Mike's 77 22-2 Rebuild

[mshugg]

Looks great!  A friend who helps work on the boat is a friend indeed.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Happy Independence Day everyone. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday. I've been out of town on summer vacation and then had to play catchup with the real world this week. It was nice to have a morning to do a few things on the boat. Not a lot got done but it was progress nonetheless.

My original plan for the transom cabinet was to cut out three smaller hatches but I ended up finding these nice starboard ones at Marine Surplus for sixty-something bucks each and couldn't pass them up. They are wide enough to let me reach to each side and still have plenty of access to the center.



I also cut the hole for the sending unit access and test fit that hatch. It seems like every mass produced boat has almost zero access to that stuff! It's the only plastic hatch that will be in the boat but it'll be under the console so I won't see it. I'm really not a fan of the plastic ones..



I also have the top 95% faired and sanded and hope to get a final coat of gel sprayed on it soon. I keep trying to talk myself into building an electronics box but for now I just want it out of the shop.

[mshugg]

Good score on the doors.  Boat is shaping up.

 I have a Birdsall Marine aluminum electronics box that I’ve decided not to use.  It’s  30” wide x 17 1/2 deep and 8” high.  If you want it, I’ll sell for half price, $250.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Thank you for the offer. It's really tempting but I think I would prefer a fiberglass one over aluminum.

[mshugg]

Yeah, I’d go with something a bit rounder to match the lines of your hard top.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Still chipping away. Between the kids being on summer break, trips, the heat and rain, and life it's been slow going.

I was also delayed a bit by another oversight I made. When I trimmed the coaming strip to get it straight it left the foam exposed which was a weak spot.



 I learned my lesson on glassing upside down so I took a different approach that worked out well. I used a scrap piece of foam and rounded over the edges and screwed it to some wood. Then I covered it with some plastic and wetted out a 4" strip of 1700. Then I folded the plastic back over it and pinned it down with some more wood and bricks that were laying around.



Once it kicked I peeled off the plastic and was left with a nice U channel.



A little epoxy and some fairing later and it blended right in. Also feels much stronger now.



I did manage to get a few steps forward too. Got a second coat sprayed on the hullsides which I wasn't sure I needed at first but I'm glad I did. If I have enough of the teal left I may try to get a third coat on.



And I finally finished up the hardtop and got it mounted. Found an electronics box and ran some wires while I could lay it down to work on it. It's not a mold quality finish but it is hard to tell from 10 ft away. Overall I am really happy with it for being my first attempt at anything like this.





I also got a few more odds and ends taken care of and have been picking up things I will need when I find them on sale. I have a feeling that once I can get the inside gelled and non-skidded that things are gonna start coming together quickly.

[RickK]

Good innovating Mike.

[mshugg]

Nice work on molding the channel.  The electronics box looks good with the top, and scales well too the console.

[Capt. Bob]

 

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Picked up a gallon of patch booster and put a few more hours on the old harbor freight spray gun today to get the inside sprayed. it laid down really nice, actually a little better than I thought it would. I have a little touch up to do and then I'll start taping it off for non skid.

[RickK]

Looking Good Mike.

[TooLoose]

Awesome!

[brad329]

man your boat looks awesome i cant wait to get to this part of my build been raining alot i havent got a chance to get much done 

[Tampa Bay Mike]

Thanks guys. And yeah, this summer has been brutal with the rain, heat and mosquitoes. Add in the kids being home from school, trips, yardwork and just life in general and it's hard to find a lot of time to work on it.

I have managed to get in a few hours here and there lately to get prepped for putting down the non skid and will hopefully get that done this weekend. I've rolled out a few small test panels and I think I've just about got it how I want it. I marked out where the console and livewell will sit along with the cleats and rod holders so now I just need the weather to hold long enough to tape everything off and do it.

[Tampa Bay Mike]

I got the hatch covers, casting deck and the floor taped off and covered with non skid. I used the medium grit pumice from fgci and mixed it into the gel with a touch of patch booster and rolled it on with a foam cabinet roller. I was going to do the roll and shake method but I was actually able to get a more consistent pattern on my test panels when mixing it. I used some 9oz solo cups and poured it back and forth between two cups a few times to really mix it up and then spread it out before it could settle. Seemed to work well. I plan to add one more coat to the whole thing to seal it all up.







I ran out of the the first rolls of tape and had to dig around for more