1988 20 fisherman, soft gas tank hatch

T

Timdog7

New member
Hello, I am new to the community. I just purchased a 88 20' fisherman cc. The hatch over the gas tank seems very soft. There are also two semi soft spots on each side of the console. What should I do to fix the problem? I dont want to restore the whole floor right now. Thanks T
 
Welcome aboard. Two methods of getting the floor restored.

1. Go at it from the topside, grinding out the old rotten floor and replacing the core, glassing it all back together, coating the floor with Kiwi grip or something similar
OR
2. Pop the liner and go after it with a grinder from the bottom side leaving the floor where you stand intact but replacing the rotten core. I did mine this way and it was a large undertaking.
 
what ridge said, but i did mine from the top. i have a cuddy, but the methods the same. cut out the bad area until you get to good wood. epoxy some cleats or a lip around the bottom of the existing wood in the hole. cut a new piece of ply to fit the hole. wet it out good and place in hole. wet out pieces of cloth and build up to current deck level, then fair with putty. the main drawback is you then have to paint the deck and once you paint, you will always have to repaint later. if you re-coat with the kiwi or durabak or similar product, would most be likely a one time deal.

since you have a center console, you don't have much room to work with between the console and the gunnel so removing the console would probably help a lot. if they just screwed the console to the deck, that's most likely where the water intrusion began.
 
Timdog7 said:
Hello, I am new to the community. I just purchased a 88 20' fisherman cc. The hatch over the gas tank seems very soft. There are also two semi soft spots on each side of the console. What should I do to fix the problem? I dont want to restore the whole floor right now. Thanks T
Click to expand...

If you are looking for a temporary cheap/easy fix check the link below:

http://wellcraftv20.com/community/showthread.php?t=19351&page=3

I understand that the aforementioned repairs are the proper way of fixing the problem and being done with it. However, I didnt want to invest the time, money or effort into such a tedious repair so I created a temporary fix.

I used stainless hardware with silicone in every screw hole to prevent more infiltration. The floor feels much stronger and the aluminum should hold up for years to come!
Hope this helps!
 
Welcome.... The floor hatch is simple enough with the right stuff. Even I did it successfully myself and it was my first time working with fiberglass.
 
This reglassing sounds like its not as extensive of a project as I assumed. I have never done FG work in my live and thats why I went with my temporary fix.

I may have to attempt to rebuild the core before I paint my deck!
 
Timdog7 said:
Hello, I am new to the community. I just purchased a 88 20' fisherman cc. The hatch over the gas tank seems very soft. There are also two semi soft spots on each side of the console. What should I do to fix the problem? I dont want to restore the whole floor right now. Thanks T
Click to expand...

I have the same issue and I dont think its a rotton wood issue at all. Not sure how the cuddies are setup but there is no support under the fueltank access port or on the sides of the console where Im almost positive he's talking. My guess is that its soft to about 2" outside the fueltank access behind the console and about a 5" x 2" soft spot to the side of the console outside the footrest. Thats where mine are at least and there is no support in that area.

T mine has been like that since Ive owned it since 2003 and it hasnt gotten worse or proved to be a problem yet. If you go back and block-up under the fuel access I think you will have a PITA time trying to change a sending unit or its ground.

PS: Watch that livewell hatch in the back and the forward hatches. Those were the first to need repair on mine
 
Starboard would make a quick hatch cover, but I wouldn't use it on the deck. Ferm re-cored a hatch cover and posted a thread here a long while back with pictures, not really too hard. I know a guy that got an old project mako for free that had a soft deck and basically just glassed in a new deck over the old one and re set the console. It's not the best way, but it was cheap and easy.
 
I doubled up two, 3/8" peices of starboard for the fish box, approx. 1' x 4' and its held up great so far. Just sandwiched them then countersunk some screws in there. Been perfect after 4 years....

Still wouldnt use it for that gas hatch area though......
 
ssiredfish said:
I have the same issue and I dont think its a rotton wood issue at all. Not sure how the cuddies are setup but there is no support under the fueltank access port or on the sides of the console where Im almost positive he's talking. My guess is that its soft to about 2" outside the fueltank access behind the console and about a 5" x 2" soft spot to the side of the console outside the footrest. Thats where mine are at least and there is no support in that area.

T mine has been like that since Ive owned it since 2003 and it hasnt gotten worse or proved to be a problem yet. If you go back and block-up under the fuel access I think you will have a PITA time trying to change a sending unit or its ground.

PS: Watch that livewell hatch in the back and the forward hatches. Those were the first to need repair on mine
Click to expand...

i have the exact same problem in my CC and it also hasnt gotten any worse since ive had it
 
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