How to "fasten/glue/afix" shelves to non-gelcoat
 

When taking the Mako boat out I have more Plano lure boxes than I have room in my tackle box and do not wish transfer then in and out of the boat every time I use it. I was thinking of trying to store all the extra ones inside lower boat area below Center Console. I want to afix/glue/fasten some sort of shelves which would be shallow pockets against the inside walls where I could "drop" those Plano boxes into. Pockets would be deep enough so rough boat ride would not allow them to fall out. The inside walls are fiberglass and are non gelcoated. I cannot drill through them with metal fasteners as they would be seen on outside and be unsightly so gluing is only option. . I have not picked out shelve pockets yet but would assume plastic or fiberglass material. I would assume epoxys and glues probably would not work and from the bouncing they would eventually fall off. I know they make figerglass repair kits but really don't know much about what is involved. Some bigger boats have doors you open up that have factory shelves that you can store all those extra plano boxes into, mine does not.

One of the large plano boxes would hold all my heavy sinkers which is one that I do not wish to continue to load/unload from the boat on each use.

Things like .... sinkers, bucktail box... things that you will always want on the boat.

Stainless fasteners with finished washers wouldn't look too bad. For an easy way out adhesive you may want to try some of the construction adhesives like liquid nails and the others. 3m 4200 quick cure.

The issue is getting the fiberglass to bond to a most likely plastic type box.

I realize that the plastic shelves will be the "problem child" of the project so I may have to do the double hop. Glue a thin metal plate that has fasteners already on it to the inside of the boat as the glue would most likely hold to the metal then use stainless washers and nylon locking nuts to afix the shelves to the metal plate.... your giving me ideas.....

5200 sticks like no ones business. Just hope you NEVER want to remove them.

Bernie,
Look at boatoutfitters.com for some ideas in the storage product area. They build boxes out of starboard using ss fasteners. I understand your concern with drilling and fastening, but if you use teak, mahogany, or starboard as a backing plate and finish washers, it will look fine. I would not trust adhesive only on my boat with lead sinkers hanging on it. The products on that site are pricey, but you will get some ideas. Don't reinvent the wheel. Someone has already figured out how to do this.... we just have to find out what they did....Hope this helps. A pic of the area you are talking about would help.

One way
I laced the interior of the consol with Starboard, pretty much used existing holes,,, t top, cushion snaps and other stuff

This made a good base for Plano compartments and for attaching other stuff..... Stuffs not cheap! Couple hundred a sheet which was enough for the interior and a fillet/chum station...
Attachment 62585

I'll take a look for more pictures, can't seem to do more than on at a time from this here iPad .... ;)

fillet/chum station
Attachment 62586

Gluing likely won't last.
If you can, build the shelves/pockets on a rack that fits snugly inside.
Maybe you can add one screw on each side for "little extra" hold if needed.

In my boat, I just store lures in stacked plastic boxes which fit nicely inside a side storage area I made by adding a hatch to open the areas to the side of the cockpit. But its not a CC.

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Just hire Guppy to do it, done.

Jeff, I don't go over the bridge! LOL

Hope to make a Narra trip this spring, I'll call ya, I need a guide :fishin: :cheers:

Guppy, you got it, THAT's IT !! That is exactly what I had envisioned but not quit so elaborate. I like your idea. But just to reiterate, you had to drill and screw or fasten that shelf to the inside wall ... correct ? Did you build yourself or did you buy it and just fasten. Looks real nice. I was unfamiliar with the product called starboard, is that what your shelf is made out of ? I suppose I could drill and fasten but I would want to use something nice looking. Large polished Stainless Steel carriage bolts would look nice from the outside but would have to make sure that they did not chip gelcoat because of the small surface area that they were grabbing. I will look at that website recomended and see if I can't get some "fastening ideas" that will work. thanks for the pics.

that's a great idea fish4striper.... and you know that Guppy will give that 30% discount for being a member of Striped-Bass.com forum.

I will take a pic or two of the project area and post.

Has anyone used azec for any boat projects? Half the price of starboard
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Kitchen cutting board from Walmart is cheap too
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Below below below





carriage bolts!!! Sub this out 😎😎😎

including 3 pics of project area to get a better idea of task at hand.
one pic is of inside wall of cabin area (starboard side)

2nd pic is paper drawing of approximate area to work with.
Top from left to right is 22 1/2"
1/2 way down that wall is 25"
inside wall area is narrower at top than bottom (slight taper)

Height of inside wall is 31"

last picture is of the outside wall starboard side of Center Console where any fasteners will be seen.

You can see from those dimensions that it is going to be impossible to go three wide as Guppy did in his boat. Since 3 of my Plano boxes side to side touching measures 27" it looks like For me 2 plano boxes wide will be the most I could go with. Since storing only 2 boxes is really not much I was wondering if I could go 2 deep which would allow me 4 stored boxes total. I would be happy with that. If I could I don't know whether a divider between the two boxes would be necessary as apposed to just letting the 2 boxes side "touching" ?? plus it would reduce overall "hanging" weight without the divider from front to back, just one divider from side to side.

i take it I should be using this starboard material ? Does it come in different thicknesses ? where to buy ?

One last concern. The project wall that I would be attaching this shelf to does have a very slight taper as the lower console does get narrower from drivers seat to front of windshield so this Starboard "might" not have a perfect flush fit against wall which might lead to problems ...maybe ? wondering if I could be somehow adding support/filler to wall prior to attaching starboard to even out load.
I don't think gap is severe but the more support the better. Wonder if they make some type of H.D. expandable foam that would take up all gaps for better support. The stronger the better.

Most of my Plano boxes are 9" x 14" x 2"

Just a couple of comments to try and help out. 1) starboard is known for not adhering well with any type of glue or other adhesive. The manufacturer only recommends mechanical fastening. 2) I would not try to keep pounds of sinkers on any shelf. Put them in an old gallon antifreeze container with holes in the bottom and just keep it on the deck.