1989 Sea Ray 200 BR Interior rebuild and new layout

[MikeSchinlaub]

I wouldn't try to glass over the wood with OTF. I've never tried anything like it, but it will likely interfere with the bond, maybe the chemical reaction too.

My thinking is OTF is meant to seal the wood and repel water, it would do the same to resin.

 

[TruDaddy]

I wouldn't try to glass over the wood with OTF.

I was only looking to fiberglass for potential added strength. I was hoingvto add a fishing seats mount in tge center of the engine hatch. Because of this I was goingvto add some structural supports on the under side to prevent sagging. Would this approach be enough without fiberglass over 32" span? I can paint the deck with hardened Rustoleum.

 

[Chris1956]

Your motor well needs proper ventilation, for the blower to work properly. Gas fumes are heavier than air, so make sure the "sucking" duct is under the lowest part of the bilge, usually the engine, so it can suck out the fumes.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

I was only looking to fiberglass for potential added strength. I was hoingvto add a fishing seats mount in tge center of the engine hatch. Because of this I was goingvto add some structural supports on the under side to prevent sagging. Would this approach be enough without fiberglass over 32" span? I can paint the deck with hardened Rustoleum.

I really don't think I'm qualified to help with any structural design. Especially when the consequences of failure are someone falling through into the engine bay. I usually just fix stuff like it was before.

The best I can come up with would be to offset the seat so the load is centered over a verticle support, but that could be hard if you cut the service accesses any bigger.

 

[Chris1956]

You can cover the plywood with marine vinyl. Use stainless steel staples and stretch the vinyl to make it fit nicely.

It will look much better than a crummy glass job. A good glass job will need to be sanded very smooth and then gel coated, with the right shade of color. You probably would need to spray the gel coat to get a good finish.

A good urethane topside paint like Brightside can also look pretty good. Spray is best but roll and tip isn't too shabby as well.

 

[flashback]

My for and after panels are fastened with angle brackets, easy to remove by taking a few screws out.

 

[redneck joe]

Double your plywood

 

[Lou C]

I’m getting anxiety thinking about doing a starter or God forbid a steering actuator with a set up like that. Even the oil filter if not remote will be difficult. It looks great and has a lot of seating but if you do all your own work the dog house is the easiest way to go. I have the full width bench seat but years back I re did it with a 2 piece rear seat and all panels easily removable. If I was more motivated/younger I’d convert mine to the dog house with 2 jump seats. Ironically I’m usually the only one on the boat! I could get rid of all the rear seating & add a cooler and bait cutting table with more rod holders.
What killed I/O sales are cat converter exhaust quadrupling exhaust replacement costs and designs that make it impossible to work on the engine.

 

[redneck joe]

Definitely invest in a remote oil change system and to Scott's point i tripe the size of those cut outs and make a canvas panel or aluminum slide in panel. Also, if working on the battery side you will need to remove the two batteries and inverter. To late for a removable dog house so maximize what you can.
If worried about structure strength after enlarging hole there are ways to beef it up.

 

[Chris1956]

Actually, IMO Outboards killed the I/O market due to the Maintenace required by the sterndrives. I/O blocks were cheaper due to mass production of the auto industry. Unfortunately, the OB motors had less and a lot less Maintenace requirements.

 

[Lou C]

The boat builders are definitely at fault as well, they did all they could to stuff in more seats, and features, all of which are in the way of mechanics. That made the maintenance more difficult, time consuming and expensive. You CAN design it for easy access for most things, all it takes is thought and planning and not stuffing in 'features' that sell boats to non-mechanic type people.