Seats and Floor

Seat Boxes:
The seat boxes have been wrapped in 6oz cloth, the seams were all wrapped in 8oz tape and we also applied a thin layer of epoxy+cabosil to make the fairing a little easier. I highly recommend that edges be routed if you plan on turning the corner with fiberglass, it made a huge difference between getting a great wet-out and having air pockets and bad adhesion. The next step on these is to sand them and them secure them to the floor.
Floor:
We added the 1/2" pieces of plywood to the back section of the deck, screwed and glued (epoxy+cabosil) them to the first floor section and then filled in the edges with a cabosil fillet. The aftmost section is t-shaped which provides for a channel on both the port and starboard sides, as well as a nice channel in the very back for the water to break to the scuppers. We also added some pyramid shaped blocks to the corners to help direct the water from the corners, a problem that was annoying especially when dirt settled in those areas. The flooring was then taped down with the 8oz tape and the blocks were also glassed. This section will next receive the same 24oz woven that the previous section got and we should have a nice, sealed, non-slippery deck. We have already removed all of the spongy spots, but the extra glass will seal and strengthen it.

Due to the constant hatch failures we have opted to make the bilge access hatch out of the same deck material. The cutout will get wrapped in 6oz to seal it and then sandwiched with 24oz to stiffen it.

Bow Rail Install

We have continued to work on the dash modifications by adding some more cab, sanding and priming it. The intended finish will be durabak. We also striped the durabak off of the cuddy entry way and added some filler to the panels in order to get them more even...we plan on sanding that down and top coating that (durabak vs. skin = alot of scratches, is the reason). We have also gotten the windshield glass replaced (local glass shop charged ~ $130 for installed, safety glass) and we sandblasted the frame and then took some 220 grit sandpaper and then SOS pads to it and it has come back to life...as soon as the dash is finished, we will mount it (hopefully soon). You can see the pane of glass that was missing from the original pic below. "missing" is a great word, the frame looked like some stand out boat owner beat it with a hammer and broke the glass out, as the frame is beat to hell just above that section, thanks dude.

The heat has been preventing any work during the week (100+ temperatures), and it was hot on saturday...We did decide to take on the re-install of the bow rail...which was over 24" tall when we bought the boat (notice the original height):

So we cut that down by almost 1/2, by cutting off about 50" from each bow rail side...and then shortening the posts. It is still a little higher than we would like, but if we want it shorter, we can come back to it (doubtful).

We also installed some more grab handles (24" versions) on either side of the swing back seat:

Then, we called it a day and watched the Panther's beat the NY Football Giants in our first preseason game...the new zone blocking scheme looked great...

Dash Modification

Prior to the dash work...we successfully SEA trialed the 233 over July 4th Holiday. We took her out 20+ miles with no problems...no fish either but that was ok. Top speed with 3 x 200+ lbs dudes, full tank of gas and all of the fishing gear was 36 knots in the ICW.

This weekend I made the modifcations to the Instrument Panel that were required for us to re-mount the windshield in the original position (the instrument panel we made sat too high with the electronics mounted, for the angle of the windshield). We had thought about raising the dash (where the windshield will sit) but opted to bite the bullet and cut the instrument panel down, since we were not really using the upper portion for anything other than mounting the GPS and VHF to.

So, I cut the dash about 1/4 inch below the cupholder and ripped out the original piece. Then dug the grinder out of storage and started prepping the area for some cabosil bedding. Next, I reassembled the driver's side windshield to ensure that I did not make the same mistake again and the angles worked. So I cut out a piece of luon to fit, mixed up some epoxy + cab, cut some fabric and put it in...The next day and grinded on that setup, and then attached some 1/4 round to the end to smooth it out and then did the cab, fabric & glass thing again. I actually think this will turn out better, although it sucks to grind off top coat...but that was easy enough to put on. Here is the single pic I took w/ my phone.