Pre-Fab...:)

[Steven UK]

soooo Hypothetically speaking...

you have just purchased a new boat loaded up the rental car and headed one way to your 'new to you' boat. you get to the boat and immediately realize you need a 'doo-dad' said doo-dad is uber expensive at the local store and fab shop. you say to your self i have a fully functioning small fab shop at home with tube bender, notch utter, Tig, Mig, & gas welding equipment. not to mention plasma and very nice precision welding table capable of clamping and holding intricate weld assemblies. you have also made lots of custom tube work for performance engines as well as coolant and fuel tanks...

all stainless or aluminum / aluminium unless otherwise noted

what would you have fabricated before you leave... here is my list as i head to the boat survey, tape measure in hand.
Pushpit side solar mounts
Bimini solar mount
Battery box (fiber glass)
fishing rod holder
companion way door (lexan)
bow roller chain stopper (no windlass) ** need ideas...
bow roller chain wear plates
outboard pushpit
swim step
whisker pole mount
spare stern anchor mount
cleat backing plates
bulkhead fittings for the solar wires (house molex glands)
i'm assuming the current fuel tank is OK.

what have you got?

Regards Steven

[Steven UK]

Just read in a different post comments about sea chests I like the idea, does anyone have any photos?

[Steven UK]

Just bumping this because I’m getting no love... I now have two weekends left before I jump in the rental car and head south. Basically I’ll be preparing fishing rod holders, some solar panel mounting hardware and the plates to hold the waterproof bulkhead fittings for the solar power leads.

Up until I depart I can basically fab anything I want out of aluminum or stainless... ideas?

Best regards Steven

[Chotu]

You fly to the boat and measure and mock everything up ahead of time, then fly back and get to work. You rent the car to drive down when you're finished in the Fab shop.

No way pre fabbing anything from a distance works on boats without getting hands on, very careful measurements.

[Steven UK]

Originally Posted by Chotu

You fly to the boat and measure and mock everything up ahead of time, then fly back and get to work. You rent the car to drive down when you're finished in the Fab shop.

No way pre fabbing anything from a distance works on boats without getting hands on, very careful measurements.

the boat is 26 hour drive from here, I've basically run out of time. but there will be some things I could save a lot of money on by preparing it now. I have already made two trips to the boat but the costs mount up quickly.

I am using plastic industrial pipe clamps from zoro.com to make rail mounting brackets for the rod holders and solar mounts, that's the easy stuff.

[psk125]

Since you don't have the exact measurements you need (you need a trip to the boat for all of those) you can try to make any pieces that don't attach to the boat itself. Then find a local guy with a mobile setup to do the additional fitting/attachment legs so they actually fit on the boat.