1950 Model R Alumacraft 12" v hull resto + deck

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Busbey

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
147
Reaction score
0
Hey everyone, Brian here from South Florida. Just this past weekend i picked up a 12" v hull boat that i grew up on with my dad. very excited to get a deck in there and add my own touch from all the nice projects i see on here. the only problem is, i am unsure where to start. i see people using aluminum angle bars to fab a deck, then ply wood on top. others, i see 2x4 as a base and then plywood on that. what is the right way for me? is cost the only thing deciding that?

the seats, (pics below) are not in the optimal spots for me in the idea i have for this boat. the rear bench seat is too far forward and the other 2 are not the height that i want. SO, that leaves only one choice, remove them. here is a huge question i need answered. if i was to build the deck out of aluminum angle bars (1/16th or 1/8th???) would this be enough to add the plywood on top and then a swivel seat? i just don't see how this would be sturdy enough. but you guys are the ones who do this. below the angle bar (or 2x4's if i go that route) would be another piece of plywood, correct? so, boat, aluminum angle to make level, plywood, more aluminum angle for all the support bars and then top plywood followed by carpet. is this the right process for a deck?

here are some pics of day one. i need to get it pressure washed maybe, a few things adjusted on the trailer and start catching fish. my main concern for this week is getting the seats installed and getting on the water this weekend. no need in rushing like i said, i just want to fish! picked up a 6hp Montgomery Ward outboard for it for $35 bucks too, anxious to see it run.

IMG_00002.jpg


IMG_00004.jpg


IMG_00005.jpg


IMG_00008.jpg


IMG_00010.jpg


IMG_00013.jpg


here is the motor



IMG_00012.jpg


IMG_00011.jpg
 
Any suggestions on removing the paint off this thing in 1 afternoon? What about a sand blaster? If I can find one to rent or borrow from a friend, would this be my best bet?
 
ok. im in shock. i just got off the phone with Alumacraft and it is not a 1960.. its a 1950! 146th Model R built. a serious collectible. the founders grandson or son (forget which) worked in the office behind the guy that i got ahold of. he was interested in buying it from me. i stayed on hold for 15 minutes while he had someone go to their showroom and check to see if one of these was in there, restored of course. unfortunately there wasnt one but the guy looking said they had one in the storage or something. so, long story short, he isnt buying it from me. MAN!!!!! i thought i just hit jackpot!!

anyways, i am glad i have the information on this boat now and will look forward to passing it along to my kids. wow, 1950.....
 
Too bad that you couldn't work a deal w/ Alumacraft, possibly trade for a larger boat. But, if it is a family boat, you may want to hold onto it. As far as paint, I have always just added, never removed. A wire wheel on a drill would work.
 
im debating trying some aircraft stripper and then an angle grinder for the tougher spots. but i want to get some fishing in first. once i start stripping everything it wont be going back to the water until its painted.
 
so im taking the boat out this weekend as is / without seats. i have 2 new seats that were never used with cushions and stuff, but i cant find a swivel anywhere locally and i am not wasting my money on the only other way to attach. anyways, i have some ideas for the boat but before i move forward, i need to clean and strip all the old paint off. also, im curious if i can move the rear seat back about 12". it just sits so far forward that it is ruining the idea of the rear deck that i have.

by all means, any help is appreciated. i do not know how to use any program to help me draft something up. only in my head. but with the seat positions further towards the rear, i have more room between my 2 seats and no more wasted space in the rear.

could i just drill out the rivets holding the seat to the side of the boat and leave the brace attached to the actual bench seat? then re rivet that to the new position?

the hard thing for me to do is start cutting the seats and ruining this boat since i just found out how old it is. but at the same time, i want to make it more user friendly since i am keeping it. the only other idea i have is to remove the seats completely via the rivets and keep the seats in the attic or something. but seriously, do i see myself trying to restore this boat and sell it or just keep it and pass it along to my kids and explain that this has been in the family since 1994...

someone help me to make some decisions so i can start on this deck and get her all nice and pretty!
 
I had the same dilema with the seats. I wanted to remove the two rear benches in my 16'er so I could put in a deck.....but like you I had a hard time cutting up something from 1952. I drilled out the rivets and pulled the benches that way. Still not sure what I'm going to do with them. Mine were pretty beat up ( boat was used on KY Lake by a rescue squad). At least drilling out the rivets you can buy time to decide. The old holes fill in nicely with a pop rivet. Really cool boat....
 
This was my thoughts too. Just drill out the rivets holding them in and store them in the attic or something. If I sell the boat down the road or decide to do something else with it, I still have access to them and the integrity of the boats authenticness isn't ruined. Is authenticness a word? Lol

Think I may get some aircraft stripper soon and get to work in it. Get the deck made and have an enjoyable boat.
 
Plans for this weekend..

get 2 sheets of 5/8 plywood for deck ((((anything in particular?))))
get 25-30ft of 1x1 for framing. ((((should i use 2x2 instead?)))
screws, wood sealer and angle brackets will be purchased as well. im going to try and get something figured out for the front casting deck tomorrow, without carpet because i probably wont have time before Sunday morning's 6am launch time. :)

any advise on where i should start is greatly appreciated. here are some measurements.

002.JPG


boat.JPG
 
took the boat out this past weekend and found out i have a hole in the back somewhere. somewhere under the new transom. now i need to figure out where it is, obviously taking the transom off :(
 
i'd appreciate someone with some skill to sketch me up a deck idea. due to the smallness of this boat i want to be sure to get the most out of it, ya know? i was out there a few days ago with a new friend from this site and it was kinda tight. all i have done was make the front area flat about 3 inches off the v. i dont want to go too high with the deck and risk it being tippy, but at the same time, i want to make this boat "fishable"

any and ALL help is greatly appreciated!!!
 
No update from me yet. Made a front deck to rest on the V about 3 inches tall. Just so I have something to stand on. Hope to get going soon. I have so many ideas but I don't know where to start.
 
I would definitely try to move the rear seat back. That looks strange and impossible to reach the outboard. It's hard to have much of a rear deck on a tiller, but if you move that seat back and put in a flat floor, you'll be higher up and have more room to stand and fish from the back. Deck on top of the front two seats if you're comfortable standing up that high. It would be hard to get much flat floor space in the area of the V, but you'll get a lot decking on top of the seats. If you put framing below the level of the current seats, you can lay the deck right on top (instead of 3" up). Mine had wood bench tops, so I removed and replaced with a plywood deck that goes all the way forward. I'm pretty happy with how mine has turned out. If I were just bass fishing, I would have made my front deck even longer.
 
I defiantly want to add a deck on top of the seats. From the front of the rear seat to the back of the boat. From the back of the mid seat all the way to the bow. This is a 2 person boat. 2 seats would go nice in this deck area. The problem is, the seats will most likely be NOT where the aluminum bench seats are. I hope I can build braces good enough to hold them.

This way, I won't have t chop up a 60+ year old boat, ya know? I need to figure out where and how to add some storage area though. That alone is my issue.
 
ok so i figured i would add a little update here. i decided i would put the stuff in the boat away and get started with an angle grinder, inside and out. probably just going to do it in the driveway. any problem with this? no chance of getting a flat tire from anything that may come off??????

once i have it all down to the bare aluminum, i am looking at using Herculiner on the inside. it only comes in black which i am not too big on but it is what it is. if i do this, can i paint over it later? with what? i kind of like the idea of white. not too sure it will stick to the herculiner though. but this stuff will seal any small holes i may have from the 60 year old rivets.

on the outside, i plan on priming and painting 2 tone grey and marone or something similar. i really like blue and grey but might not match the marone and grey seats i have already. we shall see.

so my questions are this (for now), will using the wire wheel in the driveway risk a flat tire? what are the pros and cons on using herculiner on the inside and can i paint over it?

here are some pics i took lastnight of what i have to work with.

008.JPG

010.JPG

031.JPG
 
got a grinder today. going to start cleaning it up and taking old paint off this weekend.
 
Busbey, Wire wheel works great for me. It will remove paint down to the bare metal if need be.
Word of caution, wear gloves and safety glasses, mandatory! Also it helps to be patient, a section at a time
and eventually it will get done. Here is a link to my boat, it has taken me a while to get here but I'm in no hurry.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=20643
Don't worry about the flat tire unless you are leaving any screws on the ground.
 
got a 4 inch angle grider last week, abrasive disk as suggested and realized it was going to take a long time with what i had so i thought i would give some aircraft stripper a shot. well, i think i left it on too long in the sun without taking it off because not it looks like hell and i cant get it off. i may attempt it again and hope for the best. although i could not find the proper stuff i have seen in youtube videos. the stuff they were using was brown. i have found clear (fiberglass and doesnt work) and green (says for aluminum but i may have not taken it off fast enough and hardened again).

here are some pictures. remember, 60 year old boat, 25 year old paint.

seats after 5 seconds trying same spot

001.JPG

003.JPG


side of boat, comes right off

002.JPG


bow piece that you can see looked like crap before. corrosion

IMG_0005.JPG


here are some pics of the seats back on, ready for this weekend trip. its my b day weekend and the wife has a suprise for me. not sure where, but she said just get the seats back in, doesnt matter what it looks like, you will have fun. so we shall see.

also, you can see in a few pics how the brush strokes are very visible from when i was using

IMG_0008.JPG

IMG_0010.JPG

IMG_0012.JPG



the plan so far is to get the boat down to aluminum, Herculiner the inside (White for heat purposes) which will seal up any holes i may have that are not visible. Paint the outside 2-tone. deck front and back, keeping middle lower. move seat position forward 1ft on front seat and back 1ft in rear. this is basically an old row boat so the position of the seats are very close to center. makes hard fishing for 2 people too.
 
Report this postEdit postReply with quote

Here is what I did to mine. My bottom curved also and I couldn't figure out how to do a flat bottom either till I saw others here what they did......I built my gas tank into the middle bench area. If I need to remove it, all I have to do is remove a few screws and pull up the decking........It gets fill through a twist off cover......... #-o


https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=15880

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20957

100_1736.jpg


100_1737.jpg


100_1491.jpg
 

Latest posts

Top