What are your tips and tricks to fitting a fiberglass cowl to a boat?

[garrett randall]

I'm fitting a new fiberglass Phil Thomas sport 40 turbine cowl to an older Phil Thomas sport 40 hull...

What are your processes/tips/tricks to gettting it to lay flat on the hull (make it the same shape) and create the best front to back and side to side seal possible?

Right now the back is not flat (see picture)...I can push it down, but then I stress another part of the cowl...

How do you remove that stress point/flex?

Garrett

 

[RodneyPierce]

Heat gun/hair dryer or hot water. I prefer to run the cowl under hot water for a minute. (not too long, or the epoxy will lose its shape and crease easily, but just long enough to make it pliable). Then I tape it down to the boat and let it cool. Usually a couple times doing this and it fits to the boat nearly perfect.

 

[P THOMAS]

HI Garrett, You could have just got a new hull too.

You need to sand the bottom of the cowl in the middle and it will sit on the hull better, and sand the width to fit.

Then do what Rodney says use real hot water and it will soften the epoxy, tape it down. The epoxy is not cured hard for about 7 days so it is easy to reform with hot water.

 

[bob hulliger]

I put a piece of light cardboard inside of the engine compartment and draw a line all thr way from front to back where the cowling is going to be ,cut it out and transfer that curve to the cowl. good luck

 

[Samuel Hagan JR]

Heat gun/hair dryer or hot water. I prefer to run the cowl under hot water for a minute. (not too long, or the epoxy will lose its shape and crease easily, but just long enough to make it pliable). Then I tape it down to the boat and let it cool. Usually a couple times doing this and it fits to the boat nearly perfect.

Will that work if the cowl is already painted?

 

[RodneyPierce]

Im not sure to be honest. Ive only done it to new cowls. Sorry I cant be of more help.

 

[Samuel Hagan JR]

After we painted the cowl the rear of it flared upward. Kinda wierd. But I'll give it a shot.

 

[P THOMAS]

That cowl should have some 1/8th strips ply glued under the rear deck to prevent that problem. Heat it and tack the strips down with some ca and then epoxy. The paint drying has caused this. I have built a small frame under my Stealth cowls. We have cut off the rear decks and fastened them to the hull with screws also.