Glass Bottomed Toto
by Steve Prenner

Hi Chuck,

Here's some pictures of the glass bottomed Toto I built recently. I was looking for something more stable than the Wee Lassie I built a few years ago so I could venture into the Atlantic on calm days and cruise the Intracoastal Waterway near my house.

scarfed

cutting

stitching

stitching2

The glass bottom was inspired by John Blazy's boat and I followed his general building guidelines for the window construction details. My local plastics supplier didn't have abrasion resistant lexan in stock so I went with regular 3/16" thick polycarbonate.

inside fillets

inside fillets 2

outside glassed

skeg added

It was less than $14 for the piece; if it scratches too quickly I'll replace it with the abrasion resistant stuff. I launched the boat at John U. Lloyd Recreation Area in Fort Lauderdale with my friend Melissa.

checking placement

marked

cut

dry fit

I ventured briefly into the intracoastal waterway and felt totally confident amid the powerboat wakes.

epoxied

gluing deck

ready to paint

primed

I saw needlefish, pufferfish, mullet and a stingray but, alas, none of them through the window! At least it didn't leak.

painted

painted 2

marking holes

test fit

My second outing was to Birch State Park (also in Fort Lauderdale), the beach across the street from the park was crowded with spring breakers but the lagoon in the park was completely empty.

masked for silicone

seems good

finished window

launched!

The lexan picks up a lot of glare so I am thinking of attaching a fabric viewing hood. I'll keep you posted.

here fishy-fishy

lookie for fish

melissa in boat

me

I think the sequence of building photographs is fairly self explanatory.

Birch State Park

Birch State Park 2

Birch State Park 3

Thanks, Steve Prenner
stevealing@yahoo.com