Stowage under rear seat on 16' Angler

H

hoorenga

New member
I had to open up and tear out the foam under the aft, bench seat on my 16' Angler because of water intrusion (see recent post and photos). What I am pondering now is how to finish up what I have started. The floor of the cockpit is glassed and continuous where it passes under the bench so I don't see a problem there. My original plan was to cut out a rectangular opening in the face of the compartment with a lower lip of about two inches to impede water in the cockpit from flowing into the storage areas beneath the bench. This would make it more of a dry storage area. After further thought I am wondering if it might be a better idea for the opening to reach all the way to the floor. I might have to cut a couple of small holes near the back for any water to escape to the drain but it seems like a good idea. Either way it will be a simple wooden access door. Just wondering what others thought of the pros or cons of doing it either way. Taking the front enclosure all the way down to the floor would allow easier access for storing things like a battery and portable fuel tank.

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Our 16 angler is just 10 years newer than yours. Here's what ours looks like and I think this is the way they come even now. I sometimes wish I had a little jump seat back there, especially when using the kicker tiller. You can see the bilge pump between the batteries and the gas tank. That box above the pole, and one on the starboard side, holds the flotation foam. Regardless what you decide it will be fine and I know you're going to enjoy that boat.

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Thanks for the photo. Some times it's hard to visualize how things will look. Your picture gives me confidence to proceed with the "open" concept. I was looking for some of the black edge trim that is used on your boat but I could only find it in 25 foot lengths for $69.00. That got me to thinking creatively. I found a nice chunk of wood laying around that l'm going to cap the edges with. That will give it a finished look and still remain open. I'll post a photo when l'm done.
 
If it were me, I'd avoid the wood around the edges. Unless you really do a superb job of epoxy coating the wood, it's likely to need replacing after a few years of use. I'd suggest taking a look around a local Lowes or Home Depot for some plastic edging material that might last longer. Perhaps a slit down the edge of some black plastic pipe/tube with mitered corners would look good and be an inexpensive solution that would last longer than wood. I often find that if I just wander around the hardware store I can find something that I can repurpose for marine use. Aluminum channel would be another option.
 
Wandering around the hardware store? Yes I can most certainly identify with that. The last time I did it one of the clerks asked me what I was looking for and I replied "an inside for an outside, a top for a bottom and a left for a right". He just nodes his head knowingly.
 
I guess I am not the only Cbrat roaming hardware stores planning and plotting my next move. I actually tell the shop staff what I am trying to do sometimes but they rarely are helpful.

Maybe we need to roam stores as Cbrat boat modification specialist gangs for more effective brainstorming. I don't always come out successful on the first try but I guess thats what makes it fun.
 
I mentioned to my wooden boat builder friend, the reservations of some here to put wood trim on the openings beneath the rear seat. He laughed. I found some beautiful wood that I cut into inch and a half wide strips of about an inch thick and fourteen inches long. These sticks I then ran over the table saw blade a number of times (don't have a dado) to open up a 5/8 inch grove so that I could use them to cap the raw ends of the plywood in the opening I had made. I then rounded all of the edges with a router, put some epoxy in the grove and slid them into place around the openings. I'll post photos as soon as I have it cleaned up. Right now everything is a mess but it looks great, it's solid and, I'm glad I went with wood. I'm an old wooden boat nut from way back.
 
Here's a photo of what I have done so far. Just need to clean things up and do some painting but the wood is bedded in with epoxy. Feels and looks solid.

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Well, back to the drawing board. Everything was looking good. I had tested the fit of the fuel tanks in the under-seat stowage and they fit nicely prior to installing the trim. Now they don't fit by 1/4 of an inch. Grrrrrrr!!!
 
I decided to just jump in there and tear it out. Sort of like taking off a bandage I guess. I had done too much work and it was too nice to stand there and think about it for too long. I couldn't cut the gas tanks down so the only choice was to start over on the molding. I'm glad I didn't wait. The epoxy hadn't completely set yet and that made it easier to remove and clean up. I still had to use a hammer and chisel. I'm going to think about it for a few days before I go back in. I need to think it through a bit more. At least I have a nice fresh place to start.
 
hoorenga":1p32e4dc said:
I'm glad I didn't wait. The epoxy hadn't completely set yet and that made it easier to remove and clean up.
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Good for your on jumping in there and getting it over with. I'm glad it "rewarded" you by being at least a bit easier by not being totally cured. I can see myself just ignoring it for awhile because... "NooOOOOOoooo, not that new wood I just finished!"

I have a photo somewhere that came to mind while I was reading your post earlier: It's a photo of a nice water tank that fits under the v-berth - you know, the type of "triangular" custom design that just fits your boat - only the person carrying it into the boat is just discovering that it won't go through the passageway that leads to the forecabin :cry
 
Dooh! I hate it when that happens. I admire real craftsmen who can do all this stuff with their eyes closed but for some of us it's a challenge. A challenge I gladly accept. I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the string but I keep trying and eventually succeed. I might just break down and buy the flex molding. After a week of carefully cutting, varnishing (seven coats) and gluing all those little pieces to have it fail I think I need to try something easy. On the other hand I have the system down.
 
hoorenga":3i0v1s3j said:
Dooh! I hate it when that happens. I admire real craftsmen who can do all this stuff with their eyes closed but for some of us it's a challenge. A challenge I gladly accept. I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the string but I keep trying and eventually succeed. I might just break down and buy the flex molding. After a week of carefully cutting, varnishing (seven coats) and gluing all those little pieces to have it fail I think I need to try something easy. On the other hand I have the system down.
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One issue with the flex molding is that if you want to do a continuous strip, you need to radius the internal corners of your cutouts. With square corners, you'll need to mitre the flex molding. Not a big deal and easy to do with a razor blade. Then use 3M 4000 (or similar) to attach. It will look fine and won't take much time or effort.
 
At this point I can widen the opening an inch more on either side which should give me enough room to do a rounded, internal corner. I'm having second thoughts though about using the Flex Trim. I only need eight feet of trim but after hours searching the net I can only find it in 25 foot lengths from West Marine for $60. I know many take these sort of expenses in stride but I'm way over budget on this rig. I need to save somewhere. I'm thinking of using plastic decking wood and do a similar thing to what I just did in wood. I could do it in wood again but I like the idea of making it out of something I don't have to worry about.
 
Here's an idea:

I've picked up dozens of feet of molding that is very similar to the "Trim Lok" at "pick and pull" type junkyards (in fact, I think it's actually a bit nicer in some ways). Some (many?) cars use it around metal edges in places like door openings, hatchback openings, etc.

Granted, if your edge is really thick it might not be the right size, because on cars it's usually fairly thin metal, but I have used it on 1/8" fiberglass with a little "persuasion." At any rate, the price is right.

This is the general type of thing I mean:

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Yeah, I found some of that on line, new for about half the price but lilke you mentioned, getting it in a 5/8" width is the problem. I like the way you think though. I used some of that once for edge trim on the bottom of a metal, motorcycle seat pan that I had recovered. It went under the outer seat cover, on the bottom edge of the seat pan to prevent the metal edge from cutting through. I'm going to mess around with some plastic decking. If that doesn't look appropriate I'll probably go back to wood. I can do wood.
 
You might try some plastic or neoprene tubing for a molding, splitting it open to accept the edge of the fiberglass. They make some clear Tygon tubing with fiber threads woven in it to reinforce it for water pressure that should look and work OK, though it won't be as nice as finished wood.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Great minds think alike! I was looking at that exact product yesterday while walking around Home Depot. I might take another look at it. I did buy a length of 1" plastic water pipe, cut a 1/2" groove down the middle and cut a couple of short pieces to try. It worked fairly well but the PVC pipe is very brittle. There is a gray electrical pipe of the same diameter that would work better but I don't like the way the corners come together. With wood I can sand them smooth and they are solid.
 
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