Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

OK, here we go. I've been working for a few months now, just incredibly slack about posting build progress, and will need to get caught. Ordered the FS18 CNC kit on Monday, March 11 and, because I had already been checking out build threads, the strong back was ready to go when it arrived only a few days later that Friday. What service . . . thanks Reid!

Hey welcome to the fun Bob
That floor looks too clean for boat building but that will soon change.
Strongback looks good for building on. You might need a couple of braces on the legs to keep it from racking.

Bob,

Welcome to the Forum! I'm confident you will get a lot of feedback as you progress thru your build, especially if you post pictures. Like Fuzz said, I would add some bracing for the legs of the strongback. I would also encourage you to add some heavy duty casters (with the ability to lock). Casters will allow you to move the boat around or outside if you choose to sand outside.
Good luck to you and I am eager to see your progress!!!
-Reid

Bob, Welcome to the Builders Forum!!! Glad to see you starting the FS18 build!! Again, welcome, Jeff

Thanks for the welcome! Reid and Fuzz you'll be happy to see that I've made good on your suggestions in upcoming photos.

First weekend was gluing - Laminated the transom and stringers. Also got the hull panels glued with a high tech clamping system on the garage floor. Unforced error number one: Apparently a clean garage floor doesn't mean there are not unforeseen low spots, one of which was directly under one of the bottom panel puzzle joints. It will lead to future unnecessary fairing. Turns out stupid now and extra time later are strangely proportional...





Hull panels ready to go -



P.S. This may be a duplicate post - I think I deleted one by accident - just learning the forum ropes

Welcome to the forum!
Off to a great start, regardless of any unforeseen leveling issues and I'll definitely be following along!

Bob,

Good start! No worries about the puzzle joint panels. One cured just sand them down smooth. As long as the you have the gap between the puzzle joints filled and there are not air pockets or gaps you are fine. Keep in mind, the cleaner you work now the smoother and less fairing you will do later.

One tip that will make your life easier when applying fillets and fiberglass tape:
Apply painters tape to the inside of all the seams. This will keep the fillets from pushing thru and making more sanding work for you once you flip the hull. I like to work wet on wet when I get to this point in the build. Once the hull is stitched together and you are ready for fillets, simply make really small "spot welds" with the fillets, maybe 1" wide, just enough to hold the seams together. Once those have cured, remove the stitches and clean up the spot weld fillets. Have your fiberglass tape measured out and cut to length (being sure to follow the lamination schedule). After the tape is measured and cut, roll it up and label it based on where it will go (keel, chine, etc...).
Roll out some neat epoxy (neat refers to epoxy without any fillers added) onto all the seams, making sure to cover an area where the tape will go (3" on each side of the seam). You can let this kick off and get tacky. Next, working on one seam at a time, apply the fillets to the seam. Allow the fillet to kick off but not cure (maybe 30-40 mins). At this point the fillet should still be soft as well as the neat epoxy you rolled out. Start to roll out your fiberglass tape. Work in small sections at a time (maybe 12" lengths). Roll out tape, wet it out, make sure there are no air bubbles (use the laminating roller), and move on down to the next section. Once that seam is done move on to the next. I would start on the keel and work outwards. You don't need to get all the seams done in one day but don't fillet the seam unless you are ready to tape the seam.
By doing this, the fillet will conform to the fiberglass really well and you won't have any air bubbles from uneven fillets. If you fillet first and let it cure you may have to go back and sand the fillets to get them to the right radius so the fiberglass lays down correctly.
I would do this on the inside as well. Doing this also gives you a chemical bond between your fillet and fiberglass tape.

Sorry if that was little long winded but I have found this save a lot of time and sanding/grinding. (I really hate sanding and grinding )

Good Luck,
Reid

My last "catch up" post for today. While the second set of puzzle joints was curing, I got the jig ready to go.

Unforced error number two: In my enthusiasm to get started, I ended up making the strong back a little too short, so that if the transom knees were properly supported, frame "A" was not resting on anything. Had to extend the strong back to support the frame and the bow extension of the jig. Oops.

Looking good already!! FS18 is a great boat a few guys are building them now. Good luck and enjoy!

Welcome to the forum,
OQ

Welcome aboard Bob!
You have got off to a nice start, I am looking forward to following along...

Don't worry over a few screw ups, we all make them. Good thing is you would have to really, really try to make that can not be fixed
Good advise from Reid. The neater you work the less you have to sand. But then again some folks seem to really like sanding

Thanks Fuzz. Not sweating the small goof ups, just making sure to share them so others can avoid the same thing.

Stitching the panels. Realized here that I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked. A lot of useful info from the forum was applied here, like taping the inside seams for neatness, zip ties with 1/2" cpvc spacers under the panels for alignment, etc. So many folks to thank for their help already-

Looks like you are now building a boat toadfish!!!! Jeff

Glued! Turkey injector is the perfect tool-

toadfish, Yes, syringes are quite handy. We have a lot of builders who buy both the small and large ones we carry!! Nice progress on your build. Jeff

toadfish, Yes, syringes are quite handy. We have a lot of builders who buy both the small and large ones we carry!! Nice progress on your build. Jeff

Still catching up. Got the hull glassed all at one time by myself. Had all of the tape and cloth cut, rolled, labeled, and ready to go. Tried to keep working fast, so not many action shots after the tape went on.





Trimmed the cloth and then back inside. I'm lucky to have a detached garage to work in as well.

Nice work!

First coat of QuickFair. Forgot to mention that, based forum posts, I've been measuring all epoxy products by weight (I'm using System Three that I purchased along with the CNC kit). Bought an inexpensive kitchen scale for the job and it has made life much easier.



Got the keg trial fit and glass cut for the install. Haven't yet shaped the trailing edge.



High tech clamping system again to glue it in place!

The "skeg" trial fit. Not drinking beer on Monday night!

toadfish wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:18 pm The "skeg" trial fit. Not drinking beer on Monday night!

Why not? You won’t be drinking alone as long as I’m still breath!

Bob,

The hull is coming along really well! Nice clean work!!! I agree with Jaysen, but finish the Skeg then go on to the Keg!

-Reid

It's been pretty hot in Savannah this summer. Block sanding the hull has definitely required a post-game beverage or two!

On the way back from an Everglades fishing trip in April, I made a quick stop off of the Florida Turnpike to visit Boat Builder Central for supplies (thanks Jeff and Reid!). One of the things I picked up was a 6mm Okume sheet, CNC cut for the FS 18 rubrail. I saw this on Reid’s build thread and they were generous enough to cut one for me too.

Multiple pieces of the rail ready to be laminated. I taped the hull to keep it free of glue "squish." The tape line also shows another one of my goofs. Screws were used to temporarily position the side panel when it was bonded to the transom. Thought they were backed out enough to prevent a low spot, but should have triple checked. More fairing later

Still trying to catch up to current progress. Didn't get much done in May due to trips for work. Since then, a ton of fairing.





I used epoxy mixed with chopped fibers to sharpen the rail edges.

Very nice work!!

Sanded after the first coat of primer.





A very pesky transom fly...





Transition from the sharp to rounded rail is made about seven feet from the transom



Fuzz was right, ended up needing bracing on the middle set of legs

Really nice progress toadfish!! Jeff

Man you are scaring me rolling that thing around on just 2x4's. I just had to fix a strongback leg where it finally worked loose where a leg attaches to my strongback from me pushing it in and out of the garage so much. That thing is very light right now. It won't stay that way.

Believe me you don't want to see your hull laying on the ground. I had a wheel catch on something one time and when I pushed to move it the whole thing started to fall over. I was able to slow the fall but it still landed on the rub rail. Thankfully I was at the point you are now so it was nothing to pick the whole thing back up and correct everything. I ended up with a small dent in the rub rail and that was all. If it fell over now, every neighbor around me would hear it.

The boat is looking great!!

The legs are scaring me a bit too, so I'll be overhauling them when I flip the hull, which I hope will be soon. These photos are almost up to date with actual progress. I was super pleased with how things looked after the second coat of primer.









I used a 3M dry guide coat to hand block the entire hull. It turns out that this probably should have done after the first coat of primer, since the hull was not nearly as fair as I thought.







Ready for the third coat of primer.

Nice!

Bob,

That hull is looking really good!!!!

-Reid

Great looking build and great progress!

Nice fairing job!

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. This post finally gets progress up to date. Got up early this morning to get the fourth coat of primer on before work.

That is some beautiful work.

Looks great, what primer are you using?

I'm using System Three two-part epoxy primer. Amazing stuff because you can thin and clean up with just water. It levels pretty well too.

toadfish wrote: ↑Wed Jul 24, 2019 2:03 pm I'm using System Three two-part epoxy primer. Amazing stuff because you can thin and clean up with just water. It levels pretty well too.

Thanks.

Used it on my FS14, did not know if you were using high build or not. The fairing looks great!

Looking great!

I agree, beautiful work!!! Jeff

She looks great!

It was a big weekend. Got down to Ft. Pierce on Friday to pick up the custom Float On trailer that I ordered through Boat Builder Central (thanks again Reid and Jeff!).



Saturday was flip day! Hull was ready with its fifth coat of primer to be turned over. While the boat was off, my plan was re-build the strong back and all of the new parts were ready to go.



Rolled out and set her down. I mowed the yard for the occasion!



It took about an hour to improve the strong back with shorter, more well-braced legs and carpeted bunks.



Flipped over and back on top. I had placed tape to keep adhesive from squirting through the stitch holes.

Looks nice!

Boat looks great....

But, you need to throw some saw dust and epoxy on the floor!

HA! Mom taught me to "clean as I go" in the kitchen. I guess I do the same thing in the garage...

Very nice & well done Toadfish!!! Very good seeing you last Friday and glad you returned without a problem!!!!! Jeff

toadfish wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2019 3:30 pm HA! Mom taught me to "clean as I go" in the kitchen. I guess I do the same thing in the garage...

I hear you there. I can't tell you how many times I've blown out the garage. Just didn't want it tracked in the house. That strongback looks good and you will like having it lower. I wish mine was about 6 inches lower that it is now.

Finally have the inside seams taped and cloth inside the hull. Unfortunately, schedule didn't allow this to be done wet on wet, so there was some sanding between steps. Tape "guidelines" helped keep the glass tape straight with a uniform overlap on the keel.





Even though there is glass cloth on the entire outside of the hull, only 6" on the inside as called for in the plans.





Initial tacking of the stringers. The knees were already placed so that they could be integrated into the taping of the transom. Don't like that epoxy puddle!



Fred Flintstone stringer clamps-

Nice work toadfish!!! Jeff

Toadfish,

You really are doing some nice clean work!!!
-Reid

Some transom progress: Because the geography around here rarely requires running in super skinny water, I’m using a manual jack plate instead of a hydraulic one to save a little weight. Vance Manufacturing’s mini only weighs about 10 lbs.



Rather than drill/fill/drill, I decided to make a jig and over-bore the transom holes for carbon fiber tubing with the proper inside diameter to accept the mounting bolts for the plate. The tube is 10mm ID / 12mm OD, which gives a tiny bit of wiggle room for the 3/8" bolts and room for the adhesive lining the ½” holes in the transom



Must have trail-fit the plate in the jig ten times before clamping it to the transom. Definite pucker factor when the holes were drilled.





Success! The inside of the holes were coated with epoxy and gel magic was used to glue the tubes. No picture, but the tubes were stuffed with plastic wrap to keep them free of adhesive.



The excess tubing will be trimmed flush on the inside. Those ugly black streaks are where I dripped sweat on the uncured epoxy while taping the transom. Pretty gross.



Not a great picture, but very clean on the outside and just a bit proud so they'll end up completely flush with the final sanding of the primer.

Trailer try-on from a few weeks ago. Want to make sure to get the bow eye in the right spot for the roller.

toadfish, good looking trailer for that FS18!!! Jeff

Overdue progress posts. Before putting the hull back on the strong back, I marked for placement of the bow eye below the roller and then modified a piece of stainless rubrail to protect the bow from the roller damage while trailing. It also solves the problem of the nuts on the base of the eye overhanging the acute angle of the bow. Also placed backing for both the transom and bow eyes.

Nice progress toadfish!!!! Jeff

More progress, but it really slowed down for a while after flipping the hull. Plenty of decisions needed to be made before the frames were installed. Completely stole the designs for the horizontal drain slots in bulkhead E and aft storage, which required extension of the transom knees. Thanks PapaDave! I also decided on a small coffin box/grab post console and made a basic mockup out of cardboard. A jig was used to cut a 3” PVC pipe lengthwise that runs along the keel as a chase and drain for the bow compartment. It will be glassed into to place and communicate up through the floor into the console. You can see from the photos it was all kind of happening at once.

The jig let me run the pipe through the table saw once down each side.



Router setup to cut horizontal slots in the stern bulkhead. Semi-circular cutout for the PVC chase and repaired cutout visible where I changed my mind



Chase and bulkheads trial fit





New pieces cut to extend from transom knees to the bulkhead. Circular cutouts are for deck plate access into the side compartments



Console mockup was placed to position the floor access into the chase. This was accomplished by sectioning and adding a two-way cleanout that is just visible in the last photo

Christmas came early! A while ago I had also made cardboard mockup for the fuel tank and it recently arrived. It will rest on the stringers as well as two additional parallel supports on either side of the keel. I'll place blocks on the forward bulkhead and the stringers for securing with the mounting tabs.







Additional supports tacked into place. Plan is to add cleats to the supports and stringers and isolation strips to the bottom of the tank where it will rest on them.

Nice looking fuel tank! You are doing some nice work there.

Didn't realize my last post was before the end of the year. Progress slow but steady. Got the cleats placed on the supports for the fuel tank. Also used 5200 to bond neoprene rubber isolation strips to the bottom of the tank where it will rest in the supports.





Finished up the cleats for the sole and ready for foam.

Great progress!! Looks great as well!! Jeff

Your boat is coming out beautifully. Keep up the nice work.
Dave

Thanks Jeff and Dave! In the middle of taping frames and gluing cleats, I've also been working on the small grab bar console/coffin box





I decided to make a mold to build the hatch gutter out of fiberglass. Cloth "remnants" from the hull lamination were used to lay it up





Got the gutter trial fit and glued into place with yet another high tech clamp system.





Trimmed the excess and ready to move on

Again, really nice work Bob!!!! Jeff

This post brings me up to date. The weather has been too cold lately to get a good pour of foam, so I decided to switch gears and paint the exterior of the hull. Took it to a friends shop that's big enough for a makeshift paint booth. After a final coat of primer and sanding, we got on the finish coat. It will be back on the trailer and headed home tomorrow so I can get back to the interior.

Nice looking boat.

Beautiful!

Beautiful work!!! Jeff

The photos of the painted hull in the makeshift paint booth didn't do it justice, so I took some when I got the boat back home and onto the strong back. Really excited with how it came out.









A little more progress on the console. I made the top/dash out of teak and started working on the hatch cover.





First coat of epoxy on the teak. Final finish coats will be spar varnish

Very nice work and the paint looks great!!!! Jeff

That is a whole bunch of dang fine looking work right there.
This is going to be a really nice boat.

Bob,

The boat is looking really nice!!! I like the paint job and the fact you left the rubrails brighwork!
-Reid

Love the wood touch.

Thanks to all for the nice comments! A couple of weeks ago we finally had a string of really warm days so I could get the foam poured under the sole. For the cells that would be foamed, I made a cover with relief holes to guide foam expansion. The idea was get complete fill with little trimming afterward, but it only kind of worked. Turns out the foam stopped expanding laterally well before it stopped expanding vertically and, though I used a lot of weight on top, it would lift the cover before coming out the relief hole. Still, I think it minimized some waste and reduced the number of secondary pours to get complete fill.



Gave an old crosscut saw a new handle for foam trimming.




Foam sealed with epoxy and ready to go. I had gone ahead and integrated the butt block for the fore and aft sections of the sole prior to pouring



Sole is in!

Your workmanship is excellent. The boat looks beautiful......all the photos are great too!

This progress is unexpectedly out of sequence because of my goof up. The photo shows I forgot the hole for the garboard drain and so panic set in that I'd really mess things up getting it drilled.



I decided to make a jig to tightly "sandwich" a taped off area and guide a clean hole through the paint and fiberglass. As with the other fittings through the transom, it is over-sized to accommodate a carbon fiber tube that will serve as a protective liner.





The jig was screwed into place using the same hole pattern as the plug fitting.



It was another pucker moment, but a forstner bit allowed a nice clean hole through the transom.







Kind of a cool view, looking through the new hole and all of the way down the chase tube into the space between frames A and B.



The hole was saturated with neat epoxy before the carbon fiber tube was glued into place. I'll over-drill the mounting screw holes and fill them with thickened epoxy.

Beautiful work!!! Jeff

Great work!

Nice work! A little planning and precaution goes a long way!

A little quarantine progress in the last few weeks. Got the fore and aft deck pieces shaped and trial fit. Starting to look like a boat...



Panoramic mode to gives the FS18 a little bit of rocker that does't exist.



More fairing on the console and fit the gasket to make sure the hatch will function properly.



The aft hatch gutter took a bit of work. I made a mold for the fiberglass layup out of plywood and started by drilling the corners.



Cut out the rest of the interior, used a router to radius the edges, sanded smooth, and then clear packaging tape for separation.



Fiberglass layup with another very sophisticated clamp setup to make sure the saturated cloth stayed adapted to the mold



Got the gutter apart from the mold and fit to place in order to mark the cut line in frame E. The drainage will be into the sole.





Frame E notched and the gutter in place

Your boat is really looking nice. Great console design with plenty of storage and seating. I look forward to seeing it in the water.
Dave

Beautiful work ToadFish!!!! Jeff

Awesome work!

May be copying some of your stuff... Love the drain for the hatch.

I didn't realize how long it has been since my last progress post. The focus has been on as much interior finish work as possible, before the decks and gunnels go on. This post kind of sticks to what has been done in the bow compartment.



The entire compartment between frames A and B was primed and painted with epoxy bilge paint.





A removable false floor was fit that provides "dry" storage for the compartment and easy access to the bilge below.



False floor painted and fuel tank trial bolted into place



Cuts made in frames A and B to accommodate the forward hatch framing



Laminated fore to aft hatch support frames and laid up another hatch gutter using the same mold as the stern





Lateral laminated frames and forward hatch gutter trial fit. Like the stern, it will drain into the sole. Cleats for deck and gunnel support are also in place.

Great work, nice progress!!!! Jeff

Looking really nice!

So behind on progress posts. Rather than a big one, will try to catch up with a bunch of little ones. Wanted to get the fuel tank pretty much buttoned up before laminating the forward hatch gutter in place. Used a jig to get a nice clean hole for the fuel vent.





One thing I really wanted was easy access to the fuel filter. I made a bracket to mount the filter using one of the lower mounting bolts for the fuel tank.



Tank, filter bracket, and vent line in place. The P-trap vent eliminates the need for a loop in the vent line (I hope!)



Then got to glue in the hatch gutter...

Nice looking fuel tank and a REALLY nice job of mounting it.

Thanks Fuzz. Here is a little more progress in the bow while I have easy access. Used a similar jig to drill the holes for the forward navigation lights.



The wire connections were soldered and double shrink-wrapped. I also added a little "cone" of epoxy putty to support the wire as it emerges from the back of the light to guard against any problem that could come with jarring of the hull that far forward.





Almost ready for the forward deck...

Nice toadfish!!! Jeff

Wow. It all looks amazing.

I’ve always had some mental blockage when it comes to molds, but this helps. What weight cloth did you use? Do you think not will support a person standing on it?

Dan,

The fore and aft gutters were laid up with a starting layer of finish cloth followed by six layers of 12 oz. biaxial. They are stiff by themselves, but because of the way they are laminated to frames and support beams, I'm pretty sure they are stout enough. Strength and stiffness will hopefully be further increased when the deck is bonded from above.

I'm a little worried about the stiffness of the hatches themselves, so if anyone has a suggestion on a core material to add to the underside of the 9mm plywood hatch, I'd appreciate it.

Bob

toadfish wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:19 am
I'm a little worried about the stiffness of the hatches themselves, so if anyone has a suggestion on a core material to add to the underside of the 9mm plywood hatch, I'd appreciate it.

Bob

I have the same question, was thinking about maybe some diagonal bracing instead of layering to keep weight down, will be interested to see what you and on and how it works, I am a good ways from actually needing that info at the moment.

I like your nav lights, do you ave a link to those?

Ahhh. I gotcha. Thanks, Bob.

Jeff, would a layer of 1/2” or 3/4” foam, filleted in and glasses over on the bottom side stiffen things up?

VT Jeff and I, I believe, are anxiously looking ahead to details like this while we spend our time with our heads between stringers and frames.

Dan_Smullen wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 7:51 pm Ahhh. I gotcha. Thanks, Bob.

Jeff, would a layer of 1/2” or 3/4” foam, filleted in and glasses over on the bottom side stiffen things up?

VT Jeff and I, I believe, are anxiously looking ahead to details like this while we spend our time with our heads between stringers and frames.

I like the foam idea, on the list of options to mull. And yes, hatches def seem a lot more interesting than stringers and frames!

Bob, boat is looking great, that fuel tank install is top notch!

I used diagonal braces on the OD18 hatches made from 1/2" ply glued with the end grain. Glass on top, just epoxy and paint under.

Question on the p trap. Hows it work? If you bury the bow in a wave, will that prevent water from getting in the tank? I assume that's what a loop is for, but it seems like the loop could trap water and prevent venting, or maybe tank pressure will blow that out? Or maybe the fuel pump will create a vacuum in the tank and suck the trapped water through the loop?

Jeff,

Sorry for going dark and not responding since last week, took a very long weekend in the deer woods to escape the craziness. Happily off the grid.

The link for the nav lights is https://www.oznium.com/marine-led-light ... tion-light. They have been available for a while, but were only recently Coast Guard certified.

The P-trap vent has an internal baffle in the trap that water has to get past before it even gets to the vent line. Theoretically eliminates the loop.

Bob

Catching up on more progress with the aft bilge/storage area and transom. Got the compartment faired and primed. The cleats visible are to suspend two false floor panels above the bilge floor.






Stern eyes, garboard drain, through hulls, and part of the jack plate mounted while the access was easy.




As finishing of the compartment continued, something started to really bug me and I hesitated to post this part for fear of looking like an over-thinking nut. I was happy with the simplicity of the slots that were cut in frame E to drain water from the sole directly into the aft bilge, but maybe there were unintended consequences.

The sole drainage was changed entirely by filling in the slots (sad and painful) and adding drain tubes to the aft corners of the sole, which empty into a 12v shower sump on the bilge floor. It will direct water from the sole to a smaller confined area and keep it from completely flooding the bilge. It also potentially reduces weight from a bunch of water collecting over a larger area, since the sump will only hold a small amount before the internal automatic pump clears it quickly. The nagging feeling that I’ve over-complicated this is tempered by the fact that, if it doesn’t work as planned, I’ll disconnect the sump and drain directly into the bilge, which was the original plan anyway.

Drain tube setup through frame E and the side walls of the compartment. It looks convoluted, but it is all "downhill"








Drains trial fit and connected to the sump.




Connections soldered and double shrink-wrapped.






Sump mounted and connected to a through hull fitting.

Really nice work!!! Jeff

toadfish wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:39 pm
As finishing of the compartment continued, something started to really bug me and I hesitated to post this part for fear of looking like an over-thinking nut.

If it weren't for over-thinking, I'd do no thinking at all!

Looking really great, giving me too many ideas, per usual!

toadfish wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2020 3:39 pm
Connections soldered and double shrink-wrapped.

I only mention this since you are doing such a neat wiring job you might care about doing it by the book. Your solder connections will likely be fine but according to ABYC standards you cannot use solder as the sole means of connection. You can crimp and then solder, but not just solder. The idea is that the soldered join will get brittle with the constant motion in a boat, so if you do solder after crimping you must support the joint.

I've been using the adhesive lined heat shrink crimp connectors and they work really well while adhering to the standard.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXTK37Y

Again, in the real world you connections will probably be fine, but just thought you might not know about this because a soldered connection is the top choice in other situations. The relevant part of ABYC E-11 is below.

11.14.5.7 Solder shall not be the sole means of mechanical connection in any circuit. If soldered, the
connection shall be so located or supported as to minimize flexing of the conductor where the solder
changes the flexible conductor into a solid conductor.
EXCEPTION: Battery lugs with a solder contact length of not less than 1.5 times the diameter of the
conductor.
NOTE: When a stranded conductor is soldered, the soldered portion of the conductor becomes a
solid strand conductor, and flexing can cause the conductor to break at the end of the solder joint
unless adequate additional support is provided.

Thanks very much Joe. Completely did not know the standard and am thankfully not too far down the road on electrical connections, so not too many to switch out. I appreciate the link to the connections you use and the advice.

Bob

toadfish wrote: ↑Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:00 am Thanks very much Joe. Completely did not know the standard and am thankfully not too far down the road on electrical connections, so not too many to switch out. I appreciate the link to the connections you use and the advice.

Bob

No problem, you'll probably want a crimper made for the insulated connectors if you are doing more than a few to prevent tearing the heat shrink. I see some of the connectors very similar to the ones I linked come with a crimper for a good price. I don't have personal experience with them having the ancor crimper, but it might be a good way to start if you don't want to spend a lot.

Something like this, but again I haven't tried it myself.

https://www.amazon.com/IWISS-Shrink-Con ... 07QGZFP9S/

I have that crimper. It does a decent job. One thing I do not like is you have to close it all the way before it will open back up.

Fuzz wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 1:40 am I have that crimper. It does a decent job. One thing I do not like is you have to close it all the way before it will open back up.

Most ratcheting crimpers will have a small toggle to release midway so you can realign. Normally I think the intent is that if it opens again you know the crimp was tight enough.

A little more aft compartment progress. Like the forward compartment, there is a false floor above the bilge floor for "dry" storage. So that it can be removed, the false floor is in two pieces because of its size and has a a barrier on the back edge to keep things from sliding off the back.



Here are the floor pieces in position.





The notch in the back barrier of the false floor panel has a purpose. One of the other things I really wanted was easy access to the bilge pumps, since they frequently act up and in some boats are hard to get to. The pump in the sump that drains the cockpit is easily accessed under the forward false floor panel. I wanted to figure out a way to mount the main bilge pump as well, so that it could be removed without a lot of acrobatics for maintenance or replacement. A notched bracket was made for the pump that fits into the notch on the back barrier of the floor panel and allows the pump to rest flush on the bilge floor without fasteners in the hull or transom.

Bracket shape sketched up



Trial fit



Pump is wired and mounted to the finished bracket



Drain tube just needs to be connected to the through hull

One additional thing to do before the aft deck goes down was to install rod storage tubes. I mainly have fly rods so needed the additional length, but also wanted them under the aft deck to make access easier for the angler on the bow. All are made from PVC, which is a tiny bit heavy, but I've economized on weight elsewhere so should be OK.



A heat gun was used to curve the tubes inboard. This effectively increases length, but also will flex each rod against the sidewall of the boat under the gunnel. Brackets were made to support the tubes, and are laminated and glassed to the sidewall between frame E and the transom



The tubes are actually "strapped" to the bracket with a strip of fiberglass tape.



Cut flush on the cockpit side of frame E



Ready to go

Nice work!!! Jeff

This post is long but pretty much brings me to real time. The goal was to get as much finishing done to the center console/coffin box before it was fiberglassed into place.

Console storage is accessed by a rear door, while the coffin box has a top hatch. Cleats were placed inside the console portion for two small removable shelves. Plywood spacers were used to make sure the cleats were positioned accurately. A lot of the interior fairing and painting was done at this point while access was much easier.







The grab bar was fabricated and trial fit so that screw holes could be accurately placed through the teak top and plywood underneath. The holes were then overdrilled and filled with epoxy.



I finally decided on a stainless piano hinge for the top of the box. The rabbet was the tough part and would have been much easier to place as I was building the top, rather than after it was already together.



Hinge trial fit



Console glassed into place





The interior of the box completely faired and painted. Epoxy filled grab bar mounting holes are visible in the plywood top. The teak top will be laminated to it later.



Yet another thing I want easy access to is the fuse box. The "divider" that is visible between the console and box storage areas is actually a door, to which the fuse box will be mounted. The door folds down to provide access to the box and its associated wiring, that will emerge through the chase in the floor of the console section.

Really nice work Toadfish!!! Jeff

Thanks Jeff! After a bunch of fairing, I finally got the first coat of primer in the cockpit yesterday. Feels like a big milestone. My goal is to go ahead and finish the interior while I have easy access before the decks and gunnels go down.

Good plan!!! Jeff

Way back in November, I was not as close as I thought to getting paint in the cockpit. Got the dash panel cutout placed in the teak console top and then epoxied it into position. Also trial fit the frame for the access door. Lots of tape marking areas that still need to be faired after the first coat of primer.





Used a guide coat to fair out several more coats of primer





After months of sanding and fairing, the last coat of primer ready to go





To make a temporary paint booth for the topcoat, I had to clean the garage first!







First coat of paint finally went on yesterday

Nice progress!!! She looks great!! Jeff

I like the teak console. I am going to use less, but plan a teak trim board around the console.

Fairing the insides of my cabin. It is lots of work, but closing in on finishing in a week.

A quick post to start catching up again with progress. After getting all but the final coat of paint in the cockpit, it was time to finish framing for the gunnels. I cut a notch in the gunnel supports and in the fore and aft frames to accept the stringers.



They stringers were trail fit, then coated with epoxy and mostly finished with paint on surfaces that would be hard to get to later.







Bonded into place

Nice work toadfish!! Thank you for catching us up!! Jeff

Beautiful work. What is the light wood you are putting in between the teak?

Tom

Glad to see another Coastal Georgia build on the forum.

The boat looks great!

Sanding, fairing, priming and painting take a lot of effort and time to get it right. You have succeeded.

Now you’ll be able to get back to some construction and the boat will really come to life.

Well done and keep it up!

Tom, so sorry I missed replying to your post. I think the light wood you're talking about is what I've used for cleats, stringers, etc. and it's simply clear yellow pine. Browndog you sure are right that sanding and fairing takes a bunch of time and I was very happy to get back to construction. Before getting the decks and gunnels on though, I needed to work a little more on the guts of the boat while I could get to them easily.

I decided to run a length of 3/4" PEX water pipe to protect and isolate the fuel line within the bilge chase. It was a 20' piece, so I snaked it through the garboard drain hole to initially measure and cut it to length.





Pipe extending the length of the sole into the bow compartment. Began to pull wires and trial-fit the gunnels.





Ground wiring for the fuel fill and tank as well as wiring for the sending unit



Harness for the bow navigation lights and the under-gunnel lighting. Access will still be very easy through the bow hatch.



Fuel and vent lines connected.



Broader view showing the waterproof LED strip lighting I'm using under the gunnels

Now the work began to get the fore and aft decks ready to go down. Some thought went into how the poling platform would be mounted and the fabricator actually came out to the house to help design it and position mounting pads for the best screw hole placement. The plan was to laminate aluminum backing pads to the underside of the deck that would be drilled and tapped to accept the mounting screws. Something like Tef-gel will be used to prevent corrosion between the stainless screws and the plates.



A template was made to transfer the pad location and orientation to the opposite side of the deck. The template would also be used later for final hole positioning prior to tapping the backing plates. Pilot holes were enlarged to fill with epoxy later.





The underside of the deck coated with epoxy and the backing plates bonded to place.



With the backing plates in place, the over-sized holes could now be filled with epoxy.



The template was then used to mark final hole location prior to drilling through the deck and into the plates. Holes were drilled and tapped one at a time to make sure each one was centered properly.





The poling platform base plates screwed to place and a view of the of the tapped backing plates on the underside of the deck. You can also see where I had to shape and bevel the backing plates just a bit so that the deck would seat correctly.

Clean and precise work!

Very nice work!!! Thank you for the update!! Jeff

Looking great. Not sure there is a poling platform guy available for house-calls in southern vt, you're pretty fortunate that way!

You have been doing great work 0n your FS18. It will be a great boat for around Savannah.

Tom

Not as much was left to do on the forward deck to get it ready, but positioning the hole for the fuel fill was a little tricky. From the fuel fill to the tank intake is a straight shot with a very short length of hose, so the hole would require precise placement. A piece of PVC pipe, the same diameter of the tank intake, was cut to extend just to the underside of the deck. I then placed the deck, traced the pipe outline on the underside, and marked the center of the traced outline so that the hole would end up directly over the center of the intake.





The mounting holes for the fuel fill were then overfilled with epoxy and re-drilled. Same thing for the other hole in the picture, which is for turnbuckle hardware that will secure the forward casting platform.



Decks and gunnels finally bonded in place.

Nice work toadfish!!! Jeff

Looking awesome!

With the decks and gunnels down, now was the time to get the fore and aft hatches built and temporarily in place before the gunnels and decks could be trimmed out on the inside of the cockpit. The plywood pieces that were previously cut out of the decks for the hatch openings were faired so that they fit precisely. Frame pieces were ripped to the proper height to keep the hatch surface level with the deck and laminated to place.



I decided on stainless piano hinges for these hatches as well, and went through some acrobatics to get the placement just right for each one. With the hinge screwed to the hatch only, I centered each hatch in its opening using spacers made from 1/16" angle aluminum (forgot to take a picture of this but it worked well), and marked the exact hinge location on the wall of the hatch opening. I then removed the hinge from the hatch, and transferred it to the marked wall of the opening so that the pilot holes could be easily and precisely placed. The hinge was then screwed back to the hatch and the assembly to the hatch opening.





The fun wasn't over because I still needed to over-fill all of the holes and then re-drill the pilot holes in their previous position. This had to be done a few at a time to keep things lined up. Again, A LOT of back-and-forth...



With the hatches in position, it was now possible to place the inside gunnel and deck trim









The tops of the hatches were fiberglassed and an additional piece of plywood was laminated to the underside of each hatch for stiffness (thanks for the design tips Reid). The latch for each hatch will rotate and lock against the underside of molded fiberglass gutter, so I'm not worried about wear. The cutout was just a little challenging, but it was my last official item of "construction" on the boat!





Ready for primer. The aft hatch (in the foreground) has a rabbet in the forward edge that will accommodate a small track to secure a seat cushion.

Really looking nice. I love your hatch design and execution.
Dave

Great looking boat

I read you used system 3 primer, what brand did you go with for the top coat?

Really nice work. Tom

Oh thank God I'm not the only guy stuck in endless back n forth cycles.

Time for the last bit of painting. The decks, gunnels and hatches got the final coats of primer after tons of fairing. The over-drilled and filled holes in the console hatch lid are for screws that will secure the cushion from underneath.







Taped for non-skid.



Tape removed and ready for the topcoat.





Edd to answer your question I used Alexseal two-part polyurethane topcoat for the deck and cockpit, mainly because there is "rolling additive" available for this paint that eliminates the need for tipping. I was scared/skeptical at first, but it works REALLY well.







Finally got to remove tape and the protective paper "hula skirt" yesterday. Moving day is Wednesday, when I have some buddies coming over to get the boat from the strong back to the trailer for the last time. To the welder on Thursday to finish up the poling platform.

Beautiful work!!! Jeff

The plan to move the boat from the strongback to the trailer was postponed due to a delay at the fabricator for the poling platform. The time was used to get some of the deck hardware bedded and hatches to place.

Pads for the platform were replaced temporarily for fabrication. After the platform is made it will be removed for powder coat and then the pads bedded more permanently



Rear hatch ready to go, with the track in place in the leading edge for the cushion bead.



Rear hatch and battery switch mounted



Forward hatch and fuel fill in place



A piece of PVC board was fabricated as the backer for the console cushion, which will be secured with screws from the underside of the hatch into stainless T-nuts visible in the board.



The last time for the boat on the strongback shortly before friends arrived, bribed with a cooler full of beer, to move it to the trailer.



On the trailer with the motor mounted and ready to go for the poling platform.



The platform completed at the fabricator a few days ago.

Boat looks really nice! And lots of custom details to really set it off. You can be proud of your work.
I envy lots of you guys. From the lack of side boards on your trailers I am guessing you do not have to load in wind and current like I am used to.

Beautiful work toadfish!!!! Jeff

Oh hell yes! You should be very proud.

That's a beauty!

Dougster

Beautiful boat, you have done a great job on her.

Tom

Incredible work! What a beauty!

Wow! Sleek looking sled!

Really lovely and spectacular work. You will enjoy how she performs on the water.
Dave

Excellent! That will turn heads! Bravo

Many thanks to everyone for the kind words and Happy New Year! I was so excited to finish things up and get out on the water that I didn't really get to post any "finish" photos. The kit arrived in March of 2019 and I splashed the boat 2 1/2 years later on September 14, 2021. Drove straight down to the Keys a few days later and fished it in the Herman Lucerne Memorial tournament in Everglades National Park. Unbelievable!



Really happy with the finishing touches, including the SeaDek, the powder coat, and the dash panel I had cut. A You Tube video tutored me on the grab bar wrap, which kind of color matches the rub rail.







Hooked up and ready to head south.

That is sweet - congratulations on your great work!

Sure is pretty. How did you get the fishscale look?

That is just flat out amazing work!

ToadFish, beautiful work!!! Get me some really good photos and I will put her on the cover of the website!!! Jeff

Really high caliber work there, conrgats again. Damn!

Fantastic work! Kind of makes me want to start over

Have to chime in: Stunning.

Dougster

If you have the time or inclination, it would be great to hear about how you executed what appears to be a rope rub rail. I searched the thread and didn't see any discussion of that.

That's a beautiful boat! I'm sure you'll enjoy it for years to come! thanks for posting up so many pictures showing all your detail work!

As FT said, thank you for the detailed pictures. It all looks great but I love the box in front of the console!

Enjoy your efforts and congrats!

Wow, MANY thanks again to all for the compliments! Jeff I'll get you some photos when it warms up. To answer a couple of questions, the fish scale look is actually a routed pattern option with SeaDek. I'm pretty sure it is called large tarpon scale. I went with the same background as the photo, Blue Camo, to blend with the hull color.



What to do about the rub rail was really a struggle, mainly because I wanted to wrap it around the bow which is such an acute compound angle. The relative flexibility and round cross section of rope solved the problem, and I decided to rout a groove in the wood rub rail to accommodate the rope. First, the junction between the deck and the rub rail had to be completely fair and sharp to guide the router.



The length of the rail was routed with guide to slightly less than the full depth of a 3/4" half round bit, the same diameter of the rope. Talk about a pucker moment! Fear and superstition kept me from taking any action shots, but after the groove was finished, the sharp junction between the deck and the wood rail was rounded over with the router as well.



View of the groove at the bow in primer.



The grooved rub rail was painted along with the rest of the deck.



"Polypro" rope was used. Portions were boiled, softened, and shaped to conform not only to the bow angle, but also to the transitions from the sides to the transom. To avoid fasteners, it was epoxied in place with yet another high tech clamping system. If the rope needs replacing, I'm sure I will regret using epoxy, but it should provide for an entertaining continuation of this thread...

Taking that router to the rub rail proves you're a braver man than me .

Dougster

Thanks for the intel on the rub rail. It makes me sweat just to think about it. Was your router guide rail a store bought accessory or did you have to fashion your own?