Boat Buzz

I winterized my XK five years ago before moving overseas. I drained the fuel from tank and carb, fogged the carb and cylinders, put antifreeze in the cooling system and put fresh oil in. I had only planned on being gone for 2 years so the storage was longer than expected. The boat was kept in an enclosed storage unit. Any special recommendations for de-winterizing? Also, the cover has disappeared. Anyone know of a used cover or aftermarket that will work with this boat?

Thanks, Tom

If it were mine this is what I would do.
Drain / pump as much oil out as you can.
Refill with Valvoline VR1 Racing oil
Remove spark plugs spray cylinders with fogging oil
Remove water pump impeller (rubber)
determine engine rotation and rotate it by hand, Be careful not to loosen the crank pulley bolt.
Remove coil wire, cover spark plug holes with rags, install correct battery, turn over with battery until you see oil pressure on a
gauge (on engine /dash).
Inspect / replace impeller.
install coil wire/ plugs
Add Fuel / water
Keep the flame arrester on when cranking (remove to check for fuel flow) then replace.
Have a fully charged fire extinguisher at the ready
Give it a go.
Tom

If you totally drained the fuel system (good) it may take a bit to get it to prime depending on how it is configured.

Don't forget about the outdrive. Change the oil, and check the bellows for cracks. If the outdrive was up the whole time theres a good chance it split at the bottom. Or just go ahead and get a new bellows before it becomes a big problem. I learned the hard way once. As long as its apart I would go ahead and have the u-joint bearings serviced too.

Happy to hear about another XK! After you get her running, post some pictures please!

- Shannon K

Thanks for the advice. Does the outdrive take the same oil as the engine? I hadn't been a boat owner for very long before I stored the XK five years ago. Where's the best place to buy parts for the Volvo Penta 250 online? In the one and only season I used the boat the u-joint let loose and I believe I used Frenchies in NY for parts. I live in northern VA so there's not a lot of boat shops around here.

The out drive will take a different oil called gear lube or gear oil or something of the sort.

The AQ 250 out drive will take same oil as the engine. No gearlube.

So it turns out I have big problems. I uncovered the boat for the first time in 5 years today. It was stored inside a sealed barn with boat cover. The fiberglass looks fine but every inch of wood is rotten, to the point where if you touch or stand on it, it disintegrates. The flooring and rear seat wood supports - all gone. Is it dry-rotted?

So, a few questions:
- Floor: I assume the flooring needs to be marine plywood. What thickness and what should I use to cover it?
- Rear seat support: The horizontal part appears to be marine plywood. How about the framing below, what type of wood should be used for replacement?
- Bottom of seat cushions: marine plywood?

Since I can't put my weight on the floor w/out falling through: how is the wood forming the outside of the storage cubbies on either side removed? I see a couple of phillips screws on the top but is there something on the bottom?

The center of the floor comes out easy once the seat bases are removed. How are the two sides pieces of the floor removed? Mine floor is covered with vinyl up to the top of the storage cubbies w/out seams so I don't see any fasteners.

I may see try to determine the condition of the engine before I get into the flooring. It may be a basket case at this point.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Tom

I'll help take it off your hands if you give up.

Hi Tom,

Sorry to hear that problems have arisen with the boat. All is not lost however.
These boats are reallly quite simple in their construction, although it will take a lot of time, tools and patience to make it right.
The flooring is either 5/8 or 3/4 in h plywood, as are the seatbacks and bottoms. The rear seat framing is made up largely of 1x2s if memory serves. Hopefully the stringers, to which the flooring and engine are attached have not rotted also.
The plywood flooring is glassed into the inside of the hull. You would need to pull up the vinyl covering and remove all the plywood floor. Try not to bring it out in small pieces as it needs to serve as a template for the new plywood. Make sure the boat is sitting on something solid so it does not change the shape of the hull before installing the new plywood floor. After cutting the new plywood for size and fit, it would just be a matter of glassing it back in. I am relatively sure that the edges of the old fiberglass could be retained as a base to begin mounting and fair it all back smooth. Then you can find some new vinyl to glue back over the plywood.
Sure, it will be a lot of work and take some time. I know this boat well and it is worth the effort, because unless I am mistaken, I sold it to you.
Best of luck to you. If you decide it is too much of a project, I am sure someone here it would be happy to take it on. I just do not want to see it go to waste. I might even consider it myself.

Patrick

Great to hear from you Patrick - it is your old boat. Not too long after purchasing it I was unexpectedly sent overseas for five years. A great thing for our family, but the two casualties appear to be the boat and the house (five years of renters). Do you know what type of wood was used for the 1x2 seat supports? I am planning to take my grinder to cut the fiberglass to make a nice clean edge. Does that make sense? Once I get the floor out I can take a look at the stringers.

I'm unsure what happened, the boat was stored in my father in laws new barn, covered. The barn is not conditioned, but probably more weather-tight than my house. Every piece of floor and rear seat almost turns to powder when you touch it. Oddly enough, the same flooring in the engine compartment appears fine, it's just the wood in the cockpit.

Thanks for your help.

Tom

That is very odd indeed. Was there possibly some infestation that was deterred by chemicals in the engine compartment?
I really have no idea what kind of wood they used for the seat frames, probably fir or spruce.
Be careful when grinding or cutting away the glass. First, because of inhalation exposure and second, due to the potential ease of reconstruction. Of course it depends on the exact method of construction, but a lot of the 'edge or lip' of the fiberglass can be used again instead of rebuilding/glassing it all again. If that make sense. I hope it does, but then again I am picturing only what I remember.
Where did you end up overseas? I spent two and a half years in Germany after selling you the boat.
How does the rest of it look? Did the chrome hold up? I think the fiberglass is practically indestructible. Five years is a long time.
When I saw the initial post, I told my wife about the old boat being mentioned. Honestly, I think she was jealous of it (the mistress), and was glad to see it go. Women!?!?

Forgot to mention, I did replace a section of the floor in the engine compartment. On the starboard side I believe. You will most likely have to pull up the vinyl floor you to see it. Sounds minor to other issues and probably still sound. Even if the stringers need replacing, nothing you could not handle. YouTube has a wealth of info for the DIYourselfer. I would tackle it in a heartbeat. The boat is too nice to give up on. The engine alone is worth preserving the boat.

I would suspect there was moisture in the boat trapped by the cover. A little water and no air movement are the keys to disaster.

The floor measures 1/2" thick plywood. 3/4" marine grade is readily available here. Does anyone see any problem with using the thicker plywood, other than the added weight?

The original floor appears to be glassed in at each side. My plan is to use a cutoff wheel to cut the fiberglass as it turns horizontal from the storage sidewall, install new floor, re-glass to the side.

Thoughts are welcome.

Thanks, Tom

I replaced the floors in my '69 Commander SS with 1/2 inch marine ply, like the original. I cut out the floors at the edges with a multitool, leaving an inch or so of glass attached to the hull so I could slide the new floors under the lip and glass them in like before. I've added additional flooring supports to keep the floor from flexing. IMO, 1/2 is plenty strong if supported well from underneath. Like you say, 3/4 might add too much weight.

Chad,

I love your cordless drill in the second picture.

Thanks for the insight Chad. I got on the phone this morning as was able to find 5/8 locally but no 1/2. I will go with the 5/8 as no one wants to special order 2-3 sheets. Did you find any spacers underneath the floor at the edge or did the floor rest on the fiberglass hull? What wood did you use for the extra support? White oak seems to be readily available and a good choice for marine use. Thanks, Tom

Thanks, Andy. I love drilling holes with my bit brace. An old family friend gave me an antique set of Irwin spur auger bits when I was a kid. Nothing better.

As for the flooring supports, my floors were supported by blocks of ply set in a glob of resin. Crude but effective. I used scraps of mahogany as vertical legs under the flooring across wide spans of ply. I'm sure white oak would work fine.

Chad, thanks for chiming in here. I was so hoping that you would be able to give Tom some guidance.
Even though I am very familiar with this boat, it has been seven years and my memory is not what it used to be.

I look forward to you both adding photos as your work progresses.

Patrick

Ok, so the main portion of the floor is out - the three sections that start under the instrument panel and end just past the rear seats. The middle portion is six feet in length instead of eight, like each side. Does anyone know if that should be eight as well? It just leaves a hole under the middle seat.

The stringers are soft in some areas, so they should be replaced at some point (sooner than later). My current plan is to replace the floor with marine plywood, on top of the old stringers. This will give me the opportunity to check the condition of the engine. If the engine works out then I'll address the stringers soon. Having said that, I haven't researched the stringer replacement (since a I need the floor to get a look at the rear section where the stringers terminate. If appears to not be a can of worms I'll go for it now. The stringers measure 2 1/2 tall by 1 1/2 wide.

I welcome your thoughts.

Tom

I purchased douglas fir to replace the floor framing for my XK 1 1/2" x 2 1/2", which will get covered with marine plywood. Plan to paint both sides of the plywood. There appears to be pros/cons with the best way to treat the framing - encapsulate or not. Is there any issue with not painting or encapsulating the fir framing? Thanks, Tom