Zip on Floor Jacks - Seat install

I have done a lot of work on my "Zip" boat project since the last time that I made a post on this blog so I will attempt to give you the rundown. The big milestone was on Christmas Eve when I had most of my brothers, son-in-law and nephews over and they all offered to help me lift the boat and it's cradle so we could place the floor jacks under it. Once everything was raised 12", there was enough room to put the 40hp motor on the transom. I needed to get that into position so I could start to figure out how all the steering linkage and electrical wiring would be connected.

Some of the other things that I have been working on were mounting the battery switch into the rear seat frame, making boxes along side of seats to hide wiring, steering cables, shift control box and of course a place for an afternoon beverage.

I have also built the seat bottoms and backs and started the upholstery project.  I really wanted to get the foam seats glued up to them so I could sit on in the seat and feel if the position of each on was correct.  I am so glad that I did because when I built the seat frames I thought that everything fit just right with enough room to remove them when I wanted, but I was wrong.  The seats did not fit after gluing up the foam pads on the seat bottoms and backs.  Ten minutes of trimming saved me major headaches if I had found this out after the fabric was put on them.

Whats next....fairing the top deck, and getting the steering control linkage figured out.   Begin the wiring process and having a lot of patience when things don't go just right.

Cutting Holes and Getting things done

I was able to work on the boat a lot this week and over the weekend.  I don't really have much to show for all the work that I put into this part of the project but a few things were real milestones.  Most of the week I have taking everything apart I previously fabricated so I could epoxy and glue them.  These items included the seat box frames, seat bottoms and backs and four side panels.  If you notice in the pictures, the interior of the boat is gutted.  The reason it is empty again is:  That is the process you need to go through when building.  You fabricate and then take it apart, epoxy it and then reinstall it.  It is almost like building several boats because you end up putting things together and taking them apart many times in the course of fabricating.

The seats are gone to the upholstery shop.  I ordered my own fabric and fabricated everything that I wanted to have upholstered and I found a real talented lady about a mile from my house who is taking on that part of project.

I spent a good part of the weekend cutting holes in the instrument panel for the instruments.  I will have an RPM, fuel gauge and a volt meter in the dash.  The biggest project was to cut a 2 1/4" hole and (3) 5/16" holes to mount the steering wheel.  I have been waiting a week for the 20 degree mount and it finally came in so I made a trip to West Marine to pick it up.  I did not have the correct size hole saw so I also made a trip over to my brother Joey's and he loaned me his.  A couple of 1 1/2" holes were needed in the bulkhead to route the steering cable and the rough mounting and fitting of Teleflex rack mounting system was complete.

I also mounted the bilge pumps and made a box to house the battery.  The battery drops right into the box and it is very secure.  I always worry about accidents and the possibility of sever weather so I added tie downs for budgie cords if needed.