Glen-L Hot Rod

1. The transom drain plugs were cut out with a hole saw. Fiberglass tubes were fabricated and epoxied into the holes.

2. A hole saw makes quick work of cutting out the exhaust outlet holes.

3. Interior view of the transom. A 3/4" marine plywood backing plate was fabricated and epoxied to the transom.

4. The inside lip was waterproofed with one layer of 6-1/2 ounce fiberglass cloth. The hole was drilled 1/8" oversize to allow a thick bead of sealant around the exhaust tip's circumference.

5–6. The Gibson Transom Mount Power Tip mufflers look sweet ! Click here to see the muffler specifications.

7. We reduced the 4" OD stainless pipe to 3-1/2".

8. The rough-cast aluminum Velvet Drive bellhousing was brought back to life with many hours of sanding and polishing. We fabricated a torque tube guard adapter which mounts to the transnission's end-cover.

9. The cap bolts were replaced with hex head bolts in an effort to gain more clearance. The base was cut from a piece of 1/4" steel plate. A 1-1/2" wide slice from a 6" well casing was welded to a larger pipe which was in turn welded to the mounting plate.

10. With the transmission hub installed, there's just enough room to insert a hex key to tighten the end-cover bolts.

11. Slots cut into both sides of the part allow access to the hub bolts. I wasn't able to find a manufactured adapter, so like many parts on the boat, you have to build your own. It won't be a real Hot Rod unless it's got a bunch of homegrown parts on it !

Here's the last of the interior epoxy barrier coating. Round 2 will be followed up with a sprayed urethane clearcoat.

Once the clearcoat has been applied, we can start the carlings and deck !

1. We've upgraded from a Teleflex NFB Dual Cable system to Seastar hydraulic steering. Running two hefty cables through the stringers to the tiller would have compromised the stringer's integrity, so we'll be running 3/8" copper lines instead.

2–3. Visible in this photo are the two fiberglass drain plug tubes. A brass sleeve will be slipped into the tube and sealed with 3M 5200 sealant. If any water leaks past the tube, the fiberglass tube liner will protect the frame from water damage.

4. In order to mount the cylinder within the stringers, we fabricated a second tiller which will connect to the central tiller arm via an adjustable tie bar. The tiller arm was flame-cut from a piece of 3/8" steel plate.

5. A piece of 3/4" ID schedule 80 steel pipe was fitted through the tiller arm pivot point and bushed with a bronze bushing. The pivot rod is a 9/16" x 2" machine bolt captured between the top and bottom plates. We'll post more photos when we finalize some of these parts...

1. We fabricated a frame truss plate to span the stuffing box at frame # 4. It's made from 3/8" thick T356 aluminum plate. The v-drive and transmission mounting plates were bolted to the stringers with 3/8" stainless steel machine bolts. Also visible in the top left corner of the photo is the carling. We'll have more pics of this after it's been all glued up.

2. We'll be installing a stainless steel pop-up bow light in the strongback. This will require routing out a rather large hole which will seriously affect the member's integrity. We therefore laminated three pieces of 1/4" 5-ply marine grade plywood to the douglas fir strongback. This will retain it's curved shape.

1. We'll be installing a stainless steel pop-up bow light in the strongback. This will require routing out a rather large hole which will seriously affect the member's integrity. We therefore laminated three pieces of 1/4" 5-ply marine grade plywood to the douglas fir strongback. This will retain it's curved shape.

2. Two douglas fir 1" x 2"'s were laminated to the plywood strips. A 3/8" dado was cut into the stock and the breasthook was routed to a depth of 3/8" to receive the two pieces.

3. Initial deck fairing completed. Now we'll have to lay out and cut an opening for the pop-up bow light.