bassman501
New member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2019
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Hello everyone, I am starting a new project boat that I picked up super cheap off Craigslist. Some of the details have been straightforward but I have run into a few snags that I could use some help.
I started by cutting out the front bench. i liked an idea that I saw on here where a guy left some of the bench and used it as a support for the deck. I wanted to keep the deck as low as possible so that it would be more stable and I could put an adjustable seat in the front. I also will use the boat to duck hunt so having the deck low, gives me space for decoy bags. I was able to utilize the sides of the seat as cubby holes for random junk and I also added a cup holder and will be mounting the fish finder on the other side with a RAM mount. I realized that the aluminum was too flimsy so I cut some angled aluminum and riveted it onto the top. It is strong enough that I can stand on it now. I also bought some door strips off Amazon to run around the sharp edges. This part of the project went great. I put a smaller deck on the front for the trolling motor and cut a hatch in the top for storage of life jackets, anchors, fire extinguisher, and the junk that usually gets forgotten about and ends up on the floor. I still need to carpet and put everything together. I have a trolling motor on the way to build the bracket and run wiring.
Now onto the back of the boat. I knew that there were some problems with corrosion but I did not realize how bad it was. I took it by a shop and the guy said that the wood seemed solid and I should be able to clean up the corrosion. How wrong he was! The wood was completely rotted out and the transom where the motor was mounted crumbled in my fingers when I pulled off the board they had tacked on (it was pressure treated, which caused some of the corrosion and put on with regular screws which had caused more corrosion). I ended up cutting the top of the transom off and will be buying a 4' section of aluminum channel to go back over it after I put in the new wood. I am also going to use the metal from the front seat to build a new panel for the back. Since it is above the water line and I will be epoxying the wood onto the boat, I can rivet the new panel on without any problems.
Now for my problems:
With the angled brackets on the ends of the boat, there is no way to get the wood back in one piece. Has anyone dealt with this before? Will I have to cut the wood into three pieces and then bracket it in and bolt it to the frame? I also saw a guy that cut the angled braces off the boat but I do not know anyone that can weld aluminum and putting those back on would cost me more than the boat.
There are small pinhole sized corrosion holes just in the back. Only a few are below the water line but I am not sure how to patch these up and and stop the corrosion.
Thanks for any help, I will keep updating on the build as it goes.
I started by cutting out the front bench. i liked an idea that I saw on here where a guy left some of the bench and used it as a support for the deck. I wanted to keep the deck as low as possible so that it would be more stable and I could put an adjustable seat in the front. I also will use the boat to duck hunt so having the deck low, gives me space for decoy bags. I was able to utilize the sides of the seat as cubby holes for random junk and I also added a cup holder and will be mounting the fish finder on the other side with a RAM mount. I realized that the aluminum was too flimsy so I cut some angled aluminum and riveted it onto the top. It is strong enough that I can stand on it now. I also bought some door strips off Amazon to run around the sharp edges. This part of the project went great. I put a smaller deck on the front for the trolling motor and cut a hatch in the top for storage of life jackets, anchors, fire extinguisher, and the junk that usually gets forgotten about and ends up on the floor. I still need to carpet and put everything together. I have a trolling motor on the way to build the bracket and run wiring.
Now onto the back of the boat. I knew that there were some problems with corrosion but I did not realize how bad it was. I took it by a shop and the guy said that the wood seemed solid and I should be able to clean up the corrosion. How wrong he was! The wood was completely rotted out and the transom where the motor was mounted crumbled in my fingers when I pulled off the board they had tacked on (it was pressure treated, which caused some of the corrosion and put on with regular screws which had caused more corrosion). I ended up cutting the top of the transom off and will be buying a 4' section of aluminum channel to go back over it after I put in the new wood. I am also going to use the metal from the front seat to build a new panel for the back. Since it is above the water line and I will be epoxying the wood onto the boat, I can rivet the new panel on without any problems.
Now for my problems:
With the angled brackets on the ends of the boat, there is no way to get the wood back in one piece. Has anyone dealt with this before? Will I have to cut the wood into three pieces and then bracket it in and bolt it to the frame? I also saw a guy that cut the angled braces off the boat but I do not know anyone that can weld aluminum and putting those back on would cost me more than the boat.
There are small pinhole sized corrosion holes just in the back. Only a few are below the water line but I am not sure how to patch these up and and stop the corrosion.
Thanks for any help, I will keep updating on the build as it goes.