RickK's 170 rebuild

[dburr]

Sounds like a job for a few layers of scrap glass with appropriate sized holes drilled for a custom fit.. It ain't like you've got spare cloth layin around..  

[RickK]

That's a good idea Dave.  
I have plenty of scraps around already lam'd up.

[RickK]

Here is another pic (of the back) of the pipe as it comes through - so I will be at the front.  So I would put some kind of screening, be it home made or other, over the hole without impeding the flow.

[slvrlng]

My .02. I would not put anything across that half pipe. If you do have a screen there it will only collect small pieces of crap over time especially at the bottom against the hull and make water stand. I would rather have the option of sticking a pressure washer wand up in there and blasting it clean every now and then.

[gran398]

If you went with screen you could go with some of that UV resist nylon porch screen they sell at Slowe's or HD.....monel staple it.

[RickK]

Got a little free time yesterday - coated the area with Ebond epoxy paint.

[Blue Agave]

I agree with Lewis, no screen.

[RickK]

I don't think I would use a screen, maybe a "grate" of sorts. Just to keep large items out of the pipe, like someone's wallet or watch, etc.

[RickK]

So I took the BIG step to drill the holes for the jack plate in the transom.  We talked previously here about how to drill the holes and I could not find "deep" hole saws. While still at the big box store, I talked to the fella responsible for the tool area, explaining that I needed to drill 1" holes in my transom through about 3/8" of fiberglass and 2" of wood/glass combo. He said he had best luck (seems like he had electrical exp) with the bit shown below - Bosch 1" auger bit. I bought that bit and since I needed to keep the angle of the drill parallel to the transom I needed to create a guide block to use for this new big bit to keep it perpendicular to the transom.
I have a harbor freight 1/2" hammer drill and put this massive auger bit in it.  I then tried to drill a hole in the "guide block" (a piece of real 2"x4" that CircleHooked gave me) using this drill and no way, never even started to cut in before it stalled. I had used this same drill to drill 4 x 3/4" holes with a spade bit for the corner lifting eyes. Maybe those holes did the drill in?
So I started researching for the "baddest, most torquey, user friendly "drill" with a normal chuck (not rotary SDS type) and of course I got a huge list of which 95% were less than what I needed. So I narrowed it down to a few and went with the 10A Dewalt 1/2" drill (not hammer- drill).


And the bit - a badass bit that pulls itself into the "target".  I found that if I could pull backwards somewhat, it may help (not easy). The bit is super aggressive and if there is something for it to grab onto, the bit is going to be moving forward - so drill a little and then back it out (For a 2" wood transom, if you don't do this the bit will be all the way through in 15-20 secs, even if you can hold on).

Notice the threaded nose on the bit.

So I used the new "guide" from the aft side of the transom (clamped to the transom), carefully inserted the drill bit and was somehow able to control the beast and drill out until the very back side of the front layer of glass.  The "screw" of the bit came through the front side of the transom - this also left a "vent" for the next step.

[RickK]

I somehow controlled and drilled the four holes so that the threaded end of the bit ONLY went through the front side of fiberglass (the inboard side of the transom).   You can see the penetration through the inboard fiberglass


To fill the oversized holes (the motor mount) I mixed thickened epoxy with chopped fibers and cabosil and stuffed it into the holes until the "putty" pushed though the inboard holes.

[dburr]

You can call that bit Burtus...

[dirtwheelsfl]

[gran398]

Sweet

Been thinking about that grate up in the bow. You know these plastic milk crates you see outside the convenience stores? I've cut the bottoms out of those, and used the bottoms to set things on inside hatches. They are strong too.

[RickK]

The new puppy let me get a little work done on the boat yesterday :icon_cheers:
I put the burp valve on the vent line and put some cloth across the guide pipes that the vent and fill lines go through.  Now everything under the deck should be very secure.




Wire chase from the console to the front (for the trolling motor and lights wiring)


I vacuumed everything up in the boat.
I treated a couple friends to a nice breakfast at Bob Evans and then they helped me roll the liner back into the boat. I then screwed the cap back onto the hull.
I slid the casting deck back into place to see how the build up of the hole came out.  Before:


After: (you can see the burp valve on the vent line in the bow storage area)


A closer look of the new shelf up there without the pie installed.  If you guys reach inside this area on your boats (that have a liner like this one) and reach far left and right you'll feel a big gap where if someone was to put anything up there it could work it's way over to the side and slide down into the hull.  Several of us have found weird things in the hull when we removed the sole and I think that is how the stuff gets into the hull.
The piece of material you see here (I need to trim it down now that I see how it fits) is one piece of the filler and it goes side to side.  I still need to figure out something to close the big gap at the very sides to prevent anything from getting down in the hull.  Any ideas?


A look down into the front hatch I cut into the casting deck. I will install some netting or mesh so that I can store pfd's and stuff in this hatch.


Today I hope to tab the sides of the liner into the sole.
Getting closer 8)

[Blue Agave]

Good to see progress, I look forward to the maiden voyage.  Do you have a target date yet?