Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

HEY I resemble that... ;)

Dave I am with you the heat is a killer this year. Hopefully it will break soon.

Maybe we should do a share the fairing job. I come up there for a weekend and work and you come down for a weekend and drink beer....ha,ha.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

I should not be talking...now that I think about it I hired help for most of the sanding and grinding on my last two projects :D You fellas are going it alone. I still have some work to do as well on the 25...putting down some non skid on the deck and a few other little projects.

strick

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Oh, so now I know your secret to quick completion. I thought those guys were just your buddies that came over to help on the "will work for beer" plan. Hired help on a boat resto. Whoda thunk?


Yeah. Some say it's global climate change, but I think we're just getting old. I could work outside all day in this kind of heat when I was 30 and it didn't bother me. But now that I'm old and soft and have A/C in my shop, I think I'll wait until the weather cools off before I do any more painting. I'll need to set up the filter wall that converts the shop to a spray booth and run the exhaust fan, and I don't want to ruin a very expensive Awlgrip paint job because I was dripping sweat in it.

So, I've been doing some stuff in the shop. I bonded the live well tub to the outer box and started on the plumbing:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3817.jpg

My fuel tank hatch had a little flex in it. It wasn't soft, but I felt like it had a pretty big span for a hatch with only a 1/2" core, so I added some more thickness:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3807.jpg


In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I'm making my cooler/compartment hatches in two pieces with a foam core so they will have a finished surface inside and out. It's a lot more work, but I like the results. Last weekend, I layed up the inner liners for the fish box hatches and the flip up thingy above the cabin door. I used the usual process; make a mold with masonite and spruce, coat the mold with clear lacquer, fillet the inside corners with modelling clay, and spray with PVA mold release (Partall Film #10):


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3822.jpg


Sprayed with gelcoat:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3830.jpg


After the layup:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3831.jpg


And popped from the molds:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3836.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3835.jpg


Here's the flip up thingy trial fit:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3860.jpg


And a trial fit of the liners for the fish box hatches:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3861.jpg


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3862.jpg


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3863.jpg


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3866.jpg



Unfortunately, I screwed up on the dimensions for the hatch liners. I made the molds with about 1/8" of taper from the top to the bottom, but when I laid out the molds, I used the top dimension on the bottom. The end result was that my liners were 1/8" too big and a pretty snug fit. It didn't take long to figure out that I wouldn't be able to sand the mating surfaces enough to make them fit, so I bit the bullet and shrunk them both by an eighth inch. I did this by making a cut down the center of both panels on my table saw. The material removed by the saw kerf was just right. I ground a bevel on both sides of the cut and rejoined them with masking tape to hold them in place while I laminated the seam with a couple layers of 10 oz. cloth:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3867.jpg


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3869.jpg


And back together:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3870.jpg


And another trial fit:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3871.jpg


After reducing the width of both panels by an eighth inch, they fit just right in that dimension. But I will need to take an eighth inch out of the length dimension of one of the panels to finish the tweak.

And that's got my thread mostly up to date. Next, I'll be fitting the hatches with hinges and then coring them. I'm using T nuts imbeded inside the hatches so you won't see a fastener on the inside. It's a pain to do, but leaves a clean look inside the hatches.
Dave

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Nice job on the flip up thingy! :D

Good to see you are finding time for the old girl, which is more than I can say for me.

I would hire Blue Heron Boat Works anytime!

Brandon

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Everything looks terrific. Super nice work.

Re: Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife
 

Thanks, guys. I got the fish box and live well hatches assembled/insulated over the weekend. Now I've got to clean up some blemishes on the boxes and put the final finish on them.

Brandon,
Stay tuned. I'm taking a page from your Gramp's book on the trim tabs. Will post on that when I have something worth looking at.
Dave

So, I’m just about done with the fish box and live well. The only thing left is some plumbing for the live well and a door for the storage compartment forward of the live well. Here are some pics of the work over the last month:

Fish box lid cores cut and trimmed. I cored the forward hatch first with plywood to support a companion seat pedestal. I over drilled the holes for the screws and then filled them with thickened epoxy.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3877.jpg

Then I re-drilled the holes and epoxied SS T-nuts in place.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3876.jpg

Then fairing the boxes

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3880.jpg

Priming with 545

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3895.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3896.jpg

And shot with Awlgrip Oyster White.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3912.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3911.jpg

I shot the inside of the tubs and lids with gelcoat.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3915.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3916.jpg

And the (mostly) finished product

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3926.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3920.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...t/IMG_3924.jpg

That’s all for now…
Dave

Dave, the "mostly" finished product looks outstanding!!! Very nice work!!!

Truly awesome work, very inspiring!

How many gallons does your livewell hold?

Those came out cherry Dave. You have put a lot of effort into them and it really shows! nice work!

strick