'74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

This was a '74 Tsunami donated to a community college that I purchased early last year with plans to rehab the boat and add a fully enclosed hardtop. The process is nearly complete and it's time to post some photos. The comments and info avaiable in the CSC forums have been of immeasurable help.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ftExterior.jpg
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...andCopilot.jpg
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...aftTransom.jpg
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...raftEngine.jpg

Re: '74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

The first step was putting the boat where I could work on it out of the weather. With the top removed, it fit into the garage under my house, which would create some significant issues later. The boat is on a dolly I made to facilitate moving it around.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0301.jpg


A good friend did some photo editing to see what a metal supported hard top with soft enclosure would look like. The proportions in the following mock-up are off as there is inadequate headroom. The real top would have to be much taller.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...aftconcept.jpg

After too many iterations to present here, this is the final mock-up and became the guide for the end result.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...plighthull.jpg

Bill Potter was kind enough to offer an opinion, and actually sent a plan with a hard top superimposed on the standard layout. He suggested acrylic windows for less weight, but I opted for glass for better durability. Weight should not be as much of a concern with the I/O being replaced with an OB on a bracket.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...terHardtop.jpg

Re: '74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

With a plan decided and the boat inside, the next order of business was to strip it. My wife named it the "hole-y boat" for obvious reasons.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1000821.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1000822.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1000824.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1000823.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1000818.jpg

The little boxes were a mess inside, and I decided to make them disappear. More later on that decision. I love a good grinder. If only you could put back as fast as you can take away!

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0312.jpg

The boat area in the garage was isolated with a plastic wall and fans exhausting out a window to keep the dust out of the house above, and my marriage intact.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0310.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0314.jpg

There must have been 50 lbs of wire removed, and boxes of old parts and fasteners. I don't think anything installed had ever been removed.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0304.jpg

Re: '74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

Are you going to be redoing decks?

Re: '74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

Yes. They are solid and did not require tearing out. The original plan was to cover the interior deck and the top of the front consoles with a synthetic teak (NuTeak, PlasTeak, or similar), and I may still do this at some time in the future. The cost, with so many other things competing for my dollars, was too high for now, so these areas are being sprayed with a white/tan spatter finish gel coat, which hides minor flaws well and reduces fairing time.

I would be interested in hearing if anyone else has any experience or knowledge of those synthetic teak products.

Re: '74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

Cool, looking forward to the progress.

Re: '74 Tsunami Pilothouse and Rehab
 

looking at this brings back memories. :) http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...l/dcp_7382.jpg

I remember seeing your boat in the forum, and it gave me some ideas for my boat. That starboard side is a bit drafty for my needs!

Did you have any issues with water running forward and not draining out the back?

After the first round of patching holes...

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0251.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0257.jpg

Some people on this forum make things look so easy. For me, making a few hatches took a looong time and working with epoxy was a challenge. I messed up a LOT. I used some regular resin ONCE and while that boat factory smell excites me, it had the opposite effect on my wife. One disadvantage of a garage under a house! One of my boating fantasies was to be able to get to things easily for installations/servicing and have as much storage space as possible, so there are big hatches where the I/O engine used to be.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0250.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0249.jpg

Yeah if i didnt do the type of work i do i would have made both sides the same. No water drainage problem all the over spray seems to go the stern.

To work out the angles and dimensions of the enclosure, foam boards were used to fabricate an in-place mock up.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...abinmockup.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0409.jpg


The primer coat has been applied. The cockpit deck is getting a spatter finish gel coat, so minimal fairing is needed.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0539.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0540.jpg

Using the foam mock-up as a guide, a mold was created from 3/4" melamine sheets braced with 2X4s. At one time I hoped to fabricate everything myself, but my experiences patching holes and making hatches gave me a great appreciation for how challenging a good glass job can be and better sense prevailed. My hat is off to all you guys that have that skill.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0533.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0535.jpg

The top was test fitted onto the boat, helping to refine the aft finish line and windows.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/DSCN0508.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/DSCN0507.jpg

That actually looks pretty kool man. nice work so far

nice design & work!

Great work. So now you have a mold for the house? I think you might have a couple people pm'ing you when you're done if it's the case. Btw, what's her name gonna be?

This is a great thread, please keep us up to date with more pictures as you progress.You are doing a beautiful job.I can't wait to see the finished product.I look at rebuilds like this,and at Stricks amazing work,and am awed by them.
I thought that I did a lot,but it pales in comrarison to the incredible scope of work and the quality others like you are doing. Keep up the good work.

BTW, any idea of how much the weight has changed from this addition?

Sweet!!!

Here are some more pictures of the finished top (rough cuts for the windows), which has been much more expensive than I anticipated, but I feel like I'm getting my money's worth from the guys at Carolina Yachts in Beaufort NC. Will, the owner, has great ideas and their work is top quality.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0623.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0625.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0626.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0627.jpg

The top is permanently mounted now and the boat is "home" for final rigging, which I am doing myself. Everything should be finished in time to hang the engine next week. Splash time is getting close!

The engine is an Etec 250 showroom demo, and a deal that I could not refuse, but I had to get it from a dealer several hours away. The wooden pallet on which it was mounted was not secured well enough (my bad) and started to slide during a sharp turn, nearly giving me a heart attack as I briefly envisioned picking up the pieces of my unused and ruined engine.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ginePickup.jpg

The boat is named "Handful", a play on my last name and a true statement about the boat.

I don't know how much the weight has changed, but hopefully not a significant amount. Judging from the wide variety of equipment/engine/fuel/bracket combinations seen and discussed in this forum, SeaCraft must be very tolerant of weight and its distribution. Most owners seem to be concerned about too much weight aft with current engines that are larger and heavier than when the boat was first constructed. I am more concerned about too much weight forward, and that's why I purposedly chose the single engine Hermco bracket rather than the twin bracket and its greater flotation. If the CG in my boat needs to be shifted, I have some flexibility in the placement of the batteries, oil tank, an auxilliary fuel tank, and a planned fresh water tank. Or I will be be making a very humble and humliating post as a lesson for others!

Very nice hardtop and I bet you're going to be happy with the Etec. Regarding the windshield, are those the finished openings or will they be widened? It seems like you might have some visibility issues if they are to remain as shown.

Regarding weight in the Sceptre/Tsumani OB's...my father's '82 was originally rigged with twin 200 Johnsons and in '90 or so the owner decided to go to a single 225 Evinrude. When my father bought the boat in '97 it seemed a bit bow heavy at rest, perhaps because of the 144 gal. fuel tank and lack of additional 400+lbs of OB on the transom. In '04 he replaced the engine with a 225 Yamaha on a manual jack plate and moved some heavier items such as anchor/chain/rode and tool kit to the aft bilge area. This definitely shifted the angle so that the self-bailing deck could do its job as intended. You probably want to speak with Entourage seeing as his boat is very close to yours in layout and power. He may be able to offer you some thought as to weight balance.

Looks great! I too am wondering about the size of the front windows. What is the top cored with? approximate weight?

strick

We should have weighed the enclosure before putting it on, but didn't. Two people can lift it, and four people placed it easily. Our guess is between 175 and 250 lbs. The sides are cored with foam, and the top is cored with divinycell. It will lose some weight when the openings are cut for the windows, but then the windows/frames will add some back.

The actual windows will be much larger than the rough cutouts, so there will be less fiberglass and more clear glass - as much window as possible without compromising structural integrity.

The new gas tank is 75 gallons, so I'm not carrying as much fuel weight as some of the 23s, and don't need it since this is not an offshore boat. I'll avoid ethanol fuel if possible, but we all know you don't want that stuff sitting around any longer than necessary, so a smaller tank has some advantages.

This is a photoshopped image of the actual top on the boat that we used to work out the window proportions and will give a better idea of the end result. The only significant difference is the windows will have rounded corners. The hull color is actually Carolina Blue (as in University of North Carolina - Go Tarheels!), but it was covered in protective paper in the actual photo.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...inalMockup.jpg

Awesome,It looks beautiful,I want one.
Are you planning on installing windows that you can open,either on the front or sides?
Definitely nice to have windows that open on a stifling hot day,with no breeze.Have you picked Any window supplier yet?,American Marine?

The side windows are sliders. The 3 front windows are top hinged to swing out parallel to the water line. They are by Wynne Enterprises, which were half the cost of the American Marine windows. Installation is tomorrow!

Both window manufacturers told me to expect some leakage on the front windows due to the angle.

This boat looks really good. I guess this was you trailering it going west on 70 last week sometime. That will be a super dry boat.
Just a suggestion... If you were to ever sell the boat, someone that buys it may want to offshore fish it. May op for a little bit larger tank. I know trips here out of beaufort 75gals would be cuttin it close for a trip to say the Swansboro Hole.

I am always lookin at resale potential.

You have a sharp eye for SeaCraft!!! That was me.

Good point about the gas tank. The boat had a ss auxilliary tank, which I removed, in the storage area forward of the main tank. I was going to offer it for sale because of the unwanted forward weight, but may hold onto it.

Your scuppers will not drain at anchor, but the drain hole in the forward cockpit behind the cabin door will take care of any water you put on deck during a drift or anchor. It seems to go right underneathe the cabin door to the drain hole. When you take off the auto bilge should pump it out. You are going to be very pleased with ride of the boat with the extra weight up front, it is going to make that Deep V work all the time. I wouldn't worry too much about the weight up front i dont think you will have as much as i do and i don't have any prob. I have 9Hp honda on the port side in the corner and my hydraulic hauler on the other. You are doing a great job and you are going to love the boat when you get it in the water. Sometimes i wonder why Potter didn't do this when they were designing these boats.

Looks great. Keep up the good work.

What is the height clearance in the cabin - from the deck to the top of the pilothouse?

Windows are installed. Other rigging is in progress.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ithwindows.jpg

Nice visibility

Man o man......very nice!!!

The cabin has 6' 5" head clearance in the middle and is an inch thick. At 6' 3", I've had enough head bumping and stooping!

Your boat is super slick. I like the way your top slopes back. You obviously have put a lot of thought into it. When you are finished if you dont mind I would like to see exactly how much visibility you have from the helm and how the top is bolted to the top cap of the boat.

strick

That thing is hot!!!!

Very nice.

Strick, I'd be glad to show you the connection of the top to the top cap, and the cabin view, as soon as I do another photo session. Thank you so much for the complements. Your projects have been a inspiration and an incredible education.

Thanks! I'm partners with a buddy on a 1973 Tsunami and in the past we have talked about doing a full fiberglass enclosure. That or a radar arch and removable full canvas. Yours is very nice and it's tempting to copy it.... EXACTLY!

strick

Here are images of where the cabin joins the top plate. The cabin fits right into the flat previously occupied by the aluminum windshield frame, so the new cabin/top is truly a direct replacement.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_1614-1.jpg


The cabin was positioned to maintain a constant distance from the edge of the top plate on the exterior and this left a small interior gap of varying width. A 1/2" varnished teak quarter round molding will cover the gap. (The dangling wires will be secured when the engine wiring harness is installed.)

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_1616-1.jpg


Here is the view more towards the bow. To soften the lines and to add a horizontal component, a varnished teak band is going to to cover this junction. I really like a touch of wood and am willing to pay the maintenance price. The teak will be installed for easy removal later. I'm at varnish coat number 5 and still going. Someone in one of the other threads said "There is no scrap teak." How true!!!


http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_1619-1.jpg

The engine wiring harness was short by 2 feet, so a new one had to be ordered, pushing the splash date back a week. That gave me an excuse to do some things that weren't essential for launch, but needed doing anyway. I installed the QL trim tabs (more on that later), placed headliner and teak trim in the forward cabin, installed the magic box (Garmin 740 that does it all), and finished wiring the electrical system. It's always a rush, and a little scary, the first time one powers up the elecrical system. Thankfully, there were no fireworks.

Thanks for that. How will you be accessing the bow? is there a flush mount hatch that is not visible in the pictures? Page 2 had something that looked like one. Did you replace the headliner in the cabin your self? Tips on that would be nice as I still have to do that in my 25. How was the inside of the enclosure finished? sanded ? or something else?

Thanks for the documentation...really appreciate it but size your pics to 640x480 and they will be easier to see.

strick

You get to the bow by walking around the cabin rather than through the front window. To make this easier, there are grab rails on the top, the cabin sides are canted inward slightly, and all deck hardware is flush mounted so there's nothing to stumble upon. All of this will be apparent in future photos.

I replaced the headliner myself. Go to www.sailrite.com and search for "headliner". I followed (mostly) their video installation instructions posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHLq6FxQiI0

I would suggest using new scissors - not ones ruined by cutting fiberglass - and having lots of fresh box cutter blades. The tip of the blade dulls quickly trimming against fiberglass and then the headliner pulls and tears instead of cutting cleanly. The scissors are better if you have access and clearance. I had better luck placing the headliner, marking the edges to be cut with a marker, pulling it away while the adhesive was still wet, and then trimming away the marked line with the scissors. (You may have to spray a coat of adhesive on the headliner backside if it doesn't want to stay in place after trimming.) The carpet type headliner material is actually pretty easy to work with and stretches a lot to compensate for mistakes and/or deal with irregularities. Start on vertical surfaces, or smaller areas, before you tackle a big piece like the overhead, to refine your technique and become familiar with the process. Seams are hard to perfect, so try to place them in areas where they are less visible.

It took me a couple of hours to do the forward cabin in the Tsunami, and half that was spent tryng to figure things out, and because I foolishly started out with the overhead. It was like working under a tent and very awkward, but one continuous piece did the entire overhead.

The interior cabin enclosure was finished with rolled gel coat and has a lightly textured surface, which looks clean and nicely finished. You can see the texture in the following image (as well as the small gap that is being caulked and covered with 1/2" teak quarter round molding).

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_1620.jpg

Oops. Trim tab issues. Lenco edge mount 12X12 tabs won't work without cutting holes in the bracket (though Capt Chuck did this on his 23' with good results). A 9" wide tab would allow the cylinder to fit outside of the bracket, but it still is quite high.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0769.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...71/Trimtab.jpg

Solution: QL tabs. I'd never heard of these. Volvo Penta has a history of pushing the design envelope and these certainly are different. They basically have a blade that drops straight down and creates a hydraulic wedge. Installation is a challenge as they must mount to a perfectly flat surface so the housing isn't distorted, which jams the blade. (Yes, been there, done that.) One nice thing, the thin profile makes them impossible to smash at the dock. They are a perfect fit and work really well.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_1623.jpg