Need help with new project!

Hey guys, this, like many others, is my first post but I scored a 12' 1991 Alumacraft boat on face of with a trailer and trolling motor along with a brand new battery for $175.00 on a local Facebook page. I need help however, as I have minimal boat knowledge, in sprucing up this baby.
Knowing that weight will be a big concern I will list some of the renovations I would like to do and welcome any feedback and tips.
First thing first my trailer is a little rusty and has a slightly bent axle and I will be relighting it with submersible led taillights as well as drilling a hole to insert a hitch pin where the little trailer raises up so it doesn't have to be ghetto-tied down. I will then sand and repaint but have no idea what to do about the tires as they look like this
- - - > //------\\
Secondly I want to put a deck on the front and back but I know weight is an issue. The average person load will be 400-500 lbs but it sits up nicely with that and the battery. It is 47 inches at the beam and I would like to use aluminium as the framing material but cannot weld aluminium. Is riveting the frame together a safe bet?
I want an approx. 9 in high seat on both platforms and will use the thinnest (safe) treated plywood with marine carpet for the deck. What glue to use would be helpful. Then lastly I will just be cutting doors for storage into that floor. Simply put I need ideas for a lightweight but strong frame and a guesstimate on just how much weight I should be looking for because it would be a shame to spend $500 and the little beast not even float Lol.
On a side note there are small stress cracks on the back corners of the boat at the top of the sides and some micro leaks that after 4 hours will get your feet wet. Should I just JB waterweld the leaks and have those stress cracks braised?
Thanks a lot gentlemen,
Tyyberius

I just wanna fish comfortable. That's all!

Also I will be posting pics asap and never mind about the weight I read the foam tutorial. Thanks

Welcome to Tin Boats.
First never use treated wood on an aluminum boat.
You can try to straighten the axle but your better off getting a new axle.
Tilting trailers are great, get the tilt lock fixed
Any foam you add will not increase the weight carrying capacity.
Riveting the deck frame is fine.
Any welding should be MIG or TIG.
The transom cracks are most likely a sign of rotten transom wood.
Did you get the title to the boat and trailer? There's no point in spending money on someone else's boat.

I didn't get the title but I did the work and tracked down the previous owner and am getting it replaced and then transferred. It was $175 for the entire set up so I didn't care about doing extra work. Thanks for the wood info. What type of wood is best? And is 3/4" thickness sufficient or overboard?

Tyyberius said:

I didn't get the title but I did the work and tracked down the previous owner and am getting it replaced and then transferred. It was $175 for the entire set up so I didn't care about doing extra work. Thanks for the wood info. What type of wood is best? And is 3/4" thickness sufficient or overboard?

Click to expand...

See what the existing transom wood thickness is, and match it. Typically you see 1.5" thick transoms.

Good luck with the new project!

CMOS

You want exterior grade plywood, ABX, ACX, BCX, CDX. The X means it was made with waterproof glue.