Flatback Fireboat Rebuild

[dirtwheelsfl]

  For filling gaps, and not have them re-open down the road, more structure is needed, and that is where the fibers come in.  At least that is my understanding of it.

Yea some milled fibers in the mix definitely wont hurt it...

What needs filling exactly? blisters?

[CLM65]

I have quite a bit of hairline cracks/crazing on my hull bottom that I exposed when I removed the bottom paint.  I am in the process of opening the cracks with a dremel tool, after which I will fill them in with the proposed milled fiber putty.

[CLM65]

Making some progress on grinding out the hairline cracks/crazing on my hull bottom.  I'd say I'm about 50% done at this point.




The forward half of the port side, as shown in the above pics, seems to be the worst of it.  So hopefully the worst is behind me.

To break up the monotony of grinding cracks, and give the tool a chance to cool down, I spent a little time reinforcing the console:



And gelcoated it:



That will hopefully give me plenty of area to attach battery switches, fuse blocks, etc.

Question on extending the keel...is there any rule of thumb on how close to the stern it should be?  I would like to extend it to 4" - 6" from the edge, but in the pics I've seen on this forum they don't seem to go that far.

[Aswaff400]

looks good craig! where do you plan on putting your access hatch for the console?

[seabob4]

Craig, I'd leave the keel extension 12" shy, give the water some room to collect before it hits the prop, good clean water for the prop to see...

[CLM65]

looks good craig! where do you plan on putting your access hatch for the console?

Thanks, Aaron.  I made the storage bin below for the rear side of the console, and I will probably make a hatch like yours for the front.  Between the two, I should be able to reach whatever I need to in the console.

[CLM65]

Craig, I'd leave the keel extension 12" shy, give the water some room to collect before it hits the prop, good clean water for the prop to see...

Good thought there, Bob.  Sounds like a plan  !

[gran398]

Craig, Bob had a good idea on our bin installs. He back screwed them from behind the console, screws long enough to bed but not poke through. Nice clean look.

She's looking great...nice work!

[RickK]

Nice job Craig.  The bin looks good - maybe I forgot, if you posted on this already, what did you make it out of?

[CLM65]

Craig, Bob had a good idea on our bin installs. He back screwed them from behind the console, screws long enough to bed but not poke through. Nice clean look.

She's looking great...nice work!

That is a good idea!  Especially since I haven't drilled any holes in the frame yet.  I'll have to see how accessible the back of the console is from the front access opening.  This is a fairly small console, so my chubby old body is not gonna fit in there easily.  Maybe I can separate the bin from the frame and access it that way...hmmm...got me thinking....

[CLM65]

Nice job Craig.  The bin looks good - maybe I forgot, if you posted on this already, what did you make it out of?

Thanks Rick.  Yup, posted it a while back.  It is made of 1/2" starboard.

I am probably going to make the front access door out of starboard too.  Can't seem to find the exact size I'm looking for, and the custom ones are damn pricey.

[gran398]

Since the console isn't in, maybe you could install it and some other stuff outside the boat... flip the console upside down and work from the bottom?  I'm not a good contortionist either. My gut slows me way down...

[CLM65]

I will be doing that as much as possible, but the bin needs to be removable to some extent since it will be right over the rigging tubes and I will likely need to pull something new in the future.

I will be installing most of the electrical items (battery switches, ACR, fuse blocks, bus bars, etc.) on a starboard panel that I can mostly rig up on the bench and then install the unit as a whole.  The more work I can do outside the console, the better!

[Aswaff400]

Nice job Craig.  The bin looks good - maybe I forgot, if you posted on this already, what did you make it out of?

Thanks Rick.  Yup, posted it a while back.  It is made of 1/2" starboard.

I am probably going to make the front access door out of starboard too.  Can't seem to find the exact size I'm looking for, and the custom ones are * pricey.

15x23 OD was the largest hatch i could fit on the front of my console.... i of course spent some coin on the teak isle hatches...

[CLM65]

That's a great looking door, Aaron.  Your width looks perfect, but I would like about  7 or 8 inches of more height.  Anything to make it easier for an old guy to get a battery in and out.  Note that I dont have that crossmember on mine.