Building a '93 Caravelle 1750 Classic Bowrider

[Scott Danforth]

not to shabby.

 

[chevymaher]

Your getting it looking good.

 

[Reserector_]

Nice weather, but little progress. Tough week at work, so I needed to relax and clear some offsets. Catch up on some YouTube and such.
Even so, I did some creative stuff. This boat was designed and built before cell phones were really a thing, so MY rendition of this Caravelle will have charge ports and safe places to lay phones out of the sun and rain.
The most important location will be near the wife. I already have a cutaway in the blue panel to access the raceway. I just needed to define the space and add a charge port.

I went with ultra-rare black aluminum. (I used to have quite a bit, but now it is rare.) Trim to fit, and then trim some more.

Getting it in place was a puzzle. I had to fold the ends in, stand it up, spread the sides back out, and spring it into place.


The port light up white. The rubber cover will block the light if desired.



Oh, I finally attached the seat pedestals to the floor.

Supervisor on break:


Other than that, I did allot of brainstorming over the engine enclosure. I finally decided to start cutting wood to have something I could develop. I am finally starting to see the final mental images of how this will go together and function. Stay tuned...


It is going to be asymmetrical. One seat on Starboard, one in front of the engine, and boarding steps on port side.
It will be a non-standard setup, but will serve my family.

 

[chevymaher]

Looking good. I did that the power port and usb ports for charging.

 

[kcassells]

Looking good. I did that the power port and usb ports for charging.

I think beer holders are more important.

 

[Reserector_]

I think beer holders are more important.

It came with those. They did have beer back in 1993.

 

[Scott Danforth]

It came with those. They did have beer back in 1993.

and even hundreds of years prior......

 

[Reserector_]

I did a little more work on the enclosure, and allot more brainstorming.
I drug out what's left of my convertible top, and a Bimini top that never got installed on the boat. the Bimini seems like it will be perfect. Too bad I didn't store it indoors. It was fairly new when I got the boat, but the canvas is shot now.


The convertible top will be able to store under the enclosure as it would have from the factory. The Bimini will lay on top OR fold forward to rest ahead of the windshield. That will be handy for boarding if the top is down.
I have the enclosure roughed in. I plan to cut along the black Sharpie lines and angle those sides.


Nobody in my family needs a sun deck, so I am maximizing floor space and making it easy to step in and out of. This is not the Mach 5, I am not Speed Racer, and my wife is not Trixie. We won't be hopping in and out like the kids this boat was designed for. LOL
I'm planning to fiberglass it and add foam board inside before covering it with upholstery and topping it with carpet.

I also picked up a battery for it.

 

[Scott Danforth]

with all that wood, its going to be HEAVY.

I would have made the doghouse structure out of foam, then glassed both sides.

at this point, I would wrap the wood with saran wrap and only use it as a plug. do two outer layers of glass, remove the wood, then add some coring and two layers on the inside.

 

[Reserector_]

Scott,
I've considered I've considered using it as a plug. Haven't ruled it out, either. My plans are pretty fluid.
Shoot, I've even considered smoothing this as a plug for a mold, and making my part from the mold starting with gel coat. If I thought I could sell a few, I would invest that kind of time, but I think that would be excessive for one boat.
I'm going to do some calculating first, though. It may not be much lighter as a reinforced glass shell. Only the top is 1/2"and there is not much of that. The rest is 3/8". I had no trouble setting it into the boat by myself.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I'm going to do some calculating first, though. It may not be much lighter as a reinforced glass shell. Only the top is 1/2"and there is not much of that. The rest is 3/8". I had no trouble setting it into the boat by myself.

Add 50# to it in resin, cloth, and gel

Im currently making new cabinets for my boat, however they are starting out as door skin material (less than 1/8" thick)

 

[Reserector_]

I just did some reading and I may have talked myself out of fiberglass altogether on this enclosure. The wood will weigh around 40 lbs. Add a layer of CSM to waterproof it and add 4 lbs.
Fiberglass with coring for strength will be around 30 lbs. but will not have the sound deadening affect that the wood will.
Wood will also condensate less, especially with the foam board on the inside.
Wood is buoyant. The enclosure will add to the flotation.
I plan to upholster the sides and carpet the top. A coat of primer and paint plus the covering will seal it from the elements.
I can staple or glue to wood. I can only glue to fiberglass.

 

[Reserector_]

As far as weight goes, I'll be under the factory weight. They had a full width rear bench and a sun deck. All wood and upholstery. Mine will be a bikini compared to their one-piece suit.

 

[chevymaher]

Mine is like you made factory. It is a 2 piece with a opening top. But it is all wood glassed over. I got 2x6's and 2x4's in there to.

 

[Reserector_]

An opening top would be handy.

 

[chevymaher]

It is makes checking the oil, and cleaning the bilge easy.

 

[Reserector_]

I stormed here last night, and was predicted to be partly cloudy in the morning. Down here, that usually means mild temps. NOT!
It was windy, cold and wet. I was out there 20 minutes and said "Nope!"
Tomorrow should be drier and calmer, so maybe I'll work on it in the afternoon while my family is napping.

In the meantime, I thank you all for your wisdom and encouragement. May you and your family have a fantastic Christmas! Best of health to you all!

Please accept this Christmas car(d). A real treat from my youngest son, Doug.
Mark

 

[todhunter]

I stormed here last night, and was predicted to be partly cloudy in the morning. Down here, that usually means mild temps. NOT!
It was windy, cold and wet. I was out there 20 minutes and said "Nope!"
Tomorrow should be drier and calmer, so maybe I'll work on it in the afternoon while my family is napping.

In the meantime, I thank you all for your wisdom and encouragement. May you and your family have a fantastic Christmas! Best of health to you all!

Please accept this Christmas car(d). A real treat from my youngest son, Doug.
Mark
View attachment 330775

Merry Christmas. Nice Del Sol. Which engine is in it? I'm a Honda guy.

 

[Reserector_]

Merry Christmas. Nice Del Sol. Which engine is in it? I'm a Honda guy.

He has the 1.5, but my oldest has one with the B16 v-tec.

 

[Reserector_]

It was inevitable,; the afternoon family nap: Christmas Edition. That was my time to go work on the boat. I only had a couple hours at best, but I needed to feel a sense of accomplishment.
I tossed the enclosure back on the bench and got after it. I added a panel and more corner bracing. Some challenging angled cuts as planned, and it was time to test fit, pet the cat, and then call it a night. (Time for pie)

Some pics: an overall shot followed by some shots of the inside as viewed through the cut-outs.