1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

[Jeep304]

Hi im new to the forum and the fiberglass boating world. my name is Brian and i just bought a 19' 1985 Sea Ray Seville.
Doing the usual cleanup on a new toy i noticed the wood around the gas tank was rotted, looks like a 1 by 2. started digging it out and it extends up under the floor just before the cuddy and back passed the motor mount, there is fiberglass behind it and plywood extending down from it behind fiberglass to bottom of tank cradle. My question is, is this part of the boat structure or was it for the hold down brackets for the tank and something for the floor to screw to. Also is there supposed to be a drain hole somewhere in the gas tank cradle i couldnt find one which explains why the wood would be rotted. The overall boat is in very good shape, hull, interior, carpet. No soft spots in floor
Any advise on this would be appreciated.
Will get pics posted hope its not serious.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Welcome to iBoats, Brian. . .

What you are describing does not sound too good, but posting a few pictures would be good to give folks here a better idea of the issues.

I am on the finishing portions of a major repair to my boat from a situation where there was rot near the fuel tank. I had to replace the bulkhead, replace the tank and repair several stringers. At first glance the problems did not look too bad, but as I dug into it, it got worse.

So, it would be good to figure out the extent of the issues as best you can and then plan your corrective actions.

 

[Jeep304]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Here are some pics. Would anyone have an exploded view of the hull so i can get a better understanding of how it is put together.

 

[Jeep304]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

more pics.

 

[Jeep304]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Everything else seems real solid. but i do understand that the rot could be inside the fiberglass. Do I drill holes to check?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

I'd take a poke at the rear starboard stinger . . . that one looks 'interesting' . . .

 

[Jeep304]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Whats your overall thought? The rotted wood ive peeled out is a 1 by 2 and some plywood. Are the stringers inside the fiberglass behind the stuff i peeled out? Whats below the gas tank cradle? wood, foam or bottom of boat? Any exploded views of the boat. I really need to figure this out so i know if i want to keep it. I do want to keep it just not dump a butt load of money into it.

 

[SDSeville]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Nice boat! I have a Seville close to the same year. My adventure started with a small soft spot near the gas tank... Yours doesn't look as bad, but you never know until you check the wood in your stringers and transom. The 1x2 was attached to the top of your stringers (1/2" plywood) to help attach the deck. The stringers should be encapsulated in fiberglass. However, mine were only glassed on one side from the factory.

 

[Jeep304]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Thanks SD Seville
Do you just do exploretory drilling to see whats wet? There are no soft spots in the floor. Im more worried about back by the motor. I think i paid too much for this boat if i have to do major repairs.
If the stringers check out good can you pull out the gas tank cradle and replace the 1 X 2 and plywood and refiberglass it in? Another question should there be a drain hole in the gas tank cradle, there is none on mine.

 

[SDSeville]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Jeep,
Yes, drill holes and see what the wood looks like. Dry & light colored - great; wet & light colored - not so great; wet & dark - bad. Check the stringers (ski locker, gas tank area, and the back by the motor), transom (top, middle, bottom), and motor mount. In theory, you can replace the 1x2, but if that is rotten, the stringers are likely bad also. You never know though, you might get lucky.
SD

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Jeep304,

How'd your hole drilling work our for you? I have rot around my tank as well, but I'm not interested (yet) to know how far it extends I do need to investigate the drain holes though, as I seem to be collecting a lot of water around the fuel tank. Floor overall is solid, as is the transom. Ski locker & gas tank area seem to be the worst 'soggy' areas.

Hope you post back again, as I enjoy following these reconstruction threads.

SDSeville can definitely relate to your experience, as he did a fabulous job repairing his!

Good luck

 

[Jeep304]

Re: 1985 Sea Ray Seville, Rotted wood around gas tank.

Yeah it is rotted didnt tear up floor yet, but will. the down side is I paid 3 grand for an anchor. When I get in to it ill keep you posted.