1988 seacraft rebuild

[No grave but the Seacraft]

Thank you Strick and Don! I really appreciate the feed back. Also, I was surprised and a little excited to see that RDS put my name on the fuel tank tag. Thank you for noticing. This is my first build of this size and complexity. As you can tell by the pics, my work space and resources are limited but I'm hoping the end result will make up for it.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

My stringers are complete and now I can begin to mount the fuel tank and build the forward fishbox.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

So my gas tank mounts are glassed in place. I will be using 5200 to glue 1/4" X 2" PVC strips to the the bottom of tank and the gluing that to the tank mounts. Once that is setup I will be fiber glassing coosa board bulkheads on the top and sides to keep it from bouncing and sliding around. I've cut the bulkheads, sides and bottom for my forward fishbox. I'm using coosa for the bulkheads and 3/4" honeycomb for the rest. It is currently 48" long but i might cut it down a bit. I had planned on using the original fishbox turned sideways between the stringers but I didn't like the way it looked. I will be using the hatch and gutter though. The swim platform is finally glassed in place. Just for fun I included some pics of my bike fishing setup I just finished for an upcoming camping trip. The rod holders work with and without sandspikes.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

So I glassed the undersides of the fishbox and outsides of the bulkheads. I also cut down the length of the fix box to 45" because (1) it was probably larger then I needed and (2) I realized I might be able to reuse part of the liner to support the forward storage bin. I had to raise it 2" and forward 4" over factory height because of the raised and extended stringers. I got lucky in that this new position will allow me to glass the bin edges to the little kickout molded above the original attachment point. The bow section of the liner was used work out my gelcoat technique and color.

[deerfly]

Looking good. Does the anchor well drain into the bilge?

[No grave but the Seacraft]

Thank You! The anchor locker will drain to the bilge but I plan to build a smaller one for that separate from this bin farther forward. I want to use this larger one for trolling motor batteries in the future. The fishbox will drain through a hose and out through the transom.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

The fishbox is glassed in place. It's clear to me now that my stringers are not as symmetrical as I had hoped. They are level with each other but their widths are different. I doubt anyone will notice once the deck and hatch are in place. With these dark times upon us I only have about an hour or two after work to get things done before dark. I may try and rig up some lights when it gets worse next month. I placed an order from Gemlux for some of their jewelry. Once that arrives I can plumb the fishbox, drill my thru hulls and then mount my transom livewell. I'm holding off on my forward storage box build for the moment because I have some grand ideas about a below deck trolling motor storage hatch. I saw one on a Shallow Draft 24 once but for the life of me I can't find any info or pics of it. My concern is the height from the top of the bin to where the front deck will be. I'm forgoing a casting deck for a larger top deck by adding on to the cap.

[kmoose]

Boats are not square so don't sweat the below deck symmetrics. A very good friend of mine who has rehabbed many boats big and small taught me that you build and or modify boats to be aesthetic to the eye not the ruler.

[strick]

Moose is right...the stringers on my 20 MA were not level with each other...thats what extra putty is for...

strick

[No grave but the Seacraft]

It's been a while since I've been able to get much work done however yesterday I faired the fishbox and swim bracket. I will take pics if the coat of epoxy I painted on after ever sets up. It was probably too cold last night. I also finished building the seachest. It will hold 2 Rule 1100's. one for the livewell and one for washdown.