Gonna try to pick up where we left off with the front bow panel “fiasco”
So anyways after spending a week working on this piece alone

I cranked the heat up on the torch to smooth it all out and when I got done with the welding I noticed the side corners had curled in about 1/2” !!! Too much heat warped it !!
Because it’s such an odd shape I am having one heck of a time clamping it and getting it to stay.
So I got mad at myself and made another top panel out of the diamond plate


I then thought I’d get smart and weld a 1x1 post where the front bow light hole will be so I could clamp to it

I also had to use a c clamp style valve spring compressor since I have no clamps that big.
Well after working on that one for about 2 days I am completely disgusted with it LOL and probably going to trash it and start over again.

If you zoom in close on the photo, the welded edges I smoothed down look great but to get them smooth I had to sand off a lot of the diamond plating in that area, which makes it look strange.
So that’s when I took a break and started running the wiring from the on board charger to the TM batteries.

Everything to tucked away and hidden

Used a 1” hole saw to open up my main wiring tube wherever I needed to branch off


I had to add roughly 8’ of wiring to my charging leads but I think everything is going to work out because I utilized the same hardware from factory , used twisted wire pairs to reduce feedback and everything was solid soldered and waterproof as well as using a slightly larger gage wiring to reduce potential voltage drop.
We shall see
The reasoning for running all this wiring now is I have decided to either build another complete front bow panel or maybe use this last one and I and going to install it at the bow , use a large ratchet strap around the entire hull and pull it all up tight and weld it solid into place before I do any more welding on the panel for a finished look.
I’m hoping this will keep it in check and it will come out the way I want it. Before I can weld it I need to run my wires to the bow panel to basically get them close to the cutouts that will be in that panel where they need to be.
If that doesn’t work I am going to hire someone to build it lol.
So started on the transom finish
I have a total of 4 large holes to fill in the transom . 2 are drain-outs for the splash-well area and 2 are for the old livewell plumbing .


The two drain-out holes I cut some 1” X 1/8” tube and stuck through the wooden transom and front and rear plates.



Once that was done I welded up those two bottom holes with a small plate on it the inside of the hull
Started sealing up the top section of the wooden transom by applying a heavy coat of “flex seal” and then brushing it down into the entire area


Installed a top plate to that

Started laying it down lol

All welded up

Didn’t get to actually hang the motor today, tomorrow I will install the outside corner caps to the transom and start fabricating the main plate the motor will bolt to.
If I decide to make a jack plate, this 1/4” tempered plate will also be a part of that so it has to be cut anyways, if I don’t then the motor will be bolted directly to it and the transom.
There’s a lot I don’t have photos of, like the additional bracing I added to the front bow all the way to the front, it’s solid as a rock now.
Will try and update more Friday or Saturday. Thanks for following along.
Here’s the bracing under the bow panel.
