Building a catfish boat

Thank you! I got it home to Kansas but I think the fuel pump is bad on the motor. I’ve been messing with it all day. I pulled and cleaned the carb, replaced the primer bulb, cleaned the filters, and put in new gas but it’ll just sit and idle for about a minute or so and then slowly sputter and die like it’s out of gas. If you try to throttle it then it’ll die.

On another note I test fit the rod rack and it looks good I think!

Well the motor is running now. I pulled the carb again and the main nozzle and jet were still clogged up some. She runs great now.

This is my latest floor plan and probably the one I’m gonna go with. I’m painting the boat today also. Using Rustolium Gloss Sand.

Painted. Just got to paint the trailer.

I put some truck bed liner around the top, painted the trailer, replaced the bunks, and put in some flooring.

I have to order another mat to finish up the flooring. I’ve got a plan on anchoring the mat to the hull where I can remove them and clean the boat if I want or need to.

Finally I can reclaim my parking spot.

Awesome looking. I love that color. Going to use it on my next project.

Nice, I’ve actually been seeing your Instagram posts every time you tag tiny boat nation . Lol looks dope. The black trim pops.

ebterrier said:

Nice, I’ve actually been seeing your Instagram posts every time you tag tiny boat nation . Lol looks dope. The black trim pops.

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Thanks. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how I want to with the deck. I want it to be simple but rugged and useful. I don’t really have a need for separate compartments, just one big one to shove things into so it shouldn’t be too hard. I just keep on going back and forth between wanting to deck it with wood or aluminum. The framing will be all aluminum as I have a few aluminum army cots to use for that.

Just a few updates. I cut the rod holder rack down by about 6” or so and got it attached. So far I’ve taken it out on the river twice. First time the carb flooded about 1/2 mile out while my oldest son was driving and we had to paddle back. Second time she ran like a dream. Not sure why it flooded out. I’ve completely cleaned the carb and replaced the seized accelerator pump and other than that one hiccup things seem to be going well.

I made the brackets out of 1/8” aluminum using a vise and a dead blow hammer to for them. I also added the rod holders that I had on hand. I’m still waiting for the other to arrive in the mail. I also added some nose art and bow lights as well.

Good use of the old cot. Looks great.

How did you attach the rod rack to the gunnels?

Nice... You could hang a deuce off that thing....

eeshaw said:

How did you attach the rod rack to the gunnels?

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I made aluminum brackets and used stainless steel self tapping screws.

Did a little work with a mock up of the control panel dash and cut some wood for the battery boxes and 5 gallon bait tank. Also got lights wired up.

Eyes at night.

Some more work done to the boat.

Nice job. Sharp look. Shame to get it wet.

maintenanceguy said:

Nice job. Sharp look. Shame to get it wet.

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Thanks. Waterproofing has been kicking my butt. First we had rain, then my orbital sander but the dust, then my vibrating sander bit the dust.

I’ve hand sanded everything and re-coated it all and now I’m level sanding everything thats done and I have a couple more coats to go on a few parts. But I’ve finally got the first pieces primed for paint.

While waiting on the rain I bought a UV led strip and some clear heat shrink and made a light for my rod rack. I haven’t mounted it permanently yet but it slides right in the groove of the 80/20 rail and I’ve gator clipped it up to test it out.

Here is the rod rack light with and without the anchor light on. I’ll post pics of the waterproofing and priming later.