Project - Aquasport 246CCP, 1979, Captain Koz II

[kaptainkoz]

I removed the foam plug.
It came out fairly easy. Taking into consideration that the top 6 inches or so curve the flat foam did not want to pass through the curve without having to break it up. In hindsight I would have glued the plastic sheeting to the foam and I would have wrapped string around it vertically as pull points to aid removal. I took a shop vac with a narrow hose and throughly vacuumed the void. It rained all day so humidity is high so I am going to wait until tomorrow to pour Seacast.











I modified a paint tray to assist in the Seacast pour. Time is not your friend. The faster I can get this stuff poured and tamped down the better. You can only do 10 gallons (2 buckets) at a time every 24 hours so this is a 2 day pour.

[kaptainkoz]

Seacast was a piece of cake!
Starts out like a bucket of cheesecake or lard  but when you mix it the resin underneath blends it into an eggnog consistency. You definitely need a heavy duty drill for this (6 amp or better… mine was 7 amp) for when you add the fiberglass material it definitely thickens. It is not very self leveling but it laid down in the void fairly evenly. Unfortunately I do not have any “during” photos but maybe I’ll have some tomorrow. At $310 a bucket I was panic racing against time. It could not have been a better day weather wise with low 70’s but now going into the evening it’s cooling more so I don’t expect it to kick until tomorrow. You can only do 10 gallons max every 24 hours to allow for gas’s off. I had two resin leaks that I have dammed up with tape but otherwise very smooth sailing. Tomorrow afternoon I do the other three buckets spread between the remainder of the transom and the gas tank cover. I suspect with some fluctuation in the size of the transom cavity that my volume may be slightly higher than measured but the transom comes first and what ever I have left over will go into the tank cover. If I have to reinforce the tank cover with ply and fiberglass so be it.






Seacast before adding fiberglass material

[RickK]

I don't see any mess so your modified dust pan must have done the trick. Good job 

[kaptainkoz]

Yes the tray worked incredibly well. I wish I could take credit for the design but I saw it along the way somewhere. The flow was really good. It did at one point fill to the top as I was only pouring dead center. I used a plywood scrap to scrape the material down and even. There is a smear residue on the inner back transom wall it just isn’t visible in the picture. The stuff flowed off the bucket fairly well so with minimal scraping the buckets were near clean. It apparently will bond to itself without a cold seam when I pour today.  I measured again and re did calculations and I am within 1 spare gallon so seems like I will have plenty to finish the transom and tank cover. I’ll be finishing up today about 4:00.

[kaptainkoz]

Some more photos of seacast

Here are some better photos of the process. Today I mixed 3 buckets for the transom and the gas tank cover.
In the interest of time I pre mixed all 3 buckets to mix the separated “lard” and the resin under it. I scraped the top of the lid to remove material stuck to it. I DID NOT ADD THE HARDENER YET!!!! I just blended the contents to save time. Then one bucket at a time I added the blue hardener, and the chopped fiberglass. I used the drill in both directions as I found it had different blending properties each direction. I then poured the transom using my modified paint tray and a stick to tamp it down. I then use a rubber mallet and pounded the transom to vibrate the bubbles out and I even jumped up and down on the boat to create motion to help tamp down the material.

As I started pouring the second bucket in the transom it became clear to me that I am going to be short Seacast for the tank cover. The transom took precedence so I gave it all it needed and even then could have came a half inch higher but I am still 6 inches above the bracket so I’m fine.





























I took the rest of bucket #4 and dumped it in the tank cover while I mixed the last bucket. Yes, that is a car air filter! Use what you have lol. It was the perfect size to displace material that I am going to cut out anyway for the 6” access cover.  I hot glued it in place to save on seacast. I added the second bucket and started to spread it and it was obvious I was short a gallon or two. What to do? I decided to displace material by adding a section of 1/2” marine plywood through the middle in a location that will not be taking screws. When it sets I will fair the seacast knocking down high spots and add a few layers of 1708 to it. Crisis averted. There are many ways to reinforce a tank cover. Yes, I wish I had two more gallons and yes I could have ordered more but I don’t want to spend any more money and have to wait for something that will work fine with a plan B.








So in summary …. Mixed results with the Seacast. For the transom it was the perfect material for an imperfect shape and the installation was a breeze.
For the tank cover… it DOES NOT self level so I had to work it into shape. Yes, they do make a self leveling product but it is not as fibrous thus probably not as stout. I would have chosen the transom product again. I think this stuff would have been amazing if I had another gallon or two and I was able to overfill and then fair it down. Is anyone going to see it? No. It just has to be strong enough and it will be with a few more layers of glass. I still have 1/2” to 1” at the edges so it’s not like it’s a light coat. The product is thick and inconsistent so even if I had more it would not spread to a presentable finish. Again… it’s about performance properties and not looks. It will be fine in the end. So plan B sours me a little but in the end it will be perfect.
I believe the shortage has to do with the imperfect sizing of the cavity. It was an attempt to use a flat foam board and manipulating it  into a partially curved surface. Yes, I did slice the foam and get it to curve but there are obviously sections that came wider than 1.5 inches this eating up seacast that wasn’t accounted for. Would I do it all again? Installing wise yes. My full satisfaction remains to be seen over the next few years with initial sea trials and product longevity. So it remains to be seen. I will take faith in all I’ve read and how I’ve approached the build that I am going to be satisfied.
Many MANY thanks to Sabina at Seacast and to her late Father who is a pioneer in fiberglass. Very interesting story. It was a pleasure speaking with her the many times that I did.
So yet again another chapter of this journey closes. Put to rest are the hours over the years thinking about this procedure. Peace of mind for another successful evolution of this build but a growing void of not having to think about this portion anymore.

Once the tank cover can be popped from the mold I will clear the mold table and start on the mold for the transom cap.

[kaptainkoz]

I thru-drilled the pilot holes for the bracket and drilled for the garboard plug. The cores I dug out of the hole saw seems hard. I’m measuring 2-1/2 inch thick for the transom at a mid height bracket hole which makes sense as it is a spot that was existing glass and new glass so it was thicker at that spot. It’s 16 layers at .042 so ive added 0.63 of an inch in theory in total between the inner and outer transom.




I cut 17 inches out of the old fuel tank thinking I was going to make a mock up of the shortened tank to get tank dimensions. Turns out all i needed was the 17 inch piece to get measurements off of. Of course I rabbit-holed with the gas tank changing dimensions to best fit while maintaining 100 gallons. I also measured for brackets that will be welded to the tank so I can screw those brackets right to the tank tub. I’m looking at SP sheet metal company out of Jersey to build the tank. They have a killer website boasting many smart features that appeal to me. There are some size specifics that must be met so I have to get my dimensions documented so I can communicate them clearly.





I did a sanding and fairing of the transom with some gelcoat and cabosil. Once that sets I will do a final sanding and if I like what I see I’ll be ready to shoot gelcoat with Duratec for the first time. If I can get it to look good then I am considering dropping the rub rail and painting the whole cap.




I don’t care about the space inside of the bracket mounting holes as obviously that will be covered by the bracket.





Started fitting the Garbord plug. I figured drilling the transom could help the seacast gas off should it need an outlet. I added a piece of brass threaded pipe to the garboard plug flange and cut it just longer than the transom. I will coat the pipe with 5200 to insure there is no water hitting the core as it pools in the bilge before being released to drain. Yes, seacast is not affected by water and cannot rot  but I dont want any frost heaving so why not make it even more waterproof.  A lot of small tedious steps this weekend but a few steps closer to done.

[kaptainkoz]

Knocking out a bunch of little annoying stuff. Added an 1-1/2” wide plywood backing plate to the lip of the new section of the transom. Glued it in place with some west systems 404 peanut butter using vinyl ester resin. I have not trimmed the top edge yet as I will do it after I glass in the backing plate




 I also added plywood as a core for the gap between the stringers and the transom. I made the pattern for the glass that will go from one stringer across the transom larger than the mounting holes of the bracket to the other stringer. I wanted to wrap that section in one piece. I’m going to do about 3 more layers. I also sanded and added 1.5oz chopped strand to the sections I added to the existing transom cap.













I am allowing the seacast to cure a bit more as it has been unusually cool. It really needs to be above 76 degrees for a long duration for that stuff to cook when spread out for the gas tank cover. The transom material seems to be hard but that had the horizontal column heat to help it kick. Getting closer! 

[kaptainkoz]

Transom knees looking almost factory after 3rd layer of 1708. I think one more layer and I’m done with the transom …. Wait did I just say that!?! I will be a lost puppy when this build is done…. I may have to start another one for fun!






Seacast update… the gas tank cover was a little slow to cure but after 2 full days in the blazing sun it’s hard as a rock! Love this stuff. I am very satisfied with it so far. Can’t wait to use it!! I plan on 2 or 3 layers of 1708 before I pop it out of the mold.