Hey everyone. I'm new to this site. I am in Washington State, and it seems like I'm the only one around here that has a Plastic boat!!! I have already disassembled the boat down to just the shell. Cleaned everything out (spiders/debris) and put it back together. I am an avid modifier of pretty much everything I own, so I only buy the modifiable! (MANY can relate to that here, huh?!)
So, I saw Nic's crawdad add-ons (floor/fish finder mount) and that gave me some inspiration!
The only thing I have noticed, is that pretty much the only thing done to these boats is the floor & seats.. Isn't there much more to do to these?
I am a CNC Router Table programmer and operator and will be custom building my own flooring. I am wondering about the possibility of the wood rotting or becoming soft after a number of times on a lake. Also, what other materials have been used? I can get my hands on a WIDE varitety of materials. I was actually thinking about putting down some .090" or .125" aluminum instead. I figure that it'll hold up to walking on it, and maybe give a little more support than the stock. What are some other ideas?
Also, I have taken off the stock wood mounts for the motor as they were falling apart in my hands. I will be CNCing some new mounts out of either acrylic or 3/8" aluminum. I am trying to figure out if I'm going to get rid of the foam that is under the front and rear.. I will be taking my 5 year old out a lot, and just don't want to flip and not be able to keep the boat from sinking..
Has anyone created some sort of livewell for their boat? Something to keep the fish in.. Alive?? I love fishing and don't want to be limited to only fishing a certain number of hours based on limits.. I'd love to throw back the smaller ones in favor of the larger.
What about some sort of see-through bottom of the boat? Has anyone ever managed to create something that worked? Again, I could CNC something if there is an idea to go off.. I was thinking, since the middle of the boat isn't going to be stepped on, that maybe I could cut a hole there and mount some Clear lexan or something..???
Hope this is enough info to get the ball rolling.. Any and all comments/ridicule is welcome!! Awesome site and hope to share some great things in the coming months!
So, I saw Nic's crawdad add-ons (floor/fish finder mount) and that gave me some inspiration!
The only thing I have noticed, is that pretty much the only thing done to these boats is the floor & seats.. Isn't there much more to do to these?
I am a CNC Router Table programmer and operator and will be custom building my own flooring. I am wondering about the possibility of the wood rotting or becoming soft after a number of times on a lake. Also, what other materials have been used? I can get my hands on a WIDE varitety of materials. I was actually thinking about putting down some .090" or .125" aluminum instead. I figure that it'll hold up to walking on it, and maybe give a little more support than the stock. What are some other ideas?
Also, I have taken off the stock wood mounts for the motor as they were falling apart in my hands. I will be CNCing some new mounts out of either acrylic or 3/8" aluminum. I am trying to figure out if I'm going to get rid of the foam that is under the front and rear.. I will be taking my 5 year old out a lot, and just don't want to flip and not be able to keep the boat from sinking..
Has anyone created some sort of livewell for their boat? Something to keep the fish in.. Alive?? I love fishing and don't want to be limited to only fishing a certain number of hours based on limits.. I'd love to throw back the smaller ones in favor of the larger.
What about some sort of see-through bottom of the boat? Has anyone ever managed to create something that worked? Again, I could CNC something if there is an idea to go off.. I was thinking, since the middle of the boat isn't going to be stepped on, that maybe I could cut a hole there and mount some Clear lexan or something..???
Hope this is enough info to get the ball rolling.. Any and all comments/ridicule is welcome!! Awesome site and hope to share some great things in the coming months!