Let's See Your Mods!

[Doug J]

I posted this on the trailersailor site and got a flurry of interesting responses.

So I'll post it here as well in case some of you only frequent this board.

One of my favorite things about this forum is seeing the mods many of you have done or are in the process of doing to your boats. The ingenuity out there is amazing! I'm pretty sure we all enjoy seeing what others have done. It stimulates new ideas. We can then attempt to replicate the mod with our own boats. To me a big part of the fun is always improving my boat.

Would any of you care to post pics and descriptions of a mod you are particularly proud of?

Have you done a mod that is rather unique, one you haven't seen anyone else do yet?

Structural improvements, rigging enhancements, etc., etc...

Please share your ideas! Even if you posted it in the past, there are new members on the board that may not have seen it yet.

I'll start with one.

Laz Floor:

My floor at this point is functional, but I made it out of scrape wood. Now that I have it made I can copy it with good hardwood, and will seal it with something like Cetol Marine. I'll also make it look much nicer, maybe a slated design. The floor is almost level, and is not fastened down, it just sits in the bottom of the laz, easily removable for maintenance or whatever. As you can see in the pics there is room under it for my bilge pump and my shoot thru the hull transducer. The supports underneath fore and aft fit the contour of the hull, distributing weight, there is no concentrated pressure point.
Also in the pictures you can see the cockpit and motor well drainage system, I re-did with PVC, which hugs the sides allowing better storage access.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

doug, on the pvc drains.

- how long have you had that setup?

I had read its not a good idea to have ALL pvc, and you need some hose for movement... so I did this:

but I'd rather use all pvc... how is it working out?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/ftldiver/mac/6de06ea4.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/ftldiver/mac/8285b770.jpg

 

[Doug J]

MrBill, this is the first season. I didn't think about the movement part, hmmm. I could add a piece of flexible tubing. Do you think it could really be a problem? So far, so good, it drains well!

 

[Nik]

Battery shelf mod

I glassed in a shelf for my batteries under the stbd seat. I cut a piece of foam insulation to fit the area and then glassed over with several layers of matt and cloth, then painted the whole thing white. Made new SS brackets to lock the batteries down. I used 1/2" Dow Super Tuff-R insulation, it doesn't react to Polyester resins.

 

[Nik]

While doing the battery shelf, I cut out the seat for more room and then made a new top out of 1/2" plywood. Stain and several coats of spar varnish.

 

[Nik]

Distribution panel and Inverter mod.

Made a new Distribution panel with 12 circuits, a double battery switch and a 1000W inverter.

 

[Paul Brinkley]

Doug- I replumbed all my drains in the lazarette with PVC pipe, for the same reason- to get more room. Like MrBill, I was a little concerned about movement, so I put in a piece of flexible hose between the PVC on the lazarette bulkhead and the PVC on the throughhull, and another between the engine compartment drain and the throughhull PVC. I did this over a year ago, and so far, so good- drains well, no leaks. -Paul

 

[Doug J]

Paul, MrBil - I'll heed your advise and add a couple pieces of flexible tubing, just in case.

Paul, do you have any pics of your mod?

Nik, I really like your battery compartment work! What product did you use to finsih the inside, is that an epoxy paint?

 

[Nik]

Allmost as tough as epoxy.... Rust Oleum Alkyd Oil Enamel Primer then Gloss finish.
I have had metal and fiberglass stuff outside painted with that for years with no problem; so, I figured why not try it inside the bilge / hold. Used 2 coats of primer and then the finish. So far so good (year 2), the gloss finish makes wiping it up easy.

 

[TC22454]

We added a few things to make the boat more comfortable and easier to handle, such as raising the seat backs with SS tubing and the instrument/mainsheet arch. Also, we just finished painting her and adding a new mainsail. We have pics in our profile of a few mods.

 

[Mac]

How do you post a picture? Thanks, Mac

 

[Phil Herring]

Click Reply (w/quote). Click the little camera that appears in the tool bar. Select all the photos to upload then click the upload button. Then write your post and submit it.

BTW, these mods will get buried in the forum archive over time, but you should really consider posting them in the KnowledgeBase. Boat Info -> Mac KnowledgeBase. That's our collection of mods.

Thanks!

 

[Chris & Lenore]

Just as a thought to increase traffic it would be beneficial to have a "Mods" section. It could be a renamed Knowledge base but the majority of sailors call these "Mods" and search on "mods". A self serve mods section would be intuitive for members to use plus get traffic from web searches (all those people using "mods" as a search phrase). Use case would be Mods -> Boat type-> Mod category -> Mod with text and images.
Huge opportunity to increase traffic.

Chris

 

[TheCopperMonkey]

Hey guys,

Here are some mods I have been working on. A new galley unit and a screened companionway hatch. I am also adding a heart cypress strip on the interior to cover the wiring and the hull to deck joint. Recently, I have finished building a full kick up rudder too.

 

[Mac]

Gas locker

I posted this on the trailersailor site and got a flurry of interesting responses.

So I'll post it here as well in case some of you only frequent this board.

One of my favorite things about this forum is seeing the mods many of you have done or are in the process of doing to your boats. The ingenuity out there is amazing! I'm pretty sure we all enjoy seeing what others have done. It stimulates new ideas. We can then attempt to replicate the mod with our own boats. To me a big part of the fun is always improving my boat.

Would any of you care to post pics and descriptions of a mod you are particularly proud of?

Have you done a mod that is rather unique, one you haven't seen anyone else do yet?

Structural improvements, rigging enhancements, etc., etc...

Please share your ideas! Even if you posted it in the past, there are new members on the board that may not have seen it yet.

I'll start with one.

Laz Floor:

My floor at this point is functional, but I made it out of scrape wood. Now that I have it made I can copy it with good hardwood, and will seal it with something like Cetol Marine. I'll also make it look much nicer, maybe a slated design. The floor is almost level, and is not fastened down, it just sits in the bottom of the laz, easily removable for maintenance or whatever. As you can see in the pics there is room under it for my bilge pump and my shoot thru the hull transducer. The supports underneath fore and aft fit the contour of the hull, distributing weight, there is no concentrated pressure point.
Also in the pictures you can see the cockpit and motor well drainage system, I re-did with PVC, which hugs the sides allowing better storage access.

This is the gas locker I made out of pieces of leftover flooring. Since this picture, I have drilled 3 holes in the top to hold some cold ones.

 

[Mac]

Seat cushions

I made these out of some foam I had laying around and covered them with material from WalMart. The material is outdoor furniture grade and cost only 3 bucks a yard. I think I only have 21 bucks into them.

 

[Mac]

Re: Seat cushions

Thanks Phil for the hint!!

 

[Doug J]

Nice Gas Locker Jerry

This is the gas locker I made out of pieces of leftover flooring. Since this picture, I have drilled 3 holes in the top to hold some cold ones.

I love it! You say you made that out of left over flooring. What king of flooring and were can I get it?

 

[Mac]

Gas locker

I love it! You say you made that out of left over flooring. What king of flooring and were can I get it?

Doug, I used a tounge and groove honduraz cherry, I used the back side for the finish side. It looked more nautical when I flipped them over. After a few coats of spar varnish it looks even better. Here are some shots of the beginning stages. Mac

 

[Doug J]

This idea is a keeper!

Doug, I used a tounge and groove honduraz cherry, I used the back side for the finish side. It looked more nautical when I flipped them over. After a few coats of spar varnish it looks even better. Here are some shots of the beginning stages. Mac

I was intending to build a box just about the same shape. Someone else posted something similar. I was going to use starboard for the front panel and then oak on top. But what you did is just fantastic! Great idea!