Pantz at it again: rebuiding interior stern area

[pantaloonz]

Hi Gang,

Hibernated through the winter. I had a lot of fun with the boat last year and she's GOING to make it at least a couple more seasons. I had to replace the gas tank last year and had some issues with water in the outdrive (resolved). So I'm taking on some upgrades to the inside.

What I really disliked about this boat was how much fiberglass/plastic/decking there was that prevented me from getting a good look at the engine, wiring, and don't get me started on how hard it was to access the engine mounts (again all last year). Because of the new tank, the logistics of the stern have changed a bit and I want to make a one piece engine cover, and flat cover with hatched lift to access the battery and vent areas. I also needed to get some breathing room between the deck and the engine. Here's what we had to fight with.


So obviously you can't see how close the floor boards are to the engine. But you can see how close that fiber glass is and how much of a PITA it is to get any where close to rear of the engine, trace wires, or get after the steering mechanism.. I wanted a change. so I grabbed my respirator, a vacuum cleaner, and my grinder and had a little fun...



Ahhhh.. Room to move!

First obviously the fiberglass is all gone, (need to clean up those pokey parts on the side) I very quickly found some homespun wiring that has long since frayed. This probably is contributing to my funky tach readings, and flakey fuel readings (ya think?). Also I want to free up those vent hoses and make sure all is well there. I'm also in a much better position to position the fuel and vent hoses for more efficient routing.

It's not much, but removing 1.5" on either side of the engine makes A HUGE difference in accessibility. I was able to get the vacuum hose down in there and finally clean those out. I'll let your imagination wander on what I found.. I smells better I'm going to shorten the gas tank hole, which in turn will lengthen the storage for the water fun gear. I also gained better access to where I believe I had some insects (sawdust like crap all over) they are gone now too!!

I will replace the carpet back here if time allows... anyhow..

The dotted lines represent two separate builds. the first will be a flat panel covering most of the back, only as thick as the remaining fiberglass over the engine and enough to cover the left and right sides, which a hinged door for access (no more struggling to get back there again!

Then I will build a very simple engine box with hose allotments out of thin plywood which I will fiberglass for rigidity and strength. Lining the underside with good quality fire resistant/sound damping foam..

Questions:

1. I'm leaning towards just cleaning the floors really well and spraying a flooring in like Dura-XX/Truck liner etc.. Not quite sure I'll go carpet route again, unless I can find some decent carpeting.. suggestion?

2. the former engine box had AWESOME foam. It was dark green, dense, and obviously flame/sound spec'd. Where can I find more of this stuff?

3. I don't really want to sew/foam another engine box (but will if you guys deem that best). It's common for us to use the engine box (not purposely) when having our water fun. The surface should be something that would not be too tough for us to stand on/climb on.. again sewing and foaming that is not something I 'want' to do, but if it's for the best,.. I will.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this, I would not still have this baby running if not for the people here!

-Pantz

 

[Offrddrver]

Hey Pantz,

Just checking in after a long winter break. Just wanted to see your project since we haven't talked since last October.

Just my thoughts on your questions.
1. If you look at some new boats they are formed with mold injected type of bodies, and they button in a carpet. This gives their owners the ability to remove the carpet for cleaning, but also allows them to rinse out the boat if needed.
1a. Maybe go with a Dur-X liner/Rhino liner or other spray in liner, and then add a button in carpet that you can take out and clean/dry. That way you should be able to reduce the wood rot, yet still have the nice carpet feel for the family. (More cost to do both.)

2. I know the foam from my boat, but I don't have any idea where to get it. Maybe call Four-Winns and see what they use now. (probably nothing as I'm sure new boats are formed completely different.......but maybe they have a suggestion.

3. I know what you mean about using this engine cover as the IN/OUT of the boat as we do also. (seems to be more stable than using the rear seats)
3a. My vote would still be boat vinyl, and for ease on the feet, knees, and body I really wouldn't know what else to suggest.

I thought you were wanting to put in live wells for fishing. Are you still shooting for that also?

In any case, keep posting as I'm interested to see what you come up with.

I know the pain of working behind those original panels around the motor, but for now mine will stay the same.
I am thinking about cutting out those 1.5 to 2 inch over hangs around the sides of the motor and redesigning the engine cover lower half. This is because I'm getting wood rot on one side and I want to get that fixed before it causes more damage.

Best of luck,

Offrddrver

 

[pantaloonz]

Hi!

You are definitely correct; I went to a boat show recently and was pretty surprised at where they're going with flooring. It's all good.

1) However, like with new cars, all these prefabbed parts and coverings, you get what you get, no modifications!, I know its overall lighter, but then again there is no way to get to stuff!! (not that you should have to on a new boat, but still!)

2) Thanks for the info.

3) I've started down this route. In fact just last night I built the 'VERY SIMPLE' box to cover the engine. I will likely reinforce the corners with a nice 2x6 then shave off the hard corners for a little bit less "edgy" feel on the inside of the boat. I used very light weight plywood, but it should harden up quite nicely with a good glassing. Then most likely I will make a "cover pad" -3A

3a) I did this with the seats and it works well. Essentially I take a nice thin(hard) board and basically make a big "seat cushion" I'll most likely attach this to the top of the engine box with something very simple like long strips of Velcro, or if I'm feeling fancy I'll sew some button straps to attach to the side of the engine box. This is an easy way to match the top of the engine cover and still provides that nice cushy feeling.

No live wells, I'm too pressed for time as I was not able to work on this through the winter and I've got baseball and football season rapidly approaching. I did however lengthen the hole for our fun accessories and cured the pest problem (I think)

The whole reason for my new engine cover was that the old one was falling apart, it was ugly, and HEAVY as hell. It was also not convenient to get at the very rear compartments. I'll be replacing the rear seats cushions due to new engine box dimensions, but that's an evening worth of work to remake two new cushions.

More to come (with pictures!)

It needs to warm a little so I can fiberglass properly

Pantz

 

[pantaloonz]

Wow, no interest in this thread, I'm saddened.

Well for my own historical record, this boat has seen incredible progress these past two weeks.

The engine box is newly created all fiber glassed and just waiting for the vinyl/foam covering:

I carved out a bit more decking, created and fiberglassed some new deck boards, which will allow for easier storage of boat accessories. I also found that I had an ant/insect colony in the decking for quite some time. After a single application of generic bug killer a whole slew of dead ants appeared the next few days.. since then I've repeated the application and expanded it to include "nest killing" gel. I squashed a very unhealthy looking queen ant the other day so I think I've solved that issue. I've got matching carpeting for these two remodeled floor boards.

The plywood frame for the newly designed stern fits snugly. I corrected some failing vent tubing in the stern as a result of this new access. The blower works well and moves air well. The blower moaned a little when she started but quickly moved to a nice hum.

I was able to correct a long standing issue of not being able to turn on the bilge pump from the helm. The previous owner "re-wired" the device to go directly to the battery. I understand why. When the bilge pumps connects directly to the battery it sounds like it gets just a "little" more juice rather than when it goes through the helm circuit board. However, I hardly used the bilge pump and believe I found the source of the little bit of water that was collecting. (next topic) It turns out there was also excessive "cable" management forcing unneeded cabling loops, after straightening and cleaning all that off I was able to reconnect the radio, speakers, and gas tank reader. - The bilge now works from the helm, and I've left an auxillary bypass cable which can go straight to the battery for an emergency.

I was able to get to the manifold much easier now and discovered the manifold end caps were older than dirt. One was split past the retaining clip. But since it was so old the plastic of the cap had become "one" with the manifold end so the leaking was minor. New caps on the way and cleaned off both. I blew some compressed air through the manifold only around 10psi and was disappointed to see rusty dirt particles coming out.. I used a coat hanger and cleaned them out further.

As stated above I was able to create a new battery compartment and reduce/clean up the cabling mess. I was able to identify many leads of the wiring harness and was happy to find "most" of them matching.

I'm reducing the seating footprint a tad now due to the engine cover being a bit larger (but much lighter). I need to find a good "inexpensive" captain swivel seat.

- The outdrive needs to be reattached/filled and given a good review, but I should have her on the muffs before the month is over.

Thanks to all the posters who have educated me to take this restore even further.

Pantz

 

[Woodonglass]

It would be better if you would post this in your original thread so everyone could see and follow the total project

 

[pantaloonz]

Hi Woodon, I've completed this work.. did you want to move the contents of this to my other thread before I add more? apologies for not optimizing the posting.

-Pantz

 

[Woodonglass]

I think it would serve you and the forum best if you had a MOD move it to your original Thread. It's totally up to you, but having everything about your boat restoration in one place makes it so much easier for members to follow along.
jbcurt00 is a good MOD to send a PM to to get this done.

 

[pantaloonz]

Oops, thought you were a mod.. apologies.

 

[astronutski]

Lots of interest here Pantz.
Just came across this thread and have big interest. New here, new to boating, just finishing up my outdrive rebuild and need to focus on the inside next. I want to reconstruct the doghouse. The previous owner had one done custom and it's hideous, not to mention 100 lbs. I swear.

So I', very much interested in the new doghouse how that turned out. Did you foam/vinyl it? I admit I haven't read everything in this thread yet, but I do see that you said it's done. I'd love to see the finished project.

 

[mjf55]

Pantz, I also just came across this. Can you post a few finished photos of the modifications you made. Thanks.

 

[pantaloonz]

Hi Guys,

I lost track of this post.. wow. Well anyway here's what the back end looks like: what you don't see are two very simple seats that slide in beside the remade engine cover. I've tossed in one picture of the engine cover near completion; all insulated up!


The backing is a simple painted plywood. (you can't see it when the side seats are in)


The admiral (wife) commented after 3 hrs of boating last weekend how wonderful the boat is, and hopes this 1990' sees a 30 yr anniversary

My previous's postings show the remade bow (all gray and white too).. my final addition was a swivel seat for the driver. since I'm always kneeling, and turning and such.

I could never have done all this work without the amazing help from anyone here.

I hope my bayliner engine runs so I can redo another one )

-Pantz
any questions feel free to PM me. I'm certainly a complete amateur... but always willing to chat.