the top got ground down to the coremat and 1 layer of 1708 went down the seam
after some fairing, the first pic shows the first attempt with the brushable gelcoat.
i did spray some after more grinding and fairing, it wet sanded and buffed out alright

the cross bracing is on the seam, in the end one guy can pick up the hatch put it on / off the boat no problem
and you can walk across it.
( i wouldn't pop in the jack lalane beta tape, grab the bullworker and do morning calisthenics up there ), but you can walk on it

the boat has baltec bulkheads and baltek fillets at the bulkheads and stringers, the deck and dash is cored with end grain balsa right
at the front of the fairing and dash were i patched in w/ divinycel, from there back nothing.

got me thinking i don't know when bi ax started being used in boat hulls, but it's clear in 1995 and as a private venture,
they were trying to build something special: bi ax, coremat, baltec, baltec fillets, some end grain and so on,
clearly laid up light and as a race boat from the get go.
then why was the single ply stuff used on 1 hatch and the forward section of the deck.

don't get me wrong, i love the boat and hope the resto upgrade work it got keeps it in the spirit of the original build
a race boat now a race boat in spirit, believe me every inch and every little detail.

pretty sure there are 2 people involved with this boat including who i bought it from here on OSO, and would be nice to hear some lay up rigging running and racing stories

and thanks for the votes of confidence so far

jeff32, i associate screen name picture w/ what they got going on, memory serves you recently got a chris cat that your gonna do a full resto on
sorry if i got that mixed up.

vintage, coming from you after the work you did on the #2 boat, that is a huge compliment and i appreciate it.

i think there's only two or three more posts before rigging starts, then it'll get updates as each part gets figured out
and some of the rigging isn't gonna be out of the box or by the book.

you are right! Got the cat in april but just got started last week end . Started stripping the cabin upholstery and carpet. Nice thing is, i have a running boat so im in no rush for the cat. Really dont have much time but what i really want is to enjoy restoring it ! Once cabin is striped and engine compartment emptied, i willseparate the deck from hull, but that damn thing is fiberglassed from inside to the hull!!! Will take a little more time to do it! Thats it!

Thats why i really like reading and looking at your tread! Luckily you seem to have many pictures!!!

keep up the great work or keep posting if you already are finished with your project!

the bolster
 

the bolster was built almost a year ago, and there was a thread on it back then, but there was some pictures left out
they'll be in this post as back then i didn't want to spill the beans on the hatch gutter extension, new firewall,
and dash work that was being done. all three had to work together and be modified so each filled it's purpose.

the original bolster was awesome and ideally set up for racing, since the resto is race boat in spirit, and there was no place to hang out
on the boat at the dock or sanbar or where ever, a new bolster / interior was needed.

the original 3 man bolster was 6 1/2 feet wide, 2 feet tall, and 3 feet deep, you could pick it up but that was about it,
"think carrying a fridge".

the new bolster was made from nida core w/ plywood perimeter, it bolts to the dash and fire wall.
the rear section "full beam" and seat backs were filled with 2 part foam like you'd put in a gas tank cavity,
then glassed over.

glueing it up

check the fit.
the center armrest goes down on the angle natural to standing and using the throttle.
it's still crawl under / hop over, the side armrests are 18 inches wide and you can sit
on them as well as walk on to get in or acess the deck.

glass it up, box in the backs.
the hi backs were trimmed down to the original bolsters height. it's been up at the upholstery shop
and the lightning bolt material was in great shape and is being re used.
the whole thing gets 2 inches of high density foam including the back rest were before there was nothing there.
there is just under 2 feet of space between the bolster and firewall to hang out etc.

there was some other mods made before the top was glassed and it went to upholstery.
throttle and shift are still in the middle, but tab buttons and steering can be moved to either side.

Awesome work. Have you decided on power/drive yet? I saw a post a couple days ago where (Lee) on here has a single ASD6 That will be available soon.

the boat was originally rigged w/ a #5 and extension box.

i would love nothing more than to put a speedmaster back on it,
or an arneson as both are primo in my book.
however with the speedy and arneson as well, power is a 496 mag ho

icededppl has a pair of #4's, someone wants the right, i'd take the left and a transom,
but w/out spacers it would have to be mounted balls on, no idea what that x would be
plus my luck says boat wants a right or needs tons of tab

so i'd need
a driveline transmission
a 496 inboard fly wheel, torque plate and top mount starter.
the block would need longer locating dowels as both require a rear offshore engine mount.
god knows what else would pop up
and the props are out of my budget especially since i wouldn't know where to start.

but i thought about it and wore out a pair of shoes pacing out the pro's and cons

i stopped working on boats back when the bravo first came out, my only experience with them is
they break, if you say bravo drive it breaks if you look at it or touch it, busted.

transmission boat is best, but NLA parts are held for a kings ransom

i'll say it, the hope is the boat will crack 70, but if it only went 60-65 w/ a speedmaster on it i'd be way happier
and then theres the cool factor which adds 10 mph, 20 when it's on the trailer and people can see it

Many years ago, a mate of mine wet sanded the lower of his bravo back to bare metal and ran it like that. To the uneducated, it looked really cool, like "something off a race boat" and to those who knew about it, he maintained it picked up 1-2 mph over a painted Bravo.... :). Win : Win....?

Great looking resto, thanks for posting.

RR

the hatch gutter extension and firewall
 

like it was mentioned , earlier on the boat had 2 hatches. the extra hatch gutter was cut off and cut down to the needed length.

the deck changes angles as it goes forward, simply put from the side it's like a boat coming up on plane,
the deck from the transom to the front of the original engine hatch is coming out of the hole, then the deck from there forward
is like coming over the hump and on plane; if that makes sense ?

the change in angle is only a few dgrees but it's there and had to be delt with since the hatch needed to be straight.

first picture is how i got it.
second pic is a good example of whats going on, the blue tape shows the original hatch over the cockpit and the rear of the original bolster.
at this point the extension was just getting fitted

a repeat pic for the first, but it's how it got bonded in place.
so i cut a pair of shims from 3/4 marine ply, they were around 12 inches long 3/8 in front and 1/4 in the rear (in height), with just a little trimming for width.

the deck was ground the original hatch gutter was trimmed and everything fit nice so it got bonded on/down
put a layer of 1708 on the deck then the shim then another layer of 1708 then the extension piece.

from the first pic it's got that flap that is on top of the shim, well underneath and down the seam 1708 went on but because the boat also gets a little wider
it turned into that u shaped pieces, thats the back side of the gutter and the combing wall in the cockpit

the original extra gutter had wood in it that was bare so it stayed and made up the joint for the fire wall
bonding it in with 2 layers of 1708 front, back and top where it mates up to the extension.

the new firewall is bonded in all the way up and around where the pvc pipe goes that holds the rigging

I have to say, your glass work and layout/engineering is awesome.
makes me want to do another one myself.

glassing down the top, i have to re post this pic again, if you look close at the 1st pic you can see what looks like a stress crack in the fairing.
what it turned out to be was a little tail section bonded on to make the fairing go all the back to the original engine hatch.

this was a mistake for me, if more time was spent snooping around i would have found that out and just removed the tails instead of were it got cut.

so glassing it down theres about 9 layers of 1708, i did it like patching a hole, the first layer is on the deck and runs up and onto the
extension that was ground down towards the back.
the other 8 layers or stack get shorter as you add them. then some cabosil gets slooped on and the whole stack gets put in place

the deck was masked off with wax paper and after the stack gets set the wax paper was pulled over it then it got sqee gee'd down and shaped
the mess came out the back and just got wiped up right away

the fire wall is 1/2 divinycell h80 w/ 1708 on the engine side and mat on the cockpit side so it matches the original look,
it's also on hinges w/ quick pins so it's removable
so from this to this

thank you, but i expect it to come apart like the minnow did after it was patched w/ mary anns pancake batter that the castaways thought was an adhesive.

I see a nice place for air intakes

right, and if those holes weren't cut i wouldn't be under the gun to pop em off that mold, or round 2 of the duct mold anyway

Definitely a 26 /8 0ld Monza hull from Keith Eckhard from Fort Lauderdale back in the early 70s. I think that was his last name. Could never get any information out of Brownie of who designed the hull. To me it had way to many similarities to a 24 Cigarette hull not to come from it.
.i never thought it was a great design,too much rocker, but supposedly it was the bottom copied for the 28!Apachie .

when you were making boats from the monza molds what power and drive did you use ?
what years, materials and schedule ?
pictures

i agree it's not the best design for all out speed,
the strakes end around 8 feet from the transom, and they end soft and rounded

which is fine for me the design probably runs out of bottom around the speeds i'm looking for
but there is no rocker, more like a 1/16 hook from chine to chine in a little more than 12 inches
and it's very consistent all the way across. pretty straight up to that point.
(maybe it's just screwed up)

wish it did have a rocker, the bottom as i see it w/ the 6 foot straight edge played a role in the speedmaster decision

belly and floor
 

in the first 2 pics you can see how the floor goes thru the dash and the notch cut out by the filler neck
and the rear you can see how the floor is stepped.

the boat had a transmission engine and driveline, but the engine room was bravo length, so the gas tank was moved forward
something like 10 - 11 inches, this caused the front bulkhead to be moved forward (out of align with the rest of that section)
which is the dash.
the rear bulkhead which was the firewall like i said was stepped. pics 3 and 4 show both

turns out the only section of the hull that is cored was under the tank, a 112 gallon behemoth.
the foam was dry the tank was externally in very good condition, inside there was some liquid, thick dark and stinky
but it was too big to fit into the planned work
i used a 2 1/8 hole saw and openend all the drains under the floor, everything was dry except the first winglet next to the gas filler neck from the previous post. there was plenty of baltec laying around from opening up the dash so it got replaced with it.

best thing about opening up the floor pulling the tank and drain holes is simple, it's dry and i know it.
the drains got wrapped in 1708 scuffed and brushed w/ 610 same as the engine room post.

new battery trays and bilge pump platform, then the bulkheads got scribe cut to fit and bedded down using 1708 and cabosil
they got glassed and tabbed in and i layed some 1708 up the belly overlapping like roof shingles , the trays got bedded down on 1708
and tabbed in immediately after the bulkheads. that was a long day
since the dash bulkhead in the belly got moved back in line, the center stringers had to be added to as well.

the edges of the remaining original floor and the winglets were all rounded off and wrapped with 1708 to keep them dry
the underside of the original floor got painted also

i made a board that fit in there and glassed the bottom of it.. the board and belly got 2 coats of paint.
the edges of the board was scribe cut to fit the boat real good,

the paint is held back so it doesn't interfer bedding it down
a spline (ply and 2x4 ) was screwed to the top of the bellyboard to hold it straight, and after it was bedded down with 1708
and cabosil, left to cure for a couple days the spline was pulled and those 3 screw holes filled.

so the belly under the board and the bottom of the bellyboard have extra glass and are painted since there is drainage underneath
and just because no one will ever see it, doesn't mean it shouldn't look nice.

the belly board was layed out and glassed down with a gutter lengthwise down the middle for a water drain
you can see it in the 3rd pic, the 2nd layer of tabbing covered it and when it dried it was scuffed and i swiped 610 down it to make it smooth.

the new gas tank gets bolted in place, no foam. fortunately i got some good advice as to it's contruction, some other mods
and best probable way to mount it.
the space is 62 x 34, height can be 10 inches and still clear the angle so hopefully that will yeild at least 1/2 the original amount.
it will sit on some rubber strips that go side to side but not on the gutter, this way the water that gets in there should drain.

the floor opens up and is supported by 3 inch aluminum angle. 4 pieces of angle are bolted to the bulkheads w/ 5200
and 1/4 inch aluminum backing plates that were made using a hole saw.
the floor supports are bolted to those and are removeable.

the floor is 1/2 inch marine ply covered and wrapped in mat and have twist locks to hold them closed.
when you stand in the bolster your feet are on the stringer and the angle so it's plenty strong.

the whole idea of the removable floor, bolted in tank, overkill on the drains and sealing them and everything else is simple,
the boat should never need to be cut open again.
i can wash rinse and vac out every compartment of the boat and verify those compartments,.

almost forgot, since the floor is 1/2 inch i hole sawed 4 pieces of 3/4 and bonded them into the floor so the take apart
hinges would be flush, you can see 1 of them in the last pic.

Looks great Dan!

thanks dan.
i picked up a digital 2 foot level w/ a horizontal and vertical laser, as well as a small cubed shaped digital angle finder.
but i think the water level from chine to chine with some braided fishing line pulled down the keel and
a plumb bob is gonna solve finding center and locating X.

the most important hole you'l ever cut
 

locate center and X.
the boat is on the trailer, trailer is pretty close to level and there is 3 jackstands, 1 under the trailer up front
and 2 on the chines to tweak level 5/16 i.d. hose is attached to the rear jacks and is used as a water level.
a line is pulled down the keel and a plumb bob is dropped to locate dead center.

finding X was a fiasco and theres a thread in general discussion how the math had me going koo koo.
well it got even better, i used a digital level to draw the big plus sign on the transom and all it did was screw me up
so i went back to water level plumb bob and straight edge to remark.
2 or 3 day fiasco by this point

the paper template got a thin coat of elmers wood glue and was sqee gee'd on the transom and taped off.
then the cut was razored out and marked, follwed by center punching the bolt holes.

the jig got bolted up and was used only for the 8 bolt holes.
some one tell me how 2 mercury part numbered items that are supposed to do the same job not line up balls on

after the holes got drilled peel off the template and cut the hole.

what did you use to cut the hole, looks nice

the patch and cutout
 

as mentioned the boat had a #5 drive on it and the original owner patched the transom.
in the first pic you can see the #5 patch is outlined in pencil and the bravo is as well.

heres the deal, the bravo hole bottom is in virgin transom and the top is in the patch
the patch is bulged out 1/16 inside the boat, and is how i was able to trace it.

the transition can be clearly seen in the above posts pics of the hole.

i can see what i have to do to as far as making the inside flush for installing the transom assembly
but i'm not sure if the patch needs redone.

plan would be route out remaining #5 patch plus 3 inches on sides and top, but only to 7/8 depth
using new bravo bolt holes to hold the new ply in place until mat cured. then 1708 back up to thickness
out 3 inches past new ply.

steve told me the patch is good to go, will work no problem, and he is a professional glass guy and boat builder
so i believe him but if it rips out the boat will go down like 2 dollar tijuana you know what.

would really like to hear some opinions and get some advice.

f2 thank you, i used a hole saw to help out the corners and a sawzall to cut it.
started sanding it so it can get glassed and look nice

nice work! patience is key!

i responded in your other post also that got me over here reading this post. I wish I would have stumbled onto it sooner as I could have probably got you some ssm stuff on the cheap. But it’s alittle late now.

It may sound silly but before you go too far glassing the transom cutout up make sure your transom assembly fits well. Every boat I’ve ever cut out I’ve always had to sand and finesse some esp around the bottom 2 holes. I’d hate to see you glass it in perfect just to grind some back out.

By the way great job on the project. I like seeing someone going all out like that.

thank you, i appreciate the advice
yes the transom cut out isn't perfectly square, even with a new blade going, slow and trying hard the blade still
walked around on the inside
but in a good way, to tight rather than way opened up. it'll get squared off from the inside before it gets glass.

i have an idea to measure from the transom to the drive mounting face on both sides and holding it still w/ some shims
so 2 plumb bobs can get dropped off the drive mounting studs and measured for distance from a line pulled down the keel.
this way if the hole and stud holes need tweaking to keep the leading edge of the drive in line with the keel it can also happen
prior to glassing the cutout

engine room wrap up (almost)
 

the original firewall like a few other things that needed something done finally got the executive decision.

the multi tool is probably one of the best tools you can buy !
it filet'd the tabbing, fillets and what was left of the original firewall off like nothing.
the stringers got cut down ( i would never thought about them interfering with water distribution tubes, spark plugs etc)
that was another good call by class 6.

i made a jig to route out the transom and another one for the patch, last minute they got extended 3 inches.
not as nice as planned but it worked.
the transom was routed out and a patch made, the patch extends "past the original patch" into virgin transom
by 2 1/4 in the middle of the cutout, 3 1/2 inches just above that and 7 inches on top.

the original patch, no way it would have held up, i'm a little disappointed by how it was done but at least the hard and
dirty part of prepping it is over,

the bottom of the transom assy is in virgin transom, so that portion was left untouched.

next week the weather will be back up in the 70's so after the patch gets glassed in those pics will get posted
then maybe then it can start getting assembled