'89 Fisher Marine Transformation

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sftull

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I have been floating around here for awhile, so I decided to post some pics of my '89 Fisher Marine 1648 w/ '89 40hp Evinrude boat transformation project. I purchased this boat with the intent to use for hunting/fishing and pleasure. After looking at some of boat builds on this site, I knew that it was going to need some work to get it the way I wanted it.
When I got it home...
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On my list of things to do was, paint the motor and boat, remove the carpet and check the foam, run all new wiring, move batteries to the front and add a stereo.

First on the list....paint the outboard...
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After a few weeks of enjoying the boat, I decided to pull the interior out and check the foam under the floor. Just like most on here, the 1.75" open cell foam was completely saturated with water.

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......Please excuse the messy garage......
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During the process of removing everything, I ordered some Duralux Aluminum Boat Green paint. For anyone who is looking to paint a boat...this stuff is great. We did spray it on, which made it really easy.

Getting ready to paint....
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Exterior painted...
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Looked like a new boat. The hard part was to leave it alone for a week so the paint could cure.
 
Over the next few weeks, I added foam and sheet metal to the interior of the boat. The metal is .040 sheet aluminum which is pop riveted down.
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The metal is .040 sheet aluminum which is pop riveted down.
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I put the original "pods" back in the boat but removed the carpet.
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All new wiring sticking out of the left side.
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I knew I wanted the batteries in the front, so I needed to add onto the front deck. I built it from .080 aluminum supported by 1"x1"x.125 angle.
The holes in the front are for 6x9's
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Battery support and deck frame
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I ordered two hatches from cabelas. This would give me a great deal of storage on either side of the batteries.
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Next was to figure out the seating arrangement. The driver and passenger seats would go back in their original locations. The front and rear seats were sitting on top of live wells, which are no longer in the boat. I added two seat receivers to the rear "pods" and one in the middle of the front deck.
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After those were in, I was able to paint the interior.
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One of my hardest decisions was floor covering. I tossed ideas around in my head for weeks but finally broke down and purchased some dark grey, cut diamond hydro turf. For anyone that's unfamiliar with it...its defiantly worth looking up. I ordered 5 sheets and picked up some contact cement to put it down with.

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Next was onto the electrical..... I bought new gauges, faria euro gauges (rpm, tilt/trim, volt).
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All new switches and instead of fuses, I put in breakers. From the console I can control the nav lights, aerator, head light (for putting out decoys at 3AM). the gauge lights and check the voltage on both batteries.
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Here are some shots of the finish console
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New seats
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This is where I am currently on the project. I hope to have it finished within the next couple of weeks. All comments and critiques are welcome.
Thanks
 
Good job. I went with the duralux too. I brushed and rolled it on. Not as smooth as spraying but for a 35 year old boat it's great.

Keep the pictures coming with your progress.
 
I added foam and sheet metal to the interior of the boat. The metal is .040 sheet aluminum which is pop riveted down.
Nice work =D> Was the .040 strong enough for the flooring? I am going with .125 which is considerbly thicker.
 
Nice work =D> Was the .040 strong enough for the flooring? I am going with .125 which is considerably thicker.

The .040 is pretty flimsy by itself but once the foam was between the ribs, it becomes very solid. I was actually surprised how solid it was once it was all riveted down. I went with .040 for a couple of reasons. First, it was free...my family is in the construction business and do alot of sheet metal work. Second, our 12' metal break wouldn't break .125 very well. I had originally thought about that. When I pulled the original floor and sides out of the boat, which were covered with carpet, they weren't much thicker than a few sheets of aluminum foil.
 
Thanks for all of the comments about the Rude.... The paint color is Ford Dark Metallic Blue from a rattle can. It looked alittle weird at first, but once I got the decals on, it actually looked pretty good.
 
The .040 is pretty flimsy by itself but once the foam was between the ribs, it becomes very solid. I was actually surprised how solid it was once it was all riveted down. I went with .040 for a couple of reasons. First, it was free...my family is in the construction business and do alot of sheet metal work. Second, our 12' metal break wouldn't break .125 very well.

"Free" makes allot of sense, lol. I can get a hold of .080 and save $100 from the .125 and I also will use foam between ribs. If you are happy with .040 then maybe .080 will be enough. I top out at 280 so I need a good surface. Ribs are about 16" on center. I wonder if diamond plate is stronger??
 
My crestliners hull is .100,the factory floor and sides are about half that maybe alittle less.
If theres a foam supporting it,I don't see why people spend all that dough on heavy/thick aluminum.
A quick google check and a 4X8 sheet of .100 is close to $300 and a 4X10 sheet of .040 is under $100.
 
I have found a 4 x 8 sheet at .125 for $126 tax included (3003 alloy) Another place has .080 for about $120. Not sure of the alloy but they are a sign supply company. I would prefer the .125 but its a two hour drive. Gas prices might kill that deal.
 
"Free" makes allot of sense, lol. I can get a hold of .080 and save $100 from the .125 and I also will use foam between ribs. If you are happy with .040 then maybe .080 will be enough. I top out at 280 so I need a good surface. Ribs are about 16" on center. I wonder if diamond plate is stronger??

I would recommend putting foam between the ribs with anything less that .125. I think the .080 would be fine at first but over time, it would start to sag between the ribs. Also....the space between my ribs was 12".
 

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