RickK's 170 rebuild

[RickK]

Took the plunge, so to speak, and cut the access panel out of the floor.

[RickK]

[RickK]

Trimmed both sides of the cut back a little so I could get a tight fit after glassing. Cut some Jasper board (foam board) to line the edges and give something to apply glass to.


Routed the edge of the panels and receivers

[RickK]

Then cut the Jasper board, drilled some pilot holes, epoxied the edges and temporarily nailed the board to the ledge.

[RickK]

Then started working the board down a bit

[RickK]

Started to lay cloth and CSM in to make it a nice fit - still have some of that to do today.

[RickK]

Looks like it is a good fit now but it really isn't - getting there though

[RickK]

Had this guy show up and tell me it was beer thirty, so I took the hint




I have to get the last layer of cloth to transition the edges of the hatches and the receivers and I've tried manually with no luck.  Purchased a vacuum press rig yesterday, that'll pull that cloth down nicely     Should get it Monday.

CircleHooked dropped by to check the progress, was good to see you Scott, been a while.

[Callyb]

Rick, I always look forward to your posts. It must feel good to be getting closer to putting the sole down.

Now that you have quite a bit of working with the plascore under your belt, do you have any other tips or tricks about working with it? I still haven't picked any up yet.

Great work as always!

EDIT: What kind of vacuum system did you buy?

[CLM65]

Excellent, Rick !  Will the tank hatch rest on the stringers?  Or will you need to build some sort of lip to hold it up?

[RickK]

Rick, I always look forward to your posts. It must feel good to be getting closer to putting the sole down.

Thanks Carl - appreciate it and I know you and the other rebuilders know what I'm going through.  I actually told my wife "Part of the rebuild is staring at the part of the project I'm working on, not working on it, just staring"     Then I caught myself the other morning telling her, as I was heading out to work on it, "I'm going out to stare at the deck" and she replied "have fun"  
 I still have a bit of work in the hull before I nail this baby down (figure of speech of course   ) I have to figure out how to remove the last foot or so of the rigging tubes as they enter the tank area.  I'd really prefer to have the sole in before I put the tank in and the way I drilled the holes in the stringers to route the tubes and connected the PVC, I need the tank in before I foam the stringers in. Have to figure out a way to get a coupling inside the stringers, fore and aft of the tank, and still be able to use the coupler after I foam.  Left side of the brain is on that now.  Almost finished with the build up /tweak of the receivers of the hatches in the sole.  I think I still have one more layer of 3/4oz in a couple places and it'll be ready for the final cloth to roll over the edge.  In hindsight I should have not trimmed back as much as I did, but oh well.

Now that you have quite a bit of working with the plascore under your belt, do you have any other tips or tricks about working with it? I still haven't picked any up yet.

The stuff is real easy to work with. On pieces I am using for supports and bulkheads I used one layer of 1708 on each side.  I think the mfr says 2 on one side one on the other minimum but I think that is for something horizontal. For the sole I have 2 layers on the bottom and one on the top right now. To cut it, it's like cutting butter since most of what you are cutting is the layers of glass you laid.  I use Sterling blades on my jigsaw - pricey little beasts but seem to work well on the Plascore and well on fiberglass in general.  I have not gotten to the part of having to reinforce holes in the plascore yet.  I will have a few holes to deal with on the tank hatch - stay tuned.

EDIT: What kind of vacuum system did you buy?

This is what I bought with the PodZ kit http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/ ... ystem.html - been going back and forth for years on a vacuum system for my wood working passion and this project tipped me over the edge.  Could have built it for less but time was the issue.  Need your help on the techniques though  
I think I want to not only do the hatches but maybe lay other layer of glass over the top via vacuum.

[RickK]

Excellent, Rick !  Will the tank hatch rest on the stringers?  Or will you need to build some sort of lip to hold it up?

Thanks Craig.  I split the width of the stringers.  You can see the stringers drawn on the deck and also in one pic of the tank hatch you can see the inside outline of the console and how it's tapered.

Received the stereo today (didn't realize it had a 400W amp in the kit   ), more epoxy came in :( , received two battery gauges (1-12v and 1-24v), received BlueSeas fuse block and switch panel.  Like an early Christmas  

I'm thinking it would be easier to cut all the holes in the console before I gelcoat it so I don't mess that up. What do you guys think?  I know SB probably doesn't get that option, the console is done when he gets it.

Hey SB, think it is worth rigging the console on the bench for what I can pre-wire before I put the console in the boat?  Sure save my back  

[Circle Hooked]

As Rick said I stopped by to see him yesterday, let me tell you guys, these pic's don't do this re build justice, to see it in person, WOW what a job your doing Rick.

Received the stereo today (didn't realize it had a 400W amp in the kit

Guess your going to be Rockin the boat more then you thought  

I'm thinking it would be easier to cut all the holes in the console before I gelcoat it so I don't mess that up

I think that's a great idea, rig whatever you can on the bench

Rick it was great seeing you again, it sucked that it was such a short visit, I'll stop by again when I have some more time to spend, maybe Monday.

[gran398]

Nice work Rick  That is the BIGGEST stinkbug I've ever seen.

Great idea on pre-rigging the console. See no reason why it would be disadvantageous in terms of the gel to follow, and for sure much easier sitting on a bench, table, etc.

EDIT while posting: Scott am sure you're right. The way it began you could tell it was going to be deluxe

[seabob4]

Rick, you are absolutely correct.  Do WHATEVER you can off the boat, in comfort, at your leisure.  

When I picked up my consoles from sub-assy at the plant, every single thing that could be done without it being in the boat was done.  If one didn't care about looks and routing, once the console was bolted down, 20 minutes later it would be rigged...all wiring, controls, steering, whatever.


But we cared...