Cockpit Hatch removable drain channel fabrication. Attempt 2 - Boat Restoration EP083

In this episode I fabricate 3 removable cockpit hatch intermediate drain channels. This is my second attempt at fabricating these as the first ones didn't work out. This video is part of a continuing series documenting the full Renovation of a Classic 1973 Egg Harbor Sportfish boat by working nights and weekends.

[@jeffmitchell8917]

Thanks Bob please keep posting videos enjoy the progress you are making.

[@renovationsportfish1563]

Thanks, will do!

[@russellgilson4072]

Bob, your video's always impress me as I have ambitions of redoing a Chris Craft Commander interior but haven't pulled the trigger. Your wood working skills and approach to your project boat are very impressive!

[@renovationsportfish1563]

Thanks Russell. Love the Chris Crafts. Good luck with the interior project and have fun. Thanks for watching & commenting. - Bob

[@pjposton5001]

Bob, take all the time you need to get the sanding finished before the summer heat arrives. Don't blame you a bit, but we will miss you. Be sure to video the engine bed stuff though. The tank area came out so well, we will have the best-looking (and driest thanks to the drain channels) bilge on the river in "our" boat. Thanks for the episode and we'll be waiting for the next visit. Jerry

[@renovationsportfish1563]

Hi Jerry. Spent the last two days grinding/sanding fiberglass. Made a small dent in the progress and am kind of itchy. I guess I will have to get used to it. Of course I’m finding more small issues to take care of. I should be used to that by now. I’m trying to not make to much of a mess on the rest of our boat so I’m taking it slow (for now) we will see in a week from now how much patience I have to do it this way. Happy so far with the progress. Getting close to removing those beds. Take care and we will see you soon. - Bob

[@joesloan1724]

Hang in there. Only you will know where the imperfections are. Still looks fantastic.

[@renovationsportfish1563]

I will forget where they are too. Time to move on to the next challenge. - Thanks for the comment and watching the videos. - Bob

[@ronaldbitter5783]

perfect !!!!

[@renovationsportfish1563]

Thanks👍🏻

[@mastiffkevin]

Yea I think the butyl tape to seal it up is a good idea. Or if they make thin rubber weather stripping tape? That way you wouldn’t need to wrestle breaking the butyl bond when you take them out?

[@renovationsportfish1563]

I will have to look into the thin weather stripping tape and see if there is anything out there that will work. Thanks for the suggestion. - Bob

[@bigpistol2]

Why have the clearly weak point of stainless steel bits at all? The 3x layers of wood you used to make the centre piece, why not make the top 2 layers 5 or 10mm longer. Can match that "sticky out bit" with the 2x outside edges too. Then you can just cut that 5 or 10mm shape in the outer frame and epoxy it in.

[@renovationsportfish1563]

If I were doing it now I would be making the channels wider and deeper. I believe they are too small. They have already caused clearance issues with my engine hatch drip edges and have made me rethink my hinge ideas. I had many ideas of how to do the overlapping part. One similar to yours. I will be making support/attachment brackets that the wood will sit on so there should be no pressure on the stainless piece. Any suggestions/ideas for sealing the stainless piece to the perimeter channels? I want these to be removable. My current thought is a thin layer of butyl tape but I’m open to any ideas. I would like to get working on these parts this fall maybe. Thanks for commenting & watching.- Bob