1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Ok, Guys, sorry about the lapse, been busy at work lately.

So, next I cut the first piece of the deck, shaped it, and glassed the back side.
Then I mixed up some peanut butter paste.....


and glued it down to the top of the stringers/ribs, then weighed it down with glue buckets and weights...


Then I did the same to the next piece of deck..


As you can see, I did get the rest of the foam in....I used four 8 cubic foot kits for at total of 32 cubic feet of foam...way more than enough floatation foam!

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

By the way....the glue in the buckets are from my day job, the contents of these buckets was never used anywhere on this boat, they were just for weight!

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Next, I cut 2 more deck pieces and glassed the back of them, and the bow piece, which is double thick with a layer of glass between them(1 1/2" thick as the anchor cleats will be mounted here)..

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Then, I epoxied these pieces in,weighed it with buckets, let it set overnight, then cleaned it all up. This is what it looked like after all of this..



In this picture you can see the holes I've cut for all of my hoses and wires..I cut them with a hole saw, then sealed the inside of the cut twice with epoxy.


In the last picture, the small PVC tube going from the bilge to the corner beside the big one is for the bilge pump hose to run through...originally this was just run through a jagged cut opening which was another point for water to get to the foam. You can see how well I sealed around both PVC pipes.

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Next, I cut the final deck pieces, and fiberglassed the back sides...no pictures of this part, but be back with more tomorrow.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Looks great and seriously solid. This boat is going to be TOUGH

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Ok, next I epoxied in the last 2 deck pieces

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Next, I filled and faired between seams and all around the edges. Then I glassed about 3/4 of the deck, and didn't have enough resin to get the rear all at once, so instead I cut out my bilge access hole, then went to work on my forward storage/casting deck. Got the pieces all cut and shaped, glassed the back side, then epoxied it in.....

Here's how it looked at that point (7-13-11 almost 4 months in)

The two small holes at the bottom for drainage (as the anchor goes in here), and the other 4 holes are going to be rod holders....more on that later

As you can see by the old markings, I made it about 3 inches smaller. More room for fishing...less room for crap!

 

[Big Island Lifer]

Looks great! I would love to pick up a center console project boat! Thanks for sharing!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Ok, next, I built a small box in the corner where the cables and wires exit the tube, and after the final shipment of resin came in, I glassed out the rest of the deck, casting platform, and bow. Sorry, again I wish I would have taken more photos, but you live and learn.
After it all cured, I sanded and sanded to get everything fairly smooth, and even....



And also installed new brass drain tubes for self bailing deck....they come flared on 1 end but not the other. They sell a flare tool, but I didn't want to buy a $40 tool to put in 2 $5 tubes. So, I epoxied them in, with the pre-flared end inside the boat and a good seal of epoxy all around the inside of the hole. After curing, I cut off the excess tube with a grinder, leaving about 3/16" sticking out. Then, I put a bead of 5200 around it and using a 3/8 drive socket extension, where the shaft curves out to the connector, I would tap it with a hammer, working my way around until it was all rounded over, and cleaned off the excess 5200. (sorry, but does any of this make sense?)

Anyways, heres how they looked when done.......

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Next, I cut out speaker holes in the front (you can see these in the next post's photos), and epoxied the inside exposed wood twice. I also touched up any last small resin jobs inside the boat and did my final sanding. Now comes the waiting. I read conflicting reports about letting epoxy post-cure, so I decided to give mine 14 days.

While waiting, I stripped down my console and seat base completely, and wet sanded, buffed, and waxed. I also painted the inside of both with 2 coats of Interlux BilgeKote in white.




Thats it for tonight, more tomorrow....

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Okay guys, sorry about the delay, been a hectic weekend.....

Moving along, Its time to start painting!, So next, I prime the entire bilge with two coats of Interlux Epoxy PrimeKote 404/414


Then 2 coats of Interlux BilgeKote White

 

[herefishy]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

AH! I see your pvc tubes for fish poles in the bow.

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

AH! I see your pvc tubes for fish poles in the bow.

Yeah, the handle end, I made out of wood and epoxied into place....you'll see them in later posts

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Next, I took some 1/4" thick solid noeprene rubber, and cut pads to absorb impact on bottom of fuel tank. On the original job, they took a piece of automotive radiator hose, slit down the side and layed flat, with a s/s screw through it. Unfortunately when the rubber compressed and dry rotted, the screw head was rubbing the bottom of the tank....it didn't rub through (lucky), but I didn't like that concept....so I glued my rubber pieces down.

This is how it looked


Next, I installed my through hull fittings, garboard drain, aerator pump, and bilge pump mounting base. For the bilge pump I went with a Rule automatic 500GPH.

I went with bronze for my through hull fittings below the water line....

And stainless steel above the water line...

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Okay, next I cut and shaped the final piece of the deck, and glassed it on both sides....I fudged up on this one and cut the corners too short, so in the pic you can see where I epoxied them back on before glassing it all over....






By the way, the reason its shaped to a rounded point on one end it because that is where my ski pole base will sit...I wanted it to be mounted on double thick deck boards.

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

While waiting for that to cure, I went ahead and mounted my fuel tank, and ran all of my electrical and plumbing........


Wiring for speakers and bow light run through PVC tube installed in the first few posts.......

Double stainless steel hose clamps on all connections......

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

I ordered my fuel tank from Speedytanks.com. (Atlantic Coastal Welding, Bayville NJ). This was the most fair price I could find. They made it to my dimensions, it is 37 gallons, epoxy coated with center baffle and fuel sending unit. Including shipping it was around $575.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Are you sure you're not a professional? Your work is absolutely top notch.

 

[Mike Lammert]

Re: 1993 17' Center Console Complete Refurbish

Are you sure you're not a professional? Your work is absolutely top notch.

Hey thanks EZ!! Those compliments mean a great deal coming from a moderator who sees project after project! I am not a professional boat builder....just kind of a perfectionist....I like to do things the best way I can do it. I do wood and laminate flooring for a living, so I am familiar with cutting and shaping wood, and have all of the tools to do so. As for the fiberglass, its a learning process, anything screwed up can be ground off and re-done, so its very forgiving. My dad worked for Bayliner Boats about 30 years ago, and he says my boat is better built than anything he ever saw come off their line.