More Interior and Electrical work

I'm chipping away at my list of tasks before the decking starts. I began encapsulating the interior this week. I was starting to see signs of wear from dropped tools, etc. So, I sanded and encapsulated those parts to help protect them. So far I only have the back seat area and the motorwell encapsulated. You can see the contrast of the Mahogany color and the Ash floor color. Thats exactly the look I was going for.

Also, I took some pictures of the electrical work so far. I still have some connections to make before I tidy-up the wires and clamp the looms in place but you can see the switch connections and the fuse/bus panel behind the dash. The wires from the battery to the fuse panel and back to the bildge pump and anchor light run inside the side cup-holder rests.

Thursday after work I am going to a local upholstery shop with pictures of my seats and other finished Zip seats to talk about getting my seats upholstered. I'm prepared for sticker shock but hoping for the best. I also will stop by the boat junkyard to see if they have a steering arm link for a mercury outboard and also the clips that hold the throttle/shift cables in place on the motor. Those are the only parts I still need for my motor to run and steer.

Let there be light!

I had a great trip for work to central FL thurs-fri and I got to visit again with Glen-L Monte Carlo builder John Amundson and see his project, Its HUGE, I think 26ft.

Back at home this weekend and I've been fearing the electrical system for some time. I just didnt know what I was doing and couldnt find the information I needed in books or online. My electrical system is plain simple but I am pretty ignorant when it comes to electrical buses and switches. So I started out making my battery box a tray to hold it between the bottom battens in the floor of the boat.

The tray will be attached to the battens and the box will be have straps to secure it to the tray. With this done I couldnt procrastinate the electrical system any longer.

I went to West Marine and the guys were super helpful. I told them what I was doing and what I already had and they helped me get everything else I needed. I came home and wired my battery + and - terminals to a DC sub-panel fuse block. http://bluesea.com/products/5025 Then I wired the - from my bow light to the - ground side of the fuse block. Next I wired the + wire from the light to the switch. This is where my lack of knowledge hit and I didnt know which of the 3 terminals on the switch the power wires went to. The switch didnt come with instructions either and I didnt want to fry anything expensive. Luckily, a couple emails to fellow builders taught me some kollege. Thanks to them my bow light now lights up and I can continue on with the rest of the electrical items. I actually really enjoy wiring now that I sorta know what I am doing.

Motor Well

Yesterday I took the motor back off the boat with the help of a buddy. This morning I finished constructing the motor well.

Work is going to interfere with any more progress until the weekend.

Ted's visit.

Today fellow Glen-L Zip builder Ted Gauthier dropped in out of the sky for a visit. Ted and one of his many brothers were on thier way back to MI from TX in the homebuilt Vans RV-6 airplane Ted built and since Indy is on their way it made for a good time for a quick visit. You can see more at Teds blog. http://tedsbuild.blogspot.com/ Here are a couple pictures of Ted and his brother as they readied for the hop to MIIf Ted's boat is anything like the plane he built I'm sure it looks amazing. I hope his visit to my amatuer build was somehow beneficial. Ted was in a hurry to get home to MI but it was great to have a fellow Zip builder drop by even for only a few minutes.
Only building I did today was epoxy in the framework for the motorwell.

Engine Mounted!

Today I had a r/c sailboat regatta near my house. http://www.indyadmirals.org/. Afterwards several of the sailboat skippers came over and we got the engine test mounted in place. Now I can get things hooked up in order to figure out the dimensions to finish the motor well and fit all the fuel lines and steering cables. The motor will then come off again.

Friday I installed the dash switches for the running lights and bilge pump. Install was as simple as drilling two holes and tightening the nuts.

I also did a little wood work. I made some corners to hold the fuel tank from sliding on the floor of the boat. I also made small triangle blocks to make the carlings a little stronger.

Lotsa' parts

Shopping spree today. Got almost everything I need for the boat to run. Battery, battery box, fuel lines, fuel deck fill and hose, fuel vent and hose, engine fuel connector as well as the light and bildge pump switches. Im just missing the steering arm link for the outboard, the bildge pump and all the wiring.
Now I just gotta get back to working on the boat.

Throttle Control Bracket.

Today I worked on a throttle control bracket. I dont really like what I came up with, its not real elegant. Its just a elbow of two pieces of 3/4" mahogany that would attach to the armrest. I just cant figure out a better way to get the throttle where I want it. This is the most comfortable position with full range of movement for the throttle and choke levers. If any of you have a better idea shoot me an email.

The throttle control box has 4 holes in it around the paremeter of the blue portion to bolt the throttle in place. The only other thought i had was to have a piece of mahogany come down from the carling above and bolt the throttle to it. I think that idea is just too cumbersome, it would take a pretty large piece of wood since the bolt holes are at the bottom of the throttle control box.

Thats all till next week, no boat work will happen over this weekend.

Steering wheel

The steering wheel my wife got for me arrived today.
I also faired the carlings today.

Steering helm

The Teleflex steering system and helm came today. Got it installed this evening.
I wanted to the wheel to be mounted with some tilt to it and not flat 90 degrees that it would be if you simply attached the helm directly to the dash. So I first made a circular wedge of 8 degrees which is the amount of tilt I decided I like. The the wedge gets a hole drilled in it for the steering wheel shaft to fit through.

Next the dash gets a hole sawn through it to fit the steering wheel shaft. Teleflex includes a template for this and the mounting bolts. Its a simple matter of bolting things in place after that. Pretty easy install but it is nerve wracking to drill a huge hole on the dashboard frame. The steering wheel should be in anyday.

Also pulled the boat outside and washed the sawdust off the hull and trailer. In the background you can see my buddy Bax opening the box for the steering system.

Motorwell Framework

Friday I started on the motorwell framework. I then stopped with only the 3 frame pieces installed because I thought I should test fit the motor with the steering installed before I finalize the depth of the well. I have measured for the motor both upright and when tilted forward but since I dont have all the steering parts I dont know how much room I will really need for the steering to clear the sides of the well.