Modernizing a Prout Elite 37ft

[atoll]

we moved onto the catamaran a week or so before the anticipated lockdown in the UK and moved to a more remote location with about 5 months worth of food ,gas and diesel onboard.

so far so good after nearly 5 weeks onboard,doing all those jobs that i never had time to do before!

lots of wildlife in the area to watch,as well as good foraging for oysters and mussels as well as some small game and wild garlic ,herbs etc ashore.

we rarely see other people,on the shore and few other people on the water.

almost like cruising although going out sailing is frowned upon by the authoraties ,so have limited movements to changing anchorage to suit wind direction when it changes from easterly to westerly.

some photos FYI
Happy Easter!

[Tayana42]

Happy Easter. In the midst of all of this may you find safety, health and optimism for the future.

[malbert73]

Awesome well deserved!

[Cymen]

Nice way to escape with great timing. Have things relaxed or are you still mostly on the hook?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Cymen

Nice way to escape with great timing. Have things relaxed or are you still mostly on the hook?

we returned on friday to our normal berth on the beach after the UK ban on recreational boating was lifted.

we are still able to keep well isolated,but getting resupplied is less difficult being back onboard our other boat currently with access to transport,shops and my workshop.

currently the plan is to get reprovisioned,top up on fuel and cooking gas etc ,so that in the event of a further lockdown ,if their is another wave of infections, we will be ready to slip the lines and head out into the bay again if this seems prudent.

so far cornwall has had comparatively few infections and deaths compared to other parts of the uk ,but it is still early days.

Happy days
stay safe

[Waretoot]

Hi Alex, I have to say that the amount of work you’ve done on this project is quite staggering and the quality humbling when compared with my feeble forages into diy, although what you’ve achieved is diy in name only!

Now you’ve been on the boat for a while I wonder if you would consider some further posts:
1) What would you have done differently with the benefit of hindsight? I’m thinking not just the design but the process too.
2) A complete inventory, what have you actually ended up with? In the unlikely event that someone else had the time, skill and pure bloody mindedness to follow in your footsteps what would the design document be!

I for one would be fascinated by a consolidated view of what you’ve achieved.

-N

PS. What the heck are you planning next!!!

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Waretoot

Hi Alex, I have to say that the amount of work you’ve done on this project is quite staggering and the quality humbling when compared with my feeble forages into diy, although what you’ve achieved is diy in name only!

Now you’ve been on the boat for a while I wonder if you would consider some further posts:
1) What would you have done differently with the benefit of hindsight? I’m thinking not just the design but the process too.
2) A complete inventory, what have you actually ended up with? In the unlikely event that someone else had the time, skill and pure bloody mindedness to follow in your footsteps what would the design document be!

I for one would be fascinated by a consolidated view of what you’ve achieved.

-N

PS. What the heck are you planning next!!!

i will try,actually it is about time i posted some of the photos and videos of the complete interiour and her out sailing.

apologies for being slack with the updates
will see what i can put together in the next few days

[atoll]

FYI
I have been following this young couple on youtube who earlier this year bought a factory built Prout Elite in a fairly tired state and did a bit of a refit before crossing the channel from the UK to France and have now entered the french canals with the intention of reaching the Med.

Well worth a watch,or subscribe to their weekly adventures. 19 episodes so far documenting the refit and travels ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwt4i5gHo6o

[atoll]

Ever considered removing a Sillette drive leg in the water?
Here is how you do it!(rather them than me!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX5I8ZhYI3s

[atoll]

Ever considered removing a Sillette drive leg in the water?
Here is how you do it!(rather them than me!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX5I8ZhYI3s

[Morter]

Hey Atoll,

Been reading this thread in awe!

We've just bought a 1997 Snowgoose Elite and have a couple of questions, would you be able to send me a PM as I'm a new member?

Cheers!

[Wilyum]

One of the best threads on CF, any updates Atoll?

[atoll]

Hi Chris
I will have a look,but mostly the hard top was built to fit the alloy supports front and back that were fabricated first.

Then on top of this the fabricated panels were through bolted to the frame,and joined with a seal along the raised lip edges facing downwards with small bolts.

This comprised of a central laminated panel aprox(230x112 cm) and left and right handed laminated panels approx (230/210 x 108 cm),also with a raised lip all around .

the front and side panels with windows were made using templates once the roof was in place.

(in hindsight i would not have bothered making fixed windows in the front and fwd sides, but instead would just have used canvas and isenglass laminate windows that could be rolled up for better vision and ventilation if sailing in hotter climates.

Inside, the head liners and moldings were all made using templates to correspond to the fir wood battens that are laminated to the underside of the deck molding.

The battens serve 2 purposes,A, to create a nominal 30mm gap for the 25mm cellotex insulation boards to fit snugly into and B, to attach the laminated headliners and trim to.

whilst fitting the battons, conduits for 12v,24v,240v electrical wiring,data cables,antenna cable etc are also recessed and supported under the battons and headliners.

where cellotex board couldn't be fitted we used neopreme insulation and foilbacked bubble wrap type insulation.

all the fixed window moldings have an inner laminated trim that corresponds to the window cut out shape in the deck molding.
This covers the bolts used to attach the perspex/acrylic windows to the coachroof.

The window trim and liner is a nominal 30-40mm depth around the windows allowing for cellotex board insulation to be fitted behind it.

Outside off the window trim molding,and corresponding to the window shape and held in place with a hardwood trim is 3mm clear perspex glass, which effectively creates "Double glazing"insulation in all the fixed windows.

This greatly improves the insulation throughout the boat and virtually eliminates any condensation on the inside of the cabin windows.

On the opening hatches we have removable 3mm perspex glass panels held in place with small hardwood tabs for use over winter.

ventilation is through the anchor locker,into the 2 hulls and front cabin.

The anchor locker lid we can lock in a slightly open position,any spray or rain drains out the bottom but still allows airflow through the boat and out the hatch at the steering position and main hatch in the deck.

All the moldings for the boat were laid up on an sheet of 8"X 4"melamine faced 20mm ply wood as a laminating table.

To make the headliners from templates taken to correspond with the battoning inside the boat,
1
i would: check which side i need to use,to get a mirror image;as everything is reversed when using a template????? ie; the inside becomes the outside when the laminate is lifted from the table--
so then when you are happy you have the correct side.

lay the template on the table, then use masking tape to mark the outer edges.
2
for a raised lip(when making a window liner) use ,12mm x 30-40mm battom cut to size to create the inside shape of your raised lip(inside trim) to correspond with the inside shape of your template taken from the window.

Apply double sided sticky tape to the underside of the
battons trim off any excess tape,then stick down to the table, inside of your template,this can then be further stuck to the table using a glue gun or masking tape.

3 now remove your template and place somewhere safe,you will need it later to trim off excess laminate.

4 make sure your batton is not going to move,use 2' electrical tape to create a shiny surface on the raised part of the batton that you are going to gel coat.trim excess using a razor,i carry the tape over the top edge of the batton as it stops excess resin sticking when removing excess laminate.

5 wipe down table with acetone to remove any contanimation,once dry apply release wax to all surfaces to be gelcoated,repeat and polish with clean rag.

6cut out your chopped strand mat to roughly fit the area to be molded.
use surface tissue around corners on the raised lip for first and last layers,as well as 2 layers of 300G/sm trimmed to size(surface tissue will add extra thickness in areas if adding trim to screw in self tapping screws)
set aside tissue and cloth.

7Blow off area to be molded and polish.
(Using Polyester Resin and Gelcoat)

Apply first layer of gelcoat to whole area to be molded with suffcient catalyst to cure overnight @20C 2%, leave overnight to harden.
8
Apply 2nd coat of gelcoat,can use 3-4%catalyst to speed things up.
once tacky,start to apply normally catalysed resin and surface tissue then 2 layers of csm and any reinforcing with surface tissue.

leave to fully cure,(the edge of the raised bit can be trimmed with a blade once gelled,or left and taken off with a sanding disc on a grinder later)

9
once fully cured,use a scraper to lift the edges of the laminate from the table then use wood or plastic wedges to gently lift the molding,the batton part will probably lift as well, this can be removed later by snapping outif it is tight, once any cross reinforcement is removed.

10
remove any tape,then trim with a thin cutting disc,i find the 2mm stainless cutting discs work best using a wood or metal strip as a guide.

use your template to mark where you need to trim

trimming a raised lip is more difficult and a guide is essential to get a nice straight cut so some times it is easier to use a sanding disc for the final finish.

11
clean molding with white spirit to remove any wax and tape residue.
remove any excess gelcoat on edges with wet n dry on a block
then the gelcoat can be polished with a low speed polisher using water and G10 for a high finish.

for the hard top i used 2 layers of 450CSM, 12mm nidacore,then 2 layers of 300CSM,with extra matting around the raised lip and attachment points.

for the headliners i mostly used 2 layers of 300G/sm CSM with surface tissue around any raised lips

other liners i used 1 layer of 450 G/sm csm where rigidity was not important as this,although tough and light will tend to sag on horizontal surfaces.

all interiour gelcoat was 2 coats white then polished.

The outside dodger was tinted slightly to match the slightly cream hull colour.

originally sent as a PM
but thought i would add it to the thread for anybody thinking of using Polyester to makeup headliners or moldings

Atoll

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Morter

Hey Atoll,

Been reading this thread in awe!

We've just bought a 1997 Snowgoose Elite and have a couple of questions, would you be able to send me a PM as I'm a new member?

Cheers!

PM sent
copied and posted here as well

[Morter]

Thanks again Alex, so useful. Hopefully I can do half as good of a job as you! Cheers, Chris