New to the site..... New (old) Aquasport 19-6

[Spectre5922]

Spec,
Thanks for the pics, new transom will be sweet.

 Im gonna take a crack at raising the console, did you keep the original console lines and then squared off and blocked the new plywood areas?

Also,what did you use for patching the old big holes??

Thanks again,

Sean
74 19'6

You are absolutely right about how I did the top of the console. The way that I got the shape that I wanted was to cut a template out of cardboard until I liked the way that it looked. As far as filling the holes.... All of the larger holes (steering, throttle and tach) were filled with ply plugs that I cut and glasses in. For the smaller holes i just glassed over them.

[Spectre5922]

Here are a few pics of the console the night that I gel-coated it.  I decided to roll 2 heavy coats of gelcoat as more of a filler coat, then sand it and spray a final coat.  Linden told me that gelcoat was easy to sand.....  Now that I have started sanding it, my only question is, easier than what?  Concrete?  It is going to take me FOREVER to get it sanded and ready for the final coat!  You can see from the pics that the shelf is in and tabbed.  I have a few more coats of varnish to go on the teak doors, then once I get the console sprayed and buffed out, it will be time to mount the electronics!  It is the big stages like this that get me excited!





^^^This is my buddy Linden of Linden's Marine Service standing by the console^^^

The reason that the top looks really wavy in the second picture is because I haven't sanded it yet at this stage, so you can still see the texture from the roller.

[love2fish]

Console looks good! thinking of doing the same thing to mine.

[slvrlng]

Can I copy your console?  

That looks awesome! Get a orbital sander and get some 600 velcro and sand it with that. It will take the texture out and save you a bunch of time. Then hand sand it with 1000 and then 1500 and buff and your done.

[Blue Agave]

Console looks good!  From the looks of things you guys must have just got done with lunch. I sure miss me some Texas BBQ.

[Spectre5922]

Can I copy your console?  

That looks awesome! Get a orbital sander and get some 600 velcro and sand it with that. It will take the texture out and save you a bunch of time. Then hand sand it with 1000 and then 1500 and buff and your done.

Have at it buddy.     I just wanted more room for gauges/VHF/stereo than the stock AS console had room for (it was really tiny).  Now, on the lower half, I'll have the switch panel on the left, then the steering and throttle.  On top, I'll have the 5 gauges on the left, then permanent mount VHF on the right on top and stereo on the right on bottom.  On the very top of the console, I'll have the GPS w/antenna, fish finder and compass.  I decided against putting the anchor light on the console, so it will be mounted at the starboard aft corner like it was when I got the boat.  I also just bought two 2' sections of red led rope light to put under the cap on either side where the rod storage inset is.  Since I now have an account at the parts house, the lighting with the plug and play adapter was under $30 total!  We are even considering fabricating a windshield mount from teak instead of going with a prebent one.

As far as the sanding, I started out with 220 on the DA and it would have taken me around 30+ sheets and several days to sand it.  What I am doing is sanding with 80-150 to get everything baby-butt smooth, then SPRAY at least one coat, if not two of gelcoat.  After that, I'll sand with 800-1000 and buff it out.  The two rolled on coats were pretty much just used like a filling primer/surfacer to catch any pin holes and imperfections that I missed.

[Spectre5922]

@ love2fish...  Go for it.  You will LOVE the extra room that it creates, PLUS you have a taller console, which raises your windscreen, which keeps more spray off of you.  My AS originally came with a tach, steering, throttle, 2 switches and an ignition button.  Now, it's going to have 5 gauges, a 6 switch panel, hard mount VHF, stereo, steering, throttle, horn button and ignition plus what I'm mounting on the very top.  All of that and none of it will look crowded.

@ Blue Agave...  Thanks man.  It is taking a lot longer than you guys that have a little more free time, but I'm loving the process.  I would rather spend all of this time and money and 1) know what I have and 2) be able to say "I did that".  Yes, we were still drinking our drinks from lunch.  That picture was taken at around 7:00 pm though.  I took it right as we were finishing up and locking up for the night.

[Blue Agave]

@ Blue Agave...  Thanks man.  It is taking a lot longer than you guys that have a little more free time, but I'm loving the process.

Lol!  My rebuild took almost three years.  

I would rather spend all of this time and money and 1) know what I have and 2) be able to say "I did that".

Wise man from Texas once told me, "Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice".  

[Spectre5922]

I was doing some figuring last night. I got the boat last July, but got a really slow start on it. I am hoping to have it complete by June in time to take it to the beach house that we rented for a week. That would make it around an 11 month build with the first few months not really getting anything done. In essence, the rebuild is taking me around 9 months (of course I'm not finished yet). I guess I shouldn't feel bad after all.

[Spectre5922]

Here are a few more pics of what I've been doing.  The first two are of the seat bases that I fabricated for the front of the console.  I just got the high density foam rubber this last weekend and should have them done in the next few days.






Here is the transom ALMOST finished.




Here are a few pics of the caps right after glassing them onto the hull.  The whole thing is resin-coated, then I put 2 layers of glass on the bottom and glassed it to the hull caps.  The sides were shaped with a HUGE disc sander to match the hull contour.  Next time, I will glass the rest of them to the hull.






From what I have read, the caps are a structural part of the hull, so what better way than to go ahead and glass it in solid?  Not only that, but it cuts WAY back on the amount of teak maintenance required on the boat!

One step closer.......