1432 season boat / flip project

So a couple weeks ago, I picked up this fishmaster 1432 with trailer, titles for both, for $500. The guy threw in the crap trolling motor and battery he had and some life vests and emergency oars too.





First order of business was get the trailer lights working, as the ones that were on it were garbage, as was the wiring. Grabbed the submersible LED's from HFT for like $35, and got that hooked up.

One thing I cannot stand is a hideous paint job. Since I knew I'd be totally customizing this boat, I knew it had to go. I did not know how much of a pain in the *** it would be to make that happen. I tried this product called Citristrip (eco friendly stripper), and while it worked... kinda... it was really slow going. After some trial and error, I figured out that for the more stubborn areas, a wire brush dipped in stripper went a long way. There were a lot of areas that had to be done that way, and a couple I had to use a wire brush on the drill. Anyway, after what seemed like 2 weeks, but was actually 3 days, I got the vast vast majority of the boat shiny bare. I'm leaving the bottom because I don't want to open a new can of worms there. I had to fix a couple leaky rivets. I also went ahead and wire brushed off the few patches he had already done. I don't know what he was using, but it was soft... almost looked like it could have just been household caulk. I used JB weld and then after that set for a couple days, I took her and put her in the water for a couple hours. No leaks from the bottom, and one tiny screw hole I must have uncovered on the transom that is just barely at the waterline was barely trickling.







So now that I had a sense of how it felt to on the water, and what kind of stability I was working with, I decided on a low deck. Bench height was too high. I'm a pretty small guy at 145, and my fishing buddy is 175, and we both have good balance, so I'm not too worried about how it'll be at this height. I cut the bench using a sawzall (ugly cut, I know!!!) and pulled part of the foam out. There was a second foam insert under the first one, so I opted to start my frame there. I cut some 2x4's and treated them with Ultra Spar, and then drilled pilot holes into the aluminum, and then screwed the pieces into place to start my frame. From there you can pretty much see what I've done as far as the framing on the front deck. All the wood is double coated with Ultra Spar.




Ok, I need to get to bed, I'll continue this post sometime soon, as I've already gotten a lot further than this, and it won't let me attach more than 10 photos.

Keep the pictures coming. Looking good so far

So where was I? Ah yes, framing the deck. Again, I'm not a heavy guy, and neither is anyone that I'll be fishing with, so I'm not worried about the weight of the wood. When it comes time to really do one of these right, I'm going to go the aluminum framing route, but that's projecting way into the future. Anyway, I cut the two pieces that sit where the edges of the bench used to be to size, added cross support between them, and then drilled pilot holes through the aluminum that was left and zipped them to the boat with some SS screws.

I framed the front deck out to have 2 hatches; one closest to the bow will be a shallow compartment with enough room for a few PFDs and such, the one towards the middle is big enough for my tackle box and a few other little odds and ends. I attached the frame to the bench pieces via some strong ties I had laying around. They're solid as can be. I also added 4 small pieces of vertical 2x4 under the frame for a little added support.





The floor I just cut 6 2x2's to 32'', then measured them out to fit snugly where the edges of the ribs start. I then measured the width and subtracted a half inch length wise and width wise to compensate for the carpet. Triple coated in ultraspar.




Next I made my side console that will hold my switch panel and all the wiring, a 12v dual outlet for charging my phone or whatever else, and have some storage space I'll probably end up turning into a nice little carpeted dry storage area. I started by using some scrap ply I had laying around and messing with it until I came up with a template I liked and fit well. I used a nice piece of smooth board I had left over from a furniture project for the templates and the front of the console. I had to jerry rig the support for the lid out of 2 strips of particle board for the time being (it'll be fixed by the time I get it to the water again, I just wanted to get everything together) and used a 2x4 as the bottom. Ultra spar, of course, then used an 18g staple gun to start the carpet on one edge, applied glue, smoothed it out while pulling it tight, and then stapled all the edges. Just a tip if you didn't already know: make sure you install all your carpet facing the same way. If you crisscross the pattern, it'll look like 2 different colors. Then I marked out a square big enough for the back of my switch panel to fit through, stapled around the edges thoroughly, and cut it out with a razor. Then a drilled pilot holes to start my cuts. I only had a sawzall to cut this hole, so the pilot holes are what made it possible. The last picture is getting a little ahead of myself, but that's the only one I've got on my computer that shows the (nearly) finished side console.






Ok, so that's it for tonight. I'll probably be done with the boat before I'm caught up with this post, but I'll do my best to not take too long.

One more thing: why are my pictures sideways in the post? They're not like that on my computer.

So I pretty much finished the boat tonight. I'm still waiting on getting my anchor/nav lights, deck lights, and my 12v outlet to get here, but tracking info says it all should be here tomorrow.

Next up is the back deck area. I didn't even draw anything up, I just kind of started with the 2x4 at the front edge of the back bench, and framed it out from there. I took 2x2's all the way from that 2x4 to the end of the deck, and then supported it with 2x4's I cut the bottom of to match the angle of the sides. Took some trial and error, but it ended up right. Braced it across twice in the back, and used 2x2's to frame the front. Then I decked everything, and measured out the hatches in the rear and cut them. Then Ultra Spar, and carpet. I've heard a lot of people on here talk about how much of a pain carpet is, but I think it's pretty easy. I laid the carpet out and figured out the size I would need. Staple it along one edge (I started with the bottom of the front panel). I stapled it on the edge first, then on the inside. then apply the carpet adhesive (stuff is a nasty PIA to work with) with a fine tooth trowel. lay the carpet down, and use a nice smooth, clean 2x4 to press the carpet down. Once I got it pressed down pretty well, I went to the opposite side and pulled it tight and stapled it. Then cut for all the corners, and then the 2 remaining sides. Once everything was dry, I installed the hinges, using a piece of cargo strap for the pulls. Fits in using only gravity, but feels as tight and stable as is if it were welded in place. I didn't have a hole saw, so initially I made a raised mount for the seat base, but it felt too high, so I bought a hole saw and fixed it.







Ok, to briefly touch on paint: I did the insides that would be visible in a quality self etching primer in white. I was thinking about leaving the whole boat raw aluminum, but then realized I'd be cooking myself all summer with the Florida sun if I did that. Once everything was done, I taped off with plastic everything but the rim. I painted it black with some industrial enamel to give the boat a little bit of pop. I'll probably do the outside of the boat in the future, I just wanted to get this thing done without beating up my wallet too much.




Last structural thing I did was the front deck. I used 19/32'' outdoor sheeting plywood. It's a little weighty, but with the ultra spar, it'll hold up to the use, and be nice and strong. To get the edges, I clamped a piece of cardboard to the rim of the boat, traced the shape, then cut it to fit from that rough trace. I measured and cut the hatches, then shaved an extra 1/2" off of 2 sides to leave room for carpet. Then treated the wood, and applied the carpet. The hatches came out better than I could have imagined, they are a perfect snug fit, and sit perfectly flush with the deck. To attach the deck, I drilled 2 3" screws to hold in place, then used a 3/8" drill bit to make holes through the deck and the frame in 5 spots. I then used 5" bolts to fasten the deck, and removed the 2 previous screws. This leaves the issue of the ugly back of the middle bench. I purposely made my side console a little bit short, so I used a piece of the ply to create a wedge that fits tightly, covering the exposed area, and wedging the side console firmly into place.




So that's pretty much it! I'll do one more post of the final product, and if you want pictures of anything in better detail, or have any questions, feel free to ask!

So everything is finished up for the time being. I got all my lighting in, and looking at it now, I'm going to order another string of red LED's for the other side.

Taken her out on the water with just the trolling motor a couple times this week, once alone, once with a buddy of mine. She did fantastically both times. Stability is honestly better than what I thought it would have been. Can stand and fish on the front deck, and my buddy can stand and fish off the back deck, with very little wobble. Now just to get a small 5-8 horse outboard and I'll be all set.

Even had a manatee come and say hello this afternoon. He came up to the boat and just kind of hung out for about 5 minutes, rubbing his nose on my hand as I had in the water. Pretty cool stuff.

great job on that wood work and carpeting. that thing turned out sweet.