The upholsterer is working on the interior. He had some concerns on the front seats. I made the frames off measurements carefully taken from two other Virage interiors so I knew the frames are correct. The problem was he used the "finished" widths of the arm rests (3") and put in high density 3" foam. This made the seats too narrow to sit in. Once I told him that the 3" included the 1/2" plywood, 1/4" foam sewed to the vinyl, and the bulge of the pleat, the foam should be 2" and a medium density. I did add some height to the arm rests so the front edge of the seat cushion wasn't even in height like the factory ones. WE want our legs inside the arm rests.
I then sprayed the rear deck with gelcoat. There is a clear additive to put in that makes it a walk away" finish. 30% for the first two coats then 50% for the last. Couldn't get a clear pict showing the deep shine but it does match the factory perfectly in texture and shine.
Next, the front bulkhead got a full perimeter glass job on both sides to the deck and floor. The factory has a short piece of wood glassed to the floor and deck and the bulkhead bolts in. I've seen cracks develop around the block on the deck. An upholstered panel will bolt to the bulkhead with an access door.
Also the 1"x 2" edge board was glassed in for the sleeping pad to rest against. A foot throttle pad was puttied in place as well.
I noticed the plywood had not been installed on the back of the dash so some 1/2" was core bonded then glassed over. Also, I added some supports from the outer edges of the dash to the outer deck, I saw a support in a video Garrett Gablehouse sent me of his Virage. My '89 Virage never had one and the dash was always flimsy. With the supports, the dash is rock solid.
I moved on to the bulkheads that go inside the side panels to keep your "stuff" from sliding to the transom. Two per side were put in.
You can see where I earlier glassed the deck and hull together as well as the interior side panel to the floor (on both sides). Same as the bulkhead,...the factory glassed in a wood strip and the side was screwed in place. Running in the rough rips the screws out. My upgrades should avoid these pitfalls.
The inside of the massive transom finally got glassed. With the dropped panel in the rear deck acting as a stiffener, I am confident knee braces will not be needed. The transom is 2 layers of 1 1/8" marine plywood. The finished transom is 2 5/8" thick. I now have to order longer U- bolts.
Once all the dust was cleaned up, I masked the dash and got the 8 gauge holes drilled. The slots on the right side is for a dual mechanical Gaffrig trim indicator.
You can see the coremat the factory used to stiffen the gauge area of the dash. I brushed some resin on the opening to seal the edge. I try to do this to every hole I cut in the boat just for piece of mind.
We will be back down in March / April sometime and I hope to finish drilling all the rigging holes and get the carpet/ hull liner installed, and start rigging.
