I am removing every piece of wood on the boat and sanding it down, re-staining it cherry and putting at least 4 coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane clear gloss on each piece. this has been a lot bigger job than I thought it would be. This may be a fiberglass boat but their is a lot of wood on the boat also. Some of the wood was dry rotted and had to be replaced. I have worked on about 80% of the wood on the boat now and have started removing the shag carpet on the walls and ceiling. The shag is so rotten that it tears like a piece of paper, don't need a knife at all. Can somebody explain to me why they would put white shag carpet on the ceiling of the shower??? No way does that make since to me.Had to remove the shag because I got a couple of leaks in the V-birth. After removing the ceiling shag  I noticed that the leaks were where screws were, I was expecting nuts and bolts not screws. Looks like that I will have to remove the screws and replace them and seal them with 4200 and check them for leaks before I replace the shag with vinyl. I am going to have to replace the plastic windows in the V-Birth also because they are very scratched up. I don't think I going to get the boat in the water this season. Shoot I may not be able to until next Summer. What I have done so far looks good though. Well that is my progress report so far, hope everone is having fun with there boats.

Ronald

Mark, You'll see the lever in that small cabinet on the starboard side. (Same as mine). When it's closed, (Turned at right angle), it closed off the water flow from the seacock): no wate will flow into the lines to the Head).

When opened, (turned straight), it allows was to flow from the seacock and into the lines for the head. When you pump water at the head, it will suck water via the seacock and lines.

(Have an eye, if the gaskets are worn or gummed up in the head), you might not have enough suction to pull water through line lines. (Sucking air instead).

I know this 1st hand: Last year I installed all new gaskets in my JABCO head. They were all worn out - the top gasket had deterioated causing no seal/no vaccumm) to pull water from the seacock & throught the lines. Worked great after the gaskets were replaced... But 

At the beginning of this summer, getting everything going I found that the head wouldn't suck!. I took the top gasket portion of the head apart to find that they were fine but "grimy and slime). I washed them off and reseeted them in the head.. This re-instilled the vacuum like seal to suck the water from the cock through the lines - to the head. It worked great for the rest of the summer.

Might as well make this page flip over to Page 91! with a few  summer snaps. The Marathon preformed well with no issues, other than I have to replace my transducer and re-do the swim platform wood and pulpit but there's nothing quite like a having a Marathon and being on the water!.

Norm Richards
Marathon Boat Owners Group - Member #7
1989 Marathon Bermuda Sport 2550 "Vintage Haven"