31 Contender "Dream Overhaul" begins.
Sometimes things happen for a reason. My boat was not up for sale, but I was made an offer I couldn't refuse, despite my summer vacation plans (with the boss, she was not happy!). She was gone before I had a chance to say goodbye. Within days before I sold, I had received a message that my next dream hull I had mentioned overhauling on social media, a 31 Contender, was going up for sale soon. They had heard my interest in said vessel, and we came to terms very quickly. It was meant to be!

Tony Bossela, a local fishing legend, was the original owner. He heard I had her and had begun restoration, and paid a surprise visit!

First order was to strip the boat completely. I earned a new respect for the Contenders build quality cutting out that console lol! We cut out the floor, and exposed the leaky tanks.

Thanks to a trusty chainfall, the tanks came out without much of a fuss.

The tanks were definitely toast!

After a lot of back and forth with myself, (it actually took weeks), I finally made a decision on the new tanks and ordered a custom 340+ gallon configuration. This will save half the tub in the console, which saves rigging/maintenance ease, while also giving me a huge range. We deleted the fresh tank in the back in favor of the fuel exspansion. Two new 25 gallon fresh tanks in the forward saddle storage extreme will give me both all the fresh water I could want on extended trips, but also offer instant 400lbs of bow ballast, but more on that idea later.

The console restoration began yesterday. The holes have been filled and shes ready to get faired out and primed (ambitious I know) tommorow.




We recently did the same exact vessel overhaul, and I'm doing the same configuration as I did here, except with a 24" Simrad which is the same dimensions as this Garmin.


After the tanks go in the next couple weeks, the build will be going full blast. After repairs, mods and fairing, the entire vessel will be painted with Alexseal inside and out. The paint scheme is the exact same down to the custom formulas as seen on the world famous "Grander Jarret Bay" yacht.
Updates will be somewhat slow at first, but the build speed will escalate towards fall. We are hoping to be finished by Christmas, though again, that's being very ambitious. Thousands of man hours are ahead of the team in the coming months.
Obviously my Contender isn't the Grander, but I have no shame in copying her exact paints, metal and softsides to the T.
T, for "Trinity" that is. Here is the beautiful Grander, for scheme reference.

Tony Bossela, a local fishing legend, was the original owner. He heard I had her and had begun restoration, and paid a surprise visit!

First order was to strip the boat completely. I earned a new respect for the Contenders build quality cutting out that console lol! We cut out the floor, and exposed the leaky tanks.

Thanks to a trusty chainfall, the tanks came out without much of a fuss.

The tanks were definitely toast!

After a lot of back and forth with myself, (it actually took weeks), I finally made a decision on the new tanks and ordered a custom 340+ gallon configuration. This will save half the tub in the console, which saves rigging/maintenance ease, while also giving me a huge range. We deleted the fresh tank in the back in favor of the fuel exspansion. Two new 25 gallon fresh tanks in the forward saddle storage extreme will give me both all the fresh water I could want on extended trips, but also offer instant 400lbs of bow ballast, but more on that idea later.

The console restoration began yesterday. The holes have been filled and shes ready to get faired out and primed (ambitious I know) tommorow.




We recently did the same exact vessel overhaul, and I'm doing the same configuration as I did here, except with a 24" Simrad which is the same dimensions as this Garmin.


After the tanks go in the next couple weeks, the build will be going full blast. After repairs, mods and fairing, the entire vessel will be painted with Alexseal inside and out. The paint scheme is the exact same down to the custom formulas as seen on the world famous "Grander Jarret Bay" yacht.
Updates will be somewhat slow at first, but the build speed will escalate towards fall. We are hoping to be finished by Christmas, though again, that's being very ambitious. Thousands of man hours are ahead of the team in the coming months.
Obviously my Contender isn't the Grander, but I have no shame in copying her exact paints, metal and softsides to the T.
T, for "Trinity" that is. Here is the beautiful Grander, for scheme reference.

Tony Eden-
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
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Replies
Tight lines
Now that I'll be doing extended trips, I'll get a hand held as well. Not to mention phone apps, I'll be covered.
Power will be Suzuki 300's. I'm saving 20k over the Yamaha option!
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The console is close to being faired out now.
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Mine is going to be the craziest wiring job ever seen in one, once my console is done I will begin planning the inside layout.
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Yes Seapro. No more gauges. The helm will be one giant screen, wall to wall. A 24" will just barely squeeze in.
I'm tracking every minute, every penny spent livebait. Gotta make sure we can stay profitable.
Drove to Ft.Pierce yesterday to get my tanks from TNT Custom Boatworks. I must say they made a great product, with a quicker build time and 25% cheaper than any other quote I got. Over a thousand dollars saved with them was well worth my drive!
Even after driving all day, I couldn't stand it. Had to hoist them up into the boat for a dry fit.
Gonna epoxy coat them, and then I'll be ready to glass them in. We have an awesome setup planned. All three tanks have two pickups, so all three tanks will be plumed to both engines for ultimate fuel system redundancy. There will be a stainless three way valve at each fuel filter.
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Moving on, more cracks along the rubrail getting filled, and most of the transom is grinded out.
Now for the livewell mods. The livewell system is good, but we are making it much better. First, we are glassing the overflow holes shut. Next we are installing gemlux adjustable fills and adjustable drains. This way the tank can be pressurized whether we are running or not, or the water can be instantly adjusted to any level right from the well.
Next, we will attack the stock scuppers. The new Gemlux version has a check ball in it, so no water can enter the deck when backing down, etc.
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I decided against glassing the overflow shut. Instead, I'll put another adjustable drain there! Figure it's a win win.
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I decided against glassing the overflows closed. Instead, I'm adding adjustable drains there too. That way I can pressurize running or not, or allow it to function as normally designed. Win win!
One of them was impossible to get to, so we cut a hole, installed the new fitting, and glassed the hole back closed.
Fwd bulkhead got glassed up. Gonna need to be strong to hold two 8's and two 12's.
90% of the cracks are history now.
Next we cut out two of the old bulkheads to make space for the larger tanks. The forward bulkhead is now resting in it's new spot, ready to be glassed in.
Next we will glass in the tank standoffs, drop the tanks, and foam them in. Its starting to get exciting!
Also, we are glassing in a pad in the bow for the Rhodan trolling motor. Here is another Contender we recently did to use as a reference.
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Further, we have used a much heavier gauge aluminum. Further still, and here's the kicker, I put several coats of coal tar epoxy on them. The original tanks were not coated. Lastly, great care will be taken to glass them and seal them in. This installation will be bulletproof, and likely outlive the rest of the vessel.
Foaming them in makes the entire structure more rigid, and prevents structural failure, which would happen quickly with tanks of this size on standoffs only.
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Get a fancy flush mount SS one or something......you'll never be able to get to it again, by sealing it back up.
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Trimmed up nice, ready to glass them in.
In this pic, you can see the piece of deck we have cut out, that we will make a full opening sized bilge hatch, twice as big as the original. A grown man will easily be able to step down and easily sit in the bilge for maintenance.
Instead of the stock, two rigging pipe configuration, we are adding a third rigging tube as well.
Tomorrow we glass them in, and prepare fuel lines. Two pickups per tank, so both motors can select any tank on a three way valve, another huge improvement over stock.
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