Cockpit Mezzanine & Tuna Tube Winter Project

[rustybucket]

Ok, so trying to get my final plans together for two pretty major wintertime projects on SOUTHPAWS. I'll be doing both these projects in tandem so only one single huge mess will be made on the boat. Hope to finish both projects off before april-ish.

Be forewarned, these projects may upset the Hatteras purist, lots of chopping/cutting going to be happening, but in the end both projects are to make the boat more functional for us to use.

Project 1
Cockpit Mezzanine.

Project 2
Transom Baitwells & Tuna tubes.

Still VERY much in the planning stages of both these projects. I have some comped ideas I'm going to be posting in this thread. I happily accept all critique and criticism (constructive) at this point in the project. So please voice your thoughts/opinions.

Here is the cockpit basically as it sits today.




Here is my fav layout idea so far. The goal is to have 3 refrigerated storage holds that can be used as refrigerated storage, freezer storage or fishbox. I've labeled what I feel each will primarily be used for.


The mezzanine project's main goal is to de-clutter our cockpit. We currently have to carry a 250qt engel cooler (for fishbox), a 120qt drink cooler (for drinks) and a 25qt cooler (for bait) in the cockpit. With this mezzanine layout all of those coolers disappear instantly.

 

[rustybucket]

Project 2 is transom baitwells and tuna tubes (Bait Socks).

Here is an old photo of the cockpit from the yard, is the only pic I have from this angle so it will have to do.



Here is a very rough comp



In a nutshell, each corner will get an oval shaped baitwell that will also serve as twin super-bomb sized tuna tubes capable of holding 40-50lb yellowfin sized baits. Along the center transom will be a row of Blackfin size Bait Socks for holding smaller baits like blackfin tuna, bonito, skipjacks.etc.

 

[rustybucket]

One question I do have is regarding coring material. What core material should I use for the mezannine top and the mezannine hatches? I will thru-bolt hinges where possible but inevitably there will probably be some that have to be screwed.

In my head I was thinking 5/8" or 3/4" nidacore for the deck of the mezzanine, not sure what to use on the lids....?

For the tuna tube setup I was thinking 1/2" nidacore with scored nida core to make the radius's.

Will probably be using a non-blushing epoxy for the entire project. I know it's more expensive, but I'm familiar with the product and have become accustomed to working with it. If you guys think I should use fiberglass resin please explain why and what product exactly. Thanks,.

 

[rustybucket]

Here is another comp of the mezzanine without all the blue lines. The blue lines on all these drawings signify the separation of the holds.

 

[rustybucket]

Here is a mezzanine comp without any writing or colors, just the lids outlined.

 

[rustybucket]

This is kinda the layout we are going for. Of course we won't have teak and it won't be this nice, but it def will not be a bubba job.

 

[Cricket]

Going to be a great project, not sure but I might be the only one here that's added a full mezzanine from scratch.
We started by ripping out very nice fiberglass cockpit lockers. What made our storage part really work was cutting the deck out allowing extra depth.
There's so many items to plan for, spent a year thinking about our project and still ran into some unexpected issues, must have measured 15 different mezzanines on boats and also had at least 50 photos from the internet to review.
Some initial thoughts, the 52c cockpit isn't super huge (long) to begin with so you should think about the scale of everything. The Viking 50 and 52 mezzanines were very helpful although we kept everything straight. Also, you don't have a lot of height from the cockpit floor to the door sill which will limit you some unless you want to make the mezz deck level higher in front of the boxes stepping down to the door. Have scene this on a few boats and it can work.

Not sure Nidacore is the way to go because you're going to want as much insulation as possible.
What are you going to line the boxes with and what about insulation?
Are they going to be refrigerated? Have a great source for both stainless liners and or wrapping them with copper and the refrigeration piece. We have 4 boxes, a pair of compressors, each handle 2 boxes and each of the 4 boxes can be a fridge or freezer, compressors work on air. or air and water. ! unit runs our bait freezer and drink box which is always on. the other runs a large box in the step and our bait box which is under the long side of the mezz deck.

Sorry to be long.
Have a few thoughts for you. Have you thought about placing the tuna tubes in the side gunnels instead of the transom?
My reason for the sides would to allow you to put the live wells in the middle instead of the corners.
On our the biggest mistake was not making the drink box taller, it's a few inches taller than the bench but could have gone up closer to the window level.

Don't forget that masking tape is your friend for figuring out the layout.
Please checkout our photos here on Sams, feel fee to send me a pm if you would like to speak.

 

[rustybucket]

Not sure Nidacore is the way to go because you're going to want as much insulation as possible.
What are you going to line the boxes with and what about insulation?


Sorry to be long.
Have a few thoughts for you. Have you thought about placing the tuna tubes in the side gunnels instead of the transom?
My reason for the sides would to allow you to put the live wells in the middle instead of the corners.
On our the biggest mistake was not making the drink box taller, it's a few inches taller than the bench but could have gone up closer to the window level.

Don't forget that masking tape is your friend for figuring out the layout.
Please checkout our photos here on Sams, feel fee to send me a pm if you would like to speak.

Thank you so much for the feedback. So I'm understanding you did the mezz on a 50?

This project has been rolling around in my head literally since I first stepped foot on the boat before we purchased it. I've walked many a dock just looking at mezzanines.

Was looking to nida core just as the structural 'skins'. I'll be using a foam insulation of some variety to insulate the holds. I was thinking 2" of foam on all sides, is that enough? not enough?

The side gunnels scare me on the tuna tubes b/c of the cockpit drainage channels. I really don't want to disrupt those unless I have to.

The transom gunnel is VERY narrow on this boat compared to others like viking. I'll be cutting into what is there, adding 1 row of tubes and the overall width/thickness of the gunnel cap should be comparable to vikings without tubes. So I don't think we will really loose much there.

Yes, all the boxes will be refrigerated. I'd LOVE to hear/see what you did and any sources you may have. I'd like to user plates where possible but b/c of the shape/lids on the fishbox I'll probably have to wrap it. I was planning on diy'ing the system and use it on water only. If there's a way to do air and/or water that would be awesome.

I'd also like to hear how you cool 4 boxes on 2 compressors. I was planning on having 3 compressors (1 for each box). Can you independently control the temp of each box with your setup?

 

[Cricket]

 

[Cricket]

 

[rustybucket]

Going to be a great project, not sure but I might be the only one here that's added a full mezzanine from scratch.
We started by ripping out very nice fiberglass cockpit lockers. What made our storage part really work was cutting the deck out allowing extra depth.

I'll pm you my contact info, I'd really like to chat about it. But if it's ok with you I'd like to discuss as much as possible here so others can maybe benefit from it?

I was not planning on cutting the floor up, but you've got me thinking that might be a good thing to do. I'm not sure exactly how much height it will gain me, but if it gains 6" or more it would definitely be worth it.

I see you built yours out of ply (great photos by the way, I just looked at all of them). I will likely be building mine in-place on the boat. Working with wood sure would make things easier.....

Plywood has an R value of approx 1. Nidacore has R value of 3.3. So if insulation is a deciding factor Nidacore wins hands down. Of course nidacore is exponentially more expensive than plywood, but for this project we won't need a ton of material so cost difference should only be a couple hundred dollars....

 

[Wiredup62]

Great Project!! Cricket, your boat looks awesome. For 13 years, I had custom boats, and just sold my last one for a 2008 60 hatt GT. They all had mezzanines, and are totally worth the price to get it right. I had one compressor for a freezer, one for a ice maker that would dump out into one of the holds of the mezzanine. Not sure a separate one is necessary for the drinks alone. For one, try to keep the numbers of compressors down to a minimum, as they will/do break. Use a good insulation material for drinks, and dump the ice in to keep them cold.

What is your plan for engine room access? The way you have it drawn looks like it will be too tight. It is a pain trying to get equipment, buckets, out if not big enough. Are the in deck fish boxes not big enough? You might find it's tough having a big enough fish box as part of the mezzanine. One cool combo on one of my boats was a rounded compartment on one side of the mezzanine, that was maybe 2.5' diameter, 3 ft depth, used as the ice dump/livewell. We transferred all ice prior to using the live well. Was a good space saving idea.

I wouldn't use Vikings for comparisons, as their mezzanines are very short from back to front, not very comfortable. Track down a custom boat and get the measurements from that.

Here is a photo of my last custom boat's mezzanine, and my new to me Hatt GT's (the camo wrap has been removed, lol)

http://i64.tinypic.com/2vjrklj.png

http://i63.tinypic.com/2cfei43.png

 

[rustybucket]

What is your plan for engine room access? The way you have it drawn looks like it will be too tight. It is a pain trying to get equipment, buckets, out if not big enough. Are the in deck fish boxes not big enough? You might find it's tough having a big enough fish box as part of the mezzanine. One cool combo on one of my boats was a rounded compartment on one side of the mezzanine, that was maybe 2.5' diameter, 3 ft depth, used as the ice dump/livewell. We transferred all ice prior to using the live well. Was a good space saving idea.

I wouldn't use Vikings for comparisons, as their mezzanines are very short from back to front, not very comfortable. Track down a custom boat and get the measurements from that.

Here is a photo of my last custom boat's mezzanine, and my new to me Hatt GT's (the camo wrap has been removed, lol)

http://i64.tinypic.com/2vjrklj.png

http://i63.tinypic.com/2cfei43.png

Engine room access is going to be tight but doable i think. Engine room access on this boat isn't the greatest to begin with. We will only be removing about 8-10" of the actual engine room access door. I've considered putting a step-down in and may still do it but the engine hatch would have to gull-wing open if I do that.

This boat really doesn't have what I would call in-floor fish boxes. The aft compartment is a tub but it is un-insulated and needs to be able to be removed to access trim tab and steering equipment. the other two hatches lead straight to the aft bilge.

According to my calculations we should end up with approx 15" of height inside the mezz fishbox. Although that is not great it is at least workable for all but the largest tuna. We could reduce the bottom or top insulation and get another inch or two.

 

[harnett]

This is how I did mine on my 53c. Maybe there is something there that can help you.

 

[rustybucket]

This is how I did mine on my 53c. Maybe there is something there that can help you.

Is that ER access from the unfinished panel? You have a pic of it open by chance?

REALLY like the way your ladder is landed on the face of the mezzanine also. Did you have the ladder fabricated from scratch?

 

[finatic]

This is kinda the layout we are going for. Of course we won't have teak and it won't be this nice, but it def will not be a bubba job.

NICE! I Have the same boat mine is a 1984. I can see some delam. on your engine room door. Mine is a mess, as is the salon door. Any ideas on what you will do to fix them? I found a 30X74 mobile home storm door that fits perfectly and will install it while I try to figure out what to do with the original door.

 

[harnett]

Yes that is the engine room access door. I did have to move the rear fuel tank back a little on the 53c to make that work. The ladder done that way makes for a very gradual ladder to the bridge and allow plenty of room behind it to use the mezz. seat. I was custom made.

 

[Wiredup62]

Yes that is the engine room access door. I did have to move the rear fuel tank back a little on the 53c to make that work. The ladder done that way makes for a very gradual ladder to the bridge and allow plenty of room behind it to use the mezz. seat. I was custom made.View attachment 29594

Wow, well done! Did you fabricate storage inside/below the long 1st step?

 

[harnett]

I'm still working on the lids but yes there are storage bins built into the long step and there will be three lids. I insulated the bin in the step at the door and that is a cooler. I'll post pictures when it's all done.

 

[rustybucket]

After talking with several people and hashing it out ourselves I think we are leaning toward a split level mezzanine with the starboard side raised higher than port. This accomplishes a couple of things...

1. When seated on the starboard bench your feet will be able to touch the floor
2. Gives us fishbox space for jumbo tuna or multiple smaller
3. Gives us 4 refrigerated boxes.

On the downsides....
1. It makes the engine room access even trickier, not exactly sure what we are going to do here yet.
2. Original plans called for all existing cabinets and lockers to remain in place. With the split I'm thinking we are just going to be ripping everything out.
3. Engine room ventilation. This project will basically cover the cockpit engine vents. May be able to re-route this ventilation under the cockpit? or may have to install hull side vents (like slane) in the future.


This is the current rough-mock up of where we are. I'm going to go to the boat this weekend to re-install the outriggers (been off for detailing) and am going to mock up the mezz with tape and foam insulation so I can really get a feel for it. Will also mock up what the engine room entry will be like and what we will need to do to make that usable.