Lund Front Deck Support Help

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kevin t

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Looking for ideas on support the deck just like the front deck of these Lunds pictured. I just bought a new Terrova 80 to go on and the deck flexes under the torque of a 35lb motor currently on it but not bad enough to really make a major change. I am afraid with the torque of an 80 lb motor I may be asking for trouble if I don't do anything. Anyone have any idea on how to better support the aluminum flexing and ripping off the deck rivets?? Thanks much in advance.
 

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If you want to keep everything "as is" - - - can you just add a lot more rivets ?

1-1/4" angle bolted to each side of the bow to support a larger platform ?

By platform, I mean remove the existing bow metal and replace it with a bigger piece
of either 1/8" aluminum riveted with 1/4" rivets . . . .
or, a few cross members to support a plywood bow (cheaper) to hold your TM
firmly in place. Not focusing on the deck floor, just the bow reinforcement.
Lund 14.png

and :WELCOME: to the pond











.
 
Barefoot_Johnny said:
in MY opinion, That is the very reason the manufacturer rated that hull
for a maximum horse power

Think he's talking about a BM TM.

Is there any way you could drop some support down to the little front seat under the bow cover. Could strengthen it that way and convert the area to a little storage bin.
 
Biggest issue is that the aluminum deck is slightly convex and is not flat making it difficult to get something tight up against the underside to support it. More rivets won't help. Maybe a Y piece attacked to that seat part and make that metal instead of current wood and weld a flange of some sort on top of each Y arm to some support plate on both sides. Or even a 3 pronged fork type rig with a center support with a flange on tope bolted through the top. I do not want to tear off the deck for fear of not having support in the front.
 
Kevin - do you want to keep your current style of the convex deck ?
To keep it true to style and authentic for restoration purposes, it must be that way.

BUT - to make it FUNCTIONAL for todays modern equipment, we need it to be flat. And sturdy.
Mine used to be convexed also, but, after it was off and on a few times over the years between my two
other brothers, the convex shaped braces were replaced with flat angle braces underneath.
This may be the route that you might have to take in order to achieve a workable platform that you
are comfortable with. A flat bow deck will give you the stability you need and not pop rivets. (IMO).
Besides, what is the worst that will happen if a rivet or two comes loose or pops out ?
You go home and fix it.
With a little experience, you will find that it is quite easy to remove rivets, replace some angles,
and put the rivets back. Or screws, Or bolts....... It comes with owning a Tin Boat !!!!!

Enjoy the ride
 
Here is a pic of our Lund Rebel SS. My disability keeps me from being able to get up under it and see how it's braced. But it might give you an idea how one looks with a flat deck. It is carpeted plywood.
In the one pic you can see it is enclosed for storage.
 

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Tallpine...re your comment "my disability keeps me from being able to get up under it and see".

At 75 yrs, I don't have any particular disability such as yours....but being too "large"; old; and creaky often prevents me from getting under/over some place or another.

I have found that the camera on my phone often takes the place of bending and twisting. I hold the camera upside down or at an angle....Snap a shot, and then look to see what the camera reveals.

Just FYI.. richg99
 
@Johnny...I agree. I have too much into this freakin motor for it to have an issue. How do you attach the angle brackets to the side of the hull? Rivets or screws? Obviously drill out the ones holding the present deck on and it should pull right off correct? Should I run the side support brackets the entire length of the deck or just in the middle. I suppose I could incorporate the lower support brackets into this somehow.

What size brackets would be best for something like this...Alum or steel?

Sorry for the newbie questions but this really makes me nervous.
 
drill out the ones holding the present deck on and it should pull right off
exactly.
Use whatever tools necessary to cut off the parts that make it convexed. (I am fond of the 4" grinder)
The cross braces run from side to side, (port to starboard) not down the middle. As many as your want.
There are several ways to attach angle brackets to the boat hull.
don't use the store bought shelf brackets. they are steel and will rust by next week.
make your own by cutting off a section of angle aluminum. BOLT it through the hull.
some people swear by brass (myself included) and some swear by stainless. Your choice.
either use thread lock or nylock nuts of the same metal to bolt it secure in place to the desired place.
then, attach your cross angle braces with screws, rivets, or bolts. up to you.
The bracket goes UNDER the cross brace.
Important note - - - if you are going to use the same metal that you took off . . . .
put that metal back on, adjust everything so it is as flat as you want it,
then, make a 2x4 wood splint that will hold the sides of the
boat in the correct width and not slip while you are working on installing the cross braces
or you run the chance of the metal not fitting exactly as it came off after the braces are in place.
In the best world, you can put some metal screws in the rivet holes just to hold it all together
while you get the measurements for the cross braces.
In other words, use your noggin to find a way to hold the sides of the boat in place so it will NOT move.
then, after you have your new cross braces in place, re-attach your bow metal with as
many rivets as you feel comfortable with. The standard 3/16" pop rivets will do fine (IMO).
Then, mount your trolling motor with as many bolts as you think will do the job.
try to bolt through the cross braces for this.
I guess a good idea would be to dry fit your TM first, use a marker where the hold down bolts will go,
then, put the braces in those places.
If you don't have it already, get some edge guard for the sheet metal edge.
There are MANY fine threads on just how to do this . . . just use the SEARCH button.
angle stock.JPG

edge guard.jpg
 
Looked at it tonite and am going to take the whole deck off and use alum brackets tied in to cross bracing with pre-determined spacing setup for trolling motor bracket. Should not need more than 3 cross braces. Stainless lags into plywood should work...may also backplate the bottom with diamond plate for added overall strength. I may also leave the cross brace currently in and just cut it off straight, just to not mess with bow movement.

Thanks a bunch for the help.
 
Plywood ?? lags ? LAG BOLTS ???
Where does the plywood fall into play ?
LOL when you were talking about rivets popping loose due to flexing of the boat,
what do you think lag screws in wood will do over a period of time ??
you need to seriously rethink that one.

Jus my dos centavos
 
I was going to take the metal deck off altogether and replace it with carpeted plywood which I could bolt through the top with stainless carriage bolts and nylock underneath. At present, there is only one cross support bracket and that is the piece that runs at the very back of the deck and is riveted to the sides of the hull...runs perpendicular to the deck. Any particular reason why I couldn't just use existing aluminum deck, take angled brackets and cross braces and just flex the deck top down to the cross braces I would put underneath and bolt it from the top down? Deck would then be flat enough for motor bracket on top with stout backing plate bolted to cross braces and bracket on top.
 
OK cool - you got the jest of it now.
I suffer from Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, CRS and AARP.
So please forgive me if I get confused in reading some of the details.

What ever you do to achieve your desired end result is good.
Basically, there is no right or wrong way to do YOUR boat. If it works for you, GREAT !!!
good job - hope you get many safe and happy years out of your rig.
and if after you run the 80lb for awhile, make the needed adjustments accordingly
and keep on fishing !!
good job !!
 
kevin t said:
Any particular reason why I couldn't just use existing aluminum deck, take angled brackets and cross braces and just flex the deck top down to the cross braces I would put underneath and bolt it from the top down?

Yes, perhaps there is. If you flatten a convex piece, it becomes wider. Since you won't want to widen the hull, you would have to narrow the newly flattened deck down to the size of the hull. Just mashing it down flat will leave it buckled somewhere or bend the hull outward no matter how hard you try to avoid it. And then so much for restoring the boat to original condition later if you want to. :shock:

I suppose you could make curved braces to go underneath and then use spacers on the TM mount to keep it up off the curve of the deck. But you still end up with holes in the OEM deck then.

Cutting a new flat piece from the material of your choice is the way to go, IMHO :)
 
Yeah, I thought about it pressing out as I flattened after I posted that. Somethings gonna give. So, I am either going to go with an aluminum flat top with support or a plywood carpet covered flat deck. Either way...brackets and cross supports. Plywood obviously is easier to cut. I do think regardless of what I do, I am going to keep the existing cross support attached and trim it to fit whatever I go with. Maybe use it to create a box there or something.
 
Regarding the brackets...how do you get the correct angle from 90deg. Obviously it will have to be bent. Heat? I am leaning towards alum angle for bracing and supports. Any ideas without damaging material. Never worked that much with alum so sorry if I sound like an idiot.

Original deck has holes in it so going back to stock won't happen unless it's done after I croak.
 
Snapped a picture at a Lund dealer yesterday of the underside of a new Lund with a front deck just to see how Lund does this. Looks pretty simple.
 

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