Bell Boy 404 Express Restoration

[Helmar]

Looking pretty sweet John.
Its fun isn't it, very rewarding to set back and look at what you have done

[TheBronze]

Thanks, Helmar.

Yep, hard to beat that satisfaction of seeing the hard work in action.

In other news, I've been getting rats on my boat. Really annoying as they poop where ever they walk. There isn't any food stuff on board, they just wander around on it. There had been some dry poop as I started work a few weeks ago, and I cleaned it up. Thought they were done. Then started seeing more. So today I laid out some traps. One along each gn'l and one on the cabin top. Just checked and had very recently snagged a good 6-8 inch rat (not including the tail). Reset the trap and we'll see how it goes overnight... Little bastards!

[Helmar]

Thanks, Helmar.

Yep, hard to beat that satisfaction of seeing the hard work in action.

In other news, I've been getting rats on my boat. Really annoying as they poop where ever they walk. There isn't any food stuff on board, they just wander around on it. There had been some dry poop as I started work a few weeks ago, and I cleaned it up. Thought they were done. Then started seeing more. So today I laid out some traps. One along each gn'l and one on the cabin top. Just checked and had very recently snagged a good 6-8 inch rat (not including the tail). Reset the trap and we'll see how it goes overnight... Little bastards!

Well, the glue they use some times is renderings, blood, guts and I remember some of the plywood mills were infested with rats just because of the glue drippings so I know they are attracted to that.
I have a Shop cat and then the neighbors cat hangs around so every once in a while, I find whats left of mice anyway. Not much else (knock on wood) so not sure what is bringing them into your project.

I remember up in Quilcene, I took a small Case caterpillar and pushed up some of the sheep droppings and straw into a Big pile and then forgot about it. Rats made a home out of that !!.
Picked up a couple of barn cats that took care of that but then had to feed those little critters too. It turned out ok as I was able pet them and they kept pretty much all the rodents away. Big ol Owl got one of them which I didn't care for but I guess they have to eat too.......

If no pets, maybe the poison so they go off some place else and die ?

Hah, I just noticed my profile picture...I need to update that. Look pretty much the same other than most of my hair is grey now.

[Kelly]

Rats suck. Sorry to hear they're liking your boat. Sorry Joe, not to sound off against your idea but I would steer clear of using any poison...especially if there's access to under your boat sole/floor. I'd hate to hear that they ate the poison then got under your floor somehow and died, only to find out months down the road while on the water!! Yuck.
Quick side story. During one of my deployments to the middle east we had a rat-a-saurus rex get on our jet. Long story short, we got that sumbish after it chewed wiring, insulation etc...and it cost Uncle Sam and the rest of us almost a cool Million. The rat was HUGE, twice the size of your fella.

[TheBronze]

I use Victor traps. It does require some attention, but they are a no mercy quick kill. And thankfully, I pretty much have no bilges for them to hide in. Most of it is filled with foam!

A $1 Milllion rat. Dang...

[TheBronze]

Got the table leg set up tonight. The base is screwed along the centerline in the cabin. During deck layup years ago, I installed additional 2x4 bracing along both sides of the center stringer to support mounting the base plate. As such, I used big number 6 screws to mount it into the deck. It's nice and sturdy. The portion that mounts to the table uses 6 number 10 screws. Both ends are pretty stout.

The top is a snap fit to the leg. It isn't exactly difficult to mount, but removing it proved to be a bit of a challenge due to the angle and force needed to pop the locking tab out. I ended up having to use knees to remove it on the first try. Hopefully it will loosen up a bit for ease of removal down the road. If it continues to be an issue, shortening the table leg may help. The bonus is that because it is a press fit, the table can be rotated easily.

The other thing that may necessitate shortening of the leg is the wobble effect. The leg is around 3 inches wide, but the overall assembly is easy to wobble probably due to the bayonet style mounting. I have a feeling that when under way, vibration will cause it to move around a bit.

We'll see...

Pics in both long and wide alignment.

[TheBronze]

This weekend was one of those do a lot of work but not have much to show for it times.

Last week I removed the one remaining piece of wood from under the stbd window that acts as a backer for mounting the cubbies. It was pretty much rotten, but I managed to use it as a template for replacement. It follows the curvature of the deck on the outside, allowing for a straight line on the inside. Originally, it was held in place by special bolts riding in a track under the window, along with through bolts to a flange on the deck. During removal of both sides, the special bolts had to be cut due to rot. I figured I could do without them on reconstruction and just mount the new wood to the flange. However, when I did this, there was a considerable gap between the window frame and the wood and it looked bad. So…

Removal of the seized leftovers was in order. I used a punch and hammer to do the port side, but the stbd side parts were firmly stuck. Out came the cut off wheel and both sides were cleaned up. I would recommend the cut off wheel method for any future use to people here. It was much faster and easier.

Last time I dealt with the special fasteners was when I mounted the windshield. I used stainless steel bolts and cut them down to fit the channel. I know, disparate metals, but try finding aluminum fasteners… I did the same this time around by using what was left of a punched out fastener as a guide. I ended up with 1/4 inch bolts at 1.5 inches. After sizing them down they fit like a charm. Only problem was, the channel was wider than the head and they spun easily! Thinking cap on, I made wooden blocks to fit in the channel to allow the head to be tightened. They mostly worked and I was able to capture the heads enough to tighten them down with a non-locking nut. I used a clamp on the sill and wood to put it in position, tightened things up with a socket until it felt like things were as snug as they were going to get. After releasing the clamps, everything stayed in place. Between the tension on the nut and then tension of the wood, everything is pretty immobile. Just to be sure, I chased the nuts with locking nuts to insure nothing moves.

With both backers in place, I'll be able to tackle the cubbies this week.

Image is the stbd side backer. What a thrill!

[TheBronze]

Ugh, I'm remiss. I haven't posed in here since February!

Since this post, I've mounted the cabinet door for the sink, created a door for the electrical panel and installed it, created cubbies, installed those, painted the ceiling in the cabin, routed the wires in split loom, installed the base plate and table, and generally got the boat ready for the season.

She got a wash down last week and was launched on Monday for opening weekend. I'll likely haul her out next week and put a little more spit and polish on a few things for the regular season but I didn't want to miss opening weekend again. And I almost did...

She sat for quite a while with no charge on the batteries. No big deal. Charged one up and noticed my charging relay wasn't happy, saying it was under load. So I charged up the other. But it was still complaining. So I decided to isolate the batteries to see if I had a bad one. Somehow during all of this I managed to cross wire one of the batteries.... I noticed because the 4 gauge wire was getting warm at my A/B switch. I quickly disconnected!

Knowing reverse polarity is bad for electric things I made a quick check of all my electrical systems. Sub panel, OK. Controls. Nothing. Crap.... Out comes the manual. Sure enough the 60 AMP main fuse in the engine had blown. Yikes! I replaced it with a spare but still nothing at the controls. Worry... The Suzuki 140 has a secondary power lead that connects to the battery to power the controls. This, however, had an intact fuse. So at this point I'm thinking I fried the ECU, despite the fuse. Ugh. I had dinner plans to attend to at this point, so it had to wait.

Next morning I started all over again and found a smaller fuse that I had missed that was blow. Replaced. No tone at controls. Time to start hauling wires out and check all connections. Low and behold! The rat that I killed back in Feb/March had chewed through the harness that was bundled up under the gn'ls. The wire was chewed through in 4 places! I spliced it back together and got my tone from the controls! Yay! I ran the engine last week prior to launch and everything is go for the season. Whew!

[Kelly]

Nice work and glad to hear it's back up and running! That could have ended far worse for sure. ECU is big bucks for sure!
The table looks good too. I somehow missed that post. Did you end up shortening the leg or are you still waiting to see how much it wobbles?
I'm guessing that's why I see a lot of tables with double legs or double points of contact with the hull. I hadn't put much thought to it until your post but it makes sense.

[TheBronze]

Table seems to be somewhat stable. It moves a bit, but it doesn't vibrate constantly, which was my concern. We'll see how it fares this season and I'll adjust as needed in the Fall.

When I haul her out this week, I'll take a cabin panorama shot. It's looking pretty done in there. It's kind of weird!

[Kelly]

Awesome! It has to be a good feeling having endured a few years of labor..can't wait to see some pics!

[BellBoyBob]

John!

Long time since I added a note to this forum. I hope all is well with you. My Bellboy is doing well. No further work since 2014 when I did the cockpit floor and pedestal benches. I am signed in to the forum but for some reason I am not allowed to view any of your pics!!! I will have to contact the administrator.

Best,

Bob

[TheBronze]

Hey, Bob. Did you get my PM?

Not much else going on for me for now. Boat is in the water for the season and getting regular use. Plans for the Fall/Winter are still battery re-location and door trim. I'm going to install cabin speakers as well. Beyond that, I think it will just be maintenance and a new paint job at some point down the road. Sure wish I had decent gel coat to work with!

With the new 21 on the site, it may be time for a Bell Boy Take Over! Bell Boy owners of the world, unite! Rise up!

[TheBronze]

Reading back through the previous page, I see that I owe some pics of the cabin. I never did get around to doing the panorama. I'll try to tackle it next time on the water.

Table update. The leg system sucks. It is almost impossible to get the leg out of the table to change position. Maybe in an RV it would be OK, but in the small cabin space it is just too difficult to remove. On the advice of a fellow down on the docks, I'm going to measure and see if the seat posts that I have will do the trick. They are height adjustable. I may be able to just do a high/low to handle the issue. I'll address this in the off season as well.