Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Questions about boat repairs with our resins and fiberglass: hull patches, transoms and stringers, foam, rot etc.
Barry_CF
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

Thanks FG, I understand.
I'm hoping to get the motor out this weekend. If I can get the other gantry side built tomorrow I should be able to manage it.

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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

Everything seems to slow down sometimes. I finally got the gantry built only to find I could not get the 10 foot wide beam up there to complete the bracing. I had an idea in the back of my mind that might be trouble...

Anyway, solution is pulleys mounted near the top and I'll lift the beam up so that I can then just lift it up and over into the saddle for it. Then I can add the braces and I'll be ready to pull the motor. Maybe this is the weekend :) We'll see.

Picture showing the two gantry sides sitting on each side of the boat, ready for the beam to get lifted in place. Maybe tomorrow. I have to work on my truck so we'll see if I get to it.

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Barry_CF
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

The gantry is up. Despite my planning, it was a pain in the rear. The beam is heavy and at the limits of my reach. I used the pulleys to get it near the top And then lifted it into position. Once in place I finished drilling for the bolts and added the bracing.

It's not bad, I could lift the motor as it sits I believe. But I'm not entirely happy with the lateral stability. Those long 4x4's have a bit more flex in them than I anticipated. So, I will add some bracing about 3/4 up to the ground to steady it up. Fore and aft it's pretty solid.

Maybe I get that motor out this week. Seems like a lot of work just to get the motor out, but I now have a reusable outdoor gantry for anything else I may have, like mounting an outboard eventually.

The rope you see across the top is just my temporary line to hold a tarp up.

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Barry_CF
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

Almost... Got the chain host hung and motor connected, lifted as a test and it looked good. Set it back down while I get everything else ready. Motor home had to be moved, battery dead, and not able to bring it back, so I discovered the price increase for batteries. Geez.

Trailer is hooked up to move the boat from under once I lift the motor up. It's going to be anti-climatic I think. The gantry seems more than capable. I plan to get the motor out tomorrow if some business thing doesn't pop up.

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Barry_CF
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

Motor is out, easy peasy once everything was ready.
I need to dismantle my gantry and drag the motor to it's storage spot, and get the boat back into it's home position. I'll get the rest of the assembly off the transom, check to see how bad the rot is*, clean up the whole thing and then it will be time to add additional support for the next step.

*I know the transom is toast and there is some stringer rot, just don't know how far the stinger problem goes. If I had to guess, the port side stringer is the bad one and the starboard side appears to be fine. Until I start cutting back I won't know the answers of course. Anyway, the stringer rot stops somewhere between the stern and the bow :)

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TomW1
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by TomW1 »

Barry, please read the Plywood Transom Replacement artical by the Bateau Tech support team, I forgot to mention it is just above here the 3rd post down. It will walk you through replacing your transom. Tom
Last edited by TomW1 on Thu Sep 22, 2022 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Restored Mirror Dinghy, Bought OD18 built by CL, Westlawn School of Yacht Design courses. LT US Navy 1970-1978

Fuzz
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Fuzz »

Good job! Now you can get a better look at things.

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OrangeQuest
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by OrangeQuest »

Fuzz wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 2:35 pm Good job! Now you can get a better look at things.
I don't see a picture of a better look yet! :doh:
Anyway, the stringer rot stops somewhere between the stern and the bow :)
That is for sure! Let's hope closer to the stern than the bow. We may need a bigger shovel.
"that it isn't just an ordinary sort of boat. Sometimes it's a Boat, and sometimes it's more of an Accident. It all depends." "Depends on what?" "On whether I'm on the top of it or underneath it."
A. A. Milne

Barry_CF
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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

Tom, thanks, I've read it several times along with some of the threads on transom replacement. Good information for sure.

Orange, never fear, there will be pictures, eventually. I'm hoping to get the remaining parts off the transom and cleaned up this weekend.

Fuzz, thanks for the encouragement and we'll know more soon enough

Taking the gantry apart/getting the beam down was about as difficult as putting it up. I try to make things so that I can work on my own, even though my sons are close by and are happy to help. I think in the future I will mount the beam on the ground and then get help to stand the gantry up. All the holes are drilled for the braces so it should be doable now.

One remarkable thing, the hoses all look pretty good. They are at least 30 years old, perhaps 40. I removed one just to see how it looked inside and how pliable it was. I'd have guessed it was 3-4 years old, tops. I'd replace them all anyway if I were reusing the engine, but I'm stunned by how good they look.

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Re: Sea Ray 245 Cuddy Fish (1983)

Post by Barry_CF »

I got to the transom stripping this afternoon. Hard to see those two bolts on the bottom of the exhaust Y :) I could feel them, and pictures taken showed they were there, but for whatever reason getting the socket on them was elusive. Eventually I wore it down however and off it came.

The rest was pretty straight forward. I still need to figure out how to remove the power steering from the transom plate.

As I already knew, the transom is toast. Bad enough that perhaps the stripping of the plywood will be easier, although the upper sections may not be so bad. Picture here with a screwdriver inserted about 1 inch into the ply...

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