Seat Boxes

The seat boxes are almost ready for outside glassing. They are made out of 1/2" ply with backing strips in the corners and titebond everywhere wood touches wood. There is a 3/4" ply backing plate on the topside where the seats will be mounted. The longer sections are side wall covers and will be glassed into the cuddy and attached to the floor. The inside has been epoxy painted and will eventually get some type of top coat applied.
The hatch holes, speakers, and radio have all been cut. The inside of the box compartments have been fiber glassed and all of the edges have been routed to make the tape transition smoother.

Durabak Removal - Interior Do-Over

I don't have any pics this week, but we are updating the formula's interior significantly after fishing her for two years. The current list of projects include the

• removal of ALL of the Durabak non-skid from the interior (floor, side walls, gunnels, etc.)
• adding a sheet of 1/2" ply to the aft flooring to stiffen it up,
• changing the hatch configuration because of failures (heavy feet have busted two hatches),
• constructing some seat boxes to mount the chairs to and to provide dry storage and radio housing and we are reworking the side wall covers, which will be integrated into the seat boxes. I will post pictures of the build out and the finished products.
  
  Not to beat a product, but I would warn anyone thinking about using this on the interior of your boat, to think long and hard. The drawbacks that we have encountered have included:
  
• adhesion - the consistency of the product's adhesion has been extremely lacking. It has adhered very well in some areas, not so well in others and has simply peeled and flaked off since it was applied. This could, could be due to surface prep., although I doubt it, and think it is more related to surface structure. Painted surfaces have been more successful, epoxy fiberglass has proven to cause failure.
• application - once you crack a can of durabak, be prepared to apply ALL of it right then. The pot life on the product requires you to apply it once it is opened.
• dirt attraction - it is hard to clean. blood stains it, rust stains it, hell leaves have stained it.
• color matching - do not count on getting the same product from the company if you order multiple batches. The first order came as expected (gray) the second order came 1 part dark gray, one part white...they instructed us to mix and match....which would be okay if we were not trying to match to previously applied top-sided material...not to mention the pot life issue I already talked about.
• removal - if you do think that you will modify an area that is a candidate for this non-skid...IF it does adhere it is a B*tch to remove...Stripease will break it down, but plan on spending some time with a wire brush extension in a grinder.

There are some positives to the product, where it has correctly adhered it is a hell of a non-skid...you will not slip on it...if you do, break out the peroxide and neosporin.