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[JustFishingFL]

Done

[afishin82]

Good luck sir! Looking forward to following the build.

[FAS]

lookin good.. ! sounds like you have a plan..

[Capt Chuck]

Since the cap is off, don't you need to brace the hull ?

[flyingfrizzle]

They tend to get wider when the cap is off!

[Chaser]

Why would you laminate more fiberglass on the hull?

[72potter20]

I did this, 2 layers. Added some thicknees and stiffness. Glad I did it

[FishStretcher]

Me personally, I am all for a bit more glass in the hulls. Above waterline, some are rather minimalist in thickness. I don't like weight, but if you are really going with a modern foam or honeycomb core deck, then you should be fine, I would think.

I have a suggestion (if you aren't already doing this): use a sandblaster for prep. Yes, you will have to vacuum out the sand, but it is much, much easier to get into corners and perhaps 10x faster than a grinder.

And you probably want to put the cap on one more time to make sure you got it right before you glass the hull. At least one person here had to remake a cap because it didn't fit after doing what you are planning to do. And I think that is a real chore.

[72potter20]

1708. I just drilled the holes for the bilge pump through-hull drains and was surprised at how thick the hull sides are after doing this.

I just float tested my boat in preparation for the motor being hung on it Monday. With 350 lbs of water weight sitting on the transom, 2 batteries under the console, 15 gallons of gas and me and my buddy standing on the bracket the chines at the stern were about 2 inches under water. They were above waterline when no one was in the boat. I don't think the layers i added effected the weight to much.

[Chaser]

I feel like if you want a stiffer hull there are lighter and more effective ways to stiffen it. Monolithic glass is very strong but kinda flexy. Don't worry about the thickness or being able to see through the thin gel coat, that doesn't matter.

A couple foam and glass stringers on the hull side in the areas of the most flex will do more to stiffen it up and be lighter than a couple layers of glass over the whole thing. Yours is an MA right? Put in a few vertical knees where the rod holders were (if you're not putting them back in) and run a stringer horizontally along the hull side half way between the chine and the sheer line. Use foam or ply and make a 1.5x2" strip with a nice round top. Glue it in with a nice fillet, then glass it over with two layers of 1708 or three of 1208. It will be WAY stiffer than if you just glass the whole boat, at 1/4 the weight and expense.

Didn't do any of this on my MA. I just glued/tabbed the new floor to the hull (which essentially creates the stringer I mentioned) which ran about 4" above the chine. And I glued/tabbed the casting platform and aft motor well molding to the hull. Also glued in the rod holders and fastened them securely to the deck cap. The boat is stiff as shit, was out yesterday in a little chop and it is way better/stiffer than before.

Don't underestimate the stiffness that tieing all the interior into the hull will add. If your boat is anything like mine, the interior molding was never actually bonded to the boat in any meaningful way. Bond it to the hull with putty (properly) and glass, and that monolithic glass hull will stiffen right up.