Project - Aquasport 246CCP, 1979, Captain Koz II

[RickK]

Your concepts and implementations are smart.  Looking good Koz!

[kaptainkoz]

Thank you so much Rick. I am enjoying the journey.

Slight change of process…. Instead of trying to run a large board of plywood along a small router table I thought maybe I would have more control and better results running the router table along the plywood. I need the stops and adjustment of the table to precisely route the wood so it’s not as crazy as it seems. It actually worked out much better. I just grabbed the router by the usual handles and used the table as a guide.



I cut floor piece number 3 and test fit it around the gas tank tub. It fits exactly how I want it to fit.

[kaptainkoz]

Floor section number 3 bottom glassed last night and ready to be trimmed and installed.



Installed the rigging tubes. They are the lightweight thin walled plastic drain pipe. Regular PVC in my opinion was too heavy. I used 5200 to seal it into the PVC fittings and then a pair of 1708 straps to hold in in place.



3rd section of floor installed. Less than 24 hours from tracing to install. Not too shabby. I’m getting the hang of this finally. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Piece 4 is just a 48” filler but then the 5th and final piece gets very complicated as it transitions to a rear gunwale which I haven’t quite figured out yet but will have to commit to very soon.

[kaptainkoz]

Faired the transom
Sunday I decided to tackle fairing the inside of the outer transom wall in preparation for its rebuild. I don’t want to finish the floor and limit my work space thus I need to tackle prepping the transom. I expected a miserable day in my Walter White meth suit grinding away for hours. I knew from prior that the remaining wood embedded in the resin doesn’t sand very well. It just kind of smolders and doesn’t cut well. So I started the task with a hammer and chisel to remove the wood. I soon discovered that the chopped strand that they used to affix the transom to the woven roving of the original mold was separating fairly easily. In fact there were voids of dry glass, empty pockets and chunks of amber-like resin filling voids and adding no strength. I am so glad I made these discoveries before I sanded the face of all the junk and glassed to it.
I ended up separating and removing everything that was stuck to the original roving of the hull mold. I will now have a beautifully consistent platform to build the transom onto. I also thinned the transom considerably which will only add to its pliability for manipulating into the final shape I want. I am grateful for the discovery as it would not have been ideal to build on that garbage. It also illustrates why you should not use a flat board like ply or coosa on a transom surface that is curved both horizontally and vertically. Flats on curves leaves voids. Seacast I believe will be perfect for the transom as it will fill any shape. Time will tell.

[kaptainkoz]

This is what the transom looks like after clearing off the old chopped strand with just a hammer and chisel. Still needs some fine tuning with a grinder but it’s  a really good surface to build off of.

[kaptainkoz]

Boat update 9/30/24
This weekend was busy with a lot of small odds and ends that do not show for much but are all steps along the way.
First off was a massive Facebook Marketplace score of some beautiful vintage boat jewelry. Old school Crome plated bronze 1.5” barbed thru hulls with most of the chrome gone and beautiful patina… $25 each! These are well over $80 each new. I love the look and strength. I am very excited about these.




I continued to prep the salvaged deck drain tubs taken from my 200CCP. It’s a little bit of a tribute to that boat as it could have been restored but I chose to canabalize it for sake of the 246. It’s a small nod to that boat in tribute. These have to be ground, shaped, fitted and sanded raw in order to be glassed in and gel coated when I spray the floor.



I cut the flanges off of two of the thru hulls to lower the drain height to minimize standing water. You can see the difference between the cut one on the left and the original on the right.



I cut the openings for the cable ways which will come in under the center console. I used a router by eye in 3 directions to estimate where the opening should be then traced a circle with the pipe when I was sure of location. Obviously that’s a long length of pipe and I will cut it to fit under the center console. Worked out well.





This is why to date I still have every scrap of fiberglass i cut out of that boat. I need to fill in the aft coming straight with the existing coming cap. I will cut it at the red line and glass them in.





Pictured is 3 layers of 1/2” ply with 1.5oz Matt layered in between. These will make the bulkhead for the end of the floor. Think of the toe kick on your kitchen cabinets… that what I want to do where the floor meets the aft gunwale. It may be a bit confusing at the moment as to what I am doing with these but It will become clearer as I make progress. I used a few pieces of scrap to created the pieces I need.

[kaptainkoz]

Grinding day
I think grinding fiberglass by far is what keeps me from entering the boat renovation trade. It is absolutely miserable. Today I ground the tank tub (once again), the floor drains, the live well and the in floor hatches. Basically feathering the edges preparing them to mate with tabbing wherever fiberglass will meet it. I also prepped the small section of transom cap that I will need to patch in I would never have thought that I would put so much work into the tank tub. So far it has been a monster but the details matter in the end. I think it is ready for install.







I mocked in sections 4 and 5. It is my first glimpse of what the floor looks like it it’s entirely. I am definitely pleased. Section 4 is just an easy piece along the gas tank tub but section 5 gets very complex and critical as the bulkhead I am adding to the end of it is the foundation for the transom cap. There is a lot going on in section 5. I am adding the 2nd hatch for the original in floor live well. I got it cut as needed and applied the bottom layer of fiberglass.

[RickK]

Looking good - nice progress Koz. Don't forget to put in the PVC pipe so you keep the low point of the boat the same. If I haven't already posted this:
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Here is a link to where I explain the thought of the PVC pipe
http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=13148.msg133124#msg133124

Here is a link to where I show what is actual problem
http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=13148.msg133556#msg133556

Here is a link to Hawgleg's rebuild that shows the PVC pipe installation to keep a drain at the new low point of the boat
http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=13148.msg134262#msg134262
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[kaptainkoz]

Thank you Rick. That’s an awesome idea. Love it and will use it. My bilge is really low right now and I was going to cut the tabbing around it to keep it that way. This approach makes things lot easier. The other idea was to let it fill with SeaCast and re drill it but wither way I don’t want the tabbing to raise the drain area on the floor and create a puddle in front of it. Good stuff. Thank you.

[kaptainkoz]

Another good day
Another good day in the garage. Had to install section 4 and 5 again for mockup of in floor drains and cut rear gunnel/floor bulkhead to size. Very exciting to see the drains mocked in.









Question … what is the official name of the piece circled in red? Is a a stern gunnel or a bulkhead? Not sure what to call it.





Primed the remaining floor pieces and added the underside 1708 to sections 4. Section 5 still needs some work as the rear gunnel/bulkhead and the live well are getting screwed and glassed to it before install. I have weight concerns with attaching the live well to the underside of the floor by just tabbing to one layer of 1708 so I’m going to get creative with a hinge as bracket. More on that later.









This piece is an afterthought. The forward edge of the center console is only being bolted to the floor. It is also going to affix the pilot house. So while I can get under the floor I’m going to peanut butter this piece of double 1/2” ply under the floor right where it will screw down to give it more support.





These are the sections it port and starboard comings that I need to fill in. I am adding a mounting tab for the transom cap to bolt to. This will make more sense later.

[RickK]

Nice progress Koz.

[kaptainkoz]

Used a router to recess the floor drain tabs so when they are glassed in they will be flush




Assembling the transom floor bulkhead. I used 3” x 1/4 screws to attach them together and to the floor as well as a strip of wet 1708.











It will get glassed as well so I added a rounded fillet to make the glass lay easier. I rounded all the edges with a router for the same purpose

[kaptainkoz]

Sect 5 progress 2
Set the center console fastener backing plate. I used PL in the middle and west systems 404 peanut butter on the edges. Held it in place with a bottle jack and a block of wood.







Test fit the 4th and 5th floor sections yet again to test tank tub figment, trace the mounting lip so I can recess the plywood and set the floor drains. I tacked the floor drain in place temporarily with drywall screws. Their placement has to be exact so I figured this the best way to hold them in place. There is an order of operations with the drains so I feel it will be best to peanut butter them in place now. I am very pleased with the progress.









The transom bulkhead makes getting a wrench on the thru hull nut impossible unless I wanted to buy a huge deep socket. The solution? Install 1.5” PVC collars to move the nut to an accessible location.

[kaptainkoz]

 I routered and grinded recesses to fit the lips of the hatch and gas tank tub.  I spent so much time feathering down the mounting edge of the tub and hatches when last second it hit me to recess the lips into the plywood.


Peanut butter faired the floor drain in preparation for fiberglass



I felt it would be much easier to get two coats of 1708 on the transom bulkhead now due to the intricate shape of it rather than try to attempt it installed. I did two layers in two parts






Installed the hatches in a bed of peanut butter and faired them for glass




Turned the floor over and filled the gap between the hatch and plywood with peanut butter and glassed over it wrapping the hatch a bit for added strength.




Positioned the live well tub over the hatch and tabbed it in. Once this floor section is installed I will add a support under the tub.
The fifth and final floor section is almost done! A ton of tedious work on this section.

[kaptainkoz]