Building a '93 Caravelle 1750 Classic Bowrider

Reserector_

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Looks like the forum promoted me to seaman. That's a start, right? Know what I mean? Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge. Know what I mean?
 

Reserector_

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Say no more!

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Reserector_

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Let me jump ahead at this point:
What is the consensus on sealing the floor? How do you seal the underside? Resin. Resin and CSM. Something else altogether?
How would you seal the topside knowing that it will also be coated with contact cement to glue down the carpet? A layer of resin and CSM? Two layers?

I anticipate multiple opinions, so tell me what worked for you and I will have something to help me make my decision.
 

chevymaher

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Decks on the work bench bottoms up. Resin and CSM. Did the bottoms and sides. I did it differently on the next step. I put the decks in and did not tab the sides. That way air has a place to escape as the foam expands. I used a coarse cross cut wood saw to trim the excess after it was hard but not cured. Comes up like butter. Wire wheel on a drill clean that mess up. Then normal number of tabbing on sides. Then covered the whole deck with 1708. I know overkill but hey that is what it is about here. No rot for a long time.
 

archbuilder

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I would say resin and chopstrand on the bottom of the deck. On Fuggly I tabbed it in and laid up I think 2 layers of 1708, (one would be plenty) then 2 OZ CSM over that. I drilled holes both to pour and to vent for the foam. I raise the bow up, and drill the fill hole (larger) toward the stern. I drill vent holes, (smaller) further forward. When you pour in the foam it is almost like water and runs to the back. So (per my theory) the foam expands from the back to the bow, which helps eliminate voids. I usually have a series of vent holes from front to back, as foam comes out I put duct tape over them, forcing the foam to move forward to the next vents. As chevy says, clean up is easy as long as you let if fire off. Don't try to clean up anything while it is still wet.....just makes the mess bigger. Biggest key with the foam is make sure it has a vent. I use 3/8" vent holes and you can hear the air coming out!
 

froggy1150

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I did 1.5 oz csm on underside. Attached floor to stingers with hairy pb, just a few stainless screws for alignment and about 500 lbs of weights from a workout machine. Just placed them where needed. Then I tabbed leaving sections open to allow foam to vent towards sides of hull. When it got there i put a 2x4 with a weight to cap it off. After it was all foamed I did the rest of the tabbing. Top of deck is 1 layer of 1708 and 1 layer of 1 oz csm. That gives it csm next to wood for adhesion and csm topside for sanding flat
 

Reserector_

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A pattern is emerging... CSM on bottom.
​​​​​
You all choose at least one layer of.1708 topside. So let me ask; what led you to that choice?
 

Scott Danforth

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. I don't get many Facebook likes on stuff ........

That is why I am grateful for this peer group. I get encouragement, advice, and accountability. .......

Facetube is nothing but kids and kidadults posting memes and pressing a like button..... it went down hill about 7 years ago.
 

archbuilder

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I did the 1708 because I had a truck load of it. Miss Morgan has a couple layers or CSM on her deck and is doing fine 10 years later. 1708 gives you a really good build up, but CSM does just fine. I did the CSM over mine just to smooth things out a bit. I also epoxied my deck down in both cases with West Systems six-10. Pricey but works extremely well, long long open time, thick so it fills lots of voids and super solid when it sets up. You can use peanut butter too or just a couple layers of CSM soaked in resin for a filler.....but it is a bit of a fire drill. I really used the epoxy to avoid the fire drill. Everything else on my builds have been poly.
 

kcassells

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A pattern is emerging... CSM on bottom.
​​​​​
You all choose at least one layer of.1708 topside. So let me ask; what led you to that choice?

Same reason as Arch, I had it 1700/eeeppooxxxy onsite. Overkill so I laid it down 2x.
+Fat women.
 

froggy1150

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I did 1708 on mine because I scuba dive and if I ever dive from this boat and drop a tank... I will dent the tank:lol:.
 

Reserector_

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One more question:
How hot does the exhaust tube get? I'm asking because 1) I have no experience with marine exhaust, and 2) I had to notch the stringer for clearance, and I want some idea of how much clearance needs to be between the tube and the stringer/floor.

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As you can see in the photos, most of the tabbing was cut away already. There was just enough left that I could tell there had been clearance notches on both sides that were closed with fiberglass. I just can't tell how much.
I haven't notched the starboard side because I don't see any need to. My guess is that the factory cut all the stringers alike.
So how much space do I need between the exhaust and the fiberglass?
 
Last edited:

Scott Danforth

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with water running thru the exhaust, the maximum temperature is under 250 degrees F (closer to 200). (250F is the burning temperature of the rubber flappers and the rubber exhaust hose.

without water running thru the exhaust, the temperature of the exhaust will shoot up to over 1100 degrees at the manifold and about 800 exiting the down pipe

with a properly maintained raw water cooling system you are fine.
 

kcassells

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with water running thru the exhaust, the maximum temperature is under 250 degrees F (closer to 200). (250F is the burning temperature of the rubber flappers and the rubber exhaust hose.

without water running thru the exhaust, the temperature of the exhaust will shoot up to over 1100 degrees at the manifold and about 800 exiting the down pipe

with a properly maintained raw water cooling system you are fine.

A Plethora of great info. Very neat. Thanks Scott.
 

chevymaher

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I chose 1708 on top because it is 6X stronger than the CSM that is recommended. That is the side you walk on. And the side the water is trying to get in from. I didnt go with 2 because mine is full of floatation foam and has a sheet of 3/4 plywood under 90% of the deck. I figured it isnt giving much.
 

Reserector_

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I raced home after work because it was warm enough to glass one side of the stringers. Hoping to do the other side on Thursday.

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