mcmxi
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Sometimes you have to go backwards in order to go forwards. I've been trying to keep that front and center in my head this past week or so.
It's been decades since I worked with fiberglass, but about a week ago I started on another upgrade on my boat. For whatever reason, Robalo decided to recess the center section of the console dashboard (for want of a better word). This might be attractive to some but it limits the owner in terms of upgrading displays, gauges or other dash mounted electronics. I decided that I'd convert the console to a larger flat surface to offer more real estate for upgrades such as dual GPSMAP displays. This of course means that I'd need to fill the recessed center section.
Here's the console when I bought the boat.
The first step was to remove everything from the dash. I added a jack plate gauge and trim tab controller a while back, and those holes can be seen in the photo below. It was disappointing to see how little care was taken by Robalo when cutting the holes for the fuse panels/switches, guages, GPS and radio. The two holes I added were sized correctly and cut carefully with minimal clearance around whatever is installed. This is one of the problems with mass-produced, middle tier boats. There's little attention to detail, but I've never looked at a high-end boat so maybe it's not just the sub $100K market.
Step two was to grind off the gelcoat on both sides and bevel the holes on the backside to lock the layers on the front to the rear surface. The wood fillers are there in the photo taken from the front side because those holes don't need to be filled since new holes for a 10" GPSMAP and audio controller will eliminate them.
After partially filling in the holes that need to be filled from the backside, I began to add layers of CSM and Bi-axial mat on the front side to build up the center, and then added some layers across the entire console. The patchy appearance is due to my using an orbital sander to eliminate any surface imperfections that won't be easily fixed with fairing compound.
I'll use a colloidal filler/resin mix to fill up the holes from the backside then add a couple of layers of CFM. After that I'll apply layers of gel coat over the front and back sides once I'm happy with the flatness of both surfaces. The front surface is already flat enough but I'll be fine tuning it and might even add one more layer of CSM to improve the finish.
More to come.
It's been decades since I worked with fiberglass, but about a week ago I started on another upgrade on my boat. For whatever reason, Robalo decided to recess the center section of the console dashboard (for want of a better word). This might be attractive to some but it limits the owner in terms of upgrading displays, gauges or other dash mounted electronics. I decided that I'd convert the console to a larger flat surface to offer more real estate for upgrades such as dual GPSMAP displays. This of course means that I'd need to fill the recessed center section.
Here's the console when I bought the boat.
The first step was to remove everything from the dash. I added a jack plate gauge and trim tab controller a while back, and those holes can be seen in the photo below. It was disappointing to see how little care was taken by Robalo when cutting the holes for the fuse panels/switches, guages, GPS and radio. The two holes I added were sized correctly and cut carefully with minimal clearance around whatever is installed. This is one of the problems with mass-produced, middle tier boats. There's little attention to detail, but I've never looked at a high-end boat so maybe it's not just the sub $100K market.
Step two was to grind off the gelcoat on both sides and bevel the holes on the backside to lock the layers on the front to the rear surface. The wood fillers are there in the photo taken from the front side because those holes don't need to be filled since new holes for a 10" GPSMAP and audio controller will eliminate them.
After partially filling in the holes that need to be filled from the backside, I began to add layers of CSM and Bi-axial mat on the front side to build up the center, and then added some layers across the entire console. The patchy appearance is due to my using an orbital sander to eliminate any surface imperfections that won't be easily fixed with fairing compound.
I'll use a colloidal filler/resin mix to fill up the holes from the backside then add a couple of layers of CFM. After that I'll apply layers of gel coat over the front and back sides once I'm happy with the flatness of both surfaces. The front surface is already flat enough but I'll be fine tuning it and might even add one more layer of CSM to improve the finish.
More to come.
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