20 potter seacraft, another one under the knife

thegoggleeye · #1 12-30-2010, 03:49 AM

Hello all. let me start by saying this site and its contributers are the best thing going for the survival of the classic boats we all seek. the posts by the ppl restoring seacrafts have irritated my itch long enough. and after a year long, exhausting search through most of florida for the right project, last summer i found just what i was looking for. a 73 seacraft superfisherman, stripped to the hull ready for restoration.after restoring several for customers in my earlier days i found with hulls afordable i would take advantage and build one to MY specs [image]http://[/image]

I bought the boat, after an extensive search, in the ft. meyers area, from a gentlemen who, lets just say was going through a divorce, and had to get rid of it. he threw in a sheet of 3 inch thick divinacell for a hundred bucks more. which paid for the trip. i temp-lated the transom and cut out of the divinicell

as you notice from the template, i intend to enclose the transom and bracket the motor. the divinicell transom was attached with a mixture of west systems mixed with cabosil to a buttery texture to spread evenly and coat between the hull and new transom. i used a method learned on this forum to clamp while bonding the two surfaces: 2* 1 inch boards (many thanks to strick, for the idea, it sure beats the 100 taping screw method i used in years past.

P.s. sorry about the upside down pic. u get the idea. i have not had the time to figure how to flip it from photobucket to this forum. but lets move along.. more pics:

with the transom in place i am ready to move along. fournately the stringers were re foamed by the previous owner, so that is one less worry. after i glass the transom in from the inside, i will use the divinicell as walls to tab the stringers to the transom, and pour two part foam in the middle to finish the stringers. more to come as progress takes place.

hey just wanted to let everyone know about my plans for the boat. i want to build an open fisherman, center console that holds every convience a small offshore fisherman can provide. with this project, as it came without a deck, my idea is to design a boat, without the casting platform usually found in boats this size and build a flat deck in the bow. from the stern up i want an enclosed transom with access to pumps, a livewell in the deck, followed with the fuel tank (im aiming for around 50 gallons).foreward of that will be the console with the deck cut out for maximum room. foreward of that i want to built a center fishbox in the bow and utilize whatever storage up front i can spare with a flat deck. i have built one seacraft without the floor available to me (a 23 footer) and at the customers request we had to fabricate a casting platform up front. i believe leaving the front flat will provide the greatest room to fish in a 20 footer. throughout this process i am open to any and all recommendations from you-all. i know there are alot of bright minds on this forum and if you see something im doing you think you have a better idea let me know!

Caymanboy · #2 12-30-2010, 09:03 AM

looks like quite the project, keep the pics coming and keep us posted!

Seacraft84 · #3 12-30-2010, 10:31 AM

Looking good. I like that one 3" piece of foam. I am going to be doing the same with the floor on my MA, making it flat from stern to bow. Are you planning on raising the floor?
Have you been sanding down the glass good before bonding or glassing?
Are you going to try and cut a small crown in the transom or leave it flat?

Blue_Heron · #4 12-30-2010, 10:50 AM

Looks like you're off to a good start. If you're going to be using much epoxy, check out U.S. Composites.

Depending on which hardener you use, and how much you buy at a time, their 635 laminating resin runs $40-$45 per gallon. Good product, good service, great price. And they're close enough to you that shipping shouldn't be too bad.

Keep the posts coming, and welcome to CSC.
Dave

thegoggleeye · #5 12-30-2010, 05:37 PM

Thanks to all for the support. Let me try to answer all questions, first off if i raise the floor it will be an inch, the sf doesnt leave much room to go up with the gunnale height unlike the master angler. i would like the cockpit to self bale but i dont plan to adress this until i built a template for the floor so i can see what im dealing with. The transom will have a crown. the hull side will be flat and when i fabricate a cap for the transom it will have the crown(a slight one that will aesthetically match the boats curves) as for resins: i plan on using only epoxy resin (trust me its the best way to avoid headaches down the road) i am using up the west systems i had left from previous projects, i had just enough to do the transom. for the rest of the boat i will be switching to fiberglass coatings inc.'s epoxy, like the US composites product its about half the price of west systems.
thats it for now, the sailfish bug is tugging at my shirt sleeve, but i will force myself to devote time to the boat this weekend so more to come soon!

seacraftks · #6 12-30-2010, 11:33 PM

Looks like my first SF project have fun and send lots of pics

thegoggleeye · #7 03-25-2011, 05:07 AM

Hello to all! sorry for disappearing for quite a while, a combination of family, school, work and the winter sailfish bite has kept me away. alas! i have put dozens of hours of work into the project and am moving along at a steady pace. i have hundreds of pics to upload in the next couple of days to keep you all up to date on my progress

thegoggleeye · #8 03-25-2011, 05:45 AM

thegoggleeye · #9 03-25-2011, 05:54 AM

sorry about the links. i will fix this problem before i post more pics

Seacraft84 · #10 03-25-2011, 09:46 AM

Lookin good. Do you plan on putting the liner back in. Did it even come with it? What kind of power are you going back with?