Ian's TNT Build

[Forge]

Nice job! I'm sure motor noises have happened by now?

oooooh yyeeeeeaaaahhhh
I can see it and hear it cruising through the water all the time while working on it...
Can't wait for it to be real!

[denbrlr]

Your build is looking good. I used a Teleflex no feedback system on my TNT (built back in 2010/2011 - see the "Another TNT build" thread). The boat has a 25 HP motor. I know a no feedback system isn't really required for small motors but I like it.

A comment about your dash height. Remember that you will have some seats in there which will raise you up and give less room for your legs. The bottom of my dash is a little above the bottom of the coamings and there is enough room for me at 5' 9" but there isn't really enough for my son at 6'. Something to think about.

Lee

[Forge]

A comment about your dash height. Remember that you will have some seats in there which will raise you up and give less room for your legs. The bottom of my dash is a little above the bottom of the coamings and there is enough room for me at 5' 9" but there isn't really enough for my son at 6'. Something to think about.

Lee

Hi Lee, thanks for the feedback, I am 6'6" so this is very relevant. I have attached an updated picture of the dash showing the contour on the bottom edge. I had not yet made the cutouts on the bottom edge in my previous post. It is definitely a tight legroom situation under the dash so the notches give me a nice pocket for my right leg. I made sure to get a wide piece of mahogany so I could cut out some legroom on either side of the steering wheel.
Also, because I put my gas tank up front I had to cut out the left side enough to allow the tank to be pulled out from under the dash to be refilled.

[TAB]

Nice job! I'm sure motor noises have happened by now?

The only question is....


Did he make 2 cycle motor noises or 4 cycle motor noises

[Forge]

The only question is....
Did he make 2 cycle motor noises or 4 cycle motor noises

I made this motor noises!

My suzuki!

[Forge]

Sooooo this happened today
Time to hook up all the controls so I can take it all apart again and finish this boat!

Motor dry fit! Vrooomm vrooooom

[Forge]

Well I have more goofs, and I have discovered the wire harness that came with my motor has a lot more wires than the motor has functions. So now I am changing one of my gauges, and am jury rigging the alerts built into the tach I bought.
When I first picked up the motor I went through the diagram for the wire harness and identified that it had a trim signal connector, and the Suzuki Diagnostic System connector which provides a check engine, over temp, over rev, and oil pressure light. So based on this I purchased a tach that had the 4 suzuki monitor lights built in (extra$50) and a trim gauge. Since this is the power Tilt version I wanted to have some idea of where the trim was while cruising etc.
Well, now that I hung the motor and wired things up to test everything I have found out that the 9.9/15/20hp model does not have a trim sending unit and does not support the Suzuki Diagnostic signals. This harness is also used for the 25hp and up, which have these extra functions. The motor has these features but it only flashes the warning light on the front of the motor and does not send these up to the helm.

So I am returning the trim gauge and I will I stall a voltmeter instead in the 2" hole. And the Tachometer I am going to keep the same. The wiring diagram shows that the oil pressure switch signal is sent to the remote control to trigger the buzzer when oil pressure drops. So I am going to jump this wire to the oil pressure light on the tach, so I will at least have one of the warnings lights functional.

But on the bright side, since the harness has these extra wires that do not go anywhere, I can use them to run my lights and bilge pump. So all my wires will be in one nice clean bundle.

lesson learned; make sure the wiring harness you have is specific to your motor. If it is a harness that is used for multiple models, it may have a bunch of wires you don't need.
I am going to strip it down and shorten it up to fit exactly what I need since the harness is about 16ft long and 6lbs.

[Forge]

Here is picture of the wire harness being stripped apart, shortened and soldered back together.
I was able to successfully connect the low oil pressure switch to the oil warning light in the tachometer. So at least one of the diagnostic lights works.

[Forge]

I am ready to finish hull assembly of the framing and top deck. I cleaned all the tools and wire bits out and made another pass at the sheer fairing with the Coamings off. Then I glued them in once I was happy with the curves. I added some more support bracing for the gas tank and the upright for the strong back.

Cleaned up and dismantled again

Next I am going to glue on the pieces for the motor well. I decided to pass the steering cable through the motor well. The curve is right but still within the manufacturer recommendations, no tighter than an 8 inch radius but it's really close. I will box around the hole so the motor well won't drain into the bilge. And leave enough room for the electrical cables and control cables to pass through as well.

Framing the motorwell

One interesting thing about the motor is that the mounting bracket is so wide, the 1.5in thickness of the transom is not enough. I will add a third layer of 3/4in plywood to beef it up so the clamps will hold the motor in place with sufficient grip.

Faring the bow a bit more...

More pics to come. I have lots of time this weekend since I took Friday off work.

[Forge]

It's coming together nicely this weekend. I have the motorwell glued up and the control mounting panel as well.
I got the dash all sanded and put the first coat of epoxy on it. It's really got a cool grain pattern. I think I am going to start on the top decking this next weekend
My plan is to get the decking on and then flip it over to fiberglass the bottom. I want to flatten the sheer edge to put on a rub rail later, but I want the fiberglass to wrap over the edge and add some reinforcement. The likelihood of the sheer edge hitting the dock on a daily basis is very high in my family...

First coat of epoxy on the dash!

[vupilot]

Looking good!

[Forge]

I have the inside all sealed up and I am rough cutting the top deck to fit this weekend!

[laubenthal]

Coming together. I like how your dash is coming out. You are doing a great job.

[Forge]

Thanks Jim!
Here are some more pictures. I am warming up to the look of the wood in the interior, I still think I will paint in-between the battens, but it sure does look nice all glossy!
And I got the side decking on this weekend as planned. The top deck over the bow is all rough cut and fitted along the rabbet edges, just need to make sure I am all good to go before closing up the bow...
Next steps :
Install dash,
install steering cable while I can still wrestle it in place with the top deck off.
Add some blocking/bracing reinforcement behind the dash to help keep the steering well sturdy and prevent the dash from splitting near all the gauges and switch holes etc.
Pre-drill for the bow navigation light
Mark and pre-drill for the forward cleats
Make butt blocks and glue in place
Make a bungee for securing the gas tank,
???
Glue on the top deck!

[Ibrew2be]

Ian,

A thought for you as you try to decide whether or not to paint the wood between the battens of your boat.

I don’t remember what kind of plywood you used, and I can’t tell for sure from the pictures. Anyway, I used Okoume for my boat and finished the interior with epoxy and varnish (i.e. no paint). I completed my build in 2015. What I have noticed since then is that to my eye at least, the color of the wood has improved over time. It has grown darker and richer and the wood grain seems to have more depth.

As I say, just something for you to think about.

Nice job with your build. I’ve been enjoying following it.

Barry