my 14' discovery

O.K. Let me try this again. These are pictures of my '92 14' Discovery Marine. What I want to do: add a flat floor. remove the center seat for more floor space. remove the center section of the rear seat, close the ends in & tie into the floor ribs. this will give me split seats in the back so it's more comfortable driving. add a battery & gas compartment (but where? in the rear? in the front?) add a rod locker or rod holders on one side. add some dry storage on the other side. I don't know what to do in the front, though. I don't know if it's a good idea to remove the front seat. :?: I was thinking about removing it, adding storage (batteries?) from the front of the boat to where the seat now starts & a pedestal on the new floor. I don't think I want a casting deck. Anybody see any problems or have any ideas? Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Also, thanks to those people who tried to teach this dinosaur some new computer skills.

Nice boat!

Nice canvas to start with. From what I see you shouldnt have trouble cutting the back seat as long as it is rebuilt with extra reinforcement. I would try to keep the floor solid underneath the bench and take it to the last rib, just in front of the transom support. That way you can take the structural support to the floor. You could even remove the seat compleatly and rebuild a new seat to your needed dimensions. I would try to use both sides of the rear seat for the battery and gas tank areas just because it would be half way done allready. Its hard for me to say if it will work to remove the front seat. On my 14' riveted grumman, the gunnels went extremly flimsy (more than I thought it would) when I un-attatched the braces connected to the seat.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7242
This is a little look at mine, I need to post the pictures of where I cut into the rear seat through the storage on the left side to stash my batteries. for my rod storage this is what Im planning on doing. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7320
If your going to build your storage, you may be able to pull off something like this.

Darb, You did a really nice job on your boat. How is it fishing the decks with a vee hull? In my mind, I picture it being a little shaky from the front where the bow rises. Good thoughts on my floor & rear storage areas. Your side storage is exactly what I was thinking. Did you ever find time to get them done? I'm trying to keep my seats at the same level they are now because I sometimes fish the Delaware river around Philly and it can get pretty choppy at times. I'm thinking about adjustable seat posts or add extra base mounts so I can move them. Thanks for your thoughts.

Tunnels said:

Darb, You did a really nice job on your boat. How is it fishing the decks with a vee hull? In my mind, I picture it being a little shaky from the front where the bow rises. Good thoughts on my floor & rear storage areas. Your side storage is exactly what I was thinking. Did you ever find time to get them done? I'm trying to keep my seats at the same level they are now because I sometimes fish the Delaware river around Philly and it can get pretty choppy at times. I'm thinking about adjustable seat posts or add extra base mounts so I can move them. Thanks for your thoughts.

Click to expand...

I dont really have the room up front to fish, I like the vast open of the middle. I have the materials to do the storage, just not enough time yet. I would rather take a day and do the whole thing rather than a little here and a little there. The boat is still a little shaky fishing off the back. I'm gonna mount 2 seats in the middle to keep me in one spot so that it wont be so shaky.
I look forward to seeing how you fix yours up.

I'm officially committed to a rebuild. I ordered seat posts, seats carpets & a few other things today. since I'm working outside, I now need some decent weather on the weekends. I'd like to use aluminum for my framing & storage compartments. Does anyone know of a good source in the Philly area? I appreciate your help. Thanks.

Finally got started this weekend. It took me close to five hours just to get the front storage/anchor locker area framed & floor sized. I decided to use the existing floor ribs as a base rather than try to level the area. I tied into them with galvanized angles (rubber gasketed). I still have to close in the front & carpet. Next step will be add a casting deck with hatches. I fear this will be a long process because of time constraints.

I finally found some time to get something done again. Got laid-off last Friday so now I'll have some time but less money. fortunately the carpets were on backorder so I cancelled them & picked up outdoor carpet at Lowes. I'm using 1/2" plywood with a couple coats of thompson's. This will be my trial run for mistakes and I figure I'll have good templates in two years when I go to aluminum. I made a front deck template from cardboard. Oversized it so it covered the gunnels.

Traced around the gunnels on the underside figuring that the hull should match. The nose wasn't quite the same but close enough to alter so it worked. Once I cut out the outside shape, I cut it longways down the middle & overlapped the pieces inside the boat.
The painters tape didn't work very well so I switched to clear packing tape which held much better. I then layed out the seat base & where I want the hatches to go. I'm going to build a double battery box & anchor box under the deck. Probably have a little extra room for some dry storage. Got the wood cut & treated but it's raining again so it sits in the garage.

I don't do much night fishing so I'll just stick with the battery powered portables that I have. I'm not much of a "sparky" so I don't have a clear idea of what to do for other wiring yet. I'm thinking front trolling motor(foot controlled), rear trolling moror with on/off switch up front, bilge pump & maybe wiring for a future live well. Any thoughts so far?

Looking good!

Sorry about the layoff, I got layed off for 2 weeks. I was planning on taking the summer off.

Found a little more time today to get something done. The deck & hatches are carpeted & sitting in the garage drying. The Henry's 663 glue says not to let it get wet for five days. It's supposed to rain tonight so they will stay inside. I got the front deck framing done and the hole for the seat mount. It took me over an hour to dig out the foam from underneath the seat. What a pain in the wazoo!! I also picked up some foam sheets at Home Depot to replace it after I mount the seat pedestal. I got extra to put under the floors when I get that far.


I hope to get the hatches, seat & deck mounted tomorrow morning. I also ordered a trailer jack. The front end is getting heavier & once I mount the batteries, picking it up to move around will be tough. Like I said, I'm moving slow but think it will look O.K. when I'm done.

Framing looks nice! That is an awesome boat to start with. Can't wait to see the end.

Put a few more hours in over the past couple of days. I'm just using some orange cord for the hatches until I find some strap. I still have a spool of that cord from my Navy days in the late 60's. We used to use it for high-lining from ship to ship. I'm still using my old seats for now till I decide what I want. I put one battery in the front hatch with my anchor & rope & paddle. The other half of the hatch will be used for life jackets & first aid kit. I put one battery up front for weight distribution. I thought about two batteries but I think the tongue weight got a little heavy (never used a scale, though). I got a trailer jack to help move the boat around a little. I never needed one before. I walked around & did a little bouncing and it feels solid. No bounce or bending at all. I'm still undecided about taking out the middle seat, though. I'd like to have some open area but don't want to ruin the boat. Any thoughts that anyone can give would be appreciated.




To date, I have almost $400 invested but I still have my aluminum, plywood, hardware & carpet for the rest of the floors & seats. My major costs remaining will be a front trolling motor, seats & wiring. I think the toughest part is finished. The front area with the hull shape took time.

nice job. i dont know how i missed this build. i wish i would have used aluminum instead of wood. maybe next time.

Very clean! I love the way you took your time and did it right.

*raises hand for the wishes he had used aluminum club*