CONTINUOUSWAVE

Give me advice on three areas in the stern on my 1996 MONTAUK 17:

LOOSE HARDWARE
Q1: how are the stern lifting eyes connected together?

BACKSTORY
The transom lifting eyes have become loose, and now inboard and outboard eyes no longer line up. There is also play in them.



I assume that the two eyes are threaded together, but—based on my initial attempts—to unthread them is going to take a lot of persuasion. Also, I hesitate to put heat on these parts or employ a big cheater bar without being sure how this actually goes together.


FUEL-WATER SEPARATING FILTER

Q2: What is a good location on a 1997 MONTAUK 17 to install a fuel-water separating filter?

Q3: is installing a fuel-water separating filter going to produce a benefit that is worth the hassle of installing it?



BACKSTORY
My 1996 Yamaha F50 engine tends to have problems with its carburetor, so I want to add a Yamaha-brand fuel-water separating filter. The fuel source will be two 6-gallon on-deck tanks under the RPS, and I will be manually switching the fuel line between the two tanks.

I plan to mount the filter housing above the sump on the inboard side on inner wall of the splash well. It appears from the wood diagram [see Figure 2] that there is plywood backing in that location.

TRANSOM GREEN LINE JOINT DAMAGE

Q4: what method is best to repair and restore the green line joint between the transom and the hull liner?



BACKSTORY
The transom-to-hull green line is generally in good shape but has taken a little abuse from a chain rode. I'm not that concerned about the cosmetics but want to make sure it doesn't chip further and is sealed from water intrusion.

jedd17 wrote:Q4: what method is best to repair and restore the green line joint between the transom and the hull liner?

Please read at:

Advice on Repair of Unibond Hulls
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... f=6&t=9254

The hull looks very nice. The gel coat has good lustre. The damage seen in Figure 3 looks like it is just cosmetic. Remove loose material by sanding, clean, dry area. Apply gel coat resin with thickener for initial coats, then color-matched gel coat resin for top coat.

Learn more about polyester gel coat resin and how to get it to cure to a hard finish by using an overcoat of poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) or by adding special wax additives to the resin to allow total hard surface curing.

ASiDE
The "green line" joint in Figure 3 looks more like a "brown line" joint. Boston Whaler must have been using a slightly different laminating resin and chopped cloth in 1994 when they molded your hull.

jedd17 wrote:Q1: how are the stern lifting eyes connected together?

Typically there is a length of threaded rod that connects the two lifting eyes. Sometimes the threaded rod has been hammered over to suppress any tendency for the threads to unwind and loosen.

Yes, you cannot use much heat in persuading the threads to loosen. In some cases the threads may have galled together, which is a joint almost like a weld.

I suggest you apply some sort of thread penetrating loosening oil and let it soak in, repeating the application several times. Then some moderate heat, but keep it below 120-degrees-F, as you do not want to start any part of the hull (particularly the foam) to begin to melt.

I don't think a bar is a good way to apply force to the eyes. They might not like that much pressure on them and could crack. I'd use a big "monkey" wrench so the jaws of the wrench spread the force over a larger area onto the eyes.

Since the eyes are loose, you can also apply force to tighten them more. This often helps break loose a stuck threaded fastener.

In the end, if the eyes are galled to the threaded rod, you will have to cut off one end. Once the eyes are off the boat you can use more heat and put them in a vice to work on unthreading them with more force.

If not familiar with the tendency of stainless steel threads to gall, read more at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... ricant.pdf

Based on your description, the hole in the Unibond hull must have been abraded away by forces acting on the eye that pulled it side-to -side. Once the eyes are out, you will have to fill the existing hole. I would use thickened epoxy resin for that part of the repair. Then you will be able to re-drill the hole. Drill the hole slightly oversize. Then coat the inside of the holes with unthickened epoxy resin. Then re-drill to the exact size needed.

If you want you can install the rod with some caulk, but DO NOT use a strong adhesive like 3M5200 or 3M4200.