The enclosure front needed someway to be able to visually look inside for tripped breakers without having to open it every time. So I cut a hole in the front and mounted a clear Lexan window with stainless machine screws. (had to go buy metric taps to match the screws I had) I used a quality silicone adhesive caulk as a moisture barrier between the window and stainless and followed that with a bead around the edges.

*A small hint for wiring panels that may come in contact with corrosives, including salt water, coat all the wires and connections with an anti-rust agent. It will save you a lot of frustration down the road. Got mine at Home Depot.

Here is the crux of the problem: I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Yup I admit it. But fortunately for me I can learn new tricks. Fiberglass; read, talk, and understand before doing.

I let each layer of fiberglass dry before adding the next layer. Unfortunately that’s not how it works. In order for a chemical bond to take place the resins have to be wet. So you “wet out” one layer and then immediately “wet out” the next layer for the best bond. The next best bond is a mechanical one. To get a good mechanical bond you have to grind the dried layer to the point where fibers are exposed, clean with acetone, and then wet out the second layer.

I found this out when I left some of the flooring outside and it rained for two days straight. When I went to clean up the yard I noticed that the fiberglass was delaminating! Taking the cover off the boat I found the bulkheads where also coming apart.

I removed all of my previous work. Yes, every bit. By this time I am no longer excited about the rebuilding process and instead of a project it has become a chore. I can’t seem to get all of the wood out of the transom, the work I had done on the bulkheads, floor, and rear deck needed to be re-done, and I cracked one of the livewells removing them from the rear deck. I am going to take a break from this project and do something else for a bit.

Update:
I am back to working on the boat. The cover I was using wasn’t doing a very good job. Each time I have felt like working on the boat I end up spending two to three hours cleaning out leaves, water and other debris. By the time it is cleaned out I have lost my drive to do more.

So I went to Home depot and bought a bunch of plastic water pipe, some fittings, glue, and a set of tube cutters. I then made a frame that fits over the boat to drape a tarp over. It has a peak in the middle so that the majority of the tree leaves and water run down the side. Clean up should be much shorter in the future.