Customizing an 18ft fiberglass

[svonmiller]

Greetings,

I'm new to this site, and am very excited by what I read. I have a 1991 18ft Wellcraft Excel. It needs new upholstery, new floor, and some other work.

I am totally blown away by the quality and beauty of many of the wooden power boats I've seen on this site and others. I'd love to build one, but it's too big of a project. Instead, I'd rather customize my 18 footer boat while rebuilding it. For example, adding lots of wood and chrome to it.

Does anyone know of a site, or some examples of where people have taken an average fiberglass open bow runabout, and made it really nice with lots of wood additions etc, to give me some ideas? And any ideas you might have are welcomed too.

Thanks in advance!
Stan

[seaskiff]

Stan, Check out www.chriscraftboats.com they have some nice mahogany & teak accents on there line of runabouts.

Cheers

[svonmiller]

Yes, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[marshmat]

I know a Peterborough 18' runabout from the '80s that, despite being pretty generic in layout and construction, came from the yard meticulously detailed with just the right amount of teak and chrome, perfectly sewn and coloured fabrics and vinyls, etc.- it is an absolutely beautiful boat. Without being presumptuous, it somehow manages to be fun, elegant and functional all at once. And this without any custom mods.
My advice is to not go overboard, pardon the pun, but rather to find a balance- nice wood trim and accents look great, but too much wood and chrome could clash with the glass parts of the boat. Use just enough to complement the shape of the boat. If you're up for a more modern look, strategically recessed and shielded LED light strips combined with the wood and chrome can make a $10,000 boat's interior look like $20,000. Customizing is all about individuality.