I must like punishing myself

[billythekid]

Strick its all the nuclear waste that make them big! fishing has been good and getting better.


I had a few hours and an extra set of hands this afternoon to help me get the deck out of the boat.

I have some work to do under the decks before the they go in permanently.

I installed the neoprene strips on the the beds for the tank, and started installing some sleeves for rigging. I cut the holes 1/4" bigger and fill around them with dynaglass thru a caulk tube. I cut the pvc a little bigger and then grind them flush with the hole.



the gas tank grew by a half inch somewhere along the way and it is infront of the rigging tubes by a 1/2" its alright I am just gonna cut pvc to fit through the bulkhead and then deal with rigging







I couldn't deal with the stupid 2x4 going down through the center of the floor box so out it came, I cut a piece of 1" foam that I bonded in there and I am going layup a couple layers of mat and roving to smooth it out for gelcoat. the foam is 1.5" w and 2" tall to create a hard right angle for strength. the front floor box and the bilge will be white gelcoat.







and strick this one is for you. 51 pounds

[billythekid]

alrighty finally ready to set the deck down inside and prep for bonding. I got the bilge all faired out and somewhat smooth, I installed a backing plate/ pad for the livewell pick up. I had to add another hole for the hoses to go places. I got the front fish box all glassed down and sanded with 60 grit.









After everything was sanded down and vacuumed the wiped with acetone, It got a coat of no wax gelcoat. I let it dry overnight then we layed down a coat of gelcoat with with wax. I did this with the little rollers with a velvet roller.







next order of business was securing the gas tank forever! I redrilled the holes because I had some choice 1/2"x 6" bolts. So I cut some backing plates out of some 1/4" scrap fiberglass. I coated the bolts in some tuff gell with the touched the tank and bolted everything into place.




I only have 1/4" clearance front and back which I think is a little on the tight side but it will be fine. plus the tank is 1/4" thick!




I used the expensive hose clamps for the fill and vent. in apposing directions




I know I know the grounding wire isn't heat shrinked... I just saw that myself

[billythekid]

I finally got all the hardware to assemble the bilge. you don't realize how much hardware it takes to install all this crap!

I got some of the stuff roughed in before I gelcoated so if I made a mistake it wouldn't be hard to fix. The first thing I do is install pumps, fuel filter, thru hulls. then its time to run the wires and hoses. you can see the thru hull transducer( compliments of trayder) also I used the Yamaha stainless fuel filter housing to keep it from getting crappy.





then came in some more hoses for the livewell and wash down its start to get busy



I also installed a brass sleeve back through the bilge drain. I set it in 5200 and sealed it up on the outside. so with it glassed and sealed with 5200 it should last a long time. plus it gives it a clean look.




gonna get the deck set back in this week

[billythekid]

I like to keep my workers moving till the end of the day, so I had to put the deck back in to make some measurement of rigging holes. I had them help me put the top cap back on so I could get a feel of what it was like. and I like it. the flush deck is the cats meow.






















here is the shot from inside the floor box, the deck is sitting solid on the stringers.




shot of the bilge





I told her she had to help me sand the boat.