84’ Tournament.. replacing tank but have questions

[MikeyThumbs]

Hi all.. I was given a 1984 Tournament 170 that was sitting on a trailer unused for a good part of the last 10 years and hadn’t seen water. The top of the fuel tank was rotted out and had a bunch of holes, so my first order of business was to pull the tank and get a replacement made up.
When I pulled the tank last night (which went rather smoothly) everything was wet and mucky underneath, but the fiberglass seemed to be in pretty good condition. There was 1 location that makes me nervous and I want to know how I should approach it. On the lower stringer that goes from front to back (at the wall separating under the bow from under the deck where the tank sits) the fiberglass is split about 6” long at the top corner of the stringer (I’m at work now but will get some pictures this afternoon for reference). I can see wood and it seems moist from what I can tell but nothing feels mushy or structurally weak. Do I have to start cutting out fiberglass/wood until I see no rot, or since everything seems structurally sound, can I just let it dry out completely and re-fiberglass over the crack?

On a positive note, the tank was already dropped off and should be made in a week or 2, in the meantime I have some other work to do, next step is replace the fuel lines (which I’ve read in these forums can be a pain in the ass), then steering cable replacement, check electronics/wiring and just a general cleanup of things..

Let me know what you guys think about the approach I should take regarding the split fiberglass. I’m not trying to dump a ton of money into the boat but would like to get it cleaned up and restored for safe seasonal use and get at least a few good, fun years out of her!

Thanks in advance

 

[MikeyThumbs]

Ok, have some pictures of the spot I mentioned.. also, this is what I found while researching: Could this be a potential option for me? The wood underneath doesn’t seem soft or mushy, I tried pressing a screwdriver in this afternoon to check rigidity and seems solid. For now I set up a fan to blow overnight to help speed up any drying.

 

[dstarok]

I’m no expert, but since no one else is replying, I would probably drill a few holes back where the fiberglass isn’t cracked. You might find the wood is wet pretty far back.
Since it’s already accessible, you could expose the wet wood, remove and replace, and re-Fibefglass.
But if, like you say, the wood is solid, I’d just fiberglass over the crack and go with it. Should last the few years you’re wanting it to.
just my 2 cents.

 

[MikeyThumbs]

I’m no expert, but since no one else is replying, I would probably drill a few holes back where the fiberglass isn’t cracked. You might find the wood is wet pretty far back.
Since it’s already accessible, you could expose the wet wood, remove and replace, and re-Fibefglass.
But if, like you say, the wood is solid, I’d just fiberglass over the crack and go with it. Should last the few years you’re wanting it to.
just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the reply. I spoke to a few people at different marine stores and they said the same. I bought a kit with fiberglass patches and a resin/hardener.. I am going to drill out a small piece of fiberglass about 6-8” from the end of the crack and see what the wood feels like below. If all looks good I’ll just patch it up and worst case will replace what needs to be replaced.