My in floor hatch molds step by step by Kaptain Koz

[Callyb]

Thank you for posting all of this.  

We as a group have gotten more ambitious with the complexity of our projects, I think it is awesome that you are willing to post when things don't go according to plan. I know that myself and a few others have posted the "oops" moments too, and who knows how many people we have helped out. Just think that when you searched for info, you found it. Now think about how many folks outside of our membership might come across our threads.... We are continuing to help this site (hopefully) be a great resource for all kinds of folks who dare to take on projects like the ones that we dared to take on also!

Keep up the great job.

Talk to you later!

[kaptainkoz]

Thanks Carl. Im fine with sharing my errors if it can help someone from wasting their time and effort doing the same. I think that is a common theme of this site which is to provide the best information and results of our experiments so that others can choose what they want to do. I have credited this site MANY times for providing me the precedence of information so I can try to renovate my boat myself. Without this site I would not have had a clue as to how to take my boat apart and put it back together.
Sure it sucks the hatches taco'ed, but with everyones input I doubt it will not happen again. There is a sense of accomplishment in successfully completing a project and a sense of pride knowing I am leaving a legacy if information that may trigger someone years from now to attempt the same. I think you and I and many on here are having a great time in general renovating our boats our way.  I do not post to boast as much as I post to foster the idea that we can all make really cool stuff and have awesome boats we can be proud of if we are given half a clue as to how to do so. Its in my ignorance of how things have always been done that I think about how I would want to do something.  Thinking out of the box doesnt always work but im having a great time trying to learn and over come the challenges. its all good!

[gran398]

Deluxe post Capt. Steve

You hit the nail on the head regarding our members,  their attitude, and willingness to share

[kaptainkoz]

Finally got back at it today. Round two. I applied what I learned from the first go around and applied it to modifying the shape of the clay for the latch pockets.




I utilized a cool trick today to roll out the clay to a uniform thickness. I laid two thin strips of wood on either side of the clay and used a pipe as a rolling pin. This made it a bit easier to stay consistent with the thickness and gave me pieces that were easier to work with.







Much smaller design this time around





The Profile gauge shows the shape of the clay from the first set. This should work better.





Shot the unwaxed gel coat with the dump gun. Heres first layer









second coat













third and final coat







ill take another set in the morning to show how it settled. All and all I am getting more comfortable with the dump gun and shooting gelcoat that I would be able to work with if it were a finished coat and not a mold. I still had some trouble getting even coverage on the latch pockets. I think it built up pretty thick over the latch pockets which hopefully wont give me back the size issues I was trying to avoid by making the clay smaller.  Over all I shot about 22 ounces of gel coat per door

[kaptainkoz]

Here they are this morning. Wow they settled nice and flat. If this were an external piece it wouldn't take much to fair it flat. I plan on glassing the first layer today.

[Callyb]

Dang Steve! You are getting pretty good with that dump gun.

Are you going to re-Gel the whole boat?

[kaptainkoz]

Thanks Carl. Yes I think I'm starting to do better with the gun. There's really no explaining it you just have to practice and get a feel.
Unfortunately I am not going to gel coat the whole boat. There is no way I could flip the boat to do the hull. I could gel coat the insides but I really do not have a strong desire for a show piece. I am okay with patching, polishing and fixing what is there now and ending up with a clean, functional working fishing boat. The only thing that will be new is what I am installing. I absolutely admire pics of full restorations but I cringe at the thought of adding that much more time, money and effort to my build. As for now I just want to get it clean and working. Labor Day weekend will be 3 years that I own this hull and it still won't be in the water. It's too long. There's a chance I may shoot the gunnels with gel coat when I shoot the floor as it really won't be that much more work but I'll see where I'm at when the floor is in.

My new concern for shooting something so big is overspray. Gel coat doesn't air dry. It will carry with the wind, land on something and cure when it's ready. I would have to go to great lengths to contain the overspray from coating my neighbors homes and cars. I'll figure it out and of course post about it!

[kaptainkoz]

First coat of 3/4 oz chopped strand with unwaxed vinylester done. Didn't come out as smooth as I would have liked on the door to the right as the warm temps set off the resin faster than I expected. To screw me up even further the fiberglass shop said the new batch of vinylester he sold me sets off fast for some reason, further reducing the work time im used to. It may not be pretty as its a bit blotchy and resin rich in spots but its functional.

I am NOT taking any chances this time around. Every layer will be weighed down and will get a full 24 hrs to cure which kind of sucks because I would glass right now! So ill chomp at the bit until the morning.

[kaptainkoz]

Being I cant fiberglass until tomorrow, I figured I would keep myself busy by making the plywood stiffeners. I used 3/4 plywood and sent it through a table saw to create a gradual bevel






Here is pretty much how its going to sit





I left 1.5 inches around as clearance from the frame in case I need to glass the stiffener without adding to the thickness of the doors. Door thickness will be critical for proper sealing against the gasket of the frame. The doors next coat will be 1.5 oz chopped strand tomorrow. The day after that will be a 2408 biaxial with the stiffener placed over it into the wet glass and weighed down for 2 days. Then at least one more layer of 2408 to encapsulate the plywood, and more layers if needed to build up thickness.

[CLM65]

Great work, Steve!

[RickK]

Has it been 24hrs yet  :bounce:

[kaptainkoz]

Has it been 24hrs yet  :bounce:

Lol... why yes in fact Rick, it has!
Nothing too exciting, basic stuff, just the 2nd layer down. Its 1.5 oz chopped strand, weighed down as I am not making these a 3rd time. I already can feel a little gel coat separation from the mold when I press down on it in some spots but I can handle a hint of wave. The next layer tomorrow night is 2408 Biaxial backed with the stiffener and weighed down which I think will get it as straight as its going to be. That one will sit for 48 hours before I even look in its general direction. That is wax paper that the white board sections are placed on.

[RickK]

Has it been 24hrs yet  :bounce:

I already can feel a little gel coat separation from the mold when I press down on it in some spots but I can handle a hint of wave.

Did you use the batteries on the first layer this time or just those pipes?

[kaptainkoz]

The pipes were too light so I switched to the batteries which also cover a larger area to pressure. I have had them under weight the whole time so far.

[RickK]