Lowe A1457 V-Boat mod suggestions / help

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Broke Knee

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I'm looking into some minor mods to my 2009 Lowe A1457. https://www.loweboats.com/showroom/utility-v/angler/a1457.php

Couple questions:

1) When you guys are attaching wood platforms on top of the seats only, how are you attaching them to the seat? With all the foam underneath I'm not sure the best way to approach since you can't use a bolt and nut from underneath. Also how are you attaching a seat post from underneath the plywood before attaching it to the seat? I'm guessing recessed holes for the nuts and bolts so the wood fits flush on top of the seats? Or are you using some type of liquid nail or something?

2) When attaching rails to the seats for decking or whatever...again how are you doing so without the ability to get on the other side with a not and bolt? Maybe a butterfly toggle that expands from the other side? Not sure if that's the correct term.

Heres's basically what I'm looking at doing:

1) Build a rear compartment to store two batteries and safety vests. I'm tired of having to pack them into the car and out each time so that they don't roll over while in transport or to keep the vests from flying out. Not a big deal but to leave the batts and vests in the boats at all times will save time. Plus I have an onborad charger that I'd like to install.

Thanks
 
I'll try to answer your questions in order....

1 - I used 3" self tapping lag bolts for all of this: mounting the wood to the bench, mounting the seat base to the wood. That bad boys is still being used just like that today. Just be sure to use atleast 2-3/4" or 3" so that most of the screw is underneath the bench in the foam.


2 - You can use shorter self tapping screws if your talking about aluminum angle, but I think most guys are using rivets to attach their supports to the benches

As far as what you are wanting to do... 2 D-rings and a bungee cord will solve that problem. If you have wood floors in the rear, you can put a D-ring on each side of the battery, and one side have out to one end so that you can put your life vests underneath the bungee cord when you go to attach across the top of the batteries to the next D-Ring. I'll try to take some pics tonight when I'm out getting my boat ready for tomorrows tournaments
 
That's actually a great low cost route to take. I'll certainly look into that. If you can post some pics thatw ould be great. I did a search on your mod and couldn't find it under Xpress 1546 Makeover. I'll keep looking though.

Thanks for the idea.
 
Use stainless steel hardware.

Here the boat he has.
a1457.png
 
I used stainless hardware to attach my 2x2s to the benches via galvanized simpson strong ties. In between the galvanized strong ties and my aluminum boat I used rubber gasket material to stop corrosion.
 
ober51 said:
I used stainless hardware to attach my 2x2s to the benches via galvanized simpson strong ties. In between the galvanized strong ties and my aluminum boat I used rubber gasket material to stop corrosion.


thumb_thumbs_up_pic.jpg
Good idea! 8)

On the Navy's Knox Class Frigates, and others, the hull was made of steel, and the superstructure (deckhouse) was aluminum. To prevent electrolysis, there was a strip of sturdy die-electric "tape" placed between the dissimilar metals before they were huck riveted together. We also used to place the dielectric tape between the perimeter flange of a steel watertight door and the alumunum bulkhead before huck riveting the door in.
 
I have a boat just like yours but mines a (a1467).

This is what i did to mine for the front platform . The boat on the lift the time it starts on the vid is 3:01 and ends on 3:20 (lowe a1467 w/ merc 9.9).
P.S. Dont worry about the other boats had to run the water out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPNGSYRUBy4
 
Here's another question.

I'd like to have a front deck with two openings, the first opening towards the rear to get at the anchor. The second opening behind the first but opens towards the front. I envision a hinge between the two so one hinge opens both towards each other. The problem is in transport. How do I keep these closed if they aren't actually attached to the frame below (in which case I wouldn't be able to open them)?

I need to either have a small piece in between (scrwed into the frame) which would need twice as many hinges. Or I can use a latch but don't want the extra deck clutter or a magnet underneath but not sure if that will stay down if I hit a big bump.

Any ideas? My space is limited as I'm just covering the front bench so not a lot of room to work with. I'm placing a 2X3 frame above the seat to gain the extra space I need but still want the foot space between the front and second seat.

Thanks
 

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