Bit of advice

[blacklab]

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[catshark]

i think thats a good idea, carpeted and a few switches there etc would come up good, hide all the wiring behind and provide a stiffner to support the top dash. cant comment on how to attach that ply though, no doubt some one will have an answer.

[inveratta]

Blacklab...I did exactly this to a 565 Haines...(except the repairer glassed it in )....It also gives a you a straight edge for a lock up hatch if you need to secure gear overnight....

[blacklab]

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[gazza2006au]

That looks good with both sides Col somewhere to keep your gear dry if it rains and a place to keep your flares and other safety equipment out of the elements, it should stiffen up the cabin quiet a lot

[catshark]

i suppose you could make a canvas door by clipping onto press studs installed on ply. hide all the junk.

[blacklab]

Hi Catshark, Yes, that's what I thinking of doing, at least it will keep things out of site and a bit protected.
Just ordered one of those foldable foot rests to try out so I can get things mocked up, And busy fitting the seat swivel and slider to the top of the seat box, apart from trying to fit it upside down to start with, managed to get the idea !. The seat box is basically closed in, so it can be used as a ice
box or the like, so to bolt the swivel part onto the top, I'm going to have to cut a hole in the back side of it to get to the nuts. I was intending on fitting one of those Plano tackle trays in that one, so just making sure I don't go any bigger than whats needed to get my hand in there, till I get the Plano tackle box insert , fiddly job !! but seeing some progress at last with this burst of motivation.......

Col

Col

[gazza2006au]

Col have u tried bolting on the seat thru the bottom than bolting the whole thing down? Or is the seat stand completly sealed?

If its completly sealed thats strange as it looks like it were done inside a mould

I would turn it upside down and cut a access hole in the bottom where it wont be seen once its upright

[blacklab]

Hi Gazza,
No it's a completely sealed unit, I think the bottom is glassed in afterwards, I haven't had a decent look there yet.
They both have drain outlets on them, so I guess there's some options as far as end use goes, and a separate base made of fibre glass, with wood pieces on the edges that gets fitted first to the floor, then the box fits over that and screwed in from the side. Will show some Pic's of the set up when I get a chance.....

Col

[blacklab]

Just another Quick question.....
Those Fibre Glass seat boxes, I've ordered a hatch for the above one, The sides aren't re-enforced as the top and bottom is, so effectively, drilling a pilot hole and slow speed jigsaw will do the trick ?. There's plenty of cover around the edge once the hatch is fitted, but just want to get a decent finished edge all the same. I was also looking at cutting a timber "ring" to fit inside the seat box, for something extra for the perimeter screws on the hatch to bite into...
Am I on the right track here ????......

Col

[scottar]

Stuff like that Col, I like to use a bit of alloy flat bar sika flexed in place and then drill and tap. As for the boards to create the cabin bulk head - you are on the right track to allow movement. I have seen on more than one occasion where there has been a glass over timber bulkhead with a join in it where the top and hull come together shear the glass due to movement.

[blacklab]

Thanks Scott, Now that's an idea to Sika some flat bar and tap, I'm going to wait for the hatch to arrive first, I do have the schematics, but with Murphies law , I'd rather measure the hatch in person, but great method, cheers.
As far as the partition/bulk head goes, and my reluctance to Fibre Glass, I want to obviously make it strong enough, to handle all the banging and foot rest pressure, but I'm mindful of flexing and the damage that could do. I'm going to use 2 - 12mm ply sheets, laminated together for the end make up and am just playing with some channel to affix under the dash on the inside for it to slip up into with a suitable end gap for any flexing. In fact I've found some decent U channel with a 26mm ID which I recon I could encapsulate ply on 3 sides, just make up some gussets and screw it together as a frame, leaving the hull side to glue and bolt. The ply should take all the movement within the frame, so it should work. I'll get the U channel powdercoated, so should finish up ok, time will tell as they say......... some tinkering ahead of me......

Col

[blacklab]

Yet another question. What am I best to use for sealing this marine ply properly ?

As per above, 2 pieces 12mm marine ply, each side, screwed together, will be carpet covered both sides, channel top and bottom and sides for opening.
I guess it's not going to see much water, channel will be sealed with drain holes, but I'd like to seal it, especially the edges.

Had some more progress today, bought aluminium channel, got it cut up and now just have to get some large gussets, Pre fit and tap them on the on the opening two sides and I can drop the aluminium down for powder coating.
Next job tomorrow, fitting the two head channels behind the dash, The passenger side, I can utilise the grab rail bolts from the top of the dash to fix the channel, the helm side, because it finishes under the old clock holes, will take a bit of creative fitting !. Not much to get a photo of, but will do once all dummy fitted up.

Col

[giddyup58]

Your glass is cracking because of movement. Glass the bulkhead in properly. You need to totally immobalise the dash.

Its cracking at the arch because the glass is too thin there. Never designed to carry the arch.

Sealing the timber bulkhead - The only way to really waterproof faces and the end-grain, is with epoxy. 3 coats of everdure will do the trick, but it is not UV stable.

If your dashboard is too small for what you want there, perhaps you could simply modify the dash.

Mine was hopeless and wouldn't fit anything:
078.jpg

I made a really simple mold from 1/2' melamine board and popped this out:
007 (2).jpg 009.jpg

Prep the existing structure and glass on the molding, fair and paint:
013 (2).jpg 014 (2).jpg 021.jpg

Fit all your "stuff". Much better:
IMG_2116.jpg

Just a thought...

[blacklab]

Hi Giddyup, wow, great job there.
I have to admit, I am a total novice to attempt making a mould or anything to do with fibre glass.
Your probably right that it was made of thin Fibre Glass, considering the vintage, but the previous owner had that whole arch area/dash, completely propped rigid, by means of an aluminium rod screwed to the floor and the underside of the arch/dash, with rails going horizontally to the side of the hull with a shelf set up, it had no ability to flex. when I removed it pryor to the rebuild, you could see how much movement there was in that hole area, not huge numbers wise, but it flexes for sure.
The ply will be carpet covered, so no problem with UV issues, so I will look into either Epoxy or Everdure, thanks for that.
Rightly or wrongly, I'll continue with how I was going with fitting up these bulk heads, It should work Ok, if it fails, I will revert to the fully glassing it in method.
Thanks Giddyup

Col