Well shes not too much different now, got some bulkheads in and am getting ready to put the fuel tank in... Been busy making hatch gutter molds among other non-Seacraft projects... photo worthy stuff soon enough!

Starting to look like something

...

Beautiful work. Those 90 degree curves are really nice. Fuel tank looks pretty far forward. What's the capacity and what engine is going on the bracket?

131 gal. 300-400 horse single, whatever pops up at that time i guess.

Im not sure where the tank was originally but my gut said put it up there to offset the 1100# of livewell, motor and bracket going in the stern. Plus the under leaning post cooler and people always seem to accumulate back there.

The glass angle pieces serve as a nice bolting flange for the tank and more glue area/support for the deck. That area is 36 x 51 so i felt better with a lil more support. Aft end of the tank will be under the front of the console. Everything will be all open underneath. Side boxes/vents will come down above the 2 small outside bulkheads (which still need the glass trimmed out of ). You will be able to crawl from the transom to the fuel tank too

Looks great! Tons of good info here. Could you provide some more details on your keel replacement/ layup schedule? I have a 78 that needs the wood keel removed.

Thanks!

This one had a pvc pipe glassed over with some 24oz roving...

I forget exactly what i laid in there after i ground all the old crap out, but i think it was a couple 1700s and a 40oz quad. Then i capped the pipe with another 1700 and a 40oz quad.

Plugging away..

I have molds for these gutters, 32x32 and 16x36. I go a step further and fill the bottom side and glass it in. Divinycell/epoxy and solid glass inserts for gas shocks mounting bases.

Theyre all connected with glass pipe which leads to a trough and side scuppers. The notches for the pipes havent been cut yet so its sitting high in the pics...

Nice!

Always bittersweet to cover all that work up!

wow. Nice clean work!!

Very impressive work

We know it’s there. That was my first thought as I was scrolling up. Flanges to underside of deck and stringer cuts are too nice to cover. I’ll be disappointed if I ever buy anything new.

Yea I think I would rather have Dirt build me one then buy a new boat...nice work

strick

Im trying like hell to get out of building em and get into inspecting em! With any luck this will be the last one. Besides the 27 but thats a personal project...

Not much visually different but thatll change when the cap/deck gets laid up...

Sideboxes will serve as bilge ventilation (the bottoms are totally open to bilge), rigging chases, place for speakers, midship cleats, etc..

If theres fairing compound on it, it was done wet on wet after glassing. Such a time saver!

Dirt; so you lay down your last glass and immediately take some fairing compound over it, good idea cuts down on sanding in between! What instrument do you prefer to lay down the compound and what kind of fairing compound do you like?

I wait an hour or so and let the layup gel so the glass doesnt move around. I just use metal blades, 12 & 6 inch. Never been good with the plastic ones, hell im not very good with the metal ones either. Thats just an end of the day preliminary slop-on...

Ill switch to awlfair for everything else. The stuff i make is just cabosil and microballoons, with an emphasis on the microballoons.

Looks good to me! Thanks for the help I will give it a try

Got a cap on her now...

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A couple things to notice. Strip of coosa on the inside so rubrail screws dont come thru (nice gluing flange too)

Swivel rodholder backing plate glassed into the side boxes (also a nice glue surface)

Glassed half rounds to run wires thru (i hate when people just drill holes in shit!)

Flag blue, not my call!

What are they getting for those Armstrong brackets these days?

Ya know Strick a few years ago I think they quoted me at the Miami boat show right at $3,000 with dive platform....not counting options like ladder, etc.. Oh yeah, that was before the huge increase in the price of aluminum. They told me they had a template just for the 23' SeaCraft and made many of that model. The Stoner fiberglass and Armstrong bracket were almost the same price. Armstrong is REAL proud of their stuff!!!!!

Stoner is pretty proud of his also.

I was just a wonderin...seems about right now probably a lot more...almost all I’ve seen have quite a rise up toward the motor...as compared to the mat flotation tub style good ole Hermco used to make.

Strick

This one was north of 6k. Its the "tournament" rated to 400horse. Ladder mount and ladder, paint match, and rigging port added about 800$, on top of the 5k base. Then taxes...

Strick what am i doing wrong with pictures?! Theyre taken vertically on my phone, and are perfect on the computer...

I don’t know...I have a samsung a year or so old and do not have the problem...try sending the pitchures to your self via e mail then down load to your desk top hard drive...see if that works. Sounds like a big pia I know..nice work brother as usual.

Strick

Thats exactly how i do the pictures... maybe one day ill figure it out.

I thought I had figured it out before. I went back to try and rotate a picture and now there are two of the same. What can I say.