Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife

[strick]

Next was to put block supports under the forward keel, stick braces under the sides so it wouldn't roll over, move the gantry back to the transom, lift it up, slide the dolly under, and set her down. I cleated some supports to the dolly, and here she is.

And I thought I was doing good when I put the boat back on the trailer by myself...show off

Your shop came out really nice. I wish California was as green as Florida. I hear Florida is a good place to retire?

I have a question. What did your swim platform brackets look like? mine are quite small and I'm wondering if they provide enough support? My boat came with two ss turn buckle cables that attached to the swim platform and then to the rear towing eye on the transom and I don't really want to put that back on the boat.

strick

[Blue_Heron]

What did your swim platform brackets look like?

strick

They're cast aluminum. I'll shoot a picture and post it tonight with dimensions. They don't quite match the transom angle so they were shimmed to make the platform level.
Dave

[Blue_Heron]

strick,
Here are the swim platform brackets:





As you can see, they weren't painted and are pretty heavily corroded. If I decide to re-use them, I'll need to sandblast and powder coat them. The length of the top flange is about 18 1/2". The transom flange is about 8" long. The flange width is 3 1/4". There were four brackets supporting the platform and it was very solid.
Dave

[strick]

Thanks Dave

Mine are ss and they are 14"x7" I'm waiting on my trim tabs so I can mount the swim platform

strick

[Bushwacker]

. . . I'm waiting on my trim tabs so I can mount the swim platform

If y'all are gonna do much diving off those 25 Seafari's, you might want to mount the swim platform closer to the water than where the one on Dave's boat was mounted. The ideal location is right AT the waterline, like this one on the old Seacraft 21 "Unohu", which had a simple fold-up platform supported by cables connected to the towing eyes!




Owner Bob, seen climbing over the transom in first shot, was a GUNG HO diver who did all his fishing with a speargun or pole spear! That platform was heavy but was like his "back porch" and worked great! Those platforms of yours could be mounted on hinges the same way. We'd troll along the reefs in the Bahamas hanging off that platform with mask, snorkle, and pole spear, and drop off whenever we saw a desirable fish! Nothing like just picking out what you want for dinner! Just had to be careful to keep the spear away from the prop!

[Fr. Frank]

We'd troll along the reefs in the Bahamas hanging off that platform with mask, snorkle, and pole spear, and drop off whenever we saw a desirable fish! Nothing like just picking out what you want for dinner! Just had to be careful to keep the spear away from the prop!

Done that in the Islands many, many times. Fastest way to catch your fish dinner I know of. And you don't have to throw anything back! Just shoot what you're gonna eat!

[Blue_Heron]

If y'all are gonna do much diving off those 25 Seafari's, you might want to mount the swim platform closer to the water than where the one on Dave's boat was mounted. The ideal location is right AT the waterline, like this one on the old Seacraft 21 "Unohu", which had a simple fold-up platform supported by cables connected to the towing eyes!

Good point, Denny. I notice Bob's had a cutout for the outdrive. I'll look at dropping mine as low as it will go without interfering with the outdrive, but I don't want to get it much lower than the cockpit deck. The coaming and transom on the 25 Seafari are high and would be difficult to climb over if the swim platform is at the waterline. I'll have to ask Connor how he likes his. He does a lot of diving and his appears to be mounted higher than mine was.
Dave

[seafari25]

Nice Dave!

I`ll be following this one closely...shop is looking good!

You know...when I became a member here almost 2 years ago, there were no 25s. I mean, the were, but no members frequenting the board and none in the picture section of the home page. Now they`re popping up all over and there`s now a wealth of info on the board about them. It`s seafari 25 heaven in here I`m looking forward to your progress, as it too will be added to the wealth of info, I am learning about my boat.

Here is a link to my photobucket for your reference. Let me know if there`s anything I can do.

Brandon

[Blue_Heron]

Nice Dave!

I`ll be following this one closely...shop is looking good!

It`s seafari 25 heaven in here I`m looking forward to your progress, as it too will be added to the wealth of info, I am learning about my boat.

Brandon

Thanks for the kind words, Brandon, and everyone else who's posted. I've been trudging away and it's update time. First, I had to stock the fridge in the shop. As I've gotten older, my priority in beer has gone from quantity to quality. Based on their recent posts, I'm betting strick and grgrmouse will appreciate my selection.





Now, back to work. The transom on my boat was redone in '95. There were areas with serious spider cracks that I needed to investigate. After chipping at it a little, it looks like they used gelcoat to do the fairing on the outside. It's more than 1/8" thick where the spider cracks occur. I'll grind it out and fair it back, hopefully this weekend. Anyway, I knew I would have to strip the paint off the transom to repair the spider cracks. I bought some high dollar eco-friendly paint stripper to get the paint off. I put some on a 6" x 6" test patch and let it sit for about thirty six hours. It barely touched the paint. I got out the scraper and managed to peel it off. So Tuesday after work, I went out to the shop to slather the whole transom with paint remover. To prep for the paint remover, I took the scraper to the aluminum oxide and 5200 left behind when I pulled the swim platform brackets. Well, some paint came off with it. So I kept going. It looks like when they did the paint job, they may have used gray automotive sanding primer. The finish paint film was tough, but once I got the scraper under it, the primer separated easily. Too easily. I had the whole transom stripped in about 15 minutes. Here's the area with the worst spider cracks:





So I thought to myself, I don't really like this black paint job. All the nicks and scrapes show the original gelcoat. It was peeling and chipping at the chine, and I guess I figured out why. The primer wasn't what it should be. So last night I stripped the starboard side. In less than an hour. It was like peeling a cucumber. Tonight I did the port side. Here's the "before" pic:






Here's the after:





And the pile of paint strips:




Now, I know I've opened a can of worms, and most of the prep work is still ahead of me, but this is the way I wanted to go with it anyway. I'm glad the paint removal turned out to be way easier than I had hoped.

Dave

[wtenglish]

Nice work and good job on your dolly. Your shop is awesome!