1966 22-2 Diver Rebuild

[Callyb]

Once again I had a little bit of down time in between other projects, so I decided to work on the console. As I have stated before (and again, I apologize), I am horrible at making sure I take pictures while I am working...

So, I made the decision to modify the existing console to my liking. Why? Some romantic vision of keeping as much of the original parts with the boat as possible. Somewhat ridiculous I guess, but it is what it is.

Of, course I didn't take any "before pics", but I cut 6 inches out of the center of the console to narrow it down to 30 inches. This will leave 24 inches to the gunnel on either side, which will be closer to 20 inches after the T-top or tower is installed. Much more user friendly however.

Console with six inches removed. I glassed it back together with the following schedule; 1 layer of 6 inch followed by 1 layer of 12inch 1708 both inside and out.



Even though I didn't core the console yet, I figured I might as well cover some of the holes up. So I used some 12 inch 1708 and covered them up. Just one layer for now, I didn't want the lamination to get too stiff until I core it.

[Callyb]

I let the epoxy cure up overnight and then started working on an electronics box to add on to the top of the console. The inspiration for this setup is based on Miss D's console (thank you Scott for the dimensions   ) Here is what I came up with... Please keep in mind that the steering wheel is just a 13.5 inch one I have laying around for mock-ups....



Once I got the box trimmed to my liking, I set out to glue it together. It is important to leave a space in between panels so that you can get the resin in between them and have a good solid structure. Oh, and of course pre-wet before fillets/glassing :!: I use 16d nails for spacing. They are cheap and about 3/16ths of an inch, just perfect for the job. I used cabosil for thickening the resin at approximately 1:1-1.25 by volume, basically a thick (but not dry) peanut butter consistency.



Also, not that I took a picture of it , but I use packing tape on the opposite side of the fillet to keep the resin from being forced to far out of the void between the panels.

Notice in the right corner of the picture, the tape also helps fill the chitty cut job I did and in turn will mean less fairing.

[Callyb]

And another pic.



One more thing, it working wet on wet makes quite the difference in a laminate. For starters it's just plain old easier, and turns out better looking... But the important thing is that the layers are chemically bonded instead of just mechanically bonded. Big difference in the end. So, I used some more 12 inch 1708 to tape the panels together. Just 1 layer on the inside and 1 on the outside, then I covered the entire thing in a single layer of DB1700. And of course I didn't take a picture of that...

[Callyb]

Here is a pic of the inside tape.


More to come later, that was all I had time for, for now!

Because of the router issues the site is having, I had to break this up into four posts.

[Callyb]

Well, I have to break this one up also, it looks like the site still won’t let me do a large post…

I got some more work done on the console. It's kinda starting to look like something now...

I glassed the electronics box to the top...

[Callyb]

It just didn't look right though, something was off aesthetically. After many beers I figured it out! The original raised portion at the bottom was throwing it off. I decided that it must go, but I needed to support it first.

I am doing the toe kick (ala Scott and Rick's consoles), so I figured this would be a good time to put the floor in it.

It is 3/4 marine Fir.

[Callyb]

Glue applied. The lower left it the part I cut out (the raised panel on the sides of the console).


I apparently forgot to get pics of the panels cut out, but you can see in these pics what I did.

A scrap piece of OSB wrapped in plastic so that I had something to glass to.

[Callyb]

The outside.

The Inside.

[Callyb]

It made a world of difference to me. I just wish I would have stretched the plastic better... I left some wrinkles in it.


I also mixed up some fairing compound, as you can see. Looks like me and the long board will soon be reaquainted.

This is the last of a multi segment post, the site is giving fits for large posts...

Until next time.

[RickK]

Cutting that ridge off made quite a difference in the appearance.  Could you have re-used what you cut off, trimmed it and tied it back in? Either way you have what you want now     What did you make the fairing compound from?
Yeah, those wrinkles......  
I'm not going to put a floor in my console, haven't seen a need.
One thing I did was cut off material the height of the toe kick, from the total height of the console. Then added the toe kick and ended up with the original height again.

Keep up the good progress.  My wife talked me into taking a weekend off from working on the boat.

[Callyb]

Another multi-segment post...

Damn! I forgot I want to put a few pics on here too to go along with what I was trying to explain to Capt. Koz about wetting glass away from the part. So, here it is.

After cutting out the sides of my console I had to replace the removed material. After figuring out the thickness I needed, I determined 3 layers of 1708 would be just enough to match the original thickness of the console glass (approx. 1/8")

[Callyb]

I usually cut out multiple pieces at a time, so I ALWAYS lable them.


Then I weigh them. I think this part is most under appreciated, but resin is expensive and ideally the glass should be a 50/50 by weight of glass and resin, so why not know exactly how much resin you should be using for a given piece of glass.


BTW, this small scale is just a postal scale.

[Callyb]

After I have the weight of my glass, I always write down my ratio (for epoxy) on the glass. I find that it helps me from making mistakes, and God knows I need all the help I can get in the department.


Now I mix my resin. In this case I am using 3:1 Epoxy. Note that I mixed a little extra because I had a (very) small area I needed to prime before I got the glass in.

[RickK]

It'll be interesting to see if the 2oz resin per sq ft for 1708 ballpark falls within your method's calculations.

[Callyb]

Now, on a plastic sheet I do the wet out. Again, keep in mind that this is 3 layers of 1708...

I prefer a squeegee and laminate roller, but you can use whatever you are comfortable with.


Work the resin in until you have no (or very, very little) loose resin, it will all be in the glass.


Again as I have said before, the key to helping you resin working time has a lot to do with getting it out of the pot as fast a possible. The reason is to keep the heat down.

I hope this helps!