Bertram 25 conversion to an outboard powered CC

beachbum · Post by **beachbum** » Aug 19th, '21, 14:18

ktm_2000 wrote: ↑Aug 4th, '21, 07:53 below the driveway there is a rubble stone retaining wall ....

Fantastic!

Ive taken a washing machine apart to get it down a flight of stairs on the yacht I used to work on (then put it all back together at the bottom), never again

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Aug 22nd, '21, 08:41

I am not really in a high impact area of tropical storm Henri coming through, even still I didn't want to listen to the shrink-wrap cover rustle in the wind so I uncovered it this morning. This is the first time I've had it fully uncovered in quite some time.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nc5QYpC8VBPJTGzh6

Visually I think that it could look a little better if I made the doghouse 1-2" shorter and a foot further aft but I think it will work fine as is and I will have a giant cockpit for a 25' boat.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Aug 30th, '21, 07:42

I took Friday off to work on the boat but it was way too hot and humid so we went to the beach and I switched my day of work to Sunday with the prospects of the weather being cool and in the mid 70s. Sunday morning was cool but in the low 60s and humid as all heck so I didn't trust fairing and gelcoat work so I started sanding anything that needed sanding.

First I sanded the orange peel of the gelcoat on the doghouse, I used 220 grit paper and dry sanded with a light duty orbital sander and went around the doghouse inside and out. I got most of the orange peel off other than the rounded cable chases inside the front of the doghouse.

I then moved on to the top cap, I sanded off most of the interlux perfection paint which I put on in 2007 in the bow section as well as the rest of the top cap which hadn't already been sanded and coated with some gelcoat. For the most part I got the flat sections but not the curves nor close up to the vents, bow cleat and the lip around the edge. I sanded the top cap for about 3.5hrs and probably have about the same time ahead of me to sand what I missed.

This operation showed my old girl's age, she's got plenty of wrinkles in the gelcoat, years ago when I painted her I did quite a bit of fairing to hide the gelcoat cracks and in some cases it was working well and in other cases the cracks printed through.

My estimates for sanding above were to just get the old coats of paint off and not to remove all the gelcoat, I would guess 3x or more to do that and I am contemplating glassing over any of the flat areas instead of sanding the gelcoat off.

The question is what glass to use? the boatworks today guy used 1708 when he glassed the top of his project boat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqMiGL5fyYI but in his case it looks like a previous project hacked the crap out of the boat and the bow section was flexing heavily. He also ended up fully fairing out and sanding the bow area - aka lots of work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jq2N4Fs1wg

My boat structurally seems sound, I'm 210# and can jump up and down on the bow area and nothing sounds bad if I jump so I don't think I need any structural level repair, just cosmetics.

I'm thinking I want enough glass to prevent any previous gelcoat cracks from migrating to the surface and the least amount of sanding and fairing that I can do. I am contemplating 10oz fiberlgass cloth set in polyester making sure to not overlap anywhere so I don't build any high spots which need sanding and a flow coat of waxed gelcoat to fill the remaining weave applied 1hr later.

I'm guessing that 1.5oz mat would be better but that will definitely end up needing more sanding and fairing which I would like to avoid if possible.

your thoughts on my ideas?

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Aug 30th, '21, 08:01

I ran out and took a couple of pics to give folks a better idea of what the cracks are that I am dealing with

close up view of blisters and fine cracks - this particular area had been under fairing compound and was sealed up and didn't print through but I sanded all the fairing off to make sure I didn't have a high spot
https://photos.app.goo.gl/x46XGyH1YF9G2c7m8

wider angle of bow area - can see all the stuff I filled in years ago as well as the stuff I have to remove to fully sand.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SWxfGTqE2aWDb2gT6

The pic above also shows off 2 of other items I would like to address in a low priority manner, 1st the missing cover to the bow chock light and 2nd the chrome on the bow vents needs to be redone. Any suggestions on solving either issue would be appreciated.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Aug 30th, '21, 11:14

I suppose you could try fairing compound to fill all the cracked gel coat. Maybe a high build primer. I just bit the bullet and ground it all off to green glass, faired, primed and painted. I'm not sure there are any good/proven short cuts.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 1st, '21, 07:45

I keep telling myself the enemy of good enough is better, then promptly choose better. Maybe some day I will learn but I did a topcap paint job on the boat in 2007 and while I have things apart I mind as well get it done well so I don't have to do it again.

I've sanded all the flat parts of the top cap and my plan is to use up the glass I have remaining and put 1 layer of 1708 over the flat sections, some 1.5oz mat over the inside radius and I've sanded most of the lip of the topcap clean to new glass. I realize that the 1708 will force me to fair the whole thing but if I just do the flat sections it shouldn't be too bad.

I still need to remove all the hardware and sand the spots near those locations.

port side
https://photos.app.goo.gl/THmH5vAzE67tj4S77

starboard side
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ePcdS5B3JvFZri9u6

Bow lip
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QGYa2bKu3EZeSHd3A

its going to rain tonight so I'm going to get a gallon of laminating resin and another gallon of filler and hopefully in about a week I'll have the top cap glassed and faired

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 1st, '21, 08:01

another item - I want to give a BIG thanks to Scott who advised me to get the Makita 1.5" belt sander

https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/9031

expensive - yes but soooooo worth it

Getting the inside corners as well as the outside lip it was invaluable as it tore off the old paint and gelcoat 3-4x faster than using a DA with a 80 grit pad

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Sep 1st, '21, 19:36

Definitely a great tool!

Mine has gone through many sets of brushes and new bodies (dropped and clamped to tight) but keeps going strong. Has to be 35 years old in a hard commercial life.
We use mostly to finish grind shafting. That hard backing plate under belt comes off and the belt contours to the shaft giving a great finish provided the shaft is being spun.
We used to clamp this in a lathe and finish the diameter of hollow aluminum rollers, approx 3” diameter x 60” long. We’d turn to within .oo2 and finish with this tool. First get the high spots down on all rollers, block tool and feed across for a ground finish holding +\-.001 on a dozen or 2. Saved thousands over having to send out for grinding.
Also use it to fit couplers to boat shafts.

Great tool

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 2nd, '21, 08:08

with some fairly serious pressure from my Better 1/2 to not work on the boat over labor day weekend, I ordered more resin to be delivered next tuesday.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 8th, '21, 07:58

Operation - hide gelcoat crazing

Last night I got a layer of 1708 over the bow section and used 1.50oz mat to go into the curves of the outside lip.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ycamtR5pSmy8bDW68

I will cleanup the excess mat with a grinder and do some fairing tonight

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 9th, '21, 07:16

I did the 1st pass of fairing compound on the bow section last night. I was at the bottom of a 5 gallon pail of fairing and it was a little stiff so I didn't want to chance it not curing properly so I mixed the filler with more resin prior to adding catalyst so the whole process took me a bit more time than I expected. I stopped when I hit the end of that filler and did 30 min of sanding. There are a few spots which didn't get covered in the 1st pass as I was using a large trowel and couldn't get in the confined spaces, I will take care of those later on.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GCqNXMgpm2dkk3mv5

There are a fair amount of gelcoat cracks on the area which leads to the hatch, I may put a layer of 1708 over that area too.

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Sep 10th, '21, 10:26

Wow, the work you are doing is amazing!

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 10th, '21, 11:48

Thanks for the complement, I'm not sure as I deserve it as others on this site really do amazing work. I consider myself to be a journeyman and put in lots of effort to get my results.

if one were contemplating a project on a shoestring budget, this thread should give them an idea of what they are in for.

I think the biggest factors are a place to do work independent of weather and have lots of free time in your schedule.

There is never enough time

took labor day weekend off, this week I got in 2-3 hrs 2 nights after work tues/wed, it rained thurs, this weekend the wife wants to go camping in VT.

I am hoping to get the top cap fairing done by next weekend and gelcoat then as I have a 1.5 year long project going live in work over the weekend and am on call so I can't go anywhere. I have downtime in the day and should be able to fit in gelcoat, 30min to get a coat on, wait 30 min, rinse/repeat and I could extend the wait time between coats if the SHTF on the project.

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Sep 10th, '21, 13:01

You and Cam have really been showing us how it is done. It is nice to see a well documented project. I get too head down in what I am working on and never remember to take pictures to document it.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Sep 28th, '21, 07:31

My project at work took way more time and attention than I thought it would, on top of that it has been raining quite frequently. In watching the weather forecast it looked like it wasn't going to rain Sunday into Monday so I took Monday off from work thinking I would finish the preparations of the top cap on Sunday then gelcoat on Monday.

With the best laid plans I did a lot of sanding and fairing on Sunday and got 3/4 of the way done, No problem, I'll prep for a few hours on Monday and gelcoat in the afternoon, the weather should be good....

Monday, Nice and sunny in the morning, did more prep, get most stuff to a great place by 11:30am and it starts raining, rains till 1:30 pm, just spitting but crazy high humidity. The sun is out by 2 and it seems fine but it is cooler and by the time I taped off the rub rail and got going it would be 3pm and I would be finishing closer to 7pm and risking the last coat not curing as the temps got lower.

Hopefully I can get some dry / over 60 degree days so I can gelcoat soon.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Oct 7th, '21, 08:38

This whole gelcoat the top cap has been a comedy of errors.....

last weekend I checked the weather on Friday and the weathermen said Sat would be mid 60s and sunny and Sunday would be 70 and partially cloudy with rain moving in at midnight. Since Sat was our wedding anniversary and I know what is good for me, I decided to gelcoat on Sunday.

Sunday morning was mid 50s and warmed up to the low 60s by 10am, by the time I did a few small things then taped off the rubrail and did a solvent wipe it was 11:30am and it started spitting rain, off and on, and the radar shot was showing a front north and west of me heading my way so I punted and took a ride and ended up in New Salem at a farm which sold hard cider.

A photo of a 50's Chevy truck out front
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jScnHV6JXAt38VeZA

I watched the weather and it seemed that Wed / Thurs it wasn't going to rain so I looked for a clearing in my work calendar and I could move a couple meetings Wed so I took a 1/2 day off to Gelcoat. Even with my calendar blocked, I still got jammed with lunchtime meetings and didn't get started till 1pm. I did 3 coats of unwaxed gelcoat with 20 min between coats, less time between coats than I've done in the past but it took more time to get the whole thing done, starting in the same place and the time to finish the coat, I probably got 45min between recoating a specific spot.

I really wanted to get 5 coats on and when it came time for the 4th coat, it was 4:30pm so I did a 1/2 coat over the areas which would get high wear, then did my 5th coat of waxed gelcoat over everything. Since it was getting later in the day and cooler I bumped the catalyst up to get a faster cure. The jug of gelcoat said 10cc per quart at 70, and I had been doing most of it at 7.5ccs per 20oz, by 4pm I was at 10ccs per 20oz, and my finish coats were done 20oz a mix and 20ccs.

I completed by 6:30pm and it was still low 60s and I cleaned up. I went out after dinner and got quite scared as when I touched the surface in a couple of places, the gelcoat was still tacky. Last night was horrible, I barely slept thinking that this wasn't curing and I'd have to take off a bunch of slop.

This morning I went out and ran my fingers over the rub rail and only in one spot did it feel tacky, I did get some residue from that one spot but not much. I am going to let it cure out today, supposed to be 70, so hopefully there isn't much I need to fix.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Oct 7th, '21, 13:13

weather predictions...I thought they were supposed to be getting better at this stuff.
Seems only the excuses are getting better...
I use the get-up and see what its like, weather forecast.

I got up Sunday to go for tuna...giants being caught 15 miles from my slip.
Walked into the kitchen and thought something was wrong with my eyes, I couldn't see past the kitchen windows. Then heard a ship honking and realized FOG. I can't recall seeing it so heavy in a long time, back to bed I went.

Saturday I was thinking of going after pulling a boat early am to catch the tide...but it was blowing way way more than the 8-9mph they forecasted. I decided to fish local with a friend on his boat. It was victory at sea right outside the harbor. We came back early and I started some boat projects, by late noon it was like a new day...so out I went. Dead flat so I ran over to a rock pile and did some fishing. What a night...

...only beat by Sunday night. A late quick ride with my wife became - go visit another club for a drink and dinner in town. We followed by a slow ride home on a picture perfect night. Well maybe not picture perfect without there much of a moon, but a great night to be out on the water.

I have to say using a boat is way much more fun than working on a boat!

I do not miss doing glass work depending on weather forecasts. I can't say how many times I had great forecasts, just about finish laying up something
and - - what was that? not a drop. then another and another.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Oct 8th, '21, 12:56

I'm looking for some suggestions...

I enclosed an area under both sides of the gunnels where the fuel line comes up from under the deck. So far I purchased 2 of the same hatches that I've used elsewhere on the boat and have set them up the same using the same distance off the deck and same distance from the back of the enclosure.

empty hole
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cu8dbdkzyhhNaJRw5

with hatch in
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gA7RvE6LNLB6eEm66

If I measure from the cut out line, I have 22" wide, roughly 30" tall and on the high side of the cut out it is 8" deep.

what could I put in there? another hatch?

my thoughts so far are life jackets, dock lines, Trash bag, fire extinguishers

Your suggestions?

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Oct 8th, '21, 14:42

Fire xtinguisher might be good, but it might be in the middle of the fire too if the fuel fill runs through it.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Oct 14th, '21, 07:22

After given about a week for the top cap gelcoat to cure I did 2hrs of sanding last night to start to get rid of the orange peel surface. I used a light sander with 220 grit paper and went at it. There were a 3 spots no larger than a 1/2 dollar coin where the gelcoat on the surface did not cure well and for the most part the sandpaper pad got gummed up and the gelcoat underneath was cured and sanded up. I tried to get all the flat portions done last night with the power sander and still have a bit of sanding left to do by hand to get all the detailed areas around the rubrail.

overall I am happy with how it came out but if I had my choice I would have done the gelcoat in warmer weather as other areas that I did in the summer came out better with less texture before sanding.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Nov 17th, '21, 10:26

Email to Marina where I've had an engine on order since Feb 2021

Hi , I've not heard from you all summer... I've called and left messages repeatedly Are you still in business? Matt

They finally responded today for the first time in forever:

Matt I'm sorry but I haven't received any of your messages. We have had a
few medical issues with all of our employees at one point or another but we
are very much still in business. Suzuki is not giving us any ETA on any
engines. We randomly receive engines unrelated to order dates. I inquire
about your engine along with others ordered in the same time frame weeky.

I am getting disgusted

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Nov 17th, '21, 12:25

ktm_2000 wrote: ↑Oct 8th, '21, 12:56 I'm looking for some suggestions...

I enclosed an area under both sides of the gunnels where the fuel line comes up from under the deck. So far I purchased 2 of the same hatches that I've used elsewhere on the boat and have set them up the same using the same distance off the deck and same distance from the back of the enclosure.

empty hole
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cu8dbdkzyhhNaJRw5

with hatch in
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gA7RvE6LNLB6eEm66

If I measure from the cut out line, I have 22" wide, roughly 30" tall and on the high side of the cut out it is 8" deep.

what could I put in there? another hatch?

my thoughts so far are life jackets, dock lines, Trash bag, fire extinguishers

Your suggestions?

Would make a great enclosure for a big subwoofer! Boom! Boom!

Flip down shallow trash can or storage for X? Why is it so big?

Sorry to hear about your engine woes....I was in Hilton head over the weekend an noticed Big ships within view of the beach. Lots of ships waiting to get into Savannah. Check out: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/ho ... .0/zoom:10

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Nov 17th, '21, 15:37

I'm not going to go there on the boat, any nice stereo I've ever had in a car has been temporary, installed, enjoyed for a period of time, then stolen.

My plan is to stay low key put a the set of speakers which came with the radio up underneath the gunnels on my main bulkhead. I am more interested in keeping them out of the weather than I am of getting good sound.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 3rd, '22, 14:35

news on the project front - I got fed up waiting on the Suzuki and I purchased a pair of 2017 250hp 30" shaft Honda outboards, one of which needs a rebuild. I am only planning on running one motor so the second motor is purely for parts at this point in time.

documented in this thread - https://bertram31.com/newbb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15267

The motors came with analog gauges and a dual throttle and dual engine starting panel so today I have been doing some shopping online to get some supplies.

1. Ordered a NMEA2000 Digital Tach
2. Ordered a Single engine ignition switch and wiring harness.
3. Ordered a Single Top mount shift / throttle

I will be assembling a cherry picker which I bought to mount a motor and will also build a vertical engine stand so I can more easily store the 2nd motor. If the weather isn't too cold, I'll start running the wiring harness and throttle/shift cables in my wiring chases.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 5th, '22, 20:02

I wanted to get to figure out what was going on the with the motor so I built an engine stand
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yhdS8VXErUG6UqWz6

and one of my buddies came over and we got the engine on the stand, some redesigning was needed as the cherry picker I bought wouldn't lift the motor up high enough so I cut down the jack studs in the front so I could put the 2nd 2x6 which makes up the mounting point lower.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gzar6XkJ2QmNYedX9

Some wrestling later as I left the hose out with water in it, I had to hook it up to our laundry sink and wait 30 min for the hot water to work its way through the ice. In that time I jury rigged a fuel line and setup the harness and guages.

The motor fired up instantly and ran but not great, I had a can of seafoam in a 4 gallon tank of gas and the spark plugs are in poor shape. Here's what I got after 30 min of engine run time.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oEpWx9BrYRaKf7Dy5

port 175, 175, 150
starboard 175,175,175

the one cyl at 150 was the first I tested and I sprayed in fogging oil after the first test and then tested the rest of the cylinders, after completing I went back and tested that cyl again and it was at 200psi. I realize that this tells me the valves are fine and that there may be something going on in that set of rings.

At the end of the running session, I used up the can of fogging oil and shut down the motor.

I am not sure where I will go with the low compression - I am going to try to repeat today's run time in the rain tomorrow and finish up with filling the cylinders with marvel mystery and letting them soak for a couple days.

I ran the motor for @3hrs and burned 3 gallons of gas - lots of the time the motor was at 1200rpm fast idle - this thing will be great when it comes to fishing.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Mar 7th, '22, 07:53

Nice video! I would ignore the low compression and get the boat/engine in the water for testing (voyage of discovery). If you like the boat with the Honda, maybe invest in an overhaul of Motor #2?

What size prop will the Honda swing?

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 7th, '22, 08:27

Cam,

I have been coming to the same conclusion as you.... Do basic maintenance on this one, fuel filters, water pump impeller, new spark plugs and run as is for the year. Whatever happens is what is going to happen.

as you suggest break down the 2nd motor and see what that motor needs to run again, if I get it rebuilt, it would give me the opportunity swap powerheads.

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Mar 9th, '22, 16:37

If you know anyone with a borescope that will go through the plug hole you might take a good look inside first and see how badly scored it is. If a ring is broken it will be a short voyage of discovery!! No sense doing more damage that a quick look might have avoided. Do those blocks have sleeves that can be replaced? Harbor Freight has some reasonable priced borescopes too.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 10th, '22, 08:25

Rawleigh,

I had been looking at the @$20 boroscopes which hook up to a phone, I will pick one up and do the inspection you mention.

I doubt a ring is broken as I put 3hrs on the motor running on the stand after I got it home.

I've been researching about doing a rebuild on one of these motors and it is not ridiculous, It may be a bit pricey as there are no kits which contain rings, pistons, bearings and lots of gaskets, so sourcing them individually will be more expensive.

In my post on THT a person stated a short block wasn't crazy expensive so I may start to dig into the "siezed" motor sooner than later with the running calculation going of if too many parts need to be replaced, get a new short block. If I went the short block way, and the heads aren't trashed I should be able to get the 2nd motor running for a little over 4k, I am thinking about it as an insurance policy to myself.

I have not cancelled the order on the 300 zuki - I can go that way too

I like having lots of options

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Mar 10th, '22, 10:17

Sounds like a good plan.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 11th, '22, 15:13

Go Figure.........................

after months of no communication the dealer comes back and says my 300 zuki is ready to go and needs cash by monday or it is gone.

I'm going to scramble a bit and see why the 2nd siezed motor went bad, if it is rebuildable with a short block I am going to go with the Hondas, If I have to part it out I will seriously consider the Zuki.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Mar 11th, '22, 17:42

Wow…your luck is just like mine.

Stuff like this I never know if it’s better to laugh or cry. Lol…. I guess laugh

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 11th, '22, 18:33

Yes - my luck is poor.....

I went at tearing down the "siezed" motor and it isn't technically siezed, grenaded is a better description.

From the bottom of the intake plenum, when I removed the plenum, there were shavings in the lower cylinder.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EgUfqPhj9jgYuy5C7

I concentrated on the head with the shavings and ran out of daylight when I faced removing the nuts which hold the intake to the heads, please note the nuts down near where the injectors go into the heads. I'll definitely have some fun getting those out as well as back in, magnets are my friend.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uCkp8ubaHPD8D1VB6

I expected the lower end of the motor to be trashed, What I am most interested in is that if I swap that out the heads and rest of motor isn't trashed too. I've got one quote on a short block already, its even in stock

It is going to rain tomorrow so I have it covered up, It will be a bit chilly sunday but I think I can get both heads off and will share what I find.

my emotions are all over the place, I think I can still get most of the $ I spent on the honda motors back and probably a few dollars more, I didn't say No on the Suzuki yet.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 14th, '22, 08:41

Not wanting to miss any time, I am going to get the Suzuki and sell off the Honda motors. I will sell the running motor as is and part out the 2nd motor that I started to take a part. If I do well parting out the 2nd motor I will make a couple bucks on the whole deal.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Mar 14th, '22, 10:35

Seems like the best option! Good luck!

Rawleigh · Post by **Rawleigh** » Mar 15th, '22, 08:14

You will like the Suzuki!

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 15th, '22, 08:42

Yesterday afternoon I met with the Marina and gave them a check to cover the cost of the motor and discussed options for setting up the engine

I came home with the wiring harness and the Suzuki digital shifter and will start to plan out the position of stuff on the dash

Here's what I have so far, the paper templates are for 9" displays and I ended up with 12" displays so there isn't as much real estate as it seems
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DuwPcp1PRQw918RQA

I have the recessed hydraulic steering helm and I was thinking of drawing lines on the 1/3 and 2/3rds and putting the helm on the left 1/3 and the throttle on the right 2/3 line

Above my switch panel will go the digital gauge which also covers fuel tank level - https://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-Multifunc ... 9827175029

The question is where to put the key switch? there are a couple options, vertical key / kill switch, horizontal setup, or separates

Since my helm is lower, I don't want the key under it, nor do I want the key were I can hit it with the throttle, lastly I have young kids so I want the key to not be easily disturbed as last year on the water on someone else's boat my daughter pulled the kill switch lanyard under way.

I almost want to just put the key switch up on the dash and hide the kill switch somewhere

your thoughts?

captbone · Post by **captbone** » Mar 15th, '22, 10:28

Does the control box have a start/stop switch?

Yamaha and Mercury have it and that allows you to mount the key out of the way or hidden. With a pilothouse, I would suspect the lanyard is more a hassle and liability.

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Mar 15th, '22, 10:44

uhhhh, do you have windows planned for the dog house!??

I would put the wheel dead center and the binnacle off to the right. Key switch in the upper instrument cluster panel where your VHF and other gear are in the picture. Skip the lanyard...you are not likely to fly out backwards and the sides of the dog house will retain you as you app roach 1g cornering speeds. If you want a kill switch, look into the wireless versions.

2 pennies...
Cam

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Mar 15th, '22, 11:16

CamB25 wrote: ↑Mar 15th, '22, 10:44 uhhhh, do you have windows planned for the dog house!??
Cam

No, he has radar and a chartplotter.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 15th, '22, 12:13

I do have windows Nice Aluminum framed ones with 3/8" glass - just the previous photo was the best one which showed the whole dash.

Here's a pic when I was test fitting the windows, they are out now, I am waiting for warm weather to goop them in.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4zJRQvFemBAZJKJT7

The electronics plan is that the displays I bought don't have the networking feature, so the plan is to hookup the Radar on one screen, Fishfinder 2nd screen with either having the ability to show full suite of engine guages via NMEA2000

if either craps out, both the transducer and radar can be plugged into one unit, both will be on separate fuses.

Per the Marina the lanyard has to be in the system electrically but he said the boat being over 25' I don't actually have to use it. If I go with separates and put the lanyard under the dash on my electrical panel https://photos.app.goo.gl/hCCeytTKmigH5kov8
it can be accessed if needed but it doesn't have to be regularly used.

I may put another smaller starboard electrical panel for engine wiring on the other side of the console and also put the NMEA2000 backbone there

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Mar 15th, '22, 13:42

The thought with putting the key up high is to keep the kids from playing with it. I catch my great nephews working all the switches and buttons! Keep the kill feature of the switch, but replace the long red lanyard with something short. Install something like this..makes more sense anyway if you are running around the boat fishing, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/FELL-Marine-Wire ... B075MMHYMK

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Mar 15th, '22, 13:42

Yes! nice windows!

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 18th, '22, 19:31

It was warm tonight so I did some planning and cutting

I cut out the dash opening for my 2 displays, I then set up a center line on the lower portion and a line on 1/3 and another on 2/3rds. A keen eye can see that the displays are not perfectly even, there is some play in the holes, I will need to spend a little time to make sure they both are the same when they are screwed in.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/b57hLRQo4XXhoCKE6

I may have gone overboard on glassing in the dash, the thick portion is on the outside
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjB3fLPcfeH5ze236

I may have to shift down the switches - the Suzuki gauge is 4.13" square. I have the opening for the switches tight to the switches so there is 3/8"-1/2" I can shift down and still cover the hole with the covering plate.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Urnors84CDJCV24b6

I'm not sure I like the layout with the helm and throttle on the 1/3rd marks
https://photos.app.goo.gl/U6L1hsMQyYyEaWmC8

I made a mark 1/2 way between 1/3 and 1/2 and put the shifter on the 2/3rds line and like that and I am going to sleep on it a bit before doing any drilling.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Vg5YDxcn8oSzrSE99

PeterPalmieri · Post by **PeterPalmieri** » Mar 19th, '22, 12:46

Personally I’d go in the center, the layout is nicer and you will stay dry, allowing a passenger on either side one cheek on the leaning post.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 21st, '22, 07:21

I agree that it looks better with the items more towards the center, ideally it should be shoulder length apart, left hand on outside of the wheel right hand on the throttle neither overly extended.

Something in my crazy brain says that it has to be on some type of mathematical number but I may just go after what feels right making sure that the items are evenly spaced off the center line.

I didn't get much else done, my honey-do list is extensive, in the rain sat I tore apart our downstairs 1/2 bath floor and put down durock, sunday I tiled the floor.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Mar 21st, '22, 07:52

here's a pic of what will get hung off the back - someone else's boat

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nzMDgULqoKj3bbge6

I know the white painted engines are all the rage - would have been months more if I wanted one

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Mar 21st, '22, 08:42

After having waited for so long I'd even get a purple one with fuscia stripes if it was available !

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Apr 11th, '22, 07:44

we've been doing projects all around the house and I've been spending quite a bit of time there, this weekend I split working sat on the house and sunday on the boat. I didn't get too much done but I planned out a bunch of stuff and drilled out some holes

I temp installed the Radar, VHF Antenna, Horn, All-Around Light and Outrigger bases, I need to go get appropriate length bolts and later this week when it is over 60 use some goop and install for real
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mJTPoRY5fxozktFU8

I'm not sure If I want some sort of load distribution base under the bolts for the outrigger bases - That area is beefed up under with 4 layers of 1708 inside and outside of the joint from the top to the sides of the doghouse
https://photos.app.goo.gl/skh2UJdUK13vrF65A

Here's a drawing of how I was thinking about the reinforcement - black rectangles represent bolts, wavy lines are 4 extra layers of 1708 https://photos.app.goo.gl/QRcW1Jvwna8RTc4L8

Here's a pic of the extra glass - https://photos.app.goo.gl/4X2NgQYGZSkNZg2J6

An overall view with Riggers up- https://photos.app.goo.gl/YXoQKkqpmSVoijCa8

I also worked on the helm - Installed the helm on the center line of the doghouse with shifter to the right. I left the wheel up high enough on the dash that if I drive into the back of a wave and my body is thrown forward, I won't end up with the suicide knob in my gut. I am going to go out and get new bolts and try to grind off the lettering as Snipe did.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fwxib8kngKNKsuQUA

Lastly I tried to hook up the hydraulic lines to the steering helm and I must have bumped one of the fittings as it was ever so slightly distorted and I could not screw on the hose - I thought it would be a $5 part but in searching them out they go for $30 - expensive mess up on my part.

ktm_2000 · Post by **ktm_2000** » Apr 12th, '22, 07:36

Nothing picture worthy for last night's work:

1. I cut the hole for the storage compartment hatch in the starboard side of the boat - f'd up not reading the template right and drilled the starter hole outside the cut line but the flange for the hatch covers it so c'est la vie.

2. Made the hole where the switch panel installs on the main dash larger by 1/2" so I could shift the switch panel lower to leave more room for the suzuki gauge. The larger hole is covered by the flange on the switch panel which extends 1" on either side of the switches. This will make the dash layout a little bit nicer giving 3/4" between switch panel and gauge

3. In the past I made a 3/4" thick aluminum panel to receive the cleats, I drilled and tapped the holes for the stern cleats, then epoxied the panel in and glassed over it with 4 layers of 1708, faired and gelcoated. I had some ground off screws in the holes when I glassed it in but still some material got into the holes. Last night I drilled out the fiberglass where my stern cleats will go then chased each hole with a tap to get any crud out.