Some questions on finishing my 14' mod v mod

[Johnny]

I have been looking at the off-set aluminum piano hinges
and they have REALLY gone up in price since I bought some
5 years ago. almost $10 per foot on the average.
If you can not find any within your budget, you can check into
how much a 2" wide flat hinge is and then check your local metal fab
shop to see how much their bending fee is. My local metal shop charges $5 per bend.
MSC has the 2"x72" alum hinge for $19. so with the $10 to bend = $29 each total
vs $60 if you bought it already off-set. plus - you can have it bent to your exact specs.
basically, you could could look at it as two custom formed hinges for the price of one factory off-set.

just something for you to research before you get to that stage of your build.

 

[Macrosill]

 

[overboard]

Do you have a fab or machine shop close to you, maybe a buddy that works in one? I have found it is a lot cheaper to buy bulk aluminum angle in 25' lengths than to buy it in 8' pieces. If needed, just cut it down to manageable length for transport when you pick it up.

 

[Macrosill]

Do you have a fab or machine shop close to you, maybe a buddy that works in one? I have found it is a lot cheaper to buy bulk aluminum angle in 25' lengths than to buy it in 8' pieces. If needed, just cut it down to manageable length for transport when you pick it up.

Unfortunately I do not know anyone anywhere involved in any type of metal working field.

 

[richg99]

I found aluminum angle at a local scrap metal place. It wasn't a bargain, but was fairly priced.

They had all of the tools to cut/bend etc.. Might check a few out. There seems to be one or more near every town in the USA.

richg99

 

[richg99]

I've only owned one or two tiller boats, so I don't have a lot of experience on this topic.

But, when I was looking around for my present 1652 VBW G3, some of the tiller boats had the back bench cut in half. Each half then had the inside corner cut off.

It appeared to me that that configuration would allow a tiller operator, sitting on the back bench, additional areas in which to swing his legs. Just a thought. richg99

 

[Macrosill]

When I got the boat I picked up a 9.9 outboard for gas lakes.
The boat came with a transom mount trolling motor. It is an old unit. A Minn Kota Model 4hp, 24v. No idea about any other specs, not even what size breaker I would need. I can not find much info about it online. It seems it was sold at Sears in the 80's. No manual available and Minn Kota does not have any available info either. I tried calling them directly.

I am toying with the idea of using the trolling motor as is on electric only lakes until it gives up the ghost or replace it with a new 55 or more thrust unit. Cost is the bigget factor as the larger electric units are upwards of 500 bucks and I will be putting all my spare change into the mod as is.
The batteries will be in the bow to offset the weight when I am alone in the stern. The bow rides really high with me and the batteries in the stern. I tried that once! LOL

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[richg99]

Let's see...batteries already moved to the front for balance. Boat rides high in the bow. Nice new deck on the bow.

I'd seriously consider making the transom mount trolling motor into a bow mount. All that is required is to be able to "switch the head" around and to fabricate a mount. There are many pictures, on this site, of home-made bow mounts for converted transom TMs.

You'd gain....better control of the boat by PULLING it instead of Pushing it. More weight up front.
You wouldn't have to pull heavy-duty wiring from bow to stern to run the TM.

Anyhow, that would be my thought on the matter.

richg99

 

[Macrosill]

Rich,
With the batteries in the bow and the deck in its current form the boat rides nice. I will bee keeping it in that config but good point on the trolling motor in the front. I will see how things progress as the rebuild comes along as soon as it warms up a bit.

All,
Should I
1. Frame the floor and deck it front to back. Then build the upper decks and storage on top of the main deck or...
2. Frame the entire boat and fit the decking as needed

If I do one large floor deck front to back then I would have a nice solid foundation to frame the upper decks and storage without worrying about supports in specific areas. However, if I ever need to replace the main deck I would have to completely dismantle the entire boat framing.

If I frame the whole boat and then fit decking as needed then I can replace decking much easier but would have to be a bit more calculated for support framing for the upper decks and storage.

What are your thoughts? Anything I have missed?

I am leaning towards option 2.

 

[Macrosill]

I am getting ready to place my order for the aluminum framing. Just want to make sure the material will be strong enough. While I would love to say cost is of no concern that would not be reality. I am planning on ordering 1 x 1 x 1/8 6061 T6 aluminum angle. The 1" material is half the cost of the same material in 1.5" width. 1.25" is right in the middle of the others.

Will the 1" angle be strong enough? I think so but am hoping for some reassurance before I place the order.

 

[Macrosill]

I deconstructed the previously done wood framing after dragging the boat out of the garage into 30 degree weather with lots of wind.
I did some measuring and drawing. Based on some loose measurements I need 75 linear feet to do just the main floor and side lockers. Another 28 for the front casting deck. This is with keeping the front and rear benches.

That is aprox. 15 8' lengths.

I am going to remove the front and rear benches so I am going to have to add some more framing. I am going to add 50 % to the order and get 22 8' lengths. This should be enough I think.

The benches contain aprox. 16920 cu in of foam. To replace that I will need to add back aprox. 2.4 sheets of 4x8x1.5" foam.

 

[Macrosill]

I lied. I ordered 25 8 footers and got free shipping!

One thing I completely forgot about until this morning was storage for the oars. Make sure you figure that into your storage plan before building.

 

[Tman]

I am planning on using pop rivets, aluminum with ss mandrels to secure to the inner structure. Then use solid aluminum rivets to attach to the hull above the water line.

I am terribly far behind but for all of the rivets I removed out of my boat i replaced with 3m 5200 and closed end Rivets
i believe i used 3/16", drill out the existing rivet and drill the hole larger to the new rivet.

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-1423-13-Inch-Heavy-Riveter/dp/B0039697ME/ref=sr_1_5?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1488828431&sr=1-5

this was the tool i used to set the extra large rivets. quite a chest workout when popping 100+ holes but doable.

 

[Tman]

One thing I completely forgot about until this morning was storage for the oars. Make sure you figure that into your storage plan before building.

Telescoping paddles save a lot of space.
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Attwood-Telescoping-Paddle/2250805.uts?productVariantId=4495442&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=04364657&rid=20&gclid=COqUq8TPwtICFUUjgQodCW8Mbg&gclsrc=aw.ds

I used a kayak paddle holder by attawood
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ATTWOOD-KAYAK-PADDLE-HOLDER/50511566
you can mount it almost anywhere, even underneath a hatch door

 

[Macrosill]

Telescoping paddles look like a nice solution.

My aluminum angle is scheduled to be delivered today. The solid rivets should arrive tomorrow. That means I have to get to Harbor Freight for the rivet gun and air hammer. Then to Home Depot or Lowes to get some aluminum pop rivets. The bimetal bandsaw blade should be here tomorrow as well I hope.

I will start a 2.0 build thread in the Mod forum as soon as I start, hopefully in the next few days. Good thing I am off the rest of the week. Just hope the weather plays nice.

I have some carpet and vinyl samples and will probably go with 20 oz carpet.

Wish me luck in this venture. I hope to be out on the water this spring.

 

[RustyGoat]

[/quote]



this was the tool i used to set the extra large rivets. quite a chest workout when popping 100+ holes but doable.[/quote]
I bought an air riveter (Campbell Hausfeld) for like $60 on Amazon before I started the build I'm currently working on. I'm over 100 rivets in and it's definitely worth every penny and speeds things up a lot. I also recommend some good sharp drill bits. I started out with an old bit I had laying around and after buying some new bits I couldn't believe how much easier it was to drill the holes.

 

[Johnny]

I purchased two of the 4' telescoping paddles like shown above.
the next time out, I had to use one.
my bass boat has a high freeboard and it was very uncomfortable
bending over the side to paddle to shore.
I will never have another telescoping paddle. 5 or 6ft wood only.
I suggest you try them out next time you are out in your boat
just to familiarize yourself with the product. (and all safety gear as well).

 

[Macrosill]

Unfortunately Mother Nature is no cooperating with my plans. I have the boat, aluminum angle, solid rivets, hollow rivets, riveting tools but it just snowed about 6 inches here and we are getting another 3-5 with a Noreaster on Tuesday. All of next week is booked solid too. Maybe the last week in March or 1st week of April will be better. Ugh.

 

[Hanr3]

Your build looks a lot like mine Sylvan project. See link in my signature. I posted videos instead of a ton of pictures. Questions please ask.

Things I like about your plan, its simple, aluminum framed, marine boat hinges, and marine grade plywood deck. You may be able to add a rod locker under the cabin deck, take a look at my build. It all comes down to fractions of inches to make it all work.

Glad to see your making progress again.

 

[Macrosill]

I have decided to stick with the full size oars that came with the boat. I will have a storage locker long enough for them. The only issue is the middle bench is no longer installed so I would have to kneel and row, row the boat backwards, good luck with that, or put a seat mount in the middle of the floor so I can have a seat to row from. I am glad I am figuring all these things out now instead of after the build.

The Harbor Freight air hammer and the Northern Tool solid rivet set kit are not working together. The shanks on the Northern Tool attachments do not fit in the air hammer barrel. I am going to have to file them down to get them to slide in. Also the retaining spring will not fit around the front of the Northern Tool bits. I will have to "open" the spring a bit. Does this sound right or did I get the wrong items? I have the Harbor Freight 61244 medium barrel air hammer with chisel. All items indicate .401 shank but something is off.

I always enjoy looking at prior build to "steal" ideas from. Thanks Hanr3

Since we are getting a blizzard tomorrow and temps in the 20s until next weekend I have not done anything on the build yet, other than take out the old wooden parts. I brought home the Harbor Freight air hammer for my solid rivets and the air hydraulic riveter for the pop rivets. I was going to get the heavy duty rivet tool but the pneumatic tool seems so much easier, especially with all those rivets I will be popping!

I also installed the bimetal blade on my band saw to make easy work of cutting the aluminum angle.