Replacing seat/battery box

[brian_g]

The next thing on the deck to replace is the seat for the console, which houses the charger and batteries as well. It is severely rotten and has a lot of termite damage. I will be using the same material that I previously used to construct the replacement engine box: half inch marine ply, white oak (for support structures), and mahogany (for the trim).

First thing was to take the canopy off. It's amazing how different the boat looks without it



Then on to the seat...

Original seat:


Once removed, it became very obvious that there was a substantial amount of termite damage. All the "dirt" in this photo is termite poop...



At this point I am just building a new seat, but also seriously considering removing the deck which is also soft/rotten in many places...

we'll see...

Hopefully in a week I'll have photos of the completed seat to match the engine box (in this photo)

[Endless Summer]

That will keep you busy for awhile looks good do far.

I moved my start batteries in the back next to the engine because I didn't like the long run on the battery cables. I did notice an improvement in cranking power.

I like the cc look a 23 as a cc would look good with even more fishing room.

Marc

[brian_g]

That will keep you busy for awhile looks good do far.

I moved my start batteries in the back next to the engine because I didn't like the long run on the battery cables. I did notice an improvement in cranking power.

I like the cc look a 23 as a cc would look good with even more fishing room.

Marc

I agree Marc. If I move forward with the deck/stringer removal I'm basically committing to a winter project....

I am also planning to move the batteries, but in the opposite direction of what you did. I am going to move them to the bow storage area. I am moving them forward in an attempt to distribute some of the weight to the front of the boat.

Right now, the 4.3L GS (6-cyl) motor sitting on the stern is adding an additional 320lbs. of weight right on the transom compared to the original 3.0L GL (4-cyl) that the boat was built with. I believe this is the reason why I have to plug my deck drain holes (they are below the waterline the majority of the time).

I agree, a 23' CC would be awesome! That extra room would really increase the comfort/fishability. I think that your set-up for a 23' is the best of all world though: Space and a pilothouse to get away from the elements is a very nice combo.

-Brian

[brian_g]

Just to give an update on my replacement of the seat/battery box in our 20’ center console:
I started by taking dimensions as best I could from the original seat. During this time I made the decision to change some things like adding sliders to the drawers and beefing up the internal support structure. Since the original seat has lasted 42 years, neither of these things probably matter to much.

I began by building the based structure of the seat. I used white oak (which I found out is horrible for boat building) and 5-ply marine plywood.



I then cut holes to accommodate the drawers and the sliders. I had to situate the sliders on the bottom because they would not fit on the sides if I was to keep the original dimensions of the drawers.



I then made the drawers, using the originals as a template. I used 7-ply marine plywood and mahogany. I used the table saw to cut little grooves in the perimeter mood for the drawers and the base piece fit right in at nice 90 degree angles to comprise the basic structure of the drawers.







I installed the sliders and mocked up the drawers. So far, everything was looking pretty good!





I laminated the sides of the seat with Formica



Henry did the painting, and when that was dry I used a flush router bit to cut out the holes for the drawers and the back door.





I used 1 inch plywood for the doors. The original doors are assembled in such a way that a recessed mahogany border surrounds the door and a portion of the door is inside the seat when closed.




Laminating the outside raised potion of the door:



I then re-installed the varnished drawers and completed the mahogany trim.
I mocked everything up with tape to get an idea of how it’s going to look and also to make sure I hadn't made any major errors, as at this point I am running out of mahogany…





Old seat vs. new seat:


I have a little more varnishing to do and some trim to cover the edges where the Formica comes together on the seat, but I am getting really close to finishing. My projected time to complete this seat was 2 weekends worth of work. It has taken 4 weekends to this point.

[No Bad Days]

Looks Awesome, Nice work!