Polar Kraft 1448 build

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Fishfried

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Been searching for a small fishing boat. I couldn’t find one I liked so I’m just going to build my own. Got a good Craigslist deal Jon boat. A 2012 Polar Kraft 1448L. I assumed it was a 36” or smaller bottom, ended up being 48” and since it didn’t have a trailer, was tough to fit in my 6’ truck bed. In great shape, some paint chips here and there and a dent on the rear bench seat, otherwise perfect. Very dirty but solid!
 
Guess I should post some before pics.
 

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First thing I noticed is the live well in the center bench seat has a through hull fitting that I didn’t like so I took out the fitting and welded it shut. I happened to have a hole saw the right size so I cut a circle with some scrap and TIG welded it from the outside of the boat. Will build a custom livewell later.
Doing a basic “mini bass boat” build. Starting in the front of the boat with a big casting deck. No carpet or wood in this build. I want the deck to be flush with the height of the front deck and center bench seat.
Got a sheet of .125”, 5052 sheet 5’ x 10’ and 75’ of .125” x 1.5” x 1.5” angle.
 

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Framing in the front deck. Deck will have a couple hatches. Two small ones for tackle and one for batteries. I intend to use Nautolex vinyl to cover the deck. I need to find a good glue that works on aluminum.
 

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Front casting deck support nearly complete, just a couple more vertical supports. I welded the top angles, riveted the vertical supports. I need to make a template for the aluminum deck, that should be fun...
 
Front deck support.
 

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checkoutmyjunk said:
Nice work, I wish I would take the time to learn how to weld

Thanks! I took welding classes at the Tech school about 17 years ago and worked as a welder for a couple of years.
 
Between the middle and rear deck I got a custom hatch lid installed. I used some aluminum sheet, had someone in the shop at work press brake the long sides. I bought an aluminum piano hinge on EBay. Riveted the hinge to the hatch and to an angle that spans the two bench seats.
 

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Do you plan on doing anything for sound dampening before you cover the framework? The first jon boat I decked I didn't bother and it drove me nuts until I ripped it apart and glued down pieces of gym matting between the ribs which made a world of difference on the noise.
 
That’s a good question. I have framed two other decks the same way and haven’t had a problem. With a straight edge, all the frame is within a 1/16”, so not much slop. When I get the aluminum sheet cut right I will lay a bead of silicone caulk on the framework, so it will be solid as can be.
 
After reading the post about sound dampening again, I think I understand what you did. At first I thought you sandwiched the deck and the structural with the mat. I could put some blue foam board in between the ribs just for good measure. Thanks for the tip
 
I want to put a pedestal mount on the rear bench seat. The bench is filled with foam and the aluminum is way too flimsy for the mount alone. I grabbed a bracket and it works great. There might be an easier way, but this is how I did it...F9629D83-41DE-4122-98E5-86C88B56C8FC.jpeg
 

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Here are a couple more pics of the mounting bracket.
 

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With the base.
 

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Since I plugged the livewell in the center bench to use for batteries and fuse box I need To build a new one. I asked a guy in the shop at work to roll a piece of aluminum that I cut to be the same height as the deck. It’s about 23 gallons. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to put a lid on it. I’m thinking of using a cutting board and hinge it. I’ve made a couple aluminum livewell for friends and they have performed well.
 

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The space between the rear seat and transom will have three hinged lids. An aluminum piano hinge will be on the riveted to the seat and to the lids. I’ll press brake the panels to make them rigid. This will give the person fishing in back of the boat a little more deck room. I made some cardboard templates. I’ll cut out a notch for the tiller handle.
 

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Couple more pics of the rear deck area. I’d like to turn up the corner of the panel like the cardboard template in the pic. I’ll see if it works out.
 

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