GA28 in Bakersfield California

[jov]

I got the collision chamber completely cut out in marine plywood. I think everything fits pretty well. I used cardboard to give myself the basic lines and then made templates out of some old OSB. It took a while to fit everything. I did the initial cut out based on template and then use my router with a strait bit to slightly shave off a little bits at a time until they fit. I had saw horses outside of the boat and kept getting in and out to do the cuts. After a while I realized a I could do the initial cut outside of the boat and then move some sawhorses into the boat to do the finally fitting. It saved me a lot of trips in and out the boat. Wish I had realized sooner because my legs were hurting from all the climbing in and out.

I figured since I already had all the stuff to cut wood out I may as well start on the rear cuddy bulkhead. I got some work done on that. I started on fitting the bulkhead and getting all the blocking cut out. I am going to try to finished that off and do all the fiberglassing and fairing for the collision chamber and rear cuddy bulkhead in one shot.

[Brian.Dixon]

Looks really great!  Will you be putting a big deck plate for access?  I recommend putting a big round plywood doubler on the bottom side of the horizontal surface (not vertical) where it's going to go ... just make it big enough for the deck plate's fasteners to go into and Bob's yer uncle!

[jov]

Yeah. I plan on putting a deck plate. I think I will cut it out after the initial fiberglassing.

[jov]

I got the aft cuddy bulkhead, doubler ,and the blocking all cut out. I used the temporary jig method in the plan. Then I used some cardboard to match the side/shelf/shear deck area. It worked out really well. Once I got it initial cut done, I fit it to the boat and used my router to do small trims until it fit perfectly. I did put saw horses in the boat so I didn't have to take the aft cuddy bulkhead in and out of the boat repeatedly. It was still pretty tiring, but it worked out.

Still need to cut the door, but I plan on doing it after I fiberglass. I am thinking of raising deck the 2 inches, but I need to think about it before I cut the door.

So far everything fits nicely. It did make a huge mess. Once I get it cleaned up I should be able to start fiberglassing and fairing.

[Brian.Dixon]

Yup ... those bulkheads are surprisingly heavy and hard to handle, especially if you end up putting them in and out while fitting.  It's all progress and looking great!

[jov]

I got all the pieces for my collision chamber fiberglassed. I also got all the blocking and the rear cuddy bulkhead fiberglassed. I didn't have room to do the doubler but I will get it fiberglassed next week. Laying it out like that made fiberglassing really easy (pic 40). The only issue is space. My plan is to cut out the door and put some fairing compound on next week. I still need to make the final decision on the door. I think I am going to raise my rear deck a 2 inches. I will need to finalize that decision before cutting the door to make sure the sill is at least 3 inches tall like the plans say.

I also bought some items for the cuddy. I got some Lumitec swivel lights and utility lights. I bought some deck plates for the collision chamber. I also a Thetford PortaPotti 365. It seems to be well constructed and thought out. I don't really want a portapotty but since I know there will occasionally be women on the boat I figured they would appreciate it.

I did spend some time looking into what outboard I will use. My rough plan right now is a 200 hp main with a 9.9 high thrust kicker, but I thought I should do my due diligence and look at all the options. So I put together a spreadsheet with outboards from Yamaha, Mercury, Suzuki, and Honda looking at weight. I included estimated weights for brackets and jack plates. I also looked at twins. Twins would be nice, but they do make weight a concern. It looks like I could probably make 90 or 115 twins work weight-wise, but I don't know if that would be enough to plane on one outboard in the event one didn't work. Having it all laid out in one spreadsheet gave me a lot to think about.

[cj8mule]

Very neat fiberglass work there!  That's a great way to save some time and effort by fiberglassing on the saw horses.  I've also faired and sanded before install 

There's been so much debate about 2 engines vs 1 main.  I'm still in the 1 engine category especially after my $1200 maintenance last week.  I use a 27' Tolman Jumbo almost weekly down here in Southern Florida.  That 200 hp Suzuki always has enough power.  If you are really going to install a kicker like a 9.9 HT yamaha, I would seriously consider a single 200 to 300 hp main.  Even if going 100 miles offshore!

I've taken the 9.9 kicker off my Tolman now that I have the Gulf Stream usually within 10 miles of my ramp and am not making the 60 mile runs. 

The most important thing is it's your boat...  Build it how you want!  And, if anyone tells you they didn't sit at the helm and make vrmmm vrmmmm sounds after getting those bulkheads installed, call them a liar.  lol

--dave

[jov]

I don't really have anything interesting for an update this week. I have been fairing the components I cut out. I was hoping to start installing the collision chamber next week, but I am not sure I will be ready. It is pretty slow going since I am mainly building after work. Plus I am wearing my body out with all that sanding, but the finished product is turning out pretty nice.

I also managed to pick up a couple for the cuddy. I got a deck plate for the collision chamber and a couple small swivel lights to use as reading lights. I also purchased a Lewmar Series 70 hatch. I debated about installing a cuddy hatch for a while but figured there may be times I don't want to walk around the pilot house but need forward access.

Thanks Dave. I hadn't considered the maintenance. I will have to think about my options more.

[Dan Boccia]

Regarding outboards:
I've installed a few Suzukis and a few Yamahas, including all the controls. The Yamahas are a lot lighter for same HP, plus you have the very attractive option of integrated electric steering/autopilot along with electric shift/throttle. The steering is silky smooth and once you use it there's no going back. No other outboard comes close to it for weight, and I think that's a critical issue for these boats.

If you go with a 200-250 hp main plus kicker, consider this: with my larger cabin, and the relatively high bow of our boats, wind pushes us around a LOT. If you are trying to get home with the kicker in an emergency with the wind blowing (let alone a squirrely sea), the 9.9 high thrust (I have the Suzuki) struggles to meet the task. I've tested it and it can work, but is on the very raw edge. Consider that the Yamaha 25 hi-thrust only weighs some 145 lb, and it's a FAR superior fit for our boats.

Furthermore, for kicker steering, the best option is Garmin Reactor 40 kicker autopilot, which controls throttle and steering with a unique and very cool handheld remote. It's the most robust versatile system I've seen yet. Only other option, if you decide to go with hydraulic steering on the main, is to install tees in the hydraulic line so you can shift over to either the kicker or main with your steering.

Definitely lots to consider. Twins are a valid option at 115-140HP, and they eliminate the hassles of what to do with the kicker steering, but it's a heavier system, slightly less fuel efficient, and if you troll for salmon frequently, you'd be better off with the Yamaha 25 high thrust, because idling the larger engines for long periods of time is hard on them.

[Brian.Dixon]

Weight on the transom is not necessarily a bad thing if you're outfitting the boat with a true live-aboard set of accommodations and all that goes with it (and anchor winch, bow thruster etc).  A little weight on the transom will help balance out the amount of weight f'w'd.

4-strokes versus long idles ... your motor oil will absorb humidity... Recommended for 4-strokes: Run the motor hot and hard at least once a day if on a multi-day trip, or do it on the way back to the dock as the last thing you do so that you put away a boat with dry motor oil in the motor.  When running hard to dehumidify the oil, it takes 20-30 minutes or so to do it.  FYI.

[Todd j]

It would be swell if the hydraulic steering to both engines as you describe was more, for lack of a better word??mainstream I guess.  When I asked to have my boat rigged that way they looked at me like I had snakes coming out of my ears.   I have a 20 hp kicker.  Suzuki with EFI, remote, and power tilt.   I would NOT want to come home with her doing the pushing.  It will, but it doesn?t do as well as I?d hoped.

[Dan Boccia]

Yeah Todd, putting the 3-way valves in the hydraulic line is definitely not mainstream. I did it myself by renting the hydraulic crimp tool from our very pleasant local hydraulic fitting shop. I'm to the point in my work as a marine systems designer/installer that I want to outfit the engines myself. It's a rare shop that will properly seal exposed plywood in thru-hulls, lay things out optimally, use correct fittings to seal the thru-hulls, and exhibit a decent level of craftsmanship.

Regarding your 20hp Suzuki kicker, that's just a regular unit, correct, not a high-thrust?
If you want to push these larger boats with smaller outboards, you really, really want high-thrust models.

Brian, I hear you about maybe wanting the weight on the transom, but despite my anchor winch, with my foam-core cabin and no head, I'm still transom heavy. If you're building the cabin from plywood, doing the anchor winch, and especially the bow thruster, then yeah, add'l weight on the transom makes sense....it's definitely a teeter-totter balancing act.

[Brian.Dixon]

... If I didn't have to work so many hours for a living, I'd be spending time redesigning the CG spreadsheet for these boats so I could do experimental layouts for people to help them optimize where their CG is.  Teeter totter balancing act is right - just a fact with boats.

[jov]

The balancing act is pretty interesting. I have been looking into anchor rollers and anchor. It is pretty amazing how much effect they can have on my estimated center of gravity because of how far forward they are.

[Todd j]

A good bowsprit and claw/Bruce riding on the bow is heavy.  Especially if it is on a pulpit(which I think is very sexy, thanks Robert).  Also I made the deck forward of the forward cuddly bulkhead 1 1/8? thick just like the sheer decks,  probably way overkill.  I do not worry about the winch pulling through it.  Fwiw I have my batteries behind the house bulkhead, inside my second station and the autopilot pump hanging on the transom.  With a 9? offset bracket and 250 hp hanging off it, I trim a bit bow down at rest according to the bottom paint. 

   I need to pull the ECM or air box from my kicker and verify it?s truly a 20.