http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0120.jpg



Here's my bow cap temperally put up on so I can mock up my inner rail. I do a lot of wreck fishing and in shore live baiting while anchored up so as you can see I made the bow as narrow as possible so I can drop anchor from the step up platform. One thing I can't stand is when its a little snotty and you have to get up on that freaking bow deck to throw anchor. My brother said " your taking away from that Carolina boat custom look by not having a big deck up front" so looked at him and laughed and said looks ain't everything!!!!!

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0128.jpg

Here's another petpeev that I can solve while I'm at this point. Every factory boat I have ever owned has had a hole in the anchor rope locker that is only like 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. And get easily blocked and clogged by debris and ultimately filling rod locker up with 3 or 4 inches of nasty a$$ water. So I drilled mine out 1 1/2 inches and then filled edges with thickened resin and milled fibers to waterproof upper level deck core.

Thanks!! But I not sure 10" screen is big enough??

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...22_G.sized.jpg

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/..._001.sized.jpg

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...25_G.sized.jpg

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...27_G.sized.jpg

who really wants to look at 3 screens at a time??

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...29_G.sized.jpg

MJ, is that touch screen also? I look at some of these new units and think back to the loran c searanger days and laugh. Some of these units now even have engine gauges on them now meaning all you need is the monitor on the dash!!!! Unreal and very very cool.

this is the 4000 series, you need to go with the 5000 series for touch screen. I did not want the touch because i commercial fish alot and did not want fish gut hands on the screen all the time! :sick:
IA remember fishing with nothing and it was something to get a corpus! then the loran, and my first gps was a handheld, no charts, we have come a long way!!
this unit was $2000 at the boat show a few years back, with radar, sounder, and gps. I an very happy with it!!

I remember the old dayz too.

I found some old rolls of paper from my old SITEX Graph Depth finder. There were some nice marks on there from the old Salmon Slammin dayz

yea my dad had an Seaking paper graph bottom machine. It was high tech for that day and time.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...IMAG0188-1.jpg

So I decide if I'm gonna do this boat then I'm gonna do it right the first time. Even though the hull is built like a moose I also decide to recore the half rotted core ply on my console. I cut from the top because I'm gonna glass over the whole top anyway. Iwill then flip it over and patch those steering and control holes from the bottom with some progressive patchs of CSM.

On the glassing of the console/recore, sounds good to me. I need to do the exact same thing with my raised casting deck.
BTW - It does get interesting trying to stand up there while trying to anchor.
Love the anchor locker drain too. Small details make all the difference. Whaler's anchor locker drain was like 3/16" inside diameter, it stayed plugged up. On the Wellcraft, I stepped up to a 1" drain with the Perko Chrome vent over the top.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0198.jpg

Hot coated the pre cut core material and thickened the left over resin to fill voids around the top of console (always take advantage of what you have mixed,it will save you a lot of resin in the long run)

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...IMAG0199-1.jpg

I then let the hot coat kick then mixed my thickened resin and applied with 1/4 inch notch trowel.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0201.jpg

I then put my core ply inplace and smushed it around to get an even layer of thickened resin between the ply and console skin. A big mistake I've learned is squeezing to much resin out of the bonding surface. Always keep a thin layer of resin in there or you won't get a good bond.

Kracker she is looking GREAT!! Keep the pics coming! I think Im going to Frankenstein my sons console this winter.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0208.jpg

Well kinda mocked her up so I can take some measurements so I took some pics.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0207.jpg

Here's another pic. I can't wait to put this boat together for good.

Stupid question, have you replaced the bow eye yet? I have yet to own an old boat that did not eventually need one. Plus that will bug the crap out of you being the only hardware that wasn't replaced....

Yea I already have a new one. A buddy of mine recomended me to replace it. Thank you for the heads up.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0210.jpg

Here she is all glassed up with a single layer of 1708. If you look closely at the opening on the console you will see a 3/4 ply band that that wraps the opening I did this to create shear strength in the console for the purpose of the t-top getting bolted to it. The console orginally was just a mold and really had no horizontal strength. I'm also gonna glass a piece of 3/4 ply 12"x16" to mount fuse panels and battery switches and other electrical knick knacks

Coming along nicely!

I always make a point to wipe off the dripping resin with a rag with some solvent on it. Makes it a lot easier than sanding it off.

Hey guys I need some opinions. I'm thinking of glassing my console down to the deck and not using screws or fasteners. What's yalls opinions on this. I see a lot of guys on other forums doing this.

Kracker, I say get your console exactly where you want it then glass it down. If properly done, you will have a much more solid connection. Less vibration too. I am glassing the cap to my hull when it goes back together for these reasons.

Sounds like a idea, but were is the gas tank, and other stuff?? If need to get down in that area you will have a B***h of a time if its glassed down! How about weight distribution? Are you sure ts going were its going?? If you need to move it forward or back to get the boat level in the water, its going to be easy to adjust before mounting. But if all is well, and clear then go for it, like stated it will be nice, and stable.

As long as yer SURE there's never a reason to get under it...why not?...

There would be no reason I would have to move it after glassed in. I just want it to be solid and also less holes to drill in the floor. And it would also Carry my t-top a little better.

And also a guy on another website made the comment that the t-top is not good enough for the boat anymore due to all the work I've done to the boat.? I don't quite understand his comment.

Maybe he just means you should have a nice new custom made one to show off, cause the boat will be all new!!

Are you sure on the location as far as weight distribution on the boat? To far forward or back will make a huge difference!!
Lots has been changed on that boat (for the better) to change the weight already, so just be sure!

MJ what's the best way to figure out the balancing act? The console now is 16 inches forward of where a stock earl 70's v20 would be. I'm almost postive that she is not to much weight forward.

The weight of the console versus the overall boat will not make a difference if it is a foot farther forward or back. I would put it as far back as you can for the smoothest ride while leaving all the room you would want for fishing off the back. When we would tie up at anchor on my boat everybody (usually 6-8 people) always sat on the front gunnel at the bow.

Personally I wouldn't glass it down, just as soon as you do there will ultimately be something no one ever thought of that will require you to take it off for access. Keep the boat as customizable with as little effort as possible.

Tartuffe those are awesome words of advice,thank you . You put it in a different perspective.

I have set the console up with that in mind. I've set the boat up numerous times and have had my fishing buddies in it with me just to mock room needed. It's actually been kinda numerous with us in it at times.

I agree, but you stated way back about putting a larger or a 2nd gas tank? Thats going to change things also. If going as far back as you can, and you want a heavy 4 stroke the scuppers are going to be under water all the time.
Thats another good reason not to glass it, different engines at some point.
As to your question, unless you weight all stuff removed and stuff added, there is no way of telling till you get it to the water and float it. I would not glass it!!

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0236.jpg

The tank forward is an 18 gallon external gas tank.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0237.jpg

Here's another pic. This tank would only be used on certain days.

I say hang the engine, and take her to the ramp on a slow day. Bring buckets to fill with water to mock fuel weight. Then start moving stuff around. You have done so much to her that there is no telling how she will sit. :nice:

Consider the amount of weight of a cuddy cabin and how far forward that is...keeping in mind the cuddy and the CC are carried by exactly the same hull...in a cuddy, if I need to lift the bow, it's easily done...If were mine I'd be looking to put some working room AFT of the console...leaving room to get from port to starboard and back at the whim of your prey...

I originally thought the same thing Reel did. It having so much weight forward with the cuddy on it I thought I would be fine with console placement.I am not glassing it down though.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0235.jpg

Here is the 3/4 inch ply I'm putting around the door acess of my console. It has really stiffend up the console

Looks good Kracker. The console for the 18 Fish I have needs that. Its a flimsy mess. Funny you are putting plywood in and I am ripping it out. :haha:

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0265.jpg
I worked on the V today. I finally mocked up the arch for the bow cap and what a pain in the @$$. I will glue the 2 pieces together in place and let it kick off then I will remove it from the boat and radius the bottom edge then glass it up. After its glass up I will then glue and screw it back on the boat and glass it in place.

Good to see it coming along. The arch looks to add a nice finishing touch.

Now that I sit back and look at my boat there is not much I would change because the design is going to be about as simple as it gets and when it comes to fishing simple is the best way to go. But I would change one thing....compsite material and epoxy!!! Man I wish it was affordable for us poor folks. I would run this boat the rest of my life if I used composite material. Oh well.....back to my bloody Mary drink.

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0280.jpg
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/IMAG0281.jpg

Here's a pic from today. Fine tuning forward bow cap and inner rail arch on the front. The arch is gonna be glassed in some time this week then I will glass the cap ply in the next couple weeks. But what you see here is my set up with the "coffin" style mounted cooler up front.

Kracker the cap looks great. The ONLY improvement I could suggest is close that transom off, install a bracket and continue your rail around the transom.

Great work!!! :clap:
I also agree with the closing of the transom and use of a bracket, nothing like a full transom to keep the water out!! At least if its not a 25" transom you can make it one now for more motor options.

Guys trust me I would love to close her in!!!! I would love to bump up to a 25 inch transom. I just don't have extra money to buy another motor. I'm gonna run this motor I have to get me by for now. This is not a boat that's gonna be used all the time and only in ideal conditions with nice weather Windows. She will have a solid transom before I die! But it won't be for another 2 or 3 years. Trust after all that I've learned on this build I'm not scared to cut into a boat and start doing some surgery! Lol!!! I actually called about a bracket today but still my motor is only a 20" inch shaft and she would be swimming most of the time with a bracket plus when I do the solid transom it will be with a new 25" inch motor. All in due time fellas.

Looks good Kracker! Looks like your almost out of the fabrication phase and onto the fine tuning for finish. Way to stick with it.