There's always a way to get a tank in or out but some dismantling is required. An alternative would be to install a blatter inside of the old tank . Here's a link to such an example https://www.atlltd.com/industries/marine/below-deck-fuel-water-bladders/water-bladders

Looks ship shape. What tasks were on your list besides painting the engines? I'd love to see more photos

A great place to start would be GLEN L https://www.glen-l.com/shop/plans-and-kits/human-powered-boats/

@Michael Watson thanks! @Scott Miller Thanks! Like Michael said the 30 Ray Hunt 24° deep V bottom is a radically different hull than all of the other Commanders. Inherently , a deep v bottom will outperform most other hulls in rough seas . However it's amazing offshore battle wagon handling requires much more torque and horsepower than the the modified v bottom that a 31 , 35, & 1st gen 42 In compairison , the flatter bottom of your 31 is a faster hull that burns less fuel and pushes it's engines less hard but isn't designed to be a comfortable ride at speed in rough seas.

I spent many many itchy hours in this boats bilge reconstructing it. Gobbs of oil and yuck worked it's way into the stbd inboard stringer thru some sloppy factory tabbing which ultimately also caused a lot of compromised bonding issues between it and the inner hull. The stringer was eventually cut free from the hull cleaned out, heavily ground and retabed with copious amounts of new glass. Lots of areas that had poor laminate compression and resin starved/ sloppy frp voids were ground out and re constructed . The factory weep holes in the stringers were installed much too high which didn't allow for proper drainage over the years and because they were made from PVC they didn't bond well where they passed thru the stringers . They were all removed and replaced with fiberglass tube installed to promote the best possible drainage and not to allow water to be trapped inside the stringers. The decayed and delaminated, & oil soaked bulkhead in front of the engines was replaced with coosa composite coreing . I upsized the new exhaust tips to 5" . Had custom glass mufflers made to my specs (simular to the ones made for my 35 express) to work with the new 8.1 engines . I found the engines from a guy (re) repowering a 31 Bertram who was sadly dead set on hanging outboards on his boat that already had this pair of 8.1s with not even one hour of run time on them . Needles to say it was a crazy good deal on two technically NOS Crusaders! The keel on this Sportsman was pretty badly fractured from the bulkhead going foward and had a few past failed repair attempts . I ground the whole area out basicly paper thin and then built back the laminate and then some . Then nearly the entire bilge got several layers of fresh glass A couple sacrificial layers of Chopped Strand mat was applied over the structural glass which allowed me to completely grind the bilge to a nice smooth finish which was then coated with several gallons of bright hlossy white epoxy paint. Here's a bunch of photos of my portion of this restoration. The factory location for the sea strainers was effective but in a rather cramped location that wasn't easy to service The bilge was just plain nasty! The area of the hull where the struts and rudders mount was rather thin . A bunch of glass was ultimately added in this area during this project. This pile of sloppy glass was a past failed repair attempt at addressing the fractures in the foward keel. We cut several access points into the starboard inboard stringer to allow us to clean out all the gunk that had worked it's way inside. Cutting the tabbing and adhesive that held the stringers in place because they were heavily compromised by contamination. I was literally able to remove this past failed repair with my bare hands because it was installed on top of dirt as well as over seeping fractures in the keel. It took many rounds of degreasing as oil kept leaching out for over a month This is a cool picture I took of the inside of the hollow stringer after all the gunk was removed. The very beginning of retabbing the inboard stbd. stringer back to the hull Hard to see in this photo but there was a flaw from the original stringer construction that escalated into a crack over the years. This was located in the area directly below the helmstaion. An insane amount of grinding happened in this area between both inboard stringers in the process of preparing for keel reconstruction. Preparing an assortment of sizes of glass to be used in the countless amount of localized repairs within the orig laminate schedule . These repairs were ultimately covered up by several layers of new glass. Here's an example of some factory laminate that that was both resin starved and poorly compacted located between the inboard and outboard port stringers under the fwd. Midship Cockpit. Dry fitting layers of 2415 Biply in the foward bilge. The result of laying up all that new glass in the fwd bilge. This view is basically from the helm to the V bunk area after rebuilding the original laminate plus adding several layers of additional reinforcement. For anyone that owns a 30 sportsman or TSF , this hull is rather vulnerable in this area as there is a lack of structure between the inboard stringers . I strongly suggest that when blocking your boat up for storage , use evenly spaced jack stands under the stringers to offset the weight that the keel blocking holds. Sparsely spaced keel blocking which is often practiced at boat yards trying to conserve their supply jacks will likely cause stress fractures in the keel do to pressure loading . The beginning of main bulkhead removal. A view looking aft thru the partially missing min bulkhead. Months and months of prep and itchy grinding! This is the area under the starboard engine This plastic weep hole was on the outboard stbd. Stringer at the main bulkhead. It was completely blocked with sloppy factory glass when they originally installed the battery shelf located between the outboard stringer and chine . To the right of that weep hole is more resin starved tabbing at the base of the engine bulkhead. It had delaminted and allowed water and oil to attack the old plywood bulkhead. I try to work as clean as possible, so as sections of the bilge got reglassed , I covered them with protective film and tape so the new laminate remained clean while we were in and out of the bilge with hundreds of feet of glass and resin in the rest of the bilge. Here you can see the sacrificial layers of CSM laid on top of the structural glass below which allowed me to ultimatly grind the finished bilge surface smooth without removing any structural glass. This is a section of the outboard stbd stringer all ground in preparation to fit new glass Between inboard and outboard port stringers under where the engine lives. A lot of time went into carefully rolling out each and every layer of glass to remove bubbles and to compress the laminate being mindful to not over apply resin. If you find yourself trying to tackle a glass job big or small, you'llneed an assortment of resin rollers. My favorite ones are the Bodi quick change rollers. They are very well made and unlike most other resin rollers that require the removal of screws every time you remove the head for clean up (which happens numerous times on on a big job) These Bodi rollers simply just pull off with no tools required which is great when your hands are covered in a mixture of sticky resin and fiberglass hairs. Plus there's no worries about losing or misplacing A screw while your under a time crunch to finish up a your repair before the resin begins to kick off! Here's a link https://www.bodico.com/collections/fiberglass-laminating-rollers/products/quick-change-fiberglass-laminating-roller?variant=39571345244263 This is the process of making a reliable pattern for the new bulkhead. The pattern is traced onto the Coosa and cut out. Just like Bob Vila..... a part made to a well fitting pattern fits near perfectly on the first try! One of literly hundreds of an example of a pocket of resin starved glass This is the port shaft pocket where the bronze shaft log bolts to. This area was extremely thin , delminated , and cracked. The original cast iron mufflers and surge chambers were many years past their prime . They were so badly rusted that several pounds of scale poured out of them. There were holes completely thru them too which ment that the bilge and cockpit was filled with carbon monoxide every timethe boat left the dock, not to mention exhaust water was most definitely filling the bilge . The old glss exhaust tips themselves were resin starved , very brittle and the factory bond they were set in the hull with had separated from the transom A view of the fwd. Side of the new composit engine bulkhead Dry fitting the new glass to flank the aft side of the new eng bulkhead The fully glassedaft side if the new engine bulkhead. You can't see it in the photo ,but the underside of the cockpit floor was also heavily ground and then fully tabbed to the bulkhead which stirdyed up the floor which overhangs the bulkhead. It was previously kind of flimsy and under supported. Plastiline was temporarily installed in the mout holes for the shaft logs So a to notloose their exact location while I added copious amounts of new glass . They turned out great and are now 3 times as thick ! Fitting the custom made 5" dia. mufflers. I used basically the same exact custom mufflers I had designd by Centek for the repower of my own commander . The difference is that in my boat (as in most other non Hunt designed Commanders) they got installed vertically. However, in order to fit on this model the have to be laid on their sides to clear the aft cockpit sole. This ment that their internal Veritone style chambers had to be reconfigured to work with the horizontal orientation. Pulling out the original plastic weep hole tubes from the stringers was much too easy as they never bonded well to fiberglass. Because they were installed way to high and didn't have a water tight seal , water became trapped inside the stringers. On few occasions water spewed out as I removed the tubes The new weep holes tubes are now glass tube that is glassed to both sides of the stringers. The holes were carefully redrilled so that the up stream side is as low as possible for the best possible drainage. I also added extra weep tubes as well as some weep holes on the inboard sides of the stringers to allow any water that might get inside the hollow stringers out. It's not easy being green! Behind the scene of every glamerous boat restoration is the less than glam dusty, dirty, grimy hard work. drilling out the transom for the upsized exhaust diameter. Grinding in the bilge underneath the V bunk is one of the toughest and most uncomfortable places to work but repairs were certainly needed here too ! Making new composite gas tank supports. The new aluminum tank was built with mount tabs that fasten to the stringers but we felt it would be smart to supplement the welded tank tabs so the weight of a full tank is more evenly supported. Glassing the new 5" exhaust tips in place The new exhaust tips and mufflers were carefully aligned with each other allowing for a slight downstream slope . The mufflers along with exhaust surge chambers not only tame the exhaust grawl but also help reduce back flow from surges. All cleaned up a d ready for paint The factory built this model with a fixed floor in the cabin. Since I had to cut out the floor to access the bilge anyway, I took the opertunity to re work the floor to include 2 removable floor boards as well as removable oak floor frames. This makes it possible to mount a bilge pump even further foward than the fwd bulkhead and allows access for cleaning and future service work. Looking from the cabin aft with the new floor boards removed for painting. A big a accomplishment it is to get to this stage! Very few people will ever fathom the amount of hard work and time a job like this requires.

Yea the scammers seem to be populating like rabbits! I too am constantly seeking obsolete parts for my customer's boats and have been had a couple times. I find it's best to know good people that either have the parts or have at least had a positive experience buying them from a legit seller they would recommend.

Welcome to the 35 club!

@todd Ryan Just keep in mind that if you are only performing spot repairs, there's a high probability that the new paint will be slightly different color than the existing gel coat that has seen many years of uv light so you may want to also order some pigment as well so you can fine tune the new paint if needed. It's also a good idea to wet san and buff the area surrounding any repairs before hand as it will help expose a more true original color. You'll then be able to check how it compares with the new paint. Also keep in mind that the surrounding gelcoat will continue to fade while new paint will remain far more color stable So a good color match today may become more noticeable over time . If you're doing a full paint job, none of the above comes into play .

We have done the leg work for you on this. A couple years ago in an effort to help out fellow member Chris Orphal, I sent in a piece of my 35 to Alexseal to be matched . Just ask for "Commander Off white" . It's a near perfect color match. https://www.alexseal.com/

Sorry to hear your insurance denied your claim. I would still suggest you tell the marina you dont accept the mis match gel coat work they did and demand a much better repair job . I know how difficult it sometimes can be to make a seamless gelcoat repar as I do this work for a living but couldn't imagine being ok with giving someone sub par work on their boat

You can contact your insurance and explain the situation. They might pay for the damage and then subergate the marina's insurance to ultimately pay them back. However there is always a chance your premium could go up. Personally from the looks of your photos, I'd opt to just fix it on my own or hire someone to do the repairs to your liking. Your marina may not have anyone truly skilled enough to make a seamless repair . It doesn't look like all that much work really. Now the area on your deck is a different story. I can see that the orig. gel is worn thru . The only way to fix that is to refinish a large enough area to be able to tie into an area with enough orig gel left or live with a smaller repair area that doesn't match until you're ready to tackle a larger refinish project

Regardless of the value of your commander, if you hired them to shrink wrap your boat it is absolutely their responsibility to take care of the necessary repairs caused by their accidental damage. The repairs need to look at least as good as the surrounding area.

I'd have to get a shipping quote I would also need to build a shipping container to ship it in . Your welcome to give me a call at 419-621-1188 or you can email me at Jeremy@custommarine.biz

Hi Bobby , I do still have it . It would certainly fit the width of your transom. You might need to adjust the shape of the edge that faces the transom so it lines up with the transom of your 36

Replacing tanks is often a task that involves considerable dismantling of the interior. Like others have said, you can install 2 tanks in place of one joined by fuel lines and valves. My preference would be to replace as one big tank just like the old one even if it means a lot more demo of your boat's interior. Think of it as a great opportunity to not only renovate your interior, but to gain access to anything in that area that is normally very hard to access that need maintenance. While doing this project do yourself and other future owners or repair techs a favor when reinstalling your interior, make mods to improve access to anything that needs service. These upgrades may be something as simple as adding access hatches in bulkeds, cabinets, walls, or floors. If possible, improve access to the fittings on your new tanks too. Something as seemingly simple as tightening a fitting can turn into a nightmare when there is no access.

I suggest upgrading to continuous duty blowers. This way they can be left on for imporved ventilation and saftey whenever your underway unlike the standard blower motor which is only designed for intermittent use. Nor only will you exhaust fumes,but your engines will have an even better source of air to breathe. Here's an example https://www.hodgesmarine.com/jab35770-0094-jabsco-4-flexmount-continuous-duty-blower.html

It would be wise to switch to closed cooling . If your interested a friend has the parts you'd need to do the conversation that were salvaged from a freshwater chris

There several choices. If you want to stay with carpet, you need to install it on each individual hatch separately. Depending on the thickness it is sometimes necessary to trim a bit of material from the hatchbsides to allow the carpet to be wrapped around and fastened. Plywood with teak and holly veneer is another common option. Like the carpet the plywood gets installed on hatches separately. Here's a link to world panel products. They are one of several suppliers you can get it from You can also use synthetic wood flooring . It's certainly not as rich and beautiful as the real thing but very durable and doesn't ever need any finish work . World panel also carries flexiteak which is one such example Another source is https://www.plasteak.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInueFgKukhwMVjTYIBR02ggp9EAAYASAAEgJcQvD_BwE https://www.worldpanel.com/ Another popular Marine flooring is the woven look which is another vinal product Here's one such link https://ccmarineflooring.com/ Hope this helps

I have had Centek fabricate new mufflers with an exterior shape very similar to the old cast iron chris craft ones so they'd mount similarly.

Your steering is likely steermaster brand. One possible cause is that the push pull cable that operates the the mechanical selector that allows you to engage the upper or lower station was not fully engaged or bound up. Here's a few other possibilities : -An obstruction like fenders or other stored gear in the lazerette got fouled up in the rudder end . -The clevis that attaches the steering cable to the rudder has snapped -The steering cable itself began to freeze from lack of use and snapped internally inside its sheath. -The gear inside of your rotary helm unit may have broke. -The rudder end of the cable has been bent (sometimes caused by accidentally stepping on it) which caused one of the above mentioned parts to break. I'd start with the easy stuff first when diagnosing the problem