Box Seats DIY Fiberglass Mold

[abl1111]

Been playing with the idea of making box seats for my 23' Tsunami. Actually they're more than box seats - the are more like an "L", with a seat facing aft for passengers.

After my resto, I installed (2) pedestals thinking that was good enough for me. Flash forward a few years; wife, (2) kids !

My fishing boat has become more of a family boat - even thinking of getting a tow rope and inflatable to pull behind !!! Just a metaphor for my scene !

Anyway, I saw a really nice looking, mid 70's 26' Bertram recently with great looking, aftermarket I assume, fiberglass "L" boxes; each box had a swing seat mounted on top of the box for the helm and a nice aft facing cushion/seat for facing aft.

Questions :

- How hard is it to make a mold for this and can the mold be used twice or do I have to destroy the molds to remove the fiberglassed work ?

- After you spray mold release, do you spray gelcoat in the mold, then mat ?

- Where do you glass in plywood for support - the whole structure ?

- What layup would you recommend using polyester resin ?

This will be my first mold attempt and if it goes well, I will have to plan out a hardtop next... Or, the hardtop and then the box seats ...

Thx