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.