stimleck

out of curiosity why even bother sealing the floor hatches? A rubber backed carpet would give you the sport boat feeling without any permanent damage

rak rua

Very true but the floor hatches were sealed about 6 months ago, before I decided to do the bigger re-fit.

I have only glassed in the hatches that were pretty much sealed anyway. They were secured with self tappers (all showing slight rust) and a ton of silastic so they weren't about to be lifted in a hurry. If you look at the newer Fountain CC's (I think 2011 onwards) these hatches don't exist. They made the floor much cleaner and simpler so I have sort of copied their update onto my 2007 boat. At the cost of labor here, it wasn't expensive anyway.

I'm undecided about what to do with the floor, if anything. Maybe carpet, Pirelli, plasteak or just leave it simple white non-slip. Maybe someone will chime in with some great new idea.....?

RR

stimleck

Sea Deck!

rak rua

Next step is tearing into that stupid little semi-circular rear seat.

This was a real pleasure to see it go, make something for 3 or 4 normal sized people. Ripped the whole thing out, made a mold for a nice wide lounge but stopped short on the starboard side, leaving the space for the transom door entry. After much debate, decided to leave live bait well in place, will make a great storage unit for anything from footwear to rubbish bags or drinks. It also provided the new height for my fiberglass bass, a few inches lower than the original seat which will help creat sufficient height for the back rest. Made a cut out on the port side for the inner transom access door, power steering pump sits behind.

Can't believe how dirty things get behind the seat, had fun cleaning before the new base went in. Pay no attention to the removable back rest, that's gonna change. The time spent on the mold was impressive. I guess if you spend the time getting it right, your finished product will be right. It's funny seeing the time that goes into a mold you'll only use once.

rak rua

Looking at the photos above, the rear seat appears to bow down in the middle above the bait well. Don't worry, it's absolutely minimal but looks worse because of the slight curve created where the base is glassed in to the transom. The bait well is actually very strong but I will look at it carefully when we make the cushion and fit a strengthening brace of some kind if necessary.

RR

tommymonza

How is the price of materials over there .? Are you using epoxy or polyester resin.? What country is the resin and fiberglass cloth made in do you know?

rak rua

I was afraid someone would ask me a technical question. Haha!

I am pretty stupid when it comes to fiberglass work and that's why I'm paying others to do it. Also the cost of labor is so low, why would anyone do the actual work themselves? That said, I will try to find out next week, it's a sensible question, leave it with me and I'll do some investigation.

I will add, many boats are built here, Thailand is not a backward or third world country so I am sure materials are appropriate quality for the job. Where Thailand boat building is a touch backward is in the design area. They really have no idea of what looks good or what is efficient. Provide a good picture and they can copy everything. Ask them to create their own vision, and they haven't got a clue.

I'll do some checking.....

RR

EDIT: Tautology!

stimleck

more more more I love this project

Diamond Dave

Looks good! Can you ship some workers over here for a few weeks I need some work done on the cheap! Lol

Perlmudder

neat!