1974 Grady White Restoration

[Derekxj]

Your tank should be centrally located, just in front of the bilge. Should be about 18-20" wide and 2-3' long.

Well now i guess i know NOT to put my circular saw!!! that cant be though by the way....unless someone took it out along the life of my boat. i have two small little below deck lockers that were put in just infront of the bilge area. see photo.



These are the ones i tried taking out last night. Theyre probably about 10 inches deep if i had to guess.

 

[Woodonglass]

OK. I went back and looked at your previous pics. Based on the floor plan that I now see, I'm gunna guess the tank is located just in front of those hatches and in between the two seats. But Hey, Everybody KNOWS I'm just an... so Don't take my word for it!!!

 

[jigngrub]

When you cut your deck out, cut it like this guy did:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...8552655-boat-floor-replacement-where-to-begin

No need to use a circular saw anywhere near the middle of the deck, your deck will probably be rotten enough it will mostly fall apart except for the CDX cousin Eddy put down.

Figure on your fuel tank being corroded beyond repair unless someone else has replaced it, maybe cousin Eddy patched that for you too!

 

[Derekxj]

When you cut your deck out, cut it like this guy did:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...8552655-boat-floor-replacement-where-to-begin

No need to use a circular saw anywhere near the middle of the deck, your deck will probably be rotten enough it will mostly fall apart except for the CDX cousin Eddy put down.

Figure on your fuel tank being corroded beyond repair unless someone else has replaced it, maybe cousin Eddy patched that for you too!

Thanks i'll try doing it this way. I need to remove all of the fabric and panels ( whatever the heck you call them ) that are in the gunnels first on the inside sides.

 

[jigngrub]

Thanks i'll try doing it this way. I need to remove all of the fabric and panels ( whatever the heck you call them ) that are in the gunnels first on the inside sides.

You'll also need to pull up that carpet before cutting too.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'd just cut the carpet around the edges with a razor knife and remove it where you'll be cutting. No need to remove it all. It's to hard to do. I would recommend Gutting the inside of the boat and removing any and all things removable before you start cutting out the deck. No need to have obstructions in your way. Try to determine the exact thickness of your deck and then set the depth of your circular saw to that depth. Put the narrow edge of the saw to the side of the hull and use a 24 tooth rip blade to cut the deck. Get the Cheapest blade you can buy cuz this will ruin the blade in a hurry. You might need two of em!!! Wear Gloves and a Good Respirator type mask and Goggles!!! Safety First!!!! Take your Time and go Slow. Once it's cut all around the perimeter, pry bars, hammers and chisels should do the rest.

 

[Derekxj]

I'd just cut the carpet around the edges with a razor knife and remove it where you'll be cutting. No need to remove it all. It's to hard to do. I would recommend Gutting the inside of the boat and removing any and all things removable before you start cutting out the deck. No need to have obstructions in your way. Try to determine the exact thickness of your deck and then set the depth of your circular saw to that depth. Put the narrow edge of the saw to the side of the hull and use a 24 tooth rip blade to cut the deck. Get the Cheapest blade you can buy cuz this will ruin the blade in a hurry. You might need two of em!!! Wear Gloves and a Good Respirator type mask and Goggles!!! Safety First!!!! Take your Time and go Slow. Once it's cut all around the perimeter, pry bars, hammers and chisels should do the rest.

Yeah i'll probably wind up doing something similar to this. im going to go to Depot and pickup some sort of respirator tonight. What i really want to do is buy a Bosch multi-tool and a new circular saw as mine is ancient. It works but is ancient. The new mikita saw with that cuts on the left side is looking quite nice.
My REAL concern is seeing guy's accidently slice through their hulls and they make it seem almost inevitable. Scary thought!

 

[jigngrub]

Set the blade depth on your saw for 7/8" because it looks like you have 3/4" decking and it's swollen. Use the old saw for the nasty demo work and the new saw for cutting the nice new material to build back with.

I've never had any problem removing old carpeting from a rotten or wet boat deck, grab a corner and start pulling, if it doesn't come off in one big piece it come off in 2 or 3 big pieces.

 

[Derekxj]

Set the blade depth on your saw for 7/8" because it looks like you have 3/4" decking and it's swollen. Use the old saw for the nasty demo work and the new saw for cutting the nice new material to build back with.

I've never had any problem removing old carpeting from a rotten or wet boat deck, grab a corner and start pulling, if it doesn't come off in one big piece it come off in 2 or 3 big pieces.

Yeah it seems to be about 3/4. I guess this is probably what i'll do. I'll pick up a ripping blade tonight. Im not sure if i can even adjust the table on my old school saw. i'll have to check. Is this stuff carpeting? it's absolute garbage i've hated it on every boat i've seen it on. sure it can be easy to clean but its almost like plastic, and after years water and nastiness always gets underneath it especially when a boat is fished all the time.

 

[mercurymang]

Pay attention to what your doing or this will happen.

I remember seeing several people who had done this and I told myself that I would "NOT" do this. So what did I do? I made an initial cut with my blade set the correct depth. Then my ADD kicked in and I decided I needed to go make another cut requiring that I change the depth on my skill saw. When I went to finish up the process, I forgot that I had made the change to the depth and proceeded to make two nice cuts on on my hull... one on either side. :embarassed:

 

[Woodonglass]

Set your blade at the exact depth of your deck or just shy of your deck material. This will allow for low spots due to rot. Better to be safe than sorry and 1/8" of rotting deck material is easy to tear out!!!

 

[Derekxj]

Pay attention to what your doing or this will happen.

I remember seeing several people who had done this and I told myself that I would "NOT" do this. So what did I do? I made an initial cut with my blade set the correct depth. Then my ADD kicked in and I decided I needed to go make another cut requiring that I change the depth on my skill saw. When I went to finish up the process, I forgot that I had made the change to the depth and proceeded to make two nice cuts on on my hull... one on either side. :embarassed:

A nightmare come true! hOly crap. I'm a big tool thrower when i do stupid things like this................ if that ever happens god forbid, someone better clear a two-three block radius for the idiotic outburst i would most likely have. Im sorry to hear that an thanks alot for posting that hear to forewarn me of what NOT to do!! NO CHANGING OF MY BLADE DEPTH until the entire deck is out. Check!

 

[Derekxj]

Morning Gents. Need some opinions. Last night i started to ( attempt ), to pull out the pieces / shelves / blue upholstered things in the gunnels of my Grady.
First off. Is there a name for them ? While sure they add some storage space......I hate them. I feel like they are a haven for water intrusion, leakage, mold, etc.

I pulled all of the small screws going through the vertical piece of board, but they still wouldnt come off. Do i need to destroy them to get them off?

This is going to be a fishing boat. I dont want them there once i rebuild this thing. I want one even smooth continuous gelcoat finish down the sides of the boat turning down onto the floors. I want no more water under the deck when im done. IDEALLY, i would absolutely love to have some means of storage in the gunnels wether it be for fishing rods, some fold in tackle storage ( ive seen these really cool inserts ), I dont know. Something.

Does anyone here looking at the interior layout of my boat have any ideas to make this thing spacier / more fishable????

 

[Woodonglass]

That's why it's called demolition!!! Since you're not interested in salvaging any of it, I'd just do whatever it takes to get em off and out!!! Sawzall, Hammers, chisels...Whatever!!! Once you get it out and we see what the hullsides and layout looks like, we'll be better able to advise you on how to re-configure it for your New Layout wishes!!!:joyous:

 

[Derekxj]

That's why it's called demolition!!! Since you're not interested in salvaging any of it, I'd just do whatever it takes to get em off and out!!! Sawzall, Hammers, chisels...Whatever!!! Once you get it out and we see what the hullsides and layout looks like, we'll be better able to advise you on how to re-configure it for your New Layout wishes!!!:joyous:

Cool. This sounds like a plan. I guess i dont want to COMPLETELY destroy them jusssssstttttt incase of the event that i decide for god knows what reason to put them back. Anyhow.
I had another thought / concern. Will i need to remove that " partition " that is between the deck of my boat, and the cabin space in-order to get to the front portion of the stringers? will i need to cut out the molded floor inside my cabin as well? Does that " partition " maintain any structural integrity in supporting the cap of the boat? these are all things i really dont know!

 

[jigngrub]

While you're removing decking, go ahead and lift the decking in the cabin too... I'm sure it needs replacing as well.

After you get the decking removed you'll be able to much better understand just how your boat is put together and what exactly needs to happen to repair it. Right now everything remains a mystery to you because you can't see the "guts" of your boat. Start taking stuff apart and don't stop until every last stinking bit of that rotten decking is laying on the ground outside of your boat. Then it'll be "Oh yeah, I see now" and "Holy Crap! I was riding around out on the water in this rotten thing?... I'm lucky I didn't lose my life!"

 

[Woodonglass]

Will i need to remove that " partition " that is between the deck of my boat, and the cabin space in-order to get to the front portion of the stringers? will i need to cut out the molded floor inside my cabin as well? Does that " partition " maintain any structural integrity in supporting the cap of the boat? these are all things i really dont know!

Yes, It all needs to come out! You may need to temporarily support the superstructure once the "partition" is removed but that's OK. Whatever it takes!!! You have to get down to the hull and work from the Bottom Up!!

 

[Derekxj]

Yeah im realizing this now! im kind of excited to actually start digging into this thing.
So i've been thinking and it seems as though once i take the cabin doors off, that " partition " will seperate from the cap in the places ive indicated in these little sketches. Does this seem right? What should i do, brace from the bottom of whats left of the cap here, down to the stringers with 2x4's to support it?

 

[jigngrub]

One of the first things you need to remove is that windshield across the top of the cabin, that's a fair amount of weight up the you don't want when you start taking things apart below.

You may have to shore up the cabin top with a 2x prop off the stringers, but it shouldn't be too bad with the windshield gone.

Start taking stuff apart from the top down starting with the windshield, the cabin door, maybe the partitions/console if they come apart, seats, and any boxes on the deck, the cabin furniture... until there's nothing left to sit on the deck and it's all clear, then giv'er.

 

[Derekxj]

One of the first things you need to remove is that windshield across the top of the cabin, that's a fair amount of weight up the you don't want when you start taking things apart below.

You may have to shore up the cabin top with a 2x prop off the stringers, but it shouldn't be too bad with the windshield gone.

I've looked into the windshield..........Does anyone have any clue on how the heck to take them off???