Removing the Cockpit Deck on a 3257 Montego?

C

ChefJunk

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Bob, or anyone else who can advise me:

I have the 3257 Montego and was wondering what all has to be removed to get the cockpit deck out of there? I have the rear seat brackets removed for repair. I also have the helm and companion seating remover for cleaning and repair. The cockpit is looking pretty sparse and I thought it would be nice to remove the deck to do a nice detail on the engine compartment.

Do I need to remove the boarding step foundations? How about the helm seat/cockpit bar support structure?

Thanks,

Jim
 
I've done this with two people, but I ended up throwing out my back in the process. The deck is heavier than you may think. Three people should be able to handle the job easily.

Remove the boarding steps and any hardware screwed into the sides. Disconnect the hatch drain hoses and scuppers. You don't have to do anything to the cabinet behind the helm seat. Remove all hatches. Get down in the center hatch facing aft and lift the aft portion of the deck. Have one or two persons to catch the deck when there is enough room to get there fingers under the lip and pull up and to the rear so the forward section slides clear of the helm cabinet.

When I replaced the heads on one engine I supported the deck with 2x4s and left it suspended over the engine compartment. Of course, when I replaced the other engine, we took the deck completely off the boat.

With the deck off, you have an amazing amount of room to get around. Take advantage of it. It's a great opportunity to replace all the oil hoses and the blowers, change the transmission fluid, clean up the wiring.
 
Jim,
To take the cockpit deck out you are better off having a forklift from the marina remove it. The marina used the fork lift in March and Sept of 2007. They used chains around the center aluminum support. Make sure it is bolted in properly prior to lifting it out. You will need a few people to help lift and rotate it to an angle so it can be removed. I cleaned the whole engine compartment and lip area when it was removed in March and Sept 2007. That year I had that deck off twice. That deck is heavy. Once to replace and install the brand new Velvet drive on the starboard side and then in Sept to have the new head installed on the starboard engine. That's when I removed old wires not needed and wire tied everything and added the wire coverings. When sold, the starboard engine engine had 300 hours although it showed 1000, and the trans had 25 hours. I think I told you that before, I hope.

Also if you do take it off look under the deck as I installed 3 water fuel seperators. One for port, one for starboard and one for the generator. The two additional fuel seperators were for the fuel flow meters. You will need to take off the boarding steps and foundations.

Did Joel give you the owners manual I made with the CD? This has additional information about the boat and everything I added or found on the boat. When I purchased the boat it did not have the original boat manuals.

Let me know if you need anything else.
 
Bob and Paul,

Thanks for your advice!

Bob,

Unfortunately, you were the last one to care for the boat! It had two solid seasons of neglect and the ER is a mess (filth). That's why I want to remove it to get it cleaned back up to where you had it. When I bought the boat, I was nervous about the condition of some things as far as cleanliness and the whether or not it would be able to be brought back.

So far, I am VERY happy with the results of my elbow grease. The canvas has cleaned up nicely and it is heading off for repairs next week. The companion seat is being rebuilt and looks great. The nonskid is as white as the day it left Wisconsin. The hull is shined up great and even the blue stripe looks 100 times better.

I am hoping I can be an indian giver and get a piece of teak pattern carpet I gave away back from the folks I gave it to. If I can, I will be making new carpet for the cockpit and swim platform (for the dogs). There are a couple of electrical troubleshooting things I want to do (trim tabs, breakers, etc.) then it is ready to float.

While I am blessed with the deal I got on the boat, and appreciate the previous owners generosity, his heart was just not in it and it fell into disrepair. I am thankful that my eyes could see past the minor issues and my arms are good for scrubbing. I hope to be floating by late April and will post some photo updates at that point.

Thanks again for all of your help!

Jim
 
It's a shame to see a boat fall into someone's hands who doesn't really care. Being able to bring it back to near where it should be is awesome. I was able to do that to my Carver. I just hope that when(if) I sell The Dog House, it leaves the area so I don't have to see it get bad...assuming it will not find as loving an owner as myself.
 
Jim,
Glad to hear that your making headway. How bad was the cockpit carpet. i just made that in 2007 if memory serves me. I hope that did not get all crapped up. That sucks that they did not take care of it. I did have mold in my boat as well, but it was clean prior to taking ownership. Actually when I looked at our Trojan all was very good except for minor thing that needed repair. Looking forward to seeing some pictures. Nothing like seeing your previous boat in good hand. Enjoy.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Starry Night

Jim,
Glad to hear that your making headway. How bad was the cockpit carpet. i just made that in 2007 if memory serves me. I hope that did not get all crapped up. That sucks that they did not take care of it. I did have mold in my boat as well, but it was clean prior to taking ownership. Actually when I looked at our Trojan all was very good except for minor thing that needed repair. Looking forward to seeing some pictures. Nothing like seeing your previous boat in good hand. Enjoy.

Click to expand...


Bob,

The carpet was fine. The black backing is deteriorating a bit, but it still has some useful life in it. For some reason, I do not like berber carpet and am just picky about it for some reason.

This is the carpet on my old boat:
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg1/legochef/Old Carver Newer Pics/Cockpit-ViewFromAbove.jpg

It was a great quality and I got it for a steal. I for 60' by 8.5' for less then $250 shipped to me. I sold some and gave alot away and am kicking myself in the butt now because I can't find it reasonably. It really made the boat look nice and was a constant source of compliments.

Jim
 
Jim,
That carpet looks very cool. It looks like teak & holly and for the price you can't beat it.
 
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