My project boat - Page 4

pathalla · 17 March 2007, 01:52

I had a fairly long 12 inch wide piece of 3/8 inch aluminum plate that I picked up last fall and that is what we are cutting. First a piece 12 by 20 for the front of the trailer, that will be mounted under the tool box which is the same width. Second, a piece 17 by 12 by 19 will be cut, I will be bolting or welding the winch stand to this if I keep it, I may not, I think I found a better solution at the Scrapyard, imagine that! This piece will span the two main I beams of the trailer, it will make it all much sturdier. First picture is of John (the ladies love this guy!) in front of Farasey's burning machine after he made the initial cuts, this piece of machinery can burn through some seriously thick shit! Following photos show the three pieces cut, a shelf, the plate for under the tool box and the plate for under the winch stand. I set these two pieces on the trailer to show how it will all look, I think it will be a lot better than the factory setup. I am pleased!

jyasaki · 20 March 2007, 17:07

Looking good, Pat.

Any idea what your toolbox came off of? Looks like a nice addition.

jky

pathalla · 22 March 2007, 01:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Looking good, Pat.

Any idea what your toolbox came off of? Looks like a nice addition.

jky

It is off a piece of food processing equipment apparently, it has worked perfectly for the application in mind, I have had a lot of luck working on this boat, this is one of those instances. I through bolted the box, aluminum plate and trailer, somehow I tweaked one of the main beams of the trailer at the tongue, I needed something stiff to straighten it hence the plate. Pics of some of the things I am doing... First the plate as I am drilling and mounting it to check and see that all the holes line up, a picture of the cheesy brackets they use to hold the trailer together, the main beams on the trailer are heavy duty, why the light brackets? I'll change a few of these... then a picture of the toolbox permanently installed, worked out great, finally a shot of a bunch of stuff I threw in it to see if it was big enough, it will work out o.k.

pathalla · 22 March 2007, 02:11

While the winch bracket on the trailer is pretty good I was never really happy with it's setup, The plate the winch is bolted to is narrower than the winch itself, I also had to offset the winch after I bought the boat and trailer, it wasn't lined up right. The winch itself is mounted too high for the boat I have so I will be changing that. The main safety chain for the boat and the bow guide bumper (Y) is currenty bolted to the winch stand, I will change all that. The safety chain will be bolted to the main frame of the trailer and the guide bumper as well. I will probably go to the Scrapyard tomorrow to find a better winch stand or bracket, I'll update the thread tomorrow if I find something good, I'm thinking I will!
Oh, forgot about the pictures, shot one winch stand, shot two, line shows how much excess height the stand has, it actually needs to be cut about three inches below the blue line, shot three base plate for winch stand bolted to trailer, nice and robust...I used oval head cap screws on this, lots of times I climb on the trailer when I am hauling it out by myself, these insure no stubbed toes when barefoot. Oh and shot three, a big box, can you guess what's inside?

narked · 22 March 2007, 12:58

Impressive machine you got there mate. Those seats look pretty cool!

Keep us informed!

pathalla · 22 March 2007, 14:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by narked

Impressive machine you got there mate. Those seats look pretty cool!

Keep us informed!

thanks for the compliment, a lot of work but it is it's own reward. I'll keep updating this thread as I go, it may be someone else can use the information for something they are working on or suggest a better solution/approach regarding what I am doing.

jyasaki · 22 March 2007, 17:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathalla

Oh and shot three, a big box, can you guess what's inside?

Don't know, but whoever did the packaging could have used stouter material...

And what's the folded piece of hypalon in the background in the first winch pic?

jky

Dave Berry · 22 March 2007, 17:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathalla

Oh and shot three, a big box, can you guess what's inside?

Hmmmm? Was it supplied by dd?

pathalla · 23 March 2007, 01:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Don't know, but whoever did the packaging could have used stouter material...

And what's the folded piece of hypalon in the background in the first winch pic?

jky

Well John, that is one of those quality Zodiac futuras made out of strongan I believe it is called, it is coming apart everywhere, they should of stuck to hypalon, a friend gave it to me.

pathalla · 23 March 2007, 01:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Berry

Hmmmm? Was it supplied by dd?

Yes it was....

Mugshot · 23 March 2007, 15:54

Pat I cant believe how much metal you're bolting to that trailer and boat, War Machine is certainly going to be built like a tank ,the whole rig is looking phenominal!!

pathalla · 24 March 2007, 03:37

thanks for the compliment, the trailer really needs a few things corrected. As you are aware, manufacturers build these things to fit a variety of craft, I am trying to make the general arrangement a little more specific, fortunately I have a mountain of scrap metal about two miles from my house, makes it quite a bit easier...

pathalla · 26 March 2007, 01:36

Just a few things done today, helped a buddy install a new cd player,amp and cd changer in his boat this afternoon. I gave the trailer receiver rail a quickie blast of cheap paint and polished the scrapyard grab rail acquisition. Tomorrow I will sandblast the grabrail and possibly clear coat it if I get time, really nice weather today!

pathalla · 28 March 2007, 01:55

Somehow I forgot all the lessons learned previously when painting, I sprayed the trailer coupler and that wasn't so bad... then I sprayed the bow post and couldn't understand why so much paint was coming out and why in hell was it running? DUHHH!!! I was using the air ratchet the day before and forgot to lower the pressure setting on the regulator. Consequently I was painting with 125 psi! That is what happens when you are in a hurry after work on a nice spring day, mistakes. Anyhow it is tolerable to look at and I have much to do so it stays as it is for the time being. Pics of the coupler and the post. All for now, still have not decided exactly how I will set up the winch, still pondering....
Boat will get some bottom paint this year, that'll be fun...

pathalla · 01 April 2007, 01:56

As usual, once I start working stuff is everywhere, I decided to use my old winch stand for this year until I find what I want so I whacked it off and bolted it down, seems pretty sturdy, alot better than the u bolts it used to have. I will have a plate welded on top and see how it works out.
I decided to drill my anchor bracket and mount a lock, I really like this aluminum anchor and I don't want someone to be tempted over the scrap value! This will keep the honest people honest.

pathalla · 01 April 2007, 02:12

I replaced quite a few bolts on the trailer today, although I don't haul very far once the season starts I had some fasteners that were pretty bad. Part of the problem was the small diameter, I don't understand why the manufacturer would scrimp in this area as the additional expense for a larger bolt shouldn't amount to too much. pictures of the bolts, aren't they great? Finally I mounted the new grab rail, I tried to center this but actually had to offset it a little as there were some holes in the console from a previous installation prior to my owning the boat. Whoever mounted the rail that was previously installed couldn't measure too well, the holes were way off. I will fill these with some caulk and next fall weld them shut.

Hightower · 01 April 2007, 11:03

Is that Anchor on the trailer used as emergancy breaking incase it becomes un-hitched

codprawn · 01 April 2007, 16:19

When do you think it will all be finished? I want to see that beast on the water!!!

pathalla · 02 April 2007, 01:26

Unfortunately I am shooting for late May, I do not anticipate doing any further improvements to the boat after that, it should be complete, at least as far as I am going to take it. Two things are going to slow me down, the new radar arch (sourcing a new fabricator, Tim is busy right now) and removing the entire console assembly, that is a bit of a job.

pathalla · 02 April 2007, 01:50

Broke out the buffer Saturday and polished up the bow cleat, it had some serious machining marks, took care of that, I also added one of those neat little Ronstan utility hangers to the post to hold the anchor line, to those of you who have never used one of these, this is a great little piece of hardware! All you need is some thin bungee cord an one of these little hangers and loose dock lines or any other type of cord lying on deck is history. The great thing about these is they are quite small, secured with two screws and do exactly what they are supposed to, hold line. Pic of the seat covers I bought on Ebay, a little small but they will work, want do you want for $45 bucks?