14 ft need help with 1st steep on this bottom of the boat

ok it has few cracks and holes but got that taken care off.. anyways where the middel conects they used to bondo.. so in not sure where to start and what to buy and what to get started with . what any suggestions might help ..

heres some pics to get the idea

14 smokercraft
6ft wide top
bottom 4ft wide
very heawyy

Where are you located. That might help with some of your questions?
What kind of motor will you use?
Where's the steering and controls going to be?
It looks like a nice wood deck would be in order.
Thats a really interesting middle seat/container area. Do you know what the original design was intended?

well i'm cluelesss what im going to do for noww.
i have for now 8hp mercury 4 stroke new
and one johnson motor 50 hp waterpump went out but thats for my fiberglass boat
no sterring
but for now im trying to get my bottom sitiuation done .. seal all the rivets and i just ordered this stuff of ebay i think this will help out a bit on the outside when i sand it down and fill the little gaps and primes it and then i just can figire out paint its so epensive (


https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260400830893&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Any iDeas guys. What sould i use for sanding. Belt sander grinder sand paper or one of those metall loooking things that u connect on the drill

The holes in the bottom should either be welded or riveted.Anything else is just going to give you problems later.

Where are you?
What kind of water you fising in?

Im in washington i fish in lakes and. Rivers

Im having a hard time understanding what all is going on with the bottom of the hull. Is the bondo you're talking about the grey or white stuff on the chine?

In either case, the hull looks fairly beat up (which is normal I guess). I think I would strip the bottom. Do a search for "aircraft stripper" on here and check out the feedback on the guys that used it. From there, I would have a wire brush attachment for a drill or angle grinder to get any remaining paint off around the rivets and to rough up the aluminum a little to receive your coating choice. Once you're down to bare aluminum, you'll have a better idea of what shape the hull is in and I would do a leak test by filing the boat up with water (enough to hit the rivets that will be below the waterline and ensure that your trailer/tires are in good enough shape to support the weight) to see what if any repairs should be made before applying any coating to the hull. When you encounter the bondo I wouldn't try to remove it, until some more of the more experienced tin guys on here have a chance to see the scope of work. It's possible that there have been more repairs made than what you have seen so far.

You're vision for a finished product may dictate how much more of the existing paint you remove, but I would remove all of it that is below the waterline for the reasons above, and personally, would just go ahead and do the whole outside of the boat that way, if I had intentions of painting it and having the best possible finished product.

Steelflex or Primer/Paint seem to be the popular choices for bottom coatings, and you should plan on coating the bottom the same day you use your wire wheel attachment. There are various attachments these days for removing paint. Do a search and choose the one you think would work best.

rusmir said:

....but for now im trying to get my bottom sitiuation done .. seal all the rivets and i just ordered this stuff of ebay i think this will help out a bit on the outside when i sand it down and fill the little gaps and primes it and then i just can figire out paint its so epensive (


https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260400830893&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Click to expand...

Not to hijack your thread, but for the benefit of anyone else who may want to use this product, it's a little over 25% less money purchased through Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Poxy-387096-Marine-Epoxy/dp/B001735UEK
I've never seen this particular product used. Most of the Aluminum epoxies I've seen used is in a stick form.

yes i am planing to to the whole boat primed and painted i ordered primer and paint ... i will defenetly do the water leak test ..and the boat will be sended all the way till the metall( aluminum)
anyways i will keep u posted.. i just hardly have time for thats why im seeking information what to and what not to.. sop tx again. and i will post pics from work

Use Marine Tex if you gonna use glue. Other wise I'd take it to a TIG welder and see what he can do for you.

Im looking ti buy steelflex and as soon as nice weather is outside i will go and do the water leak test and mark wheresit leaking . Maybe its not leaking at all . The guy said where i got it from he said its fine no leaks . I talked to him today . I hope its not going to snow the next few days!???

Good luck with this project. Take small bites - I agree find and then fix and leaks 1st. If is does not float you are in a world of hurt. Plus, much easier to do leak repair while it is completely open.

After that - take the boat out and test run it - this will give you ideas about how you want to proceed. Use the boat at least twice to get a feel for how it fishes and what you think you need and do not need. I have seen people deck out their boats only to find that the decking locations are all wrong for how they fish and set up teh boat.

Keep taking photos for us to watch how your work progresses

Finally: Please complete your profile info, especially where you are from

yes i will defenetly do that .. i alredy have it drawed out ,im just waiting for few days off and for the weather to get better.. im excited about this project very actually i finally get to handel bigger fish with out being pulled all over rivers and lakes lol anyways thanks fo the help .. this forum and the site is great , great ideas and people