The Boat Project

[Brake Weight [Veteran Member]]

Almost time for a motor power.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

This weekend's progress was to install the rub rail channel.  It took hours working alone.  It was old and set in its ways.  I ended up drilling new holes and running each screw in manually.   It's still missing every other screw.
Yes, I remembered to caulk the seam first.

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On another note, this plastic channel actually shrunk a small amount in the 15 years it has been laying around.  I ended up with a 1/2" gap on each side of the boat.  I will most likely add some modified P seal to fill the gap so that it's not obvious.  The insert will bridge the gaps no problem.

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I decided to install some of the new hardware next, to give my screwdriver hand a break.  All of this hardware was missing.  I had to research pictures and hole patterns to find accurate replacements.  I'm pleased with the new shiny bits. 

[Brake Weight [Veteran Member]]

Coming along each post.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

Well, I didn't get much done on the boat on account of the world being screwed up, and me being part of the world.
I got my gauges.  7-piece Faria Chesapeake with black face, huge numbers, chrome bezels, and curved glass lenses.  I chose these because they will be easy to read in spite of my damaged retinas.
To install them, I must first remove the old ones and refinish the cluster panel.
I decided that the wise thing to do was to document and label the wiring.  That took hours to free up and clean the main harness, find a wiring diagram that is close to what I have, and then label each wire.
I still have more to label, but I'm close. 
​​​​​​​I've learned from other projects that electrical is no place to take short cuts.  
I have all new switches, breaker, terminals, etc.

[Brake Weight [Veteran Member]]

I draw the line at wiring harnesses. I can do the primary colors and that’s about it. Everything else is varying shades of gray.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I got some vinyl samples in the mail.  I'm going with American flag colors because I like it, and because it makes it easy to buy color coordinated accessories.
I picked up some Krylon for the cluster that matches the blue vinyl close enough.



I disassembled, cleaned, primed and painted the cluster.




While the paint was drying, I bored the holes in the new dash board.  The original cutouts were a horrible hack job. 
Next, I installed the Teleflex steering.  I compiled it from Ebay parts.  It is upgraded to the wide rack and the "no feedback"



Finally I set the dash in place, and dropped the gauges in for a glamour shot.




Funny story.  I turned the wheel lock to lock, and then back to center by dividing the number of revolutions by 2.  The wheel was upside down.  No key slot 180° off, so no easy fix.  I figured I needed a different wheel to match the gear that I bought.  (It was late.  I was tired.)
I started looking on Ebay but couldn't remember which way I needed the key slot to go; up or down.  So I drug my carcass back out to the boat and was about to yank the wheel off again when I thought to look behind me at the end of the cable.  Low and behold, it was moving the wrong direction.  I had put the pinion on the rack in the wrong direction.  LOL
I took it apart and swapped it around and now it was actuating in the proper direction...but the wheel was still upside down at center position.
Brain fart:  It then occurred to me that I could simply unbolt the pinion, rotate the wheel 180° and bolt it back together to fix that problem.  That worked, but it took two attempts because of my lack of gracefulness and being limited by only having two hands.
With that all sorted out, I then realized that the mount plate was now upside down.  Ugh.
But I digress.  All's well that ends well.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I didn't get much done on the boat for having to do some transmission repair on my truck. But to be honest, I'm at a point where I'm not sure what to do next. There are so many things I could work on, but I have to watch my money right now and don't want to order a bunch of material.
I have gel coat, so I might as well go ahead and gelcoat the bilge and ski Locker to get that out of the way. I can continue to wire up the gauges. But I think I really need to drop back and do the mechanical stuff. Starting with the gimbal housing.
what I really want to do is work on the carpet and upholstery, because that to me that's fun.
But anyway, all I did on the boat this weekend was respray the instrument cluster panel. The first paint blushed and needed recoating. And to be honest I didn't like the color, so I went with navy blue this time.





I ordered a fuse panel because mine was missing. I ordered one with a few extra circuits, and LEDs that will show you if a fuse is burned out.





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[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I built a cooler, since the factory part was missing.

I used a foam that is not compatible with poly resin, so I covered it with masking tape and made the best of what I had.

A piece of stainless tube for the drain.

Basically, I built a foam box to fit the opening and to become the outside of the cooler. It is both the form and the insulation.
Because the box is bigger than the opening under the seat, it had to slide in under the helm. The drain will exit through the factory location in the hull, which you can see in some of the pics. That hole is the only thing that led me to understand that this boat had a cooler chest built in.
I plan to have the seat bottom act as the cooler lid, including a seal of some sort.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I hardly touched the boat this weekend. Got caught up on some maintenance around the house, though. Then there was Easter. Then there were tornadoes tearing by, just missing us.

I went ahead and ordered parts for the gimbal housing even though I said I wasn't going to spend money right now. I just figure that the gimbal housing is the one mechanical piece that ties everything together. That is the piece that will get me over the hump and moving again.

With the storms coming, I decided to be redundant and install the Carver boat cover that I got on clearance through iboats.com back when the boat was still in a million pieces. Great deal, I think. It is a universal fit for this size bowrider, and it fits really well.
Ultimately, I will store the boat under a carport. The cover will keep the leaves, cats and wasps out.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

This weekend I worked on the gimbal housing.   It's mostly ready to install.   I replaced everything except the trim sensor.   I haven't put the new bearing in yet because I forgot to order a seal.








The trim sending unit had a wire broken flush with the unit,  and most of the insulation was gone.   Money is beyond tight at the moment,  so I elected to replace the wires and save the $135 cost of a replacement.   The potentiometer tested good,  so that became today's rainy day project.   I built up a strain relief to prevent future breakage. 
Next weekend I plan to sand and gelcoat the transom and bilge,  finish up the gimbal housing and install that dude.