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inner hull drainage

F

fishhead

Member
Purchased a 1980 enchanter and starting restoration. It was the one on craigslist in the DC area. Came with a hydraulic jackplate, double cable steering w/ a tilt wheel, hotfoot throttle, full cover, and a nice trailer for $1000. Even got the original owners manual and a 1980 checkmate catalog in perfect condition. The trailer was the original one from Sweetwater Metal Products in Sweetwater, Tn. The springs aren't even rusted. Towed it 1000 miles back to my home in Pensacola. The seller said it had been in his family since 1980 and had been in the water for no more than 600 hours. Plan on mounting a 2001 250 yamaha ox66 with a new factory powerhead w/ zero hours. Seller advised switching over to hydraulic steering due to major torque I'll experience, but I'm going to try the cable steering that came with it first. Took out the carpet from the dash back as well as the back seats, side padding, and fuel tank. The floor has one little soft spot in the middle so I'm going to glass over the soft spot out about 10 inches all the way around it for now. I see the little sump and the drain hole where the plug goes. When I feel around foreword and on each side of the sump all I find is like a mini bulkhead with no holes for water to travel through. How does water travel from the inner hull to the sump?
 
You cannot just glass over the soft spot. Water rot is like a living cancer, it just keeps spreading. You need to cut out the soft spot, replace the bad wood with ply glassed on both sides and reglass/bond it to the bad area. Also, the steering is a very important component. Don't jeopardize your safety by using antique steering with a high horsepower motor!
 
Thanks for the reply! I was going to replace the old steering with the Teleflex Seastar pro hydraulic steering TELH 7400 until a friend suggested trying the old steering first. Going with the new hydraulic steering for sure now. Drilled out some of the screw holes that held the old fuel tank down to check on the condition of the wood and it is wet even towards the back. Might as well cut the back half of the floor out and in doing so I'll see how the inner hull drains. I'll be able to check out the stringers too. Found detailed instructions with pictures on replacing the floor and stringers on this site. Killer site! Thanks for the advice. I'll post pictures when I get her in the water.
 
Definitely stick with the hydraulic steering, anything over 150 hp needs it. Take some pics, I'm doing my floor too and transom. Like to see how it comes out!
 
there isnt any drainage from the bottom of the boat into that sump, supposedly water wasnt supposed to get in there :irked: but it does.
 
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