Instrument re-vamp

[S/V AMITY]

  Pulled the old '80's Raymarine gauges out.  Will fiberglass the openings closed in the next week or so.  In that area will be a Raymarine 3 in 1 MFD.  May also move the engine steam gauges up there as well.  Where they are located now next to the cockpit sole is ridiculous. 

[Jordan]

  Pulled the old '80's Raymarine gauges out.  Will fiberglass the openings closed in the next week or so.  In that area will be a Raymarine 3 in 1 MFD.  May also move the engine steam gauges up there as well.  Where they are located now next to the cockpit sole is ridiculous.

What are you using to fiberglass the openings? That is slated to be my first fiberglassing project. I learned pretty quickly that glass with a big weave does not work very well on these small repairs. I did get a little starter kit from sailorman, and that cloth seems like it would work better.

[S/V AMITY]

  The openings will be eliminated with layers of chop-strand mat (CSM) and polyester laminating resin.

  If you are new to glassing this video series from boatworkstoday is highly recommended.  See:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9hfpOCnzEs .

[SVJourney]

+1 on watching Andy on Boatworks Today.  Takes some time to watch them all but he goes in depth on fiberglass repair.  Makes it easy. 

[SVJourney]

  Pulled the old '80's Raymarine gauges out.  Will fiberglass the openings closed in the next week or so.  In that area will be a Raymarine 3 in 1 MFD.  May also move the engine steam gauges up there as well.  Where they are located now next to the cockpit sole is ridiculous.

Christ that is one spendy instrument.  I hope you got a better deal than what West Marine charges for it.  https://www.westmarine.com/buy/raymarine--i70-system-pack-with-wind-depth-speed-transducers--15560824
Looks like a sweet piece of gear though!

[S/V AMITY]

We'll be using i70s tied to my existing wind, depth & speed sensors... ~ $400.  This will be a duplicate read-out since we also have that info. on the pod (Raymarine 12" Axiom+).

[Jordan]

Yeah, I've watched Andy multiple times, just hoping to find something about this woven nonsense, and whether it can be salvaged for this project. It doesn't look like it, plus I'll need to order some CSM.

[S/V AMITY]

Closing up the bulkhead.  Should be able to get the final fairing & gelcoat on by this coming weekend.  Slave MFD and engine panel will go in this location.

[S/V AMITY]

Engine panel out.  For now will be blanking the cutout with 1/4" starboard.  Down the line sometime will fiberglass the opening closed. 

[S/V AMITY]

  First rough fairing done with chopped glass in thickened laminating polyester.  Will gelcoat this weekend for final sanding/fairing.  Not going to attempt to colour-match the final gelcoat since the cockpit will be painted with Alexseal this fall or next spring.

[S/V AMITY]

Second to last gelcoating prior to final fairing.  Also, removed engine instrument cluster enclosure from galley bulkhead.

[S/V AMITY]

Panel wiring snaked through to galley cupboard.  Gelcoated interior of the cupboard.  Original glass in there was a bit sticky since the original lay-up was done with laminating resin which never fully cures unless gelcoat or PVA is applied.

[Jordan]

You know, I was trying to figure out how to cure the interior when I fix those instrument holes. I was actually going to spray some PVA on a piece of PVC board and use that as backing while I lay it up from the cockpit. But now that I think about it, I really like the idea of painting the interior of that cupboard. Plus that would allow me to put another layer of CSM on the back side. I do have white gelcoat with wax.

I know you used chopped strand in your resin, and I think my understanding is correct that it's essentially a way to easily get enough support for this location without needing to layer the glass, right? Almost like a badass fairing compound. I finally got some CSM, so I'm thinking of trying to do it like Andy does.

Oh, but I did realize I should take out the depth sounder when sanding. Got a bit close and scuffed up the cover of my Hawkeye.

[S/V AMITY]

   Got the engine panel re-wired in its new location.  Still have to cut the new panel opening but will delay that to next spring.  Starboard block-out of the old panel location butyl-taped and installed.

[Dale Tanski]

It is a lot of work filling those holes and getting it smooth so it looks nice.  Nice job!
Dale