Hello think iv finally found my true home and i need help!

HI! my name is James and i was told by another member of Iboats to come check you guy's out and see if i can get some answers to a few "alot" of questions i have, iv got what i believe to be a 56 model B v hull alumacraft. :? There is no ID on the boat no tags for ratings or models the only thing i have is the title which gives me the length an year only " 14ft by the way " im trying to replace the wood for the transom and im going to be building a flat floor in it before the end of winter " god i hate snow " .. right now im stripping the upper top of the boat down to change the paint sceme, im going to do black bottom white middle with a black rail. When i first got her i had a few small leaks about 2 gallons in 6 or 7 hours so nothing major at all so i actually sanded down the whole bottom of the boat and covered all the rivits with JB weld and used dupi color bedliner on the bottom it worked wonders to dapen the sound and makes the bottom way stronger against sand/rock rash on the boat launch!

Now my question is can you guys tell what i have and maybe tell me what the weight rating and HP rating's i can take whatever pic's you guys need just tell me what i gotta do to find out! Also please ignore the clutter in the background the wife seems to think just because it's winter she can store all her an the kid's summer crap in "MY GARAGE!" lol

Here's some pic's to get started

Sorry got no clue what type of boat that is but :WELCOME: I am sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction

The previous owner painted the motor black but did a halfass job so it's all going to be sanded back down to the white it was orginally it's a great little motor but im going bigger once i find out the ratings for the boat! also in one of the pic's you can see there is a small crack in the rail of the transom right in the middle, i did my best to patch it with some JB weld but it didnt hold as good as i would have liked so i took it off with a wire wheel, any ideas on a stronger fix ?

Thanks for the welcome i checked out your thread earlier while i was waiting for the admin to aprove my account, your project looks great!

fool4fish1226 said:

Sorry got no clue what type of boat that is but :WELCOME: I am sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction

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Welcome to the boards!!

Certainly is an Alumacraft! Can find out more info by clicking here: https://www.fiberglassics.com/library/Aluma_craft

As far as a floor goes, its possible, but you would want to keep it absolutely as low as possible to keep it stable. HP rating would be like 10-12hp would be my guess.


EDIT: My alumacraft had the model etched into the front edge of the transom brace--check there, you may be able to find something

JamesM56alum said:

but im going bigger once i find out the ratings for the boat! also in one of the pic's you can see there is a small crack in the rail of the transom right in the middle, i did my best to patch it with some JB weld but it didnt hold as good as i would have liked so i took it off with a wire wheel, any ideas on a stronger fix ?

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Are you referring to the top cap on the transom wall? No miracle goo will fix that.. Best bet is to take it to a local aluminum welder and have them weld on an L beam atop after you have replaced the wood. Shouldn't be costly. When you put a motor on the boat it will flex and break loose anything else. If you use enough wood it might not be an issue... Might even have to remove that cap to get wood installed. Might be able to weld it together then if not too thin? This also hinges on what size motor you could put on the back. I'd say a 15hp would be perfect once you have a sturdy transom. 20+ would be too big, 5hp would be too small IMO.

3m 5200 Marine sealant is top choice to help with leaking rivets once they have been tightened. Also Glov-it or steel flex are popular coatings for the bottom to prevent leaks. JB weld won't help you on this build. If you search leak,rivet,transom, etc.. you will find posts from members builds that will help guide you. A lot of guys are using farm equipment implement paint for their boats, tough durable finish and a nice shine.

Welcome to Tin boats

Is the top aluminum peice where its split and if so it that permanently attached to the transom? To me that top peice looks like just a cover but I can be sure with the pictures. It looks like the long transit wood bolts onto the aluminum back and the top just covers the top if the wood. My boat had the wood bolt to the back and then it had a removable metal cover that screwed over top.

Thanks for the reply guys! the piece that runs along the top of the transom is welded or glued into place from side to side then it's rivited " Seems orginal " to the top corners the wood just slides in from the bottom and bolts through the back, as far as the model number on the brace for the transom i'll have to go home today after work and take the wire brush and take the paint off an see if it's just buried.

Another quick question is do you guys know of any rail covers for the top to go all the way around, im looking for bumpers to protect the paint on the side once i do paint it and i dont want to cut a slit in the rail all the way around to do the incert type.

Sweet! thanks for the link i just found out it's a model F sadly not the FD but hell im just glad i know what it's rated for now.

https://www.fiberglassics.com/wiki/images/b/be/Alumacraftbb001.jpg

Congrats on finding the model.

The other poster was right, JB weld will do you no good...I had a similar issue with the transom brace that is secured to the floor...I realized it was not going to be an issue once I rebuilt the transom and secured everything, though.

FYI, to do a nice transom hold for a larger motor you are going to have to remove that middle transom support that is secured to the floor.

Take a look at my build and you can see pics of how I did mine...several others have done it in a similar way.

I saw one member had used gray PVC electrical conduit to protect the gunwales on his boat. Looked like it would work well. He just split it lengthwise and snapped in on the rails.

Thanks for the tip on the pipe i never even thought about that! and as far as the brace i'll look into that also but wouldnt that put alot more stress on the upper braces ?

You have to put it back in after...you just won't get your transom wood in place as long as it is attached to the boat.

:? Yep im a dumbass, i just saw your restore thread and realized what you were talking about now. But my only thing is the wood goes around my transom brace not between it and the boat, i would actually have to move the brace forward about an inch and redrill the holes through the bottom and fill in the old holes, which im not scared of doing at all if thats what needs to be done.

Aaahhh I see...interesting design. At first look it appeared similar to mine,

Yep, im going to try and figure out something to try and make a new bracket, i suck at working with soft metal and wood. Im a mechanic by trade and im use to welding not working with wood it drives me nuts having to measure 3 times and cutting once, metal i can always make fit!