Belly Skin replacement

[brenderay]

So I am in the process of taking the belly skin off my 1958 18 ft Globe Trotter and have one half of it off and will use for a pattern. But when I measure the skin, its width is 51 inches. That's three inches shorter than the 48 inch thats available for sale and I don't think I will be able to overlap the two sheets on the bottom center seam. Has anyone run into this problem?

[youngpeck]

Yes, I recently did the same as you. I used the old for a pattern but chose to overlap two new sheets (on each section) side to side by about a foot. It worked out fine.

[brenderay]

Figured that was the fix, thanks for the info

[youngpeck]

Mine wasn't quite a "centered" overlap. My aluminum supplier suggested a slight off-center arrangement that saved me some money. I used a lot of Trempro and then large-flange 3/16" diameter blind rivets from Fastenal. Vintage Trailer Supply sells something similar. Good luck with yours!