Console, T-top, deck and more...

[Curapa]

Got the last coat on the console today and the holes cut / switches installed. I went with round switches with a small blue led when on.

[Shrek]

I dig the heck out of that console. Nice work!

[Curapa]

The console is done.

I got working on the deck today. I pulled the fuel tank cover to find some pretty wet foam. Believe it or not that is what I was hoping for. The boat sits kind of far in the water and I was hoping to find some unwanted weight in the foam. I will have to further inspect the foam to see just how bad it is.

I was undecided on whether to take the whole deck up or just the part I knew was bad. I decided to pull up only the bad. Looks like I will have to take a little more out down the side. I was surprised to see only 1/2" coring, for some reason I was expecting 3/4". I am glad I did not already buy a sheet of 3/4" as I came close to doing. The top separated from the core pretty easily.

[vwf1971]

Awesome work you are definitely taking that console to the next level. Great looking T-top as well by the way she's got nice curves.

[vwf1971]

Silly Question but after you cut the floor out like that do you just re-glass in the piece and then paint the floor or do you have some other technique?

[Curapa]

VW, I set the saw depth to cut the top skin and plywood core leaving the bottom fiberglass skin in tact. When the core is removed I will epoxy the new core and top skin back. The top skin will get ground around the edges of the cut and fiberglass cloth will cover the joint. I have non-skid molded into my deck so the whole think will get epoxy faring to fill in the non-skid pattern. I then will paint the whole topside and roll on new non-skid.

[awthacker]

Very nice work. Do you need special tools to bend the aluminum tubing, or just clamp it along the wood template? I'd like to try that, as opposed to the $2,000 purchase route.

[Curapa]

Originally Posted by awthacker

Very nice work. Do you need special tools to bend the aluminum tubing, or just clamp it along the wood template? I'd like to try that, as opposed to the $2,000 purchase route.

It's actually EMT galvanized tubing. You can bend up to 1 1/4" by hand pretty easily, any bigger and it gets tough. I have made several things out of the EMT, the only thing is it has to be painted but only because the welds will rust. If I had a TIG welder I would have gone the aluminum route. I had about $70 in the first t-top and only about $10 in the new one because I reused most of it.

[reelapeelin]

Hey Man...I's just eyeballin' yer handywork on the new top...when I spotted another Wellcraft logo peekin' around back of your work trailer...whatcha hidin back there???...

[Curapa]

It's the same boat. She got a paint job a while back and is now "fighting lady yellow".