1988 seacraft rebuild

[No grave but the Seacraft]

I'm just about finished building the deck. I have the front section glassed including the fish box hatch gutter. I have the three sections glassed together and reinforced the seams with some 3/4" coosa. I had to pull the boat out of the canopy so that I can install the 13' long deck in one piece. This is the first time the boat has been out from under the carport since I bought it back in August. It looks bigger out in the open.

[take a potter]

That looks great.
Hope to have something that looks similar, just a little longer in the near future. Did you build in any crown? And if so, how did it do retaining its set with the glass on just the first side?

[No grave but the Seacraft]

It's a bit flimsy with just the one side glassed but that flexibility will be needed for adding some crown to it when it's installed. The outer deck supports are a bit lower than the stringers.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

So the deck is glued down and I was able to get two layers of fiberglass on it before running out of epoxy. I will let it fully cure for the next couple of days before I try walking around on it to see if it would need any more. Next up will be the bow and stern bulkheads.

[take a potter]

That is a major accomplishment/milestone. Bet it feels great to have it in.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

Yes, it feels like I'm finally rounding a corner with this build. Now I can start planning the final layout with the cooler, console and leaning post.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

So it turns out the center console I had planned for this boat doesn't exist. Who knew, right? The original console was the wrong size in every dimension for what I wanted so rather than narrow it, remove the front seat and raise the height I decided to build my own. I would have preferred to build it from 1/2" divinycell foam but since the sheets I bought earlier are already earmarked for the cap I decided to use 1/4" oak plywood instead. Also, I couldn't justify the freight charges to buy more foam sheets. I made a rough mock up of a console using some pink foam boards from home depot which wound up looking like an upright piano. I then tweaked those measurements to get a console I could live with. It is 31" wide, 24" deep and 46" tall with slight tilt to stern to allow for a more comfortable seating position for a person on a cooler in front. I ripped 2x2's diagonally and glued the plywood panels together. I still need to add the trim panel around the foot rest and toe kick, then I will round over the inside edges before adding a layer of 17oz. fiberglass. The 2x2's in the seams with have enough meat so that I can bevel larger radii giving it a more modern look with softer corners then I'll glass the outside. I also laid down a coat of epoxy on the deck to fill some of the print through and level things out a bit before sanding and fairing. Lastly, I glued in the bow bulkhead in preparation for fiberglass.

[take a potter]

Have you thought about putting a spot at or near the top of your front recess for a long thin switch panel? Recessed in a bit so the knees don't hit it.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

I thought about that but I'm worried it might interfere with the steering and it would make it difficult to see while driving. I will likely mount all the switches on the upright panel.

[No grave but the Seacraft]

I glassed in preformed battens on the port side to stiffen the hull. I will be reusing the top portion of the cap and glassing it to the hull sides via under gunwale rod holders as well as the bow and transom bulkheads and decks so I'm not sure I actually need to. I bought them early on in this project thinking I would so why not now, right? The front bulkhead is fully glassed in place. It received 6" tabs on the bow side and a full covering on the stern side. I chamfered the corners of the console, rounded the hard edges and set it in place to make sure it would fit properly. I have been going back and forth about what do do for a leaning post. I've been eyeballing the Stryker swing back in aluminum but my brother is trying to convince me to go custom. I must say his does look really good but I don't know that I can justify the extra dollars.