Thread: 1996 Blazer VL100 Restoration to Crappie Chaser

Man can do a lot of good things with a tig set up for sure. Definitely a versatile tool

So I'm breaking up the two posts so I can explain one at a time. Most marine trim is just the edging material itself. No Bulb seal is used. The standard marine edge material with or without the bulb seal is made the same. There are perpendicular aluminum, u-shaped, forms embedded in the vinyl material to maintain the tension on the edge grip. It is soft stuff the aluminum and generally won't damage a blade if you hit some. So I remove the last piece of aluminum with needle nose pliers so just vinyl is in the seam. This stuff shrinks so don't stretch it, if possible compress it while installing. I use a wooden block and plastic hammer to tap the trim securely in place.



In the hatch fabrication post I explained that this material does not like to turn sharp corners so I put a radius in the flange corners to make it easier to install the vinyl trim. I use a screwdriver to help spread the trim to allow it to slide over the flange but all the time I'm pushing the material to compress it while making the turn on the flange.



Terminating the seal is another place attention to detail really helps. It helps prevent a shrinkage gap from developing. I Cut the material oversize then push the end of the trim down on the flange at the starting point leaving a hump behind the seam. Then I push the hump down compressing the trim eliminating the chance a gap develops later.




The next post I will show how I make hinges and set the timing on the hinges to the hatch so when it is closed the hatch is level with full contact evenly all the way around.

Some great work

As posted earlier I canned the fiberglass hatches for new custom aluminum ones. So you can't use the old mounting holes, hinges, layout, etc. My other VL100 came with aluminum hatches but also flimsy stainless hinges. They smile, distort, flex if not supported. So not being made to my satisfaction and me stocking Marine Aluminum Hinge in bulk here I made new hinges that will last forever. Bulk Aluminum Hinge is sold in 6ft lengths, sold by Pin size. The size I am using is 3/16 so it has a 3/16in pin diameter. Next to figure is where to position the hinges on the boat and hatch so the hatch closing timing is perfect. You want the hatch sitting all the way around so when walked on stress is not applied to the hinges and hinge mounting screws only the hatch. I could easily TIG welded the hinges on but then the pins would get contaminated with all the fluffed off grit from sanding, epoxy primer overspray, and 2K Urethane overspray. This is all bad for the pin. The pin floats so everything would be wearing prematurely.

Well I had this entire post finished but we lost power right before finishing. I decided to get a glass of homemade hooch to drink while typing again. Please keep a sense of humor, this batch of hooch is 18.91ABV but smooth as a $50 bottle of Pinot Noir.



First things first is to set the hatches in place to see where they want to rest naturally. After that I put just a small amount of forward pressure to each hatch one at a time till the bulb seal has conformed to the fiberglass for a good seal. You have to compress enough to allow for shrinkage. Once the width of each hinge is determined I cut 4 and drop in place to make sure the mounting screw heads will clear the hinge body when closed. While laying out where to drill the mounting holes I keep a 1/2 in offset to ensure clearance is kept. I like to mount the hinges as far apart as I can but not too close to the hatch edges. So 2 inches from the edges is a good distance. Using these hinges and this spacing, keeping in mind I want the pin high enough the hatch can open fully, not much deck here so they need to open fully too. I mark the hinge location on the hatches and measure how much excess height the hinge pin is over the deck. Higher the pin is greater tripping hazard to worry about creating. The Seadek will prevent hatch finish damage should I step on a open hatch resting on the other.



The hinge was sitting on the edge of the Edge Trim and needed trimming down. Also I measure, mark, and center punch the hole locations even though I'm using a serious drill press to drill the holes. Reason, the punched marks will help me see the mistake. If you know there is a area you have problems with, then insulate yourself against the mistake. I've seen so many sharpie marks I tend to think a piece of dirt is a sharpie mark. Especially without my reading glasses. So I feel the punch mark with the tip of a finger while positioning the hinge in the drill press, no mistaken holes that way. All holes were camfered after drilling then the hinges were clamped in place on the hatch with 2 clamps, one can allow the hinge to rotate if the bit walks, use 2 clamps. An old saying "A lazy man does the most work".



After mounting both sets of hinges I set the hatches back on the boat but now the timing has to be figured out. I start out by looking in the crack of the hinge with a flashlight to see about where the hinge is resting. From there I lift the hatch up vertical and rest it on something thin. I increase the thickness till the hinge is resting close to where I saw it. Here it took 2 paint mixing sticks to hit the right "Timing" of the hatch. First try was with one stick and the hatch made contact on the hinge side before the opposing side. So after taping them to the boat where the aft stick also was locating the aft hinge all I had to do was trim the excess wood so it didn't interfere with the install, slide the hinge against the paint stick and drill one center hole in each hinge. I buy these long, extra long, and super long drill bits in sizes need for this type of mounting and mounting T-Tops to stringers. It also helps to have extra long Phillips screwdrivers with very good tips. The tip will hold even stainless screws as long as you don't try to angle too far.



Another issue I have with my other Blazer is while the Aft hatch height matches the center seat area you can't place tall drink coolers in the storage area. This is corrected on this boat. I raised the Aft hatch height enough to fit a monster Plano Crappie Tackle Box in the Aft storage and close the hatch.



I hope y'all find this useful................P.S. Proof reading I had a truck load of errors. Wonder how many would have scratch their heads reading the typing mistakes. Good thing I married a Librarian.

Amazing attention to detail. Nice quality workmanship.

, amazed you could type much less walk…

Managed to work on the main 4 hatches in between steps fabricating the aft enclosed casting deck section on the aluminum boat in my shop.



First thing was to strip the hatches. Since I made the hinges out of 6ft bulk hinge strip each hinge had to be marked to it's respective location. So a gallon ziploc bag was marked for each hatch then one at a time I stripped the hatches into the bags. Sanding with a tight radius DA sander I put a 220 grit tooth on the substrate so the Epoxy would stick very well. After moving the hatches outside to spray everything got a triple Acryliclean bath to remove all aluminum residue and any processing oils that may be present.



Pictured is my favorite PPG Refinish Epoxy for these kinds of projects. It sticks very well, sprays smooth without reducing (out of a 2.5 HVLP), and has fantastic millage per coat. The hinges don't get a heavy coat of paint and the paint you use has to be good with oil periodically. I like VHT Epoxy Black for this task, it covers well, has great adhesion, but not a lot of millage. I spray the epoxy with the intention of not scuffing much (only remove knats, etc) before topcoating. The 377 can go 3 days/72hrs then it has to be sanded before topcoating. PPG Refinish's website has a download for application and topcoating.




The knats are not too bad in the morning but after the second knat landed on the lids I moved them inside. After reinstalling the hinges and edge trim I reinstalled each hatch back on the boat. These will get SeaDek but only after another week of curing.

I still have not decided what kind of seat I will make so the Livewell hatch will not be done till I figure it out.

Beautiful work! After all this work I think a front deck recliner is in order!