GT27 Build (Wes K)

[wkisting]

Cold weather has really slowed down progress on the build, but I have a couple of weeks off through the holidays so I'm hoping for some warm days. Wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas and happy New Year!

About nav lights, I was under the impression an all around white light needed to be near the stern, but it turns out that is not the case. It can be anywhere behind the sidelights (red/green) lights, as long as it's noticeably higher (~3+ feet higher). So as one or two of you suggested, I can mount the all around light much further forward to improve the visibility angles I sketched out earlier. If I locate it about 10' back from the front of the cabin roof, that really reduces its likelihood to be obstructed by the leading cabin edge. Someone whose eyeline is at least 3' above the water, as most boat operators would be, will be able to see the light from the front until they're within 24' of the bow (before they're close enough that the cabin roof may block it). From the back, they will see it until they're within 14' of the stern. So that seems to be the optimal placement allowing for plenty of visibility, and again, it's only obstructed by the cabin roof for those who are already VERY close to our boat and in a seated position inside a small craft. People who stand up will see it until they run into us and people more than ~20' away (up to 3 miles) will see it no problem. Don't mean to bore you with the details; I just figure future builders of the GT27 may wonder about this too.

[OrangeQuest]

Merry Christmas and New Years, hope you and your "crew" enjoy them and are safe.

[fallguy1000]

Cold weather has really slowed down progress on the build, but I have a couple of weeks off through the holidays so I'm hoping for some warm days. Wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas and happy New Year!

About nav lights, I was under the impression an all around white light needed to be near the stern, but it turns out that is not the case. It can be anywhere behind the sidelights (red/green) lights, as long as it's noticeably higher (~3+ feet higher). So as one or two of you suggested, I can mount the all around light much further forward to improve the visibility angles I sketched out earlier. If I locate it about 10' back from the front of the cabin roof, that really reduces its likelihood to be obstructed by the leading cabin edge. Someone whose eyeline is at least 3' above the water, as most boat operators would be, will be able to see the light from the front until they're within 24' of the bow (before they're close enough that the cabin roof may block it). From the back, they will see it until they're within 14' of the stern. So that seems to be the optimal placement allowing for plenty of visibility, and again, it's only obstructed by the cabin roof for those who are already VERY close to our boat and in a seated position inside a small craft. People who stand up will see it until they run into us and people more than ~20' away (up to 3 miles) will see it no problem. Don't mean to bore you with the details; I just figure future builders of the GT27 may wonder about this too.

Not bored at all. Trying to determine whether my lights are even close to right.

[wkisting]

So, it has been quite the saga trying to figure out grab rails for the roof. A full length rail on each side needs to be about 16' long, and assuming that means a leg every 36" or so, the number of T-fittings, bases, etc. starts to add up quickly. Something like $400 in fittings, plus another $200 in polished stainless tubing, plus some extra for splines to join the tubing (since it has to be in shippable lengths of ~6'), etc., plus labor to put it all together.

Since my dad is a steel fabricator, I thought he might have a contact to make me a totally custom set of grab rails. He does, but his contact isn't comfortable welding tubing smaller than 1.5" dia. and 11 gauge wall thickness, out of concerns about the metal warping, etc. (They normally make large railings for national monuments, parks, mansions, etc.--not boat parts.) The quote came back at $2500 for the pair, which would've weighed about 60 lbs because of the heavy gauge wall. So back to the drawing board...

Then, I started checking the OEM/aftermarket parts suppliers, but most commercially made rails tend to have some "bow" or curvature to them to match the lines of various craft they're installed on. I just need a straight rail. For whatever reason, most straight grab rails max out at around 19 to 24" length, and many are in the smaller 7/8" or even 3/4" diameter tubing. Even then, many aren't very affordable and there seems to be no clear rhyme or reason to the prices.

Anyway, at long last, I found some aftermarket handles for Sea Doo that are 34-1/2" long x 1" diameter, with a threaded mount for invisible fastening at $40 to $50 each. But it has a "bow" in the middle, so when you line up several, it doesn't look quite right to the eye.

Kept looking--many dozens of hours over the past few months, mind you--and I finally found these: https://www.marinedepotdirect.com/1-rou ... 6oQAvD_BwE

They're 35-1/4" long, 1" diameter, polished 304 stainless with a threaded flange for invisible fastening. And they're $46 each. If I line up four of these in a row, I can span 16' of roofline with only a 19" to 20" gap between each bar (plenty easy to reach across if I need to keep a hand on a rail at all times while moving fore/aft on the narrow side decks). And since they're perfectly straight (no upward bow or lateral curvature), they should look a little better than any other option I could find. Not as nice looking as a continuous rail, but much simpler, much lighter (~26 lbs. I would guess), a little more affordable (much more so than custom rails), and easier to get my hands on. With free shipping, I was able to order eight of them for just under $400. Here's a sketch to scale... just in case anyone else has the same dilemma and is looking for solutions.

[jonnymac]

i think it looks nice, does the threaded plug/fastener thing just have a hole for a bolt to go through? and then you thread the rail onto that?

[wkisting]

Yes, there's a threaded insert inside the ends, so you run a 3/8" dia. bolt up through the underside of the cabin roof and thread it directly into the bar. I prefer this style because it hides the fastener heads and requires fewer penetrations through the cabin roof. With a decent-sized backing plate, it will be plenty strong.

[wkisting]

Making doors for the cabin today. I have both framed up. The front (bow) door came out at 48" tall x 26-1/4" wide, and the rear (stern) door is 62-1/2" tall x 22-1/4" wide. These seem to be convenient sizes that look well proportioned for the adjacent windows and are also sized to avoid interference with interior furnishings.

Decided to frame them up in 1x1, sandwiched between 1/4" ply skin on both sides for 1-1/2" total thickness. 1" polyiso insulation to fill the voids in the framing. Seems like it will make for fairly light but strong doors. Picture of the bow door below...

[jonnymac]

awesome!

[Jeff]

Nice work Wes!!! Jeff

[VT_Jeff]

Yes, there's a threaded insert inside the ends, so you run a 3/8" dia. bolt up through the underside of the cabin roof and thread it directly into the bar. I prefer this style because it hides the fastener heads and requires fewer penetrations through the cabin roof. With a decent-sized backing plate, it will be plenty strong.

Did you consider wood Wes? Just curious, seems you have your solution.