fish well and cooler
 

I have a 1978 v 20 cc 20'6" the two side boxes at the bow are just hollow,can anybody tell me the easiest way to make one into a fishbox and the other a cooler.I have one lined with 2" styrofoam but did not do the other one because somebody told me that you cant fiberglass over the styrofoam is this true.Does anybody have any suggestions.I do not have a digital cam so cannot post pics but will soon.thanks

I'm not familiar with the V20 cc's and never seen one up close in person. Did they have drop in liners? Or glassed in and someone cut it out?

Two side boxes in the bow?

My 84 cc does not have such boxes. It has the middle "dug out" in which we usually drop in a porta-potty. With the shape of the bow, I wouldn't think there would be much room to have anything on the sides...

rkc

I googled the glass over styrofoam thing. Here's a link I found centered around the discussion. I don't do glass so it is a lot of jibberish glass terminology to me though but basic jist of it sounds logical on the approach.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/fibe...ne-164302.html

RoadKing, I think he has a V20 center console. CC gets interchanged a lot to stand for either center console or cuddy cabin. I agree--there's nothing up there in the cuddy but the cutout for the porta potti.

fish well and cooler
 

Sorry about the confusion guys,forgot that cc could mean center console or cuddy cabin,yes nipper it is a center console,also it does have a drop in liner(factory made).On the bow, port and starboard it has 2 empty boxes with lids on them but they are hollow(when you lift the covers you can see the stringers).So I want to glass them in and make one into a cooler and one into a fishbox,but i am not trying to make a mold just just want to glass them in place,which is why I was using styrofoam to shape the empty hole(bottom and 4 sides each),but if anybody has any easier methods I sure would appreciate some advice!Bluerunner thanks for the link,some good idea's there!This forum is awesome,it has helped me out with alot of the work I have done on my boat!I am thinking about covering the styrofoam with bondo then fiberglassing over it but I dont know if this will effect the insulating value of the styrofoam.Will it? I dont want to be running out of ice in the middle of the day.Gotta keep those fish fresh RIGHT.

You can fiberglass styrofoam but you have to use the correct resin. Styrofoam a.k.a. polystyrene will melt from the styrene monomer in poly/vinyl ester resin. I believe bondo has styrene in it too. If so, then that will not work. If you want to use the standard insulation foam panels from the hardware store you will have to 'glass it with epoxy. Epoxy resin can be used on styrofoam without worry. For the small bit it sounds like you want to do the cost difference should not be much. If you are set on vinyl/poly resin then you will have to get some polyurethane foam (the stuff most surfboards use as a core) I have no idea where to get it in blocks or how good it's insulation properties are.

Spanish - any time. Post pics of the project if you can - enquiring minds want to know!

fishwell and cooler
 

Yes I will post pics as soon as I can,thanks

dont use bondo or anything automotive in a boat...bondo will absorb water and is worthless for structurally glassing anything...its for fairing.....use epoxy to laminate the foam and then use epoxy with microballoons to fair the box and then paint it with 2 part PU paint.

Hey SpanishMak - check out my fishing report in the fishing section.

What is PU paint?...I'm looking to coat the inside of my cuddy w/something...sounds like a good candidate for that app...

I think that would be polyurethane.

Here you go detailed instructions working with foam and resin..
http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/i...i,7971,00.html

CC
 

maybe we should add a letter

CuC = Cuddy Cab

CeC = Center Console


just a thought :haha:

JT

Naaaaaa......that would make too much sense...and all that extra typing would ruin my nails...:hide:

casting platforms
 

the two boxes in your bow were designed as casting platforms. you should have a teak covering board that covers them inside they had a moulded storage bin. they were not deep about 4 inches but gave you a place to store dock lines fishing gear and the likes. i had a 1979 v20 center console that had them. i took mine out and cut the bottoms out then made a fiberglass mold to extend the depth on them thus giving me twice the amount of storage i had. you need to find someone or place that you can get some and then modify as you need. with the teak covers off you should see alot of small holes in the lip of the platforms that is were the liners were screwed into place.

I've been contemplating on a similar project: I want to insulate my 30 gl oval shaped live bait resin tank, basically I want to build it into a seat to be installed in front of the console/T top frame of my CeC.

It'll be a bit out of hand for me because I tend to fish in the back of the boat however the boat will be better balanced with the extra weight in front of the console.


Let's see some pics!

Maybe you can go to wal mart and get a rubbermaid bin that can fit right in the hole.I know lowes and home depot has many sizes and there you go all done.Some of the heavy duty plastic tool boxes might work also.I built an electric car out of a 1972 vw beetle and it was much simpler to buy a couple of these large heavy duty diamond patterned boxes as battery holders .

these boxes
 

this is what im talkin about,finally got a camera.

You loose lots of cooler space if you insulate from the inside, I wonder if there's a way for you to pour insulation foam on the outside of the boxes walls and insulate those nice size fish boxes.

I have a CeC which has a non insulated fish box on the forward deck and the livewell which is not insulated either. I can't see how it would be possible to insulate the outside of my boxes/livewell without cutting the deck and undergo major surgery on the boat.

Has anyone done this before?

livewell
 

bassarama heres my livewell i used an old brining tank fron an old water softener cut it down to size and put the lid back on with hole cut out of lid and glassed it in still needs painting and plumbing done also i put another piece of plywood under seat that fit in the hole to cut down on the splashing,hope this helps some.

Looks good, I'm sure it'll work like a charm.

I need to do the same thing to my 30 gl oval shaped livewell, insulate it and finish it with fiberglass like yours!

Thanks for the pics