Start to Finish: Building Our 50' Skater
11-17-2016, 12:28 PM
#871
Registered
Steering helm selector:
Most of the time the steering helm selector valve is mounted into the side of the console, but on my boat the console is not a thin piece of fiberglass that gets bolted down. My console is 5/8" marine ply with glass on either side and glassed down to the floor to make the cockpit more rigid. The problem is that the threads sticking out for the nut on the valve were not long enough to go through the thickness of my console so I had to make a plate to mount it to. On the plate I made a little shelf so the valve body would not turn and then mounted the plate to my console. The valve is oriented to where the bigger part of handle has to go up over the top so that hitting waves will just hold it down against its internal stop towards which ever side it is on.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561714[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561715[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561716[/ATTACH]
Most of the time the steering helm selector valve is mounted into the side of the console, but on my boat the console is not a thin piece of fiberglass that gets bolted down. My console is 5/8" marine ply with glass on either side and glassed down to the floor to make the cockpit more rigid. The problem is that the threads sticking out for the nut on the valve were not long enough to go through the thickness of my console so I had to make a plate to mount it to. On the plate I made a little shelf so the valve body would not turn and then mounted the plate to my console. The valve is oriented to where the bigger part of handle has to go up over the top so that hitting waves will just hold it down against its internal stop towards which ever side it is on.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561714[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561715[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561716[/ATTACH]
11-17-2016, 12:38 PM
#872
Registered
Hi Bigsilvercat qudos to your exemplary development and build of this boat and all your other projects. I follow and enjoy reading on OSO. I have one question "Have you or will you cnc copy's of yourself to create all this unique equipment in such a short span." I want a copy and bring the boat too. 
11-17-2016, 01:22 PM
#873
Skater Brother
Platinum Member
The photo is of my windshield.
The windshields in most boats have really bad distortion in the corners. The picture is looking through the bottom outside corner of my windshield where it has the tightest compound curve and its pretty much flawless. Jim Lee at Lee Aerospace made a new CNC'd mold to make my windshield and by using the same techniques as he uses to make the aircraft windows its so distortion free that you can not really "see" the window.
When we are looking through a window for hours straight the distortion in some windows will give you eye strain and headaches. We may be looking through the corners of the windshield trying to see land or a boat that is 12 miles away and a little bit of distortion could make it disappear, or change locations.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561706[/ATTACH]
The windshields in most boats have really bad distortion in the corners. The picture is looking through the bottom outside corner of my windshield where it has the tightest compound curve and its pretty much flawless. Jim Lee at Lee Aerospace made a new CNC'd mold to make my windshield and by using the same techniques as he uses to make the aircraft windows its so distortion free that you can not really "see" the window.
When we are looking through a window for hours straight the distortion in some windows will give you eye strain and headaches. We may be looking through the corners of the windshield trying to see land or a boat that is 12 miles away and a little bit of distortion could make it disappear, or change locations.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561706[/ATTACH]
Jim
11-17-2016, 11:06 PM
#874
Registered
Ceramic Pro Coating:
We had the whole boat coated by Ceramic pro with there marine coating. It is supposed to make the surface slick to where dirt will not stick to it. Before they coat the boat it had to be polished because the coating is hard so once they put the coating on you cannot wipe it off. Here is a pic of where they started buffing the boat. Notice the difference between using a normal buffer (on right) and having someone using an orbital with the right pads (on left). The black on the boat looks really black now.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561750[/ATTACH]
We had the whole boat coated by Ceramic pro with there marine coating. It is supposed to make the surface slick to where dirt will not stick to it. Before they coat the boat it had to be polished because the coating is hard so once they put the coating on you cannot wipe it off. Here is a pic of where they started buffing the boat. Notice the difference between using a normal buffer (on right) and having someone using an orbital with the right pads (on left). The black on the boat looks really black now.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561750[/ATTACH]
11-17-2016, 11:12 PM
#877
Registered
Water beads up pretty good on the boat now. With this coating the water is supposed to bead up like this for years. Without ever having to wax it.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561759[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561760[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561761[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561759[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561760[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]561761[/ATTACH]
11-17-2016, 11:19 PM
#879
Registered
In theory I should be able to haul the boat from Michigan to Florida driving through rain, ect. and when I get there just spray it off and all the dirt should go away with the water. Normally when I haul a boat down there it takes all day to get it clean so this will save me days worth of cleaning. And since we did the whole boat it should not get a scum line from sitting in the water.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561766[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]561766[/ATTACH]
11-17-2016, 11:24 PM
#880
Registered
we have came up with one problem with the coating.... when were working on the boat we cover them in foam and tape it down... the tape will not stick to the boat anymore....
https://youtu.be/_zhUhHzHzAI
https://youtu.be/_zhUhHzHzAI
