Spring Project(s) 74 20SF

[copout]

Coming along nicely! You're killing me with electronic envy. I think your father was asking about doughnut t-top opinionson another forum? Was that him & if so are you headed that way? Keep up the boat porn...

[SeaPlusPlus]

Haha yeah didn't see that post but it was probably him, headed that way. Getting the top fabricated with a fold-able doughnut on top for cobia spotting. Not running the second set of controls up there just yet, maybe something in the future.

Gonna look something along the lines of this minus the control box.



Got the plate today. Dad found a 3/8" scrap sheet for $1 per lb. Getting it cut tomorrow and closing up the deck this weekend. That top is gonna be rock solid bolted down to the plate.

[SBD]

When you make your stainless plates consider also making the aluminum base plates for your t-top. With both in hand it will be very easy to get your hole alignment perfect. You can also just buy 1/4 or 3/16 stainless and weld nuts on the back instead of threading them. The just overdrill the wood under the nuts so it will drop in flush. If you bed them make sure to put bolts in holes!

[SeaPlusPlus]

Blessed with a beautiful weekend. Temps in the mid 70s and sunny up until Sunday afternoon. Was in work-mode from 8am till 8pm Saturday so the pics are lacking but made sure to snap a few.

Sat morning started out finding the final location for my console in the boat and marking it. I'm moving it forward another 2" from where I had it, making the final resting place 4" in front of where it was factory. Last week I took it to S-S Marine (Top fabricator) and he marked the location of where he is going to install the feet of the top. So using these locations as guides and the location of the top, the plates could be marked, cut, and test fit.





The plates are 3/8" aluminum not stainless. S-S Marine recommended aluminum vs stainless due to cost ($19 for 16" x 35" aluminum scrap, $150 for 12" x 24" stainless plate) and that stainless was unnecessary. Bimetallic corrosion would not be an issue as they coat all their stainless fasteners in sealant before installation. The plates are roughly 8" wide x 35" long, and run along the length and about 2" under the console. The console or leaning post will not be screwed to the deck, but rather screwed to 3/4" tall fiberglassed marine ply strips that will be epoxied to the deck, the only place were the deck will be drilled is the plates for the top, the plywood has solid glass on the bottom its coated in epoxy on both sides and edges, and solid glass on top, only place for water to get to it is screw holes, no holes in the deck = no water in the deck = no rot. The t-top feet are a little smaller than 3" x 5" which will leave about 3" of plate in front and 3" in back (roughly were I mspainted in the red lines). Went with 2 long plates vs 4 shorter to make locating them easier and to spread the load of the top over more area. The holes in the plate were there when I bought it as scrap and have been filled with thickened epoxy. I think its gonna work out great.

After everything was test fit, I cut some 2"x4"s and mocked them up in order to spread the weight after they were glued down.



After thickened epoxy was smoothed all over the floor, and all over the bottoms of the plywood coring. Coring was put down, and then weighted down (anything heavy in sight). Any area that was still sticking up due to high spots in the floor was screwed down.



The next morning I unloaded all the weight and took out the screws. Everything stayed in place and was glued down very well. A square was then used to check for high spots in the plywood by resting it on each lip and sliding it along the coring. High spots were marked and then using the grinder with a 60 sanding pad they were taken out so that the skins could go back on nice and even. The top layer of skins that we cut out were then cleaned up, sanded lightly, and test fit. A little more grinding was required till everything fit well. Everything was then shop-vac'd a few times. Lots of thickened epoxy was mixed and then all the cracks along the seams of the plywood and the few screw holes from the day before were filled. Thickened epoxy was then smoothed all over the plywood and the back of the fiberglass skins and then the skins were weighted down in place.



The seem all along turned out pretty nice and even.



All the seams will be ground out a little bit, filled with thicken epoxy and then 2" 1708 tape will be placed all along groove. Can only buy rolls at my local supply but at $29 for an 8# roll of tape it was cheaper than shipping what I needed, have about 60 yards extra



Raining all day today so before we closed up Sunday night I put the tarp over her to ride out the storm.



Also noticed from the dates on the pictures that today is the 1 monthiversary of this project!!!

[SBD]

That is looking great.

[SeaPlusPlus]

Updates!

The deck was allowed to set for 2 days. Then the weights were removed and the few screws were removed. Everything stayed in place and didn't flex back up when the weights were removed, looks good.

The seam between deck skins was then ground down about 2" wide, shop-vaced a few times, and then wiped with acetone.





Epoxy was then mixed with filler till about a ketchup consistency and then poured into the seams till there was no more crack, just the ground out area. 2" 1708 tape was laid up over this along the seam.







That will set up till Sat (raining tonight) and then I'll start sanding, a lot of sanding.

These is a piece that I haven't focused on yet:



Has been fabricated to plug this hole:



Its 1/2" marine ply that has 2 layers of 1708 on top and 1 layer of 6oz cloth on the bottom to waterproof it. I might replace the hatch I have for it down the road with something a little more classy, but will seal it up for now, and it was the right price. Couple more pictures:





My dad spent some time yesterday while I was at work fitting, sanding, fitting, sanding, fitting, sanding, and then finally installing the piece.







Before the piece was epoxied in place marine plywood supports covered with glass were tabbed in place to hold it in all the places that are red.



The piece was then laid in place and epoxied down. It still needs to be tied in to the existing area better, and made to look like it belongs there, but I think is going to turn out good. Glad to no longer have a HUGE hole there.

Applied the first application of System Three Quick Fair on the hull sides.



Sanding in the forecast this weekend, lots and lots of sanding.

[bj]

Hey Seaplus, Did your Dad sell new Seacrafts in Va Beach in 2003. If so I bought a new 2003 21' from him. Still have the boat and love it.