1981 CC - transom, decks, dog house.

[KenB]

One of the topics I have seen discussed on csc dot com, and thought a lot about, is "what is the car version of the seacraft?" Seems to have settled on corvette, maybe Camero or disgustang. I would like to suggest that it might be the Morris Mini because of 'Project Binky':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtM..._ae83e313-GLTO

- seacraft innovations such as variable deadrise are about as important front wheel drive. Every modern car and SUV owes its front wheel drive layout to the success of the mini, perhaps to the degree that seacrafts have influenced modern center consoles. Maybe only Boston Whaler's use of poly/fiberglass is more important (thus making the boston whaler 13 akin to the VW bug).
- the original seacrafts were pretty effective raceboats, Minis (Mini Coopers) were so good at rally racing that they were effectively banned.
- Probably more than any other hull, seacrafts get rebuilt with obnoxious levels of attention and care, largely powered by Japanese 4 stroke engines. These guys repowered a mini with a Toyota Celica 4wd drive train... the inline4 2L they installed is not too far removed from a yamaha outboard (Yamaha used to be the tuning division of toyota).
- Some folks could get a little grumpy about the small stature of the mini, but compared to all the 27-30' regulators, Contenders, See-Vees etc. 23/27' seacrafts seem like hulls that out perform their length.

Anyway, when I would get a little stuck or depressed about my seacraft project, I'd fire up the next episode of the binky build. There's even a side quest where they rebuild an old hauler... not too far off redoing an old boat trailer. Their paint episodes convinced me to try out awlgrip. I am not too pleased with my final paint job but very happy with awlgrip, as a product.

[KenB]

I made my first cuts into the original transom on March 9, 2009. The plan was to close the transom and add a bracket. In late 2020, I considered a cutout without a bracket, but adding back the splashwell was going to be as much work as a bracket. But I did think about it.

Transom is 2 sheets of 3/4 ply, inside face got 10oz cloth. Stringers (dry) were extended back to the transom. I added a small limber hole, so the water that collects outside of the stringers can drain. Hopefully I won't regret that.

I used 3 layers of 1708 and mat to fill the cut out. I should have gone with 4 or 5 layers, or just cut up one of the unused deck hatch panels. I put the drains about 8 inches in board, so they drain right on to the tabs. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get the hydraulic steering cables and transducer cables through the bulk head, without spending $500 on cables. At one point I was about to order $1500 worth of thruhull transducers because I didn't want to put a 1"hole in the new transom...I ended up buying the uflex hytech kit because its beefy enough for the merc 150 efi (e.g. rated to 175 hp, unlike baystar), and modifying a Scanstrut Multi Deck Seal to get the 1" simrad tranducer through.

[KenB]

I recored the topcap with 1/2 ply, mat, and vinylester. I made the transom cap from 3 layers of leftover 1708 from the bracket. I stuck some extra 1/2 ply where I might put rod holders.

It turns out that the there is a slight crown at the bow. I thought I got this by not supporting that section when I vinylestered in the ply, but I should have measured the width at the anchor locker. Getting the topcap on was a bit of a clown show. It wasn't heavy, just awkward. In order to get things to fit, I had to jack up the bow a little, but was still about 1/4 off. Good thing 5200 is strong, and rubrail covers the gap.

At the transom, I forgot to consider that the new transom extends back a little (e.g. 12° lean back), so I had to cut the top cap lip and epoxy in some leftover strips of fiberglass. I think in cars they call this 'dzusing in a panel', anyway it worked.

[KenB]

I decided to replace the original 110 gal tank (for twin 2 strokes) with two 55 gallon plastic tanks. The new tanks were taller than the original with 3 sides on the bottoms which were supposed to fit snuggly against the vee shape of the bottom, but because the keel was done with a section of PVC covered with heavy glass, the tanks didn't quite fit. Also, because plastic tanks need room to expand 3-5%, I decided to make a new tank cradle. The tanks can now breath a little but are not going anywhere. I also moved the livewell from in front of tanks to the leaning post, so I wanted to move the new tanks forward. With two tanks, I should be able to adjust weight distribution a little; I don't plan to make any trips burning all 110 gallons on a merc 150 efi.

The decks were raised 1.5" which I had planned to do with 2 by cedar framing, but the weird shape of the stringer convinced me to do it by laminating 3/4 ply. I left the inside lip from the original decks. Without that, I never would have noticed that the decks have about a 1/2" crown. The decks themselves got a layer of mat and vinylester on the bottom, and 10oz cloth and epoxy on top. A second layer of 10oz cloth and epoxy went on after the decks were installed.

I almost forgot to cut gas tank inspection hatches, but the original owner of chaser saw some early pics and sorted me right now. Thanks for that! Its worth noting that the original tank support was replaced at some point. 3/4 ply with a few layers of 1708, maybe 1808, it weighed a couple hundred lbs. After sitting with water pooled in it from 2009 to 2020, there was no water in the ply: I used it for stringers in the bracket, as well as tank cradle stringers.

[KenB]

From this very website, 10 or so years ago, I bought the top half of a console and a console roof from CMP. The roof was very heavy. I think what happened is that they laid up the original roof, but it was too floppy so they added many layers of glass and poly, but it got too heavy, and they sold it to a doofus like me. I cut out all the extra glass (which I used into various spots, such as filling the topcap lip at the transom, etc) and made some plywood supports that I epoxied into place. I like doghouses that lean back a little, so I added that to the 1/2 ply sides, but then had to recut the windows. Made some window frames from mahogany leftover from a whaler interior I made last year.

I had an engine cover from a 1964 seacraft 20 I/O that I converted to a full transom (I sold the unfinished hull last year), which I wanted to make into a seat. In the end the cover was too big, so I cut it up to match a seacraft cushion I bought. Then I figured out I had the cushion backwards, and was also not too thrilled about putting holes in to the doghouse for the cushion buttons, so no cushion on the seat.

In the end, I don't really like the shape of the dog house. Because the sides do not taper in, and the roof does not have enough crown, the whole thing looks too boxy to me. Im not going to fix it though. Anyway.

[KenB]

The leaning post and livewell was a hoot. In order to make a mold for the live well, I piled some trailer tires, covered them with plastic drop cloth, and then added mat plus 3 layers of 1708. I would advise against this; I ended up doing a lot of grinding. I was planning to use my 55 gallon trash can as a mold, but the can was busy being used as a trash can. I scored and bent 1/4 ply to make the back of the post. This was such a pain in the butt that I popped a mold of the shape so I don't ever have to do it again, even though I never plan to make another leaning post livewell for a seacraft. I have the cushion from an old arigoni post that will go on top.

I used mat and vinylester over 1/2 ply for most of the surfaces. At the time, vinylester was $30/gallon and epoxy was around $70/gallon. BUT, vinylester is now $50/gallon, and I found some good epoxy (SC110 is $730 for 15 gallons), so I would suggest using epoxy and 6 oz, in the future. After all my posts about painting boats over the years, after finally roll-and-tipping awlgrip, Im a big fan. I guess my advice is when you think you are done sanding and faring, just do one more round. Also, safety first.

The livewell is foamed in to the back and the base support. The base that it's epoxied to is bolted to the deck with two engine bolts... I don't want a 500 lbs 'water cannon ball' rolling around the deck. The inside of the livewell got painted with the last of my tohatsu lower unit spray paint. Hope the baits feel at home. I am not looking forward to plumbing the livewell. After all this work to redo this old hull, pumping hundreds of gallons of saltwater on board seems a little risky.

[Kithogue]

Will be looking for pointers on paint!

How do you see through that mask!?