuous covering. Nothing worse than having a tank go under a floor that is sealed up, full of fuel vapours. Using power tools to open it up......boom !
     
  5. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member

    Understood.

    What should my approach to getting a flat floor be though?
     
  6. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Why is it not currently flat ?
     
  7. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member

    The tank sits on top of the stringers. The tank is higher than the floors on the sides. Then there's the sender and the other cap on the tank.
     
  8. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    That sounds hopeless, it must be that the tank was replaced with one that would not fit between the stringers. Sounds like butchery, you will need another tank, if this is the case. Or perhaps there was an icebox over the top, and it did not get in the way, but if you want a clear flat space, that tank will have to go.
     
  9. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member

    Bummer figured as much. Say I get a new tank and set it an inch below the surface of the sides, what normally goes above the tank and how is it normally attached? I can't see any evidence of anything having been cut out.
     
  10. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    How much higher is the tank than the rest of the floor ?
     
  11. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member

    The flange of the tank sits on the floor, so probably 3-4mm. I've attached two pictures to this post looking back from the cabin . One shows the tank pried up a little. The tank is not secured, it just sits in there. The picture on my first post shows the location of the sender and other cap. They sit above the surface of the tank quite a bit higher.
     

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  12. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    It does sound like a replacement tank, where does the sender wiring run ? Is the sender sitting proud of the top of the tank ?
     
  13. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member

    Yep, the wiring just ran over the carpet back to the transom then along the gunwale to the helm. It used to be covered by a bench seat because the old owner used it for skiing. I fish so I ripped the seat out and was greeted with a sender protruding through the carpet complete with socket head cap screws and wiring. That other round cap in the middle of the tank sits a good 3/8 proud of the tank too. I am unsure of its purpose. It seems to be secured with Phillips head screws through a piece of gasket and another piece of aluminum. It had the carpet trimmed around it in a circle and sat flush with the top of the carpet .
     
  14. Miles B
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    Miles B Junior Member


  15. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    I think you need to establish if the tank is serviceable, before worrying about anything else, take it out and thoroughly inspect it, and preferably blast the exterior with a high pressure cleaner. It isn't beyond the bounds of reason it could be used, and you can get a reasonable facsimile of a flush deck.
     
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