1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

[Willyclay]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Here's the Transom Clamp pages. I think this one is very important due to the dimensions and placement. If you cannot come close to replicating this type of installation, then GT's suggestion to fabricate a "link" may be your best shot to overcome the variables. Good luck!

 

[Cowboyup94]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Another question is are those bolts stainless steel? If not get atleast a coat of paint on them. Also what tensile strenght did you use?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Thanks for the Seat Flip pics. I sure wish I was closer. I would rebuild those seats in a weeken for ya. PM me with exactly how you envison them for the boat and the approximate height needed for the bases and I'll send you some plans.

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hi Everybody,
Thank you one and all for all your knowledge and caring. Truly guys I am much honored to have a group of fellows like you all in my corner.
Let’s go in order of appearance.

Gus (GT1M); Thanks bro for the design, I think I am going to go for a mixture of what you drew for me and what Bill sent. Now that I can see thanks to guys what it should “really” look like, I think I can come up with a little closer to “OEM”. Like I said I am still a newbie around boats (still I think mine might work! Although I agree it must be made much stronger).

Bill (Willyclay); you really are the man. Thank you for digging up those schematics. I just went through them all and they are all perfectly legible.

Cowboyup94; what, you get tired of all the girls already? Ah, to be young again. I mean here you are back on the forum talking to all us old f@#ts. You know, I do not know the tensile strength or composition of the bolts and nuts.:facepalm: I was planning on putting a coat of paint on when done, but after all of my friend’s suggestions it looks like I am back to the drawing board again (Drat!).

Woody; sorry about the clarity of the photos, I am terrible with a camera so my dad takes all my photos (so I am at his mercy, it is his camera after all, ha-ha…..LOL). He usually takes very good photos.
That seat base thing I built is 20” wide by 46” long and it is just a hair longer than the chairs. As for height it is basically perfect (dummied up as in photos) with a painter’s five gallon pail and two slices of 2X4 on top of the pail as spacers. I did not think to measure from deck to bottom of my DIY base.:facepalm: I was thinking about using the wooden bench top I built as the base for the chairs. And then of course building some sort of support legs. I was planning on using plywood (stained) on the front and rear of the seats…. (Where the backs of the rider and drivers legs would be) I would also have some sort of ? of a rectangle open hole in the isle (in photo port) side of the bench platform so that I could slide a medium (48 quart) Ice chest under the chairs and strap them down with a bungie or two stretched across the gap. Clear, as mud I know. Sorry.

The only thing I really don’t care for is the passengers in the rear looking seats are really out in orbit. I am going to have to put seat belts in for sure. I have some hand rails that I am going to install near the rear seats for them to grab. (can be seen in one of my photos looking at the side of the boat).
Anyways, thank you all again gentlemen,
I am blessed, because of your friendship.
Dave

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Another question is are those bolts stainless steel?

FYI, all the original hardware (nuts, bolts, washers, etc.) in my Teleflex kits was indeed SS! However, I purchased the "painted" steel transom clamp and the aluminum support tube to save a little money. They lasted the life of my boat (10+ years) with regular washdowns and greasings eventhough 99% of my boating was in salt water.

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

I have been looking into options all day at the hardware and boat stores I deliver to today. I have a few ideas already to play with for the brackets.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Dave; While you are re-engineering the steering system, I wanted to provide you with one more piece of information. It may not change what you ultimately do but I thought it might be helpful to see what the Teleflex engineers created. Specifically, your "support tube" is designed for a splashwell installation. At the link below you can see the black ball sandwiched between two plates that are used to secure it to the sidewall of a boat's splashwell.

http://www.iboats.com/Corrosion-Res...7181325--session_id.222128962--view_id.192769

The black ball provides a pivot point to prevent binding as the motor moves left, right and tilt. The ball is adjustable on the all-thread support tube to center the telescopic ram end of the cable for equal side-to-side movement. Something to consider.

Information is power!

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hi Guys,
When I went out to my boat last weekend as I was leaving for the week I took the port side window brace for the windshield home. I got off from work a little early today so I took my handy hack saw and went to work. After tonight’s labor, I have the other side of my windshield brace cut down to the new size and I did all the cuts to make it mount onto the windshield. So first thing I do this weekend is mount it and knock another project from my list of things to do.
Bill thanks for the link, I am working still on options. I wish I could just buy the whole kit (but that really is not in the budget right now). I still have to register the trailer and build seats. Etc. I am going to my friend’s home this weekend and we are going to see what we can engineer together, and what we can find in his pile of junk…er, merchandise in the garage.
Goodnight all
Dave

 

[Willyclay]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

PM sent

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hi Everyone
How ya all doing? I went out to my boat and thanks to all of your suggestions I removed the bracket I built. I have a few ideas that I am going to play with this weekend. (Thanks Bill, for your MacGyver “like” description in the PM you sent me). I really think I am onto something, and tomorrow I am going to go put it into action and begin sourcing parts. Thanks to Bill’s great attachments diagrams I can really see what it should look like, and I have been checking into the hardware shops around my delivery route for the last week solid. Sunday I will go out and see if I am full of hot air or if I got something.
It is really late (well I am tired at any rate) so I am going to say goodnight to you all.
I will post progress Sunday night for you all with photos like usual.
Dave

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hi Guys;

Well, I went yesterday afternoon (so I could rest my ankle today before work, it really still hurts!). So I could not work too long on Dreams.

I took all your suggestions in to play and came up with a solution that works. I bought a thick gage angle iron bracket (used for mounting conduit or something electrical) I found it in the electrical dept. it is very beefy (for you Gus). Its main selling point is that it has one large hole in each plate. I needed to grind out a little to make it fit my even larger bolt. (5/8, so now there is no worry about sheering bolts and tinsel strength ala Cowboyup94). I mounted it on the inside of the engine bracket (as Bill suggested).

For the clevis (Bill) I got a very thick gate hinge clevis and pounded it down to a thickness that would connect to the ram. Now it works as everybody wants! It flexes left right and up and down.
I also mounted a wooden block under the DIY plate to rise up the plane of the Teleflex ram. So now it is on the same plane as the motor itself. In the end, the motor now turns a much larger arc than before. Lastly, with the way it is currently set up. The motor tilts up so I can trailer and beach. I don?t know exactly how it tilts but it does tilt. I was able to put the barrel under the motor to fire it up.

I also turned the wheel again many times without a single bind up. So for now (until/unless something bad happens), I am done with this piece and moving on to another portion of the project I am tired of the steering. In the end It all cost about 6 dollars for the parts, when I can afford the 50 for the proper clevis I will buy it, but for now this is going to have to do.

I also had a little problem yesterday, I ran the motor and it fired up nicely for about 10 min and then died and I could not get it restarted?.(please see my motor thread if interested). I took apart the lower unit and I think I need to rebuild the water pump. So as of now my motor is in a thousand pieces?..and I am not a happy person right now!!!! And it will have to stay that way for about a week, until I get time to go back out there.
Have a great day fellas;
Your friend
Dave

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Oh ya,
I forgot; I am going to get some thick grease (like 5th wheel grease) and put it in the clevis joint that is the reason for the big washers; to hold the grease in. I also forgot, I am going to put the next size larger bolt through the motor bracket, later, I bought the wrong size, I was a little confused/overwhelmed when I was doing all of these mods in my mind walking around the hardware store. So I just put the only size bolt I had at home through so I could test the whole thing.
Dave.

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Oh ya; I forgot to tell you, (when I already forgot to tell you) :facepalm: that the wood block under the ram is temporary. I am going to find a metal (riser) when I stumble across it. If I can?t find a metal one, then I will recut and finish a better wooden block (with stain and spar urethane).
Dave

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hi Dave, The steering mods look mucho better...way to go...

Where is the tattle-tale on that engine and was it peeing while running?

Keep repairing that ankle...

L8R,
Gus

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hey Gus,


It sprays out that big hole at the top where the smoke comes out. The two times I started it is sprays water out like a mist. It is not a stream like coming out a hose. Yes water was coming out, but maybe not enough??? The impeller had no key…..so who knows what happened. I hope I did not destroy this motor too…..
Dave

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Hey Gus,


It sprays out that big hole at the top where the smoke comes out. The two times I started it is sprays water out like a mist. It is not a stream like coming out a hose. Yes water was coming out, but maybe not enough??? The impeller had no key…..so who knows what happened. I hope I did not destroy this motor too…..
Dave

Not really sure what the tell-tale is supposed to look like on that particular engine, but a impeller without a key is definitely something to fix...
I hope you took good notes and/or pictures of how all the pieces parts go...:facepalm:
Uhhhh, I just noticed this picture...hopefully you just ran out of fuel mix...?

 

[Monterey Dreams]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

I did run out of fuel, but after I made more it started for a min and then died, and I could not get her started again.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1959 Glasscat Catamaran Project Underway.

Well, don't sweat it for now...get the water pump fixed and then try again...you can always go to the engine forum and debug it...