Monark boat project

Good evening everyone!

I've been a big fan of this forum for quite a while now. Now, I finally have an opportunity to USE it! For Christmas my father in law gifted me his 14 ft Monark. It's been sitting in his yard for a few years, exposed to every element the great state of Texas has to offer. Needless to say, it needs some TLC.

I'd like to put some makeup on the aluminum, give it a bit of decking, and add a few other nice-to-haves. I have 3 sons, the oldest being 6 years old. I'd like to be able to take them to some nearby lakes and give them some memories for their files (and mine too!)

Before I get rolling, I have a couple questions for the experts.

Where the front deck meets the floor of the boat I see cracks in the welds. How big of a deal do y'all think this might be? Structurally, is this a major problem?

Here is a picture of the boat. The area I am referring to is in the yellow box.


Here is a close-up view of the cracks:


Also, if you'll notice in the top picture, there are 2 seats on the sides. I find these to be highly inconvenient, but understand that it's not always a good idea to remove the factory seats, as they were often put in for structural support. Do these seats really offer much structural support, or would it be safe to yank them out?

Thanks in advance for your advice. I'll try to post pictures as the project progresses.

:WELCOME:
Thanks for joining! :beer:

I am not sure about the cracks, but it looks like it is safe to remove those seats. It does not look like they are there for structure. Plus if your putting a floor and a deck, it will make up for structure support. That is a nice looking project boat.

Great Avatar! what kind of fish is that?

Jim said:

:WELCOME:
Thanks for joining! :beer:

I am not sure about the cracks, but it looks like it is safe to remove those seats. It does not look like they are there for structure. Plus if your putting a floor and a deck, it will make up for structure support. That is a nice looking project boat.

Great Avatar! what kind of fish is that?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! Those seats really get in the way.

That is a spoonbill (aka paddlefish). Caught it in Northeast Oklahoma last April, and it happened to be the only one I could get all week.

Welcome Aboard!

Looks like a great project boat. I'll leave the other advise to the SME's.

Just my opinion but better save than sorry. I'd either hit it with some alumiweld or take it to a local welder.

On my first build, I had two little holes in the bow from the trailer bow stop(guy I bought it from had a worn out roller and the metal from the stop dug into the bow...idiot), I took it to a local repair shop and the guy fixed it up for a case of beer!! It was hilarious. I didn't know the guy and called him to find out if it was done and how much I owed him and he said just bring a cold case of Budweiser. I love deals like that.

I don't think you'd have any problems removing the seats either. The deck should give it all the support it needs.

Please pardon my novice question...but if I decide to remove those side seats (which I'm still debating), what would be the best way to do this without damaging the rest of the boat?

...leaning on the experts...

You know, i would rethink taking those seats out. I have done some fishing with 2, 3, 4 kids in the boat. They don't need seats like us old fat dudes do. The way they are now you can walk between them so a deck would give you as much movement as you need.

Here is something I am doing and maybe it might interest you in thinking on it a little more.
If you look at this image you can see a square.


I have one of those on each side of my boat where one of the benches used to be. I am storing a battery inside of each one. On top of each of them I plan to use two pieces of elastic cord to make an X on a hinged cover. The cords will hold one of those square throw flotation things with a handle on both sides. They will serve as a life safety device and a seat. My two boys will be able to sit on them and I turn the space into a triple use space. Battery storage, seat, life safety/rescue storage.

You could look at doing the same thing on your two seats. Perhaps cut the tops off and use piano hings to turn them into storage. A padded top would be twice the comfort as most kids get to sit on.

If you try to use pedestals/seats for all 4 kids you might find your out of room quick.

The project continues, but it's a slow go. For some reason I'm going back to college and classes started last week. That being true, I was still able to devote a good amount of time to the project today.

For the side seats I am going with Dan's suggestion and will leave them but use them for some dry storage.

Last week I tackled cleaning out the boat. Since it has been sitting outside for a couple years it has collected mud, muck, acorns, leaves, sticks, earthworms, etc. There was also some type of nest in trolling motor mount area. My wet/dry vac came in handy and helped me get it cleaned.

Next on the list was removal of the existing deck in the front (the blue carpet in the front). It was soaked in water and quite rotten. It had to come out in multiple pieces.

Here's a picture of it after I cleaned it out.


Last week I also began framing some of the front deck, although I wasn't pleased with how it was coming out. I ended up getting the smaller size of aluminum angle (I can't remember the exact size, but it wasn't 1/8). I finished what I started (which was only a small percentage of what I really need to in the end) and tabled the rest until this week.

Today I decided to go ahead and get some plywood, cut it to size, and then re-work the framing. I needed to get something up to really visualize where I'm going. I know what the deck should look like I'm just not sure how to frame it up and give it good support. So, I hooked up the empty boat trailer, buckled in the 6 year old, and picked up some plywood, stiffer aluminum angle, and some other things. After measuring 10 times and cutting once, I managed to get some of the decking complete.

Here's a picture of the decking that I managed to complete today:


There is more woodwork to be done, but I have a feeling of accomplishment today. I actually completed something and can start to visualize some of the end product.

As a side note, I put the painting off for now. It just wasn't that high on my priority list. Maybe I'll come back to that someday.

Nice project boat! I'm thinking those side seats may (or may not) have floatation foam in them.

Nice boat, and its coming along nicely. Those side benches give it a cool look.

Nice work, and I'm thinking the same as Waterwings.