Fibrepro fibreglass pods

TipUp

TipUp

Well-Known Member
I've been researching pod options for our Malibu 185 cuddy and came across some posts mentioning fibrepro. I called Mike there and he seems very knowledgeable. The idea of a fibreglass pod struck me as odd at first but after reading about them it seems they are used quite frequently in the states (Hermco brackets). The thing I like most is how they can be glassed right to the boat and essentially become a part of the boat using the same materials as the rest of the hull.

Has anyone dealt with Mike at fibrepro? or have any experience with a fibreglass pod?
Thanks
 
yes I had them put a pod on my 18 ft Hourston(Luckybuoys). Only issue I had was the boat sat at china creek in the water for 4 months and when I went to pull plug the hole thing came out cause of poor quality screws. They were in Port Alberni at the time and now they are back in Campbell River. I mounted a 115 Mercury 4 stroke on it it performs very well.
 
I just had them pod my 20 hours ton in October, I have yet to run the boat but am pretty happy with the job they did

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/showthread.php?29452-20-Hourston-Project

They seem to take a while to get it done, (few weeks) and it is around $1900 for a pod , $2500 with a swim grid and kicker mount. I think they quoted me $300 to fill my leg key hole but I decided to do it myself but should have paid them to do it. If I wanted a swim grid I would have gotten an aluminum one built by the same guy albernifisher used in sooke. His build thread is here too.
The reason I chose a fibreglass was I wanted the same maintenance as the hull and thought I would try something different. They build strong pods, mine has 635lb verado hanging off the back and seems plenty strong( i can bounce on the leg and no flex, noises) but as I said I have yet to sea trial. They custom build to your hull which is nice and they are glassed on the inside and bolted outside(insurance purposes).
 
Thanks for the info. These prices seem right on par with aluminum pods and I like that there's no worries about paint peeling if we decide to get the aluminum powder coated. salmonkiller01, are you intending to use your pod as a fish locker? Mike at Fibrepro recommended this to me. Also, does your pod have any wood in it, I know the fibrepro boats are built without wood. Looks great and your hourston sits nice in the water, guessing it's lighter in the stern now.
 
The only wood in the pod is in the area where the lower engine mounts are. Above is 2 inches solid glass. I am making a fish hold in my old engine spot and have another in the old anchor locker, so my pod is just air. Mike did a nice job painting the pod and transom for m and I am happy it won't peel like powder coating. I thought taking out the v6 chev and hanging the Verado 27" back would be butt heavy but its not, I was planning on moving batteries ahead but now I can leave them in the back.
 
The malibu has always been butt heavy with the mercruiser 4.3L, I'm expecting the pod and outboard will really lighten up the stern. Did Mike at Fibrepro reinforce your transom at all? My transom looks good but it was never really designed for a pod..guess Mike will know best. Any idea where I could get some pics of the fibrepro complete with swim grid and kicker mount? I've asked for pics from fibrepro but haven't received any yet.
 
TipUp said:
The malibu has always been butt heavy with the mercruiser 4.3L, I'm expecting the pod and outboard will really lighten up the stern. Did Mike at Fibrepro reinforce your transom at all? My transom looks good but it was never really designed for a pod..guess Mike will know best. Any idea where I could get some pics of the fibrepro complete with swim grid and kicker mount? I've asked for pics from fibrepro but haven't received any yet.
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Your 4.3 and leg will weigh in around 850 pounds so it will definitely lighten the butt of your boat. I did put 2 dog legs going from my transom to stringers going up high on my transom. Mike felt it was overkill, as an inboard leg puts a lot of torque and stress on just the one section of transom(keyhole), a pod puts the stresses over a larger area. before yo pull it all apart do some investigation, I used a whole saw and took cores out of my stringers and used a 3/8 drill bit testing my transom. I will stop by and see Mike Monday and get some pics for you.
 
I pulled the leg and trim tabs last night. The transom looks great around the keyhole, very impressed with the amount of glass and the plywood shows no signs of rot. Some water was trapped behind where the tabs mount, even after re-bedding them last year (need to use more sika next time) I will investigate further. I'm going to start a project thread with some pics since I've enjoyed following all the others.
 
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