Another example of scope creep or just evolution as you wade through the process. I had considered permanently attaching gunnel caps early on but pushed it aside. After grinding, re-coring, glassing, making brackets, scribing, etc., I realized it might have been easier to fabricate new. After looking at the caulk joint with whatever distortion I had created, I was encouraged to grind out a bevel and glass them in. A few more days of work but happy with the decision. I am struggling to get a painter signed on so what’s a little more fairing. Wish I had gotten the 15 gallon epoxy kit when I started but at that point it was just a new transom.

Pretty work that’s going to be a nice one. I may be picking up a pretty rough 1977 18 after June first your build will be very helpful if it works out. Keep up the good work

Awesome work! How many sheets total of the 1/2" H80 did it take to core the sides?

Thanks. The scored H80 came in 32" x 48" sheets from my supplier. I don't know where you are but it's nice since you can fold it to ship. I think I used 5-6 sheets but didn't go all the way to the bow because I decided to keep part of the liner in place. Hull is about 24" from chine to cap at the transom so I stepped it up a little as I moved forward. Wish I had taken it all the way to the bow but was a little worried about taking the last section off.

In hind sight do you think you could have gone with 3/8" or 1/4'' h80? I've been lurking for years and seen people core the sides with balsa, divinycell, nidacore, 1708, etc. The only thing I haven't seen is CoreMat would like to see someone try it! You should be plenty stiff without having gone to the bow. Especially since the liner is going back in. Is that a wish because of something tangible? Or is it a just because? I'm a perfectionist so I constantly find myself blowing past the point of diminishing returns : ) Can't wait to see her in the water!

I think I was on here for almost 8 years before posting anything. There are guys more qualified to answer but I suspect you could downsize the core. I think BTK was the first one I read and decided I wanted to do it. I find myself rapping the hull when I walk by in the morning and look forward to hearing the difference in some chop. To answer your other question, IÂ’m a perfectionist and but still a rookie, which doesnÂ’t work well. I also find myself seeing a detail that I want to adopt and it leads to more work than I might need. Would have liked to beef up the stem with a bunch of glass but... I also decided to go with a decent plastic access hatch behind the lean post. Now IÂ’m second guessing that. Need this thing back in the water. Assume you have a project in mind. Hope to see something coming from Keith as well on the 18. Hope you guys enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

I have several in mind : ) I've settled on a natural progression from small to large. Just working and being patient till the time is right. Every now and then I think it'd be better to do two at a time! One to learn on and one to get it right (or at least exactly the way you want it)... but I'm sick like that lol. There is no such thing as the perfect boat needs/abilities/situations always seem to change. The reality is you have to decide if your going to be more builder, or more boater. There is nothing wrong with either. I wish all the people that told me when I was younger that I could do anything would've said right after that I can't do everything! Thanks for responding! Hope you have a great weekend as well!

Aint that the truth...

strick

I know it’s progress but I had a hard time taking a blade to this. Needed a beer. Trying to roll on some 545 primer and keep fine tuning so I can get it sprayed in the beginning of July.

I know I have asked about bilge/locker paint and plan to go with SW Tile Clad HS. The underside of the gunnels have not been faired and I don’t think anyone will stick their head under to look. Should I try the roll something thicker than primer or just leave it alone. Don’t want to make more of a mess by trying to make it perfect. Any thoughts?

I didn't paint or prime mine.

Peeling Paint on Transom Fwd Sheet is a Clue
 

I did not paint the bilge or transom fwd sheet after my transom rebuild. However as my project started I noticed the factory applied blue paint on the aft bilge area and transom fwd. sheet was mostly missing in the area of the outboards lower mount bolts. Then realized the brittle paint probably could not withstand the flexing of the weakened transom. So this is an additional clue, besides distortion of the transom cutout trim piece the transom was bad. In addition I rigged up some poor man proximity probes nearly touching the transom Then with jack stands under the trailer to take trailer springs out of the picture, I jumped up and down on the AV plate while my neighbor kid videoed the transom deflection.

Back on the trailer. Dropped off to the painter on Friday. Next picture should be one color. Didn’t make 4th of July but trying to keep the hammer down. Hope everyone here enjoyed their weekend.

Boat is primed and sanded as of yesterday. I had a bit of a hiccup with the first resource but I got some pictures last night then started the day with this. I don’t know what I believe about signs but this one brought a grin.

Went to see paint this morning. Installed some hardware for nonskid. Hoping to get it back midweek and start putting things back together. I’m sure it is fun to buy a new boat but....

Nice!

Barrier coated and first bottom paint. Loaded up some dummy weight to see how and if she still floats. I wanted to set initial waterline on the transom before hanging the motor. The ETEC 420 lbs will be another 24” back. Not exact but hopefully a good representation. Scuppers were about 2” above water where they used to be submerged.

Yahoo! Ready to go run down some stripers....alright, ready for the Albie Blitz..oh come on, it’s deer season? Three inches of snow melted in time to get a quick ride. Will follow up with some numbers. Two and a half long years. Ready to enjoy it with family.

Awesome! Looks great! No worries...we fish for stripers with ice on the deck. We look forward to deer season coming in so all the hunters will stay out of the water! ;)

Pretty nice for the first week in November. Got to put a little time in. Really happy with the way it sits. Scuppers are just above waterline. I think I will still do Rabuds. I need to hook up GPS and get minimum plane speed but holds to around 2500. Didn’t get to max with family on board but feels pretty good with 4 blade Renegade prop. Throttle response in the middle is impressive. I had asked for 2” above keel for AV plate height but got about 1.25”. Will try to get numbers and ask for input on final setup.

Think about Gemlux Scuppers. They have replaceable flappers. The ping-pong balls within the Rabuds are very noisy at rest or drift fishing. Just some thoughts

They make beautiful stuff for sure. I think I painted myself into a corner with the design. The gutters drain to the splashwell and the scuppers exit the transom tight in the corners. Picture doesn’t really show inside of transom. Would love to justify some more of their jewelry but I don’t have anything to attach on barb end. I think only choice is exterior style. Don’t remember them annoying me but I hear you....and now I will notice.

I put some of these on my 20 Bertram and they worked ok.
https://www.amazon.com/TH-Marine-Scu...PPSWYQ8JWX1797

I think those are worth a try. Appreciate the review.

And where are pics of this Bertram? I love those boats!

I might have a couple somewhere but the ex got most of the photo albums. It was an original '65 Moppie 20 (Hull #223) -still had the curved glass windshield. Repowered with a 290HP small block and a Volvo 290 drive. Guy I sold it to took it to Eleuthera about a month before Andrew leveled the island - guess it's a reef now.

One last ride before putting it away for the winter. GPS is connected and I found minimum planing speed to be 13-14 mph. Still haven’t been able to verify max numbers but saw 46 with more room to go. I know the first number is more important but I’m pretty happy all around. I’m not getting all the engine info on the Garmin 742. If any of the ETEC guys have setup advice, it would be appreciated.

Which info isnt showing up?

I’m getting RPM, fuel flow, miles, volts. Need to set max RPM and I read you need a resistor if you use an analog trim gage at the same time. No oil pressure, trim, etc. Probably can’t zoom the picture very well.

Etecs don't have oil pressure :)

You sure? I thought they injected the oil in specific areas of the engine and it's not all mixed with the gas. It may not be high pressure like the fuel injectors, however I would think the oil has to be under some pressure. I'll ask my brother how/if his 250HO registers that info on his MFD. Again this is from memory that a BRP dealer/salesman told me at a boat show....I've burnt a bunch of brain cells since then.

That’s a good point. Just low oil on BRP gage. Only wondering what information EMM drop cable is sending.

E-Tec's have an oil pump with an integrated pressure sensor but it isn't a constraint pressure pump like in a 4-stroke. They use pulses to push oil to points around the engine I assume in coordination with inputs like rpm, fuel flow, etc. I think the oil alarm is linked to rate of actual pulses compared to what the EMM wants. So in a long winded way, I'm saying real-time oil pressure on an E-tec isn't very helpful.

I thought the BRP gauge light was for low oil level switch on the reservoir but it could be a pressure indicator. I know I would want a true level indicator (not switch) on the oil tank but I'm kinda picky. It is pretty easy to add NMEA sensors to the backbone.

The sending units on my oil and fuel tanks are both NMEA 2000. I can see levels in both tanks on I-Command or Garmin independent of the E-tec's EMM output. I definitely like to see the oil level.

Bill. Do you have an analog fuel gage as well? Any trick to wiring both? I guess I need a few more drops and do a little reading. Want to see trim first but fuel and oil levels would be nice to have on one screen.

The only analog gage I have is water pressure. Everything else is setup on I-Command gages and I can see most everything on my Garmin as well. The sending units are both WEMA with only a NMEA cable output. I bought the boat with them but it’s a pretty basic setup with tee’s going into the network backbone. The sending units need to be calibrated after the network finds the new devises. I just used empty, half and full tanks. They have been reliable and as accurate as I need.