# Carolina Skiff J16 Center Console / Cooler seat Instalation



## CtheProducer (Jun 30, 2015)

Cut and grinding the board out. At first I was hoping I could cut around the edge, and pull on the seat to rip the top layer off, that did not work.....







So I then cut sections to pry off, was still a pain but I eventually removed the top layer




I then ground down to what I thought was the deck, as I did not think nor was told, the original installation penetrated it. But as you can see there is some sort of channel that was created.


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## CtheProducer (Jun 30, 2015)

This type of grinding pad worked way better than the ones stating they were for fiberglass


This is where I was confused when grinding and went too deep, oops! I never hit foam though  ;D




At this point I skipped a couple photos.... It was saying it felt like 107 out, I was in a full painters suite, goggles, mask, and gloves...... 
I went and purchased some 3M fiberglass stranded bondo to fill back in the mistake by grinding too deep, and then hit it with some primer after drying and sanding.


I then went to west marine and bought the only deck paint they had. I would have like to get the textured paint, but did not want to leave it un-sealed for a week in the heavy FL summer rains. So now I have a very very white square. Did someone say sea deck when this is all done? I think so.


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## CtheProducer (Jun 30, 2015)

Then I hit the Craigslist lottery and found this amazing deal on an actually CS cooler seat! One of the things I like the most is I can remove the cooler for cleaning if needed. 



Ready for the 5200 and stainless screws now! Plus measuring, lots and lots and lots of measuring.


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## CtheProducer (Jun 30, 2015)

And the final product. So far so good. Just need to get the steering conversion kit figured out, window and grab bar mounted, seat pads, and sea deck put down.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Great layout C

how did you mount the console and seat skeleton?


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## CtheProducer (Jun 30, 2015)

Thanks! I used 1 1/2" #12 stainless screws for the console, drilling a pilot hole, and using lots of 5200. Can't remember the size of the drill bit I used, but it was as big as the shaft of the screw. I then used 2" #12 stainless screws for the cooler frame. They go in at an angle and the pipe is 1" so this gave me 1" into the deck and seems to hold well. I would have probably went 2 1/4" but big box hardware stores did not have any that size, they jumped right to 3". 



> Great layout C
> 
> how did you mount the console and seat skeleton?


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