1965 26' Owens Flagship restoration underway.

[Ned L]

Glad to hear you are still working on her,.. and making good headway too!

To bad about that spot by the waterline. At least it’s not causing problems for you. When the time comes it won’t be a difficult fix.

I agree with you on the screws through the fridge and microwave.......

 

[mickyryan]

love the boat house .... my dream

 

[Sea18Horse]

Thanks guys!

Yeah the boat house is certainly nice to work on the boat in. But the rent does put a sizable dent in the restoration budget every month.

Ok, well I got the patch pieces made to patch the rotten spot temporarily. I decided to use 1/4" plywood on the inside as well as outside. Through bolted with 1/4" silicon bronze carriage bolts and sealed with 4200. I've got a few coats of paint on them so far. Still need to fabricate the frames for the platform to hang off the boathouse deck to work on the patch on the outside. Seems like a lot of f-ing around for 10 minutes work but I don't see any other way.


Cheers............................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

Let's see, what else. I got the distributor dialed in. The spacers for the distributor cap hold-down screws were missing. Couldn't find them for sale anywhere so I had to improvise. The rest was pretty straight forward.

I found the part number for the raw water pump impeller. It's readily available so that's a relief. It takes two though.

I got the dock side of the fresh water system working. Cleaning up inside the cabin is certainly much easier with running water in the boat.



Cheers.......................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

Time for an update.

I finally got the aft bilge pump and switch mounted and wired in with a dedicated ground wire. Plus an indicator light that comes on both with the manual switch and the auto switch.
Nice to have that finally checked off the list and the 110v sump pump out of there.

I also got a new harness and switch for the trim tabs. (I didn't really want to tackle the trim tabs just yet but the harness shared the same wire run with the bilge pump wiring so......) It had the old joystick style switch before and a cobbled together harness. Got that mounted and wired up. Got the starboard trim tab actuator tubing connected. It looked like Tim the previous owner got it installed on the transom but never got it hooked up. The pipe nipple still had a piece of scotch tape over the end of it. I got the system filled and bled and it works perfect. Of course the starboard actuator is just hanging out there in the air which brings me to a mystery and a question.

When I got the boat the starboard trim tab was missing. There was a broken actuator in the back of the boat along with two new trim tabs. One of the pictures we were sent (which were from last September as it turns out) showed a Bennett trim tab actuator box in the cabin. Presumably this is what is now mounted on the transom. My guess is the original trim tab got bent or damaged in some way and the actuator broken,

Now to my question; Will a Bennett trim tab slide in to the hinge from the side without disturbing the hinge screws? Or is there something that locks it in the center? It looks like the hinge is still intact. Doesn't look damaged from what I can see. I'm hoping I can slide it in and bolt the lower end of the actuator on and the actuator will keep it centered as it floats in the hinge. I mean presumably they slid the old one out? Anyone familiar enough with these to say yay or nay?

Cheers..............................Todd

 

[sphelps]

I don’t know why I haven’t clicked on this project thread yet !
‘Very cool boat and your making good progress ! Tagging along for the ride if there’s room ! op2:

 

[Bayou Dave]

The man with the answer is Tabman

 

[Sea18Horse]

I don’t know why I haven’t clicked on this project thread yet !
‘Very cool boat and your making good progress ! Tagging along for the ride if there’s room ! op2:

Welcome aboard! Plenty of room, Although seating is a bit sparse yet!

Cheers.........................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

The man with the answer is Tabman

Thanks for that!

Yeah my next thought was to post my question in the "General boating/ Boat topics and questions forum". He's pretty good about fielding trim tab questions there.

Cheers...............................Todd

 

[Tabman]

Time for an update.

I finally got the aft bilge pump and switch mounted and wired in with a dedicated ground wire. Plus an indicator light that comes on both with the manual switch and the auto switch.
Nice to have that finally checked off the list and the 110v sump pump out of there.

I also got a new harness and switch for the trim tabs. (I didn't really want to tackle the trim tabs just yet but the harness shared the same wire run with the bilge pump wiring so......) It had the old joystick style switch before and a cobbled together harness. Got that mounted and wired up. Got the starboard trim tab actuator tubing connected. It looked like Tim the previous owner got it installed on the transom but never got it hooked up. The pipe nipple still had a piece of scotch tape over the end of it. I got the system filled and bled and it works perfect. Of course the starboard actuator is just hanging out there in the air which brings me to a mystery and a question.

When I got the boat the starboard trim tab was missing. There was a broken actuator in the back of the boat along with two new trim tabs. One of the pictures we were sent (which were from last September as it turns out) showed a Bennett trim tab actuator box in the cabin. Presumably this is what is now mounted on the transom. My guess is the original trim tab got bent or damaged in some way and the actuator broken,

Now to my question; Will a Bennett trim tab slide in to the hinge from the side without disturbing the hinge screws? Or is there something that locks it in the center? It looks like the hinge is still intact. Doesn't look damaged from what I can see. I'm hoping I can slide it in and bolt the lower end of the actuator on and the actuator will keep it centered as it floats in the hinge. I mean presumably they slid the old one out? Anyone familiar enough with these to say yay or nay?

Cheers..............................Todd

Todd,

Normally we do not recommend reusing the mounting plates when a Trim Tab has been lost. The tolerances between the mounting plate and the Tab are quite close, and the mounting plates can be damaged when a Tab is pulled out of it when the boat is running. We would recommend replacing the mounting plates or the Tab can be lost again. Do you have pictures of the Tab you can post?

 

[Sea18Horse]

Todd,

Normally we do not recommend reusing the mounting plates when a Trim Tab has been lost. The tolerances between the mounting plate and the Tab are quite close, and the mounting plates can be damaged when a Tab is pulled out of it when the boat is running. We would recommend replacing the mounting plates or the Tab can be lost again. Do you have pictures of the Tab you can post?

Thank you Tom,

No, the original tab was gone but the broken actuator was lying in the back of the boat. I didn't get the sense that it was torn off or anything. The actuator was complete, In other words it had been unbolted from the tab and from the transom. It was actually more bent than broken. (Cross threaded where the upper hinge screws on to the body of the actuator). The mounting plates are under water still of course so I can't get a good look at those yet.

I will definitely plan to replace the mounting plates if they look tweaked or deformed in any way once the boat is on a trailer and home. My question was more along the lines of 'could they have pulled the old tab out from the side?' Or is there something about the hinge in the center that I can't see preventing it from sliding out? It looks like if the actuator wasn't there one could potentially rotate the tab up against the transom and drop it out the bottom that way - if it's not pinched too tightly. And then the reverse to put the new one in. but the actuator would have to be removed. And maybe that's what happened. Maybe they took the actuator off, rotated the tab up and out and then put the new actuator on and went "OH SH!T"! And that's why it's in the state it's in. I don't know. Trying to unravel the mystery. Thanks again Tom!

Cheers........................Todd

 

[Tabman]

Gottcha,

Yes the ends of the hinge plates have a notch in them that is bent up slightly to prevent the Tab from sliding out.

BEN-MP24 by Tom McGow, on Flickr

So to take a Tab off you need to take the plates off.

 

[Sea18Horse]

So to take a Tab off you need to take the plates off.

Thanks Tom! And especially for getting back to me on a Sunday. Above and beyond!

Ouch! Oh well, ok I kind of wanted to have the tabs functional for the shake down cruise in a few weeks but it's no big deal. I'll still check to see how he got the old one out once I can get down there and feel around. Maybe he bent the notch down and slid it out the side. If not I'll just have to wait.

Thanks again Tom!

Cheers..........................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

Update time again!

I only let it slip to the middle of the 4th page this time. Getting better!

Not that much to report. Got the batteries secured in proper boxes. Not as sore as I thought I would be after that chore. Those bad boys are heavy! Nice to have that one checked off the list.

Started assessing how best to repair some screw holes for various deck fittings like boarding step mounts and bimini top mounts that have become hogged out over the years.

Still need to deal with the rotten spot and its patch. I've decided to just get a cheapy little two man raft to slip down next to the boat to work off of rather than try to build a platform.

Cheers..............................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

Ooh that smell! Can't you smell that smell! The smell of death POOP surrounds you! (Dangit the strikeout code doesn't work)

Well I got the black water tank out of the boat finally! OH...My...God!!! What a fiasco! It turns out it's over half full. It's a white plastic tank and it looked empty to me. Plus I guess I never really thought it would have been left like that so I never actually got down there with a flashlight to the side of it to check :facepalm:. Anyway I took the vent hose and the waste hose that came from the head off and capped the fittings with rubber gloves and zip ties.The smell just from doing that was unbelievable. Then I took a sawzall and started cutting through the pump out hose. Yep! This is when I discovered my mistake. I was not pleased! Fortunately the cut I made was just above the "water" level so it just splattered out a little. Still almost gagged. I finally got it cut off and capped. Then proceeded to wrestle it out of there by myself. I had to undo the exhaust pipe hanger and ratchet strap it over against the fuel tank to make room.

Anyway it's out. Now I have to figure out what to do with it. My plan is to haul it to my work and dump it in the toilet. That's gonna be fun! Then treat it or sanitize it some how so I can get rid of it. Not jazzed about reusing it at this point. Although I might if I can get it cleaned up sufficiently. Mercifully no pics of the proceedings.

Cheers.........................Todd

 

[mickyryan]

im gagging just reading this ...

 

[Ned L]

Your picture of the engine looks great! Your experience with the holding tank,...... well, I was eating breakfast. :facepalm:
lol. You have my sympathy.

 

[sphelps]

That sounded like a real crappy job .....

 

[Sea18Horse]

Lol, Sorry guys!

Yeah I felt a little bit like Joe Dirt.

Cheers.......................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

On a cleaner note.......

The Wife got me this book. I'd found out about it on one of my searches about anything Owens related. I kind of figured they sold maybe 10 of them back in the day and there would be no way to ever find one. But she found one on that site named after a South American river that iBoats probably won't let me type. I was shocked. Published in 1964. I love it! It's so 60s. Lots of cool pictures of Owens boats and stuff too.

Cheers........................Todd