Where can I get a custom enclosure built for my boat? Planning for cold weather.

[adam7456]

I'm looking for something similar to the enclosure in the attached picture. My boat's a 19 1/2 foot fish and ski, a picture of it is also attached. The main use of the enclosure will be for striper fishing cold weather.

I have a bimini top already. I need the front, side, and back panels built so they can attach to my bimini. Anyone know who does this type of work around Lexington, Louisville, or Cincinnati?

[Buzzy]

You should look at some the boats on Superior or ask a dealer up there for ideas. They have millions of ideas to stay warm in the winter where there is real winter. I saw one guy who rigged his pop-up ice shanty to the back of his boat before first ice and it worked great. It all depends on how much you want to spend and what weather you are going into.

[Duayne]

Covers Inc in Louisville. They are located close to GE. Whoever does it may recommend replacing the bimini cover. Many times it's less expensive to start fresh than to try to add them to the existing.

[adam7456]

I sent an email to them. They said they would have to look at the bimini and the starting price would be around $1,600. I have a couple other inquiries out there that I'm waiting to hear back on.

[Duayne]

1600 sounds about right. Could you let us know how this goes?

[adam7456]

I had another vendor say $1,200 would be a starting point. I will provide updates if I go ahead with this. I had a problem with my boat this past weekend. The bilge pump failed, the boat took on water, and was partially submerged. The salvage bill was $1,450 and the tow back to the dock was $360. So the funds for the enclosure might have just been spent as my insurance company has hinted that they won't cover the charges as there was no accident.

[HURRICANEBOB]

I had another vendor say $1,200 would be a starting point. I will provide updates if I go ahead with this. I had a problem with my boat this past weekend. The bilge pump failed, the boat took on water, and was partially submerged. The salvage bill was $1,450 and the tow back to the dock was $360. So the funds for the enclosure might have just been spent as my insurance company has hinted that they won't cover the charges as there was no accident.

Adam,

Sorry to hear about the boat water problem. What cause the water to come in? You mentioned the bilge pump didn't take it out and understand that. But was it a water fitting below the water line that let water in? Or was the water getting into the boat because of an impact with a foreign object...cracked hull? Reason I'm asking is when I llok at my boat insurance from Progressive, they exclude from coverage anything resulting from wear and tear or a maintenance problem. I thru hull that leaks, like on for a live well intake, would be a maintenance problem. But, if the thru hull was damaged as a result of hitting a submerged object for example, then the cause of the salvage is not realy the bilge pump not working, but the damage caused to a covered occurrence. Just trying to help.

[adam7456]

I'm still looking into the cause of the water getting into the boat. At this point I have no idea what happened. I did determine that impellor on the bilge pump fell off the shaft. WTF? I had to remove the gas tank to get to it and when I removed the top portion of the pump the impellor was laying there in the bottom bracket. The pump is a new pump and I know it worked the first 3 days I had it out this year because I saw it pumping out water that was getting in due to a lose hose clamp and engine bolts that were leaking a bit. I sealed up all those and water wasn't getting into the boat. So the pump was working and then for some reason the impellor worked itself off the shaft causing an immediate and complete failure of the pump.

I will be taking the boat out for a test drive tonight to see if any water is leaking in. It took several hours last night to get the motor running. Any electrical connection that has power and gets submerged will corrode in a matter of hours. I still have the gas tank out and will use a small portable tank so that I can have a clear view of the entire transom area to check for leaks.

I didn't hit anything that I know of. I also just finished a complete rebuild of the boat, new transome and stringers. I also added a very strong layer of fiberglass across the entire inside of the hull. That thing is built like a tank now and it would take serious impact to breach the hull. All the thru-hull fittings are brand new this year and are sealed tight with silcone on the inside and outside.

Anyone interested in learning how to do a complete boat rebuild I have a detailed thread about my build over at http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=461659