Badbaggers SeaArk 1872 Modification & Restoration Project

[Country Dave]

Hey Dave, going to toss that sucker in the trash lmao and thanks for the compliments. Still a LOT of work to do.

Yeh man its top tear for sure,

Something to be very proud of and it’s going to be functional. My weekend was a bust. Didn’t get home until after 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday and just about the time I got set up to work on her, the sky was falling down. 50 plus MPH winds, tornado warnings. Everything got soaked and was still wet Sunday morning. I got a very little bit done, I will post some pics tonight.

 

[Badbagger]

Thanks Dave and having lived in S. Florida I so KNOW those days. Her is how she sits just waiting for me lol.
Just did a few tweaks and time for my work to begin and there's a lot of it to do.

 

[Badbagger]

How about some suggestions for a hatch seal ? I've seen the Taco site and not sure that would work due to construction of the boxes. The hatch lid rests on the lip of the box when it closes.

 

[Badbagger]

Well she's back =D> Since it's 5:30 am, can't take any photos as it's entirely too dark. On tap for today and hoping to get it all worked out: Install trim tabs and cut gauge holes in the console.

Trim tabs: The first order of business is going to getting access for the wires for the tabs. Just took an older photo to illustrate what's gotta happen. According to Lenco, the closer the tabs to the edge of the hull the better the performance which makes sense. The tabs are 12" so I'll mount them up one inch from the edges. To gain access to the transom for wiring, I've got to cut and install two deck plates. Worst Marine is slap out of them. My local Academy Sports has them on their site and they open up at 9 to I'm hoping they've got them. Plates are 6".

Gauge installation: I'm adding in an hour meter and water pressure gauge so I've got to crank up the hole saw. Back when I bought these, I found after reading the install directions that they require a 2 1/16" diameter hole. Talk about an off size! Way to go Faria.... Lowes and Home Depot does not stock these in off sizes so I ordered one from Amazon and it's on hand.

The plan for the day is to get my holes cut, install the deck plates and get the trim tabs mounted up along with my Blue Seas 5025 Fuse Panel. I originally hoped to move the two trolling motor batteries under the console and hoped the area was large enough to make it work. Looks like it'll be too tight of a fit so moving to plan b. I'll move the house battery for the electronics and trim tab under the console. It will leave me a bit heavier in the stern than I'd hoped for. I'll put the two TM batteries to port and the cranking batteries to the starboard side of the centerline and then mount up the two battery chargers on the starboard size to try to balance out some weight as best I can.

I also had Brian Linex the console grab bar in black and it came out pretty sweet. I've got to make a run to the local Ace Hardware to stock up on a bunch of stainless hardware for mounting the grab bar, trolling motor etc.

So at first light, it's game on and that's just over an hour away.

Bagger out.

 

[Country Dave]

Well she's back =D> Since it's 5:30 am, can't take any photos as it's entirely too dark. On tap for today and hoping to get it all worked out: Install trim tabs and cut gauge holes in the console.

Trim tabs: The first order of business is going to getting access for the wires for the tabs. Just took an older photo to illustrate what's gotta happen. According to Lenco, the closer the tabs to the edge of the hull the better the performance which makes sense. The tabs are 12" so I'll mount them up one inch from the edges. To gain access to the transom for wiring, I've got to cut and install two deck plates. Worst Marine is slap out of them. My local Academy Sports has them on their site and they open up at 9 to I'm hoping they've got them. Plates are 6".

Gauge installation: I'm adding in an hour meter and water pressure gauge so I've got to crank up the hole saw. Back when I bought these, I found after reading the install directions that they require a 2 1/16" diameter hole. Talk about an off size! Way to go Faria.... Lowes and Home Depot does not stock these in off sizes so I ordered one from Amazon and it's on hand.

The plan for the day is to get my holes cut, install the deck plates and get the trim tabs mounted up along with my Blue Seas 5025 Fuse Panel. I originally hoped to move the two trolling motor batteries under the console and hoped the area was large enough to make it work. Looks like it'll be too tight of a fit so moving to plan b. I'll move the house battery for the electronics and trim tab under the console. It will leave me a bit heavier in the stern than I'd hoped for. I'll put the two TM batteries to port and the cranking batteries to the starboard side of the centerline and then mount up the two battery chargers on the starboard size to try to balance out some weight as best I can.

I also had Brian Linex the console grab bar in black and it came out pretty sweet. I've got to make a run to the local Ace Hardware to stock up on a bunch of stainless hardware for mounting the grab bar, trolling motor etc.

So at first light, it's game on and that's just over an hour away.

Bagger out.

Bro that’s awesome, =D> =D> =D>

My best advice is go slow and just like you’re playing chess, you need to think three steps in advance. Expect issues and be prepared to be creative to resolve them. Don’t let little setbacks discourage you. The biggest issues you’re probably going to face are clearance and interference problems when rigging her.

As far as the storage box it’s probably not going to be watertight so line the bottom of it with open stile matting and get a dry bag to but you’re stuff in and then put it in the storage hold. Resist the urge to go fast it’s only going to slow you down in the long run. Slow and steady wins the race brother.

 

[bigwave]

Hurry up already......don't listen to dave........ :lol: The wait is worth it in the long run.

 

[Badbagger]

Well the end of day one has come and a long day it was. Driving for this and getting stuck in traffic for almost ever and the coming home, heading back out and getting stuck in more traffic lol. Hurry up and wait. None the less, here's what I got done:

Trailer: Since I've got a bum back, I wanted a handle up front to lessen the grief. I'd bought one while the boat was being done and got that put on.

Gauges: First was the fuel gauge, the hole was there but that Linex is thick stuff so out came the dremel to open up the hole a tad. Once that was done, it was time to start cutting holes in the fresh gray Linex. Fingers crossed, measure 37 times and drill once :mrgreen: I drilled the hole and installed the water pressure gauge for the engine/jackplate. Next up was drilling the 2 " hole for the trim tab controls. Of course it was 1/16th smaller than the hole for the gauges. Check, done. I'm installing an hour meter and still undecided exactly where that will go. Probably on the face of the console just under the binnacle since it ties into the ignition so holding off there.

Next up: Deck plates. I had to run about 20 miles one way for deck plates since worst marine didn't have them. Once I got back and spent time determining where the trim tabs were going to go, I laid out each side of the stern for the deck plates. Out comes the compass and hole saw to open up the stern. Once I had a hole open, time for the sawzall. I cringed cutting into that Linex lol. I ended up with slightly different offsets on the deck plates. I was concerned with any issues I may run into on the starboard side with the wiring that's run as well as getting to close to that Linex with the sawzall. Better safe than sorry!
I cut into it and forgot all about the floatation! I found it :mrgreen:

In the morning, I've got to dig out some floatation and then ever so carefully measure and drill for the trim tabs. Once that's done, I will mount up the tabs and fish the wire through the chase and up under to console. I also got my fuse panel and breaker installed. Managed to get the cleats reinstalled and the console grab rail which I had Linexed.

Pardon the crappy pics, getting dark out and they're from my cell.

Here are the pics from the day of fun...

 

[bigwave]

Looking better and better.

 

[Badbagger]

Thanks Kevin, little by little. Tomorrow is trim tab day.

 

[Country Dave]

Very nice BB,
She really looks cool. I’m sure you’re excited about having her home and moving forward.

 

[smackdaddy53]

Man, that is coming together great! Nice job!

 

[bassboy1]

As far as the storage box it’s probably not going to be watertight so line the bottom of it with open stile matting and get a dry bag to but you’re stuff in and then put it in the storage hold.

I concur. Those hatches clearly weren't designed to be watertight (or even somewhat water resistant) at all. I can't really see a good way to make them so without removing and replacing some of the metal - obviously not practical after paint.

Dry bags are a good idea, but can be a hassle if you're constantly in and out of the hatches. I'd probably put plastic tote boxes with lids inside. Might be a pain to open two lids to get to your more commonly used items, but that's probably your best bet in working with that fab shop's design flaw.

Boat's looking great! The black gunwale cap really gives it a good look! I've started seeing them done a fair amount very recently - I'd say they are coming into 'style,' whatever that means. :LOL2:

 

[Badbagger]

Thanks for the compliments BB, I've found some hatch trim that may well work after looking at the same setup I had on my G3. I drilled 3 small holes in each for drainage and I'll be installing and cutting to fit a egg shell crate type rubber matt to keep anything inside up and off of the floor of the box. There's NO paint on the interior of the boat, all Linex.

Here's a couple of more pics.. bags and bags of stainless hardware sitting next to the control box for the tabs.

Bagger out, time for more coffee and waiting on first light.

 

[Badbagger]

Well it's been a LONG delay. Rain delay after rain delay. It would pour like crazy for half an hour and let up, stop for 20 mins and start again. However, I was bound and determined to get er dun and that I did. Cut the foam away and installed the deck plates for starters and that was special in itself. Finally after many more down pours, it was what it was and I started in on the trim tabs. The wife has been busy studying for final next week at the COM so a little balancing act on a ladder combined with a 2 x 4 and away I went.

Lenco's directions are really great but as Dave said, plan ahead and slow and steady which is just what I did. Measuring took a while as did figuring out the exact placement so the actuator hit where I wanted it to allow me to run the controls wires through the hull and into the hollow I cut out so I could access the wires for the tab controls. It was NOT a quick thing by any stretch and all went well except one misplaced nut which I've yet to find but I had a spare to it was all good.

Weather permitting, tomorrow I'll run the wires up through the wiring chase and install the control brain for the tabs and drill for the tab control switch and get that hooked up. Dave, when ya git to installing your tabs plan on a solid day but well worth it now that I'm done.

Bagger out :mrgreen:

 

[Country Dave]

Hey man tight work looks great,

No taps for me, the float pods should keep her pretty stable. If I have an unbalanced load I’ll just tell Bubba to move his fat azz over a little. :LOL2:

 

[Badbagger]

Thanks Dave, I could have swore you were putting tabs on. Anyone with a fat azz on the beasts can sit where ever, Lenco will take care of it lmfao. :mrgreen:

 

[johnnybassboat]

Damb man she is looking sweet. Maybe someday I will have something that nice. Hahaha Hey a guy can dream cant he. :LOL2:

 

[Badbagger]

Thanks Johnny, a lot of work but worth it.

 

[Pweisbrod]

Nice work! Quality and clean.

 

[Badbagger]

Thanks much, just going slow and thinking ahead a few steps like Dave suggested. I've done the same whether I'm building a Harley or boats or anything else.