Bob Lico Deck Gutter Design Question

[JohnV8r]

Bob or anyone else who has made Coosa gutters on their decks:

I am at the point of epoxying the Coosa scraps onto the bottom of the Coosa decks that will be routed later to make the gutters that Bob Lico did on his deck design. Here is my question:

Did you use any fiberglass on the Coosa gutters to reinforce them 1) on the bottom of the deck, 2) on the inside lip, or 3) did you just seal and paint them?

Also, do you have a picture of the fish boxes you installed. Did you do a semi-permanent installation under the deck or a drop in fish box that can be removed and rests on the gutters? I was leaning toward semi-permanent install with drains into macerators.

Thanks in advance.

JohnV8r

[Snipe]

https://youtu.be/jNBu5qRl0WQ John check out this video these guys did a nice job on fish boxes.

[Rawleigh]

John: I made my gutters out of Fir. I just coated them in neat epoxy and then painted them. No glass. I used a dish carving router bit with a bearing on the shank the same size as the bit to rout my gutters in place, using the opening in the deck as the template. I don't know if that process will work for you, but it was easy and did a neat job for me. You could also use a core box bit (rounded nose) the same way if you don't want the flat bottom profile. I was trying to keep my gutters as high as possible so that they could drain out above the waterline at the transom.

http://www.rockler.com/1-1-4-dish-carving-router-bit

http://www.rockler.com/core-box-router-bits-1-2-shank

[bob lico]

i think something is lost here interpreting the word GUTTER in the description of deck building. when i refer to the deck gutter it means the two 4" strips that are parallel to hull running the entire length of the cockpit leading water to the scuppers. the gutters are 1/4" lower than the deck( keep in mind the deck pieces are slightly angled to the port and starboard) the center section holding the chair is dead flat. i think you are referring to the small gutters on top of the fish box that drop the water that gets in a small opening between the deck box hatch and the deck into the bilge this is really insignificant compared to the huge volume of water coming in the boat backing down or a huge wave hitting broadside.so lets start out with the real gutter system than if you want photos of gutters on fish boxes i will show you.

[bob lico]

my hand is pointing to the gutter on the starboard side (white strip).i hope i clear up this confusion. the DECK gutter system also leads all rainwater out the scuppers with going in the bilge.

[bob lico]

this may be a better view.

[JohnV8r]

Hey Bob,

You are correct. I was referring to the small gutters under the hatches in the deck. I'm using Coosa strips there like you show on the old thread I found, then routing the gutter/drain section into the Coosa strips. There are a couple of things about your under hatch use of Coosa that I am curious about.

1. It appears in your photos that you did not use any fiberglass on the under hatch Coosa gutter/drain that would come in contact with the hatch. Is that correct? Did you add fiberglass to the underneath section to add strength or did you just epoxy the Coosa and paint it?

2. Your Coosa under hatch gutter/drain sections seem to be a tad bit narrower than those in the video that Snipe posted. Did you use drop in fish boxes or did you create more permanent fish boxes with drains that are not meant to come out?

3. It's really difficult to see the hinges you used on the hatches. Are they recessed piano hinges?

I really like the design you did with the Coosa, particularly since you said you can drop the hatches and they won't slam. That is what I'm looking to do. I appreciate any feedback/recommendations you can give me.

Thanks,

JohnV8r

[bob lico]

ok, John lets start all over. the first job i did was the photo`s above that is cut the three section of- 3/4" Coosa 26 to size leaving 3/16" less on the side to side dimension to allow for F/G lay up. next was to turn all three pieces on there backside and layed up two layers of biaxial and one layer of cloth first. then flip over and did top side. next step was the only hard part is you don`t care about waste then just cut out hatches out of new 4x10 Coosa however if you make a guide for the router using 3/16" bit and make radius for corners you can use the piece you cut out for your hatch !! the gutter is simple just use half round bit with roller bearing wheel. let the router follow the cut-out. now the box i disagree with all kill box maker the weight of the box weights a ton filled with ice and salt water i let my kill box rest on the bilge thus making the box the deepest and strongest possible. top ledge of the box is even with the bottom of the hatch gutter. building the box out of 3/4" Coosa one problem all pieces are tongue and groove using a 3/4 rabbit bit in router the one tricky part is the grove cut on bottom piece matching the angle of bilge .then lay up box in cloth on both sides with biax gussets in corners .

[bob lico]

unbelievable results best decision made on boat full-length piano hinges all screws in epoxy and 316 SS slam hatches and believe me they get slammed every damn time we take the boat out!!!!!! 000000000 maintenance

[JohnV8r]

Thanks Bob!

[bob lico]

just want to add one very important step as you remember the struct support has 6 bolts that protrude thru the bronze backer plate so the kill box has a bottom reveal about 1 1/2 " all around this reveal edge is what actually sits on bilge floor and the reveal gives the box just enough to clear struct support bolts. so when you router the box or use 3/4" dado blade on the table saw cut all bottom dado`s 1 1/2" off the bottom edge.you cannot see it from photo but normal operations you pick up kill box hatches port or starboard and lean the top of hatch against the inner hull.slide the fish into box filled with saltwater -ice than use your knee to drop the hatch from the fully open position thus "slam hatch" and that is how they are used.