Hello iboats...

[thundercat 9]

I am new to the boating community and as such, have been doing alot of reading in this forum. I've found lots of great info, which I'm going to need because I have to do some motor mount and stringer repair/replacement.Anyway, the boat I have is a 1987 Century 4500 XL, does anyone know anything about this boat ie: the company rep, the hull integrity, and so-on. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
jeff

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Hello iboats...

Welcome Jeff,
Not familiar with that boat.You could post some pics and tell us the engine and drive info.I'm sure you will get plenty of help.

 

[QC]

Re: Hello iboats...

Welcome aboard!! As Gary said, the engine and drive info will be most helpful for us to help you. Most boats are very similar, two stringers, a wiring harness, gauges, batteries, an engine and drive and that's that.

 

[thundercat 9]

Re: Hello iboats...

hey guys,

Thanks for replying. I'm attaching some photos of the boat. It has a merc 350(260 hp) and an alpha 1 drive. The motor sounds good, no stalling when I shift from forward to reverse.I currently have the motor out so I can get at my problem better. I will try and upload some pics of my problem.

thanks
jeff

 

[thundercat 9]

Re: Hello iboats...

this is were the 350 used to be. As you can see,I cut the top off of the motor mount pedestal to be able to scoop out what was left of the mount. I took up some of the plywood on the port side to get a better look. The stringer is rotten.I dug and vacuumed out what I could. It looks like the stringer was only 1/2 plywood and a piece of 2"x2" was placed on top of it to anchor the deck. There is all kinds of high density foam between stringers. To me,the 1/2" plywood would not give much support in the rigidity department.

 

[thundercat 9]

Re: Hello iboats...

Here is a pic taken from the transom.

 

[thundercat 9]

Re: Hello iboats...

I'll try uploading the pic again

 

[PhatboyC]

Re: Hello iboats...

Nice boat. Love the shape and the railling going all the way back to the sides.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Hello iboats...

I did the same sort of motor mount work on my 21' sea ray. I filled the space that was emptied with a couple cardboard baffles to keep epoxy in the rectangular "pads", epoxied some pieces of hardwood dimensional lumber into the rectangle openings to near the top, then filled all the cracks and sealed with a mix of marine epoxy and wood flour.

Solid as anything, will never rot completely (even if water gets to the wood pieces, the epoxy will hold the structure) and holds my 350 engine just fine...

Nice boat, much cleaner looking than mine. I'm looking at painting my hull since I had to do some major gelcoat repairs after an accident.

And Red Ones Go Faster

Erik

 

[thundercat 9]

Re: Hello iboats...

What did you do when it came to repairing the stringer next to the motor mount?

 

[oops!]

Re: Hello iboats...

help me here pros
but does 2x2 on top of a stringer sound like a previous repair?

if you see rot, keep ripping out stuff till there aint none!

you allready got the motor out. the upholstry and stuff is a cakewalk.

do it all once! its winter any hoo! when you are done the boat will be right.
and you will sleeb better stoned on resin fumes!!!!
CHEERS
and good luck!

lotta good people that know what their talking about on this site.

 

[thundercat 9]

Re: Hello iboats...

Are you refering to a repair you did? It is a 2x2 on top of a piece of 1/2" plywood placed in a vertical position and running parallel with the fuel tank. If I dig out all the rotten stringer, will I see a laminated channel on the hull that the stringer slides into?

 

[oops!]

Re: Hello iboats...

hey t cat
im not a pro,
im about to do my own stringer/transom repair
I bought two books
runabout renovation, and the fiberglass repair manual.
I dont think that a 1/2 inch plywood is a stock stringer.
the pros on here will know.
i think that the reason you see a channel, is just where someone glassed in the plywood stringer
every thing i read calls for a larger, beefier stringer.