AJ's SR4 refurb

[AJ.]

The gel coat was then sanded back and the transom was polished and waxed

[AJ.]

More sanding but this time inside the boat on the deck mouldings its amazing how your body especially your arms and fingers and mind gets accustomed to repetitive movement my brain was pretty much in autopilot it was the only way to cope with the monotony of this work most evenings

[AJ.]

Next job was to remove all the deck brackets some had gone rusty and as I was not planning on blocking the hull I saw this as a risk with water ingress in the future. As they were not needed they all came out to make sure it was water tight.

The holes were then filled and covered over with gel coat

[AJ.]

The transom ply was then attached

[AJ.]

As the transom was now finished it was ready for the engine, this was a huge milestone as the SR was beginning to look like a boat again since starting the project on the 18th August the engine was hung on 18th December (exactly 4 months to the day) with the help of MattH

[AJ.]

Next job was to sort the console. This console is not a standard SR console it is actually made by Outhill. I did think about whether I wanted an original console but liked the idea of dry storage and the seating position is more to my liking than the original SR consoles.

[AJ.]

It was pretty mouldy in side the console

So after raiding Mrs AJ utility room the HG mould remover was used which brought it up a treat

[AJ.]

The console was in good condition there were some very small spider stress cracks around some of the corners. So I decided to add some strength to the whole thing

My plan was to add some dials to the console and a compass so I was conscience that this would weaken this area, so I had an off cut off ply which I cut to size

[AJ.]

I bought some Biaxial cloth from East Coast Fibreglass who again were really helpful over the phone and recommended this for the job.

I roughed up the original fibreglass and using the West Systems Epoxy began to line the inside of the console

The cloth was overlapped to strengthen any corners and every cm was covered in cloth and epoxy resin. The piece of marine ply was then covered in epoxy resin and glued into place with Sika

[AJ.]

I had already spent a huge amount of time on this boat and although the sense of achievement was great I knew I would not want to do another refurb to this level again. I have huge admiration for people who do this for a living and maybe with better tools this could have made my life easier. So when it came to the fit out I wanted to go to town and no expense would be spared.

I decided to fit non feed back steering which I sourced from BHG marine its a bit pricier but worth it not having to battle with the steering wheel all the time.

[AJ.]

I then decided what gauges I wanted and possible enhancements in the future. Trawling the net Keith at Northern Powerboats in Sheffield gave me a great deal on new quicksilver gauges and a mercury control box. Once they arrived I drew round the gauges and switches to decide on the layout and began cutting the holes in the console. I hated this bit one slip with the cutting discs would ruin the console.

Rev Counter
Compass
Trim gauge
fuel gauge
and drilling the carling switches

[AJ.]

Console finished, I was really pleased how it looked

[AJ.]

Then my first mistake in the project happened, having checked over the outboard I realised it didn't have a trim sender……Doh , I now have a hole that I don't need. Thankfully after a bit of head scratching I thought I would order a hour gauge and hope and pray it will fit in the hole. Which it did.

[AJ.]

The inside of the console was a bit rough so I sanded the epoxy back to get a smoother surface and then decided I wanted the inside of the console to match the rest of the boat (you can never have enough orange) and tidy it up. So back on the phone with East Coast fibreglass and I ordered a tub of flow coat.

[AJ.]

Garmin 451S was then fitted to the console and a hole drilled for the cables, due to the flex angle in the cables the hole had to go on the front of the console

Perko fuel cap was added

[AJ.]

Why was a Perko fuel cap added on a SR4…….

Well I had decided with this console to add a fixed fuel tank having spent a lot of time googling I came across a company called Tek Tanks in the UK. They produce fuel tanks and water tanks in the marine industry. Having looked at all the different shapes and sizes there was one that would fit perfectly to the dimensions of the inside of the console. This would mean I would not have to faff around with multiple tanks and change over valves as the tank holds 53 litres. So I ordered it and as an optional extra they could fit a Wema fuel sender which I went for.

[AJ.]

As I said perfect (snug) fit with the battery box and the Racor fuel filter inside the console rather than having it on the transom to keep the boat looking tidy and clear. I also purchased a new Numax marine battery

[AJ.]

Now this is probably where I go a bit overboard but I copied my fuse box from my Ribcraft and produced a smaller version using an isolation switch instead of the removable key

[AJ.]

At last the fun bit, time for the fit out.

I purchased Quicksilver Platinum throttle and gear cables as they had great reviews for being very smooth to operate.

I laid out all the cables, battery cables to work out the lengths I would need and a test fit for the fuel tank and battery box etc.

[AJ.]

Garmin Transducer was fitted inside the flooding hull on a bed off marine silicone