Hauled her and OH MY!!!

[KWITCHYERBELEACHIN]

Hauled the old girl last week and am doing the hull myself. F-26 that I bought last year and just enjoyed for the rest of the season. I guess until you get the four or five coats of antifoulant off that there is no way to know what you have. I am a bit overwhelmed by the VERY deep scrapes and rubs that the antifoulant seemed to fill and cover wonderfully. I am filling all damage with epoxy filler and D.A. sanding the hull from the rub rail down. I am also replacing the main intake and all of the below-the-water-line fittings with bronze thru-hulls and seacocks (had been changed to all plastic) I absolutley see that this is one of those projects that will be ongoing for years. Damn shame I like the boat so much. Plan on going with Fighting Lady Yellow hullside and leaving the topside white. Hoping to spend a full week on the water for the 4th. Also, anyone swapped out to a 350 Chevy of any brand. The P.O. did mine with a Crusader however the height is such that the hatch wobbles on top of the engine. Any ideas on getting the hatch to sit flush?
Tight Lines and Smooth Seas.

[rossjo]

Fuel Injection? Low rise manifold? What manifold/carb do you have?

[Paul]

I swapped out the 305 CID Mercruiser in my '78 F-26 for a 350 CID back in 2001. Both are the same physical dimensions, however due to the increased displacement, it required a larger flame arrestor to keep up with the increased air flow demand. This created an interference problem between the flame arrestor and the hatch. To solve this problem, I marked out a circle on the bottom side of the hatch in line with the flame arrestor. Then starting in the center of the circle and working my way outward, I used a router to clear out this area to a depth of about half the thickness of the hatch. I then re-sealed the exposed wood core with a light woven roving and epoxy resin to finish the job.

Hope This Helps
Paul
Cruise Control

[KWITCHYERBELEACHIN]

The engine is a 260HP crusader 350 Chevy block. It has what I would assume to be a standard marine manifold in that the base plate for the carb is roughly 6dg. tapered so that the Q-jet sits level on top. And Paul, it is the flame arrestor making contact. It is 7" Dia. and 3.5"high. Looks right on top of the motor but I don't like the wobbly hatch. I have just found a "hot rod fresh air intake" in my jegs catalog. It uses a low profile 14" air cleaner (2" height above carb, 4" filter thickness) and has two flex hoses five feet long each with air scoops (for lack of a better word). Was wondering about plumbing this to pull air from the fresh air intakes already built into the boat. Is this USCG acceptable? Do I have to have a flame arrestor if I'm plumbed to the outside?

[JuiceClark]

If it's only a 1/4 inch or so, I'd go to a Goodyear Commercial Store and buy strips of real rubber...as thick as you need. Cut strips to go all the way around each hatch. It's pretty cheap stuff, never goes bad and will make the floor silent when you step on it. Best of all, no more wobbly.

[rossjo]

YES - you DO need a flame arrestor. Who cares about the USCG? What about your family, your boat and YOU? A backfire in a boat without a flame arrestor is a FIRE - not pretty!

[etpence]

I did the same as paul and took a router and cut a grove for the flame arrt. and then sealed it with epoxy it worked great and didnt seem to lose any striength i had replaced my 318s with 350s and they were 1/2" into my hatches all seems well now

todd 30' sea raider MioMio