Morgan 43 Sailboat Upgrades


Morgan 43, Hull #65 "Kindred Spirit"
SWIM "SUGAR SCOOP" PLATFORM designed Finished View! winter & spring 2004 SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR THE MOST UPDATED PICTURES. REVISED 5/31/2004 Click on any picture to enlarge
Started Oct. 15th, 2003 This is what I think I want it to look like. I will form it on the boat and build it at home. *THIS IS NOT MY BOAT!* *********************************************************** April 10th - This IS what it looks like! My reason for hiding the ladder is simple. Most of the time we board the boat from the dinghy. I do not want to but the ladder in the water to get it out of the way. It would have made this project much simpler though! ********************************************************* KINDRED SPIRIT below Oct 15th, 2003** 1/8" plastic formed to boat, clamped and shimmed so it is tight against the hull. This picture shows a M45 hull imprinted over mine to see what the shape should be. Why re-invent the wheel, looks good on a 45 why not on a 43? Shape is bigger than I need so the fiberglass can be cut to shape later. Complete transom is covered in plastic so the fiberglass can NOT stick. This way I can bring the whole unit home to work on in the basement. Winter is not a good time up north to fiberglass. The ugly tubes going horizontal are reinforcing so it will hold it's shape. Many fiberglass layers are added in one day and the form is removed.
The new glass is trimmed to match the M45. More fiberglass is added to the walls. Experimenting with the shape with thin plastic board. Starting to look like the shape I want. Even Michele is starting to have positive thoughts about this project!
Foam glued up and inserted into base. 1/4" plywood used to form base of rear shape. Plywood to remain under fiberglass.
Screw reinforcement for the ladder set into the foam. Templates for side steps shown in pic
November 7th 2003 time to test it on the boat. Glad to report it has held its shape. Took some more measurements and back home it goes.
The 1 1/2" white pole on the right side of the above picture is for future use of wind machine or something. I had to find vertical on the boat before I could fiberglass in the support tube. Done below. Nov 23rd 2003 Note the ladder FINALLY came in the mail. Center picture shows where it will go. The picture on the right shows a reverse mold made to replicate the storage area for the ladder The mold is waiting to be waxed and then fiberglassed. This was much neater than forming everything face up. It leaves me a nice smooth surface where the ladder stows. Thinking backwards and upside down was the hardest part! Think I got it right! Nov 24th 2003 Mold gel coated and fiberglassed, many layers. For those who care, I am using Biaxial 17oz cloth
Nov 26th 2003 This is what the real thing looks like after removing the mold and trimming the raw edges. The cover in the second picture was my first attempt at fiberglassing using a mold. It came out OK but will need some sanding and filling in one spot where it stuck to the mold. I waxed the mold this time with auto wax and the mold release from West Marine. Then I sprayed it with a couple layers of hair spray. It does make sense because it dries and is water soluble just like the mold release stuff. IT WORKED! ( It's a fiberglass "Wacko" idea that I read on the internet!) Next step is to make the flat platform area that this fits into. The top flanges will be fiberglassed flush with the new area.
Ladder up Ladder down (3 telescoping steps) This is what it looks like set into the base that is being constructed.
Dec 14th 2003 Ladder base installed in West System epoxy. Note the screws that are holding it firm till the epoxy dries. They will be removed. Note in the left picture that there are now slots where the ladder will be installed. The ladder turned out to be over 2" high when in the closed position which was to high for the hatch cover I made. It was easier to cut the ladder base into the platform than make a new cover. Shit happens! Side walls complete and filler done to make proper curves before the fiberglassing begins. Fiberglassing will be done with Polyester resin because gelcoat will not stick to epoxy resin. I will be setting up a fan system in the basement so I will not loose any brain cells or get kicked out of the house.
Ready to fiberglass Dec 21st 2003 Have to wait till the holidays are over!
March 5th, 2004 So, what have I been doing in the two snowy months? Rebuilding the master bath in the house, so NO boat work was done. Too cold to fiberglass anyway. Started working again last weekend and here is the latest pic. It shows the side being smoothed out after fiberglassing. Spent time perfecting the rear corner. May not look it in the pic but it is smooth as a babies.......Know I have to flip it and do the other side and then the center area. Then onto the boat!	March 5th, 2004
March 6th	Port side, you can see the wet-out table-fan in door and the fiberglass on the port side and around rear corner. The wax paper hanging is where I needed to smooth out some cuts in the fiberglass to form around the corner. Wax paper on the wet surface makes it lay flat and smooth.
March 14th 17oz fiberglass cloth cut and ready to be wetted out and installed. Note the second piece hanging on the right.	Two layers complete and lightly sanded. Note the over lap marks, no two seams even come close. Final sanding to be done when I glass the lower section.
March 18th Fiberglass cut for lower section, 1st layer shown.	Fiberglass wet out, TWO layers, all the magic marker black lines are the edges and cuts made to the fiberglass after laying it out with paper. Starting with paper templates helped make it all fit perfectly.
March 20th Sanded with long flat board and 60 grit paper, sanded, filled, sanded, filled sanded, filled, sanded.	After all the sanding and filling, I painted the whole thing with grey sandable auto paint. Then I sanded again using the long flat board. I sanded all the paint off and any low areas remained gray. Filled those and sanded again and again and all the paint is GONE. It is about time for the first coat of gel coat..........after I sand the other side......another 5 hrs and sore hands! Are we having fun yet? THIS BETTER FIT!
APRIL 10th	APRIL 10th
Transom ground back for fiberglass tabbing. Sides to be ground back during installation.	Just about ready to head to the boat!
I sprayed the rear end of the unit with gelcoat to act as a under coat that would allow me to see any imperfections that might exist. The finish gelcoat will be done on the boat. I used West Marine gelcoat thinned 20% to allow spraying. Home Depot (paint department) PREVAL SPRAYER was used as the spray gun. Worked great when the refill power unit is new. They say they will spray 16oz. but I spray about 5 oz of gelcoat and it is time to use another power unit. As the power unit empties it gives a weak spray and much more ORANGE PEAL effect. The transom has to be wet sanded anyway so it was not a big deal. I used 5 power units, $2.95 ea. The grab rails are bolted through so they have to be fastened now before attaching the unit to the boat. TO THE BOAT !!
April 17th INSTALLED ON BOAT WOW! Fit like it was supposed to!!! Happy Man!
April 28th Last weekend we finally got warmer weather and we uncovered the boat! Saturday & Sunday Michele varnished up on deck while I fiberglassed.
Platform is fiberglassed to the boat along the inside edge and around the outside. Two layers of 17oz and finer glass for a good surface finish. I have faired the hull using my long sanding board and many hours of filling and sanding. Today I brushed on a coat of Gelcoat that will be sanded thin to find any imperfection before doing the final Gelcoat. The inside edge at the transom still has to be faired. I also glassed the step support to the transom. The step will be teak.
May 6th 2004 All fairing is complete and one complete coat of Gelcoat applied. This weekend the final spraying of the Gelcoat weather permiting. Then the boot stripe and upper strip. Then the rudder and into the water May 17th!!!!!!

May 12th Gelcoat done and almost buffed out. Boot strip done. Still need to do upper stripes mount hardware and hatch.
May 17th Launch Day Approx. 100 hours of work to complete this project. The fiberglass man at the yard said he would charge around $10,000 to do this on a boat. He also offered me a job! Have to wait till I retire.
Will add pictures from dinghy ASAP and this page is done. Happy Sailing!!!!!!!
May 31st 2004 First get away weekend. The swim platform is a complete success. Happy hour was on our boat and 20 people used the platform boarding in a rough chop and not one wet foot! Morgan SHOULD have done this to every 43!
THIS CHAPTER IS COMPLETE!!