The Cackler Saga Continues...

[Bill Burruss]

All,
Good evening. It?s been a while since I provided an update on the Cackler build progress. I apologize for not keeping up as the boat was being built- all I can say is no excuse and I hope to finish up posting the build over the next couple weeks. Last update we were getting it ready for foaming and decking.

The last thing to do before foaming was to make sure all work was done in the compartments to be foamed. The wiring conduit was already done, so all that was left was to install the backing plates for the grab handles and u-bolts for lashing down to the trailer. The u-bolts did get a good dose of 5200 before final installation and tightening.
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For the rear compartments, I filled the entire compartments with foam. For the front, I used visqueen and duct tape to separate off the out thirds at the lateral deck beams. This worked really well. We wanted access to be able to air it out as well as reach the center of the forward deck to install a trolling motor or fishing chair mount at some future date. The plans called for no foam; just 4 PFDs under the front deck, and 2 PFDs in each sponson compartment. This is so you can open the deck plates in the off season to dry out the inside of the compartments and prevent moisture accumulation. I jammed 4 PFDs under the front deck for good measure after the deck was on so we definitely exceeded the floatation standard there. Am very pleased with the front compartment arrangement. For the rear, to do over, I would use visqueen to section off the top half of the sponson compartment at the top of the deck plate opening, and fill the top half the compartment with foam all the way to level of the deck. I?d then cut sections of pool noodles to stack and fill the bottom half the cavity.
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As the plan for the splashwell was coming into focus, I realized it might be better if the bilge pump was in the splashwell as that may end up being the low point of the boat when in the water or under power. Rather than take out the one already installed under the middle of the floor, I added a second pump. Figured redundancy could not hurt; if you need a bilge pump, you may REALLY need to pump. Both tubes angle down in the last few inches of run in an attempt to keep any splash from working into the tube and down into the boat. You can also see the 1 inch pine strips I added to the top of the rear hull pieces so that we would have solid wood to screw the deck to.

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I then cleaned up all the under-deck work that was easier to do now rather than lying on your back looking up, knocking crud in your eyes. This included installing the last of the wiring, as well as installing a filter to catch any big debris that got under the front deck so it didn?t roll into the drain holes in the front bulkhead and get stuck under the floor forever.
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I made the filter from washing machine strainer epoxied to a short piece of aluminum 1x 1/8 left over from sheathing the bilge keels. Screwed in on with screen side to wood. Amazing what you can do with basic boat building material.

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Next up is top deck!

Have a great evening,
-Bill
View attachment 1.1 IMG_0201a.JPGView attachment 1.2 IMG_0198a.JPGView attachment 1.3 IMG_0199a.JPGView attachment 1.4 IMG_0200a.JPGView attachment 1.5 bilge plumbing.JPGView attachment 1.6 IMG_4948.JPGView attachment 1.7 IMG_4950.JPGView attachment 1.8 IMG_4953.JPGView attachment 1.9 IMG_4947.JPG

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[Eric Patterson]

Bill

Thanks for the report. I've been hoping you'd show us more of your build. How come there is a deck hatch into the foam compartment?

Eric

 

[Bill Burruss]

Hi Eric,
Plans called for deck plates to access the cavities to install PFDs for floatation and air them out in the off season. We originally were going to go that way, but I started overthinking and really did not want that much air space in there as it could be displaced by water. Thought about pool noodles, but figured they would be hard to stack above the top of the deck plates. So we settled on filling with foam. Like I said above, to do again I would section off the space above the top of the deck plate and fill to the level of the deck with foam. The bottom could then be neatly filled with cut pool noodles to remove most of the air. At least with the plates already there, it will be easier to dig out the foam if we ever think it's picked up water.

-Bill