My winter project...

Alright, well I have been one of those evil silent spectators lurking in the shadows of this forum without becoming a member for a few months now (I've actually developed a small addiction ) and I finally signed up as my boat is officially in the garage for the winter ready for its make-over. I was so happy when I found this site! I wasnt sure anyone else was crazy enough to mod out these old tin boats exactly the way I wanted to, but sure enough! I couldnt believe the wealth of information and ideas that you've all contributed. So I just want to thank everyone in advance for making this project a heck of a lot easier than it would have been without tinboats.net!

Without further adieu...

"The Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda"
14' Starcraft Aluminum circa 1967-1969 with a 1971 9.5 Evinrude Sportwin and min kota tolling motor (hand steering):








The first official "mod": Bilge pump and discharge.





And here are my plans:
I photo shopped a bunch of pics together and all the stuff out to make a blank slate...

And then used my graphic design skills to render a rough idea about what I would like to do...

And then the color scheme/decals...


So there you have it! A few initial questions I have are: I would like to use aluminum angle instead of wood for the weight and durability however I have absolutely no experience with it. I am much more comfortable around 2x's and screw guns (and so is my wallet :wink: ). Is it easy to work with this stuff? are rivets a pain in the but? Can I use one of those cheap 20 dollar rivet tools? what size angle should I use? Also, the boat is currently upside waiting for some paint... I would say 90% of the original is still bonded nice with a few small patches of bare metal and some "sprinkles" of like 1/2 inch bare spots. Now should i use the self etching primer on just the bare spots or cover the whole thing? will it eat away the existing coat of paint? or am I going to have to mask off each bare spot... (I would reeeaaallllyyyy rather not have to sand down the entire thing...)

Again thanks in advance! I'm glad to now be a part of the community!

Oh and P.S.

Happy Thanks Giving!!!
:beer:

Welcome Aboard - Nice graphic skills!

Welcome Aboard, and nice rig! 8)

Welcome aboard mate

First your layout is awsome, evrything seems to be in easy reach which makes for a comfy trip :lol: Look forward to the pics of the project.

Does your chocolate friend go with ya on the fishen trips?

as for rivets and aluminum-I hear ya loud and clear, I worked thru on this issue of going wood or Aluminum, I picked aluminum for a few reasons, strength, storage space and strength. here is my project and I have a few things on this https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3586 I even have a comment on the rivet gun too. Look thru it and post some questions for us, as for the wood way-I was close on doing it. Just don't use any pre-treated wood, its bad for the aluminum. Soak your regular wood down with Thompson sealer and its done.

Your paint if still origanle would be well worth scuffing up a bit and lay down a full coat of etching primer on the intire boat, Cutting corners on the paint job shows in my oppinion. If the boat is layed up to do it, I say do it. Now all ya have to do is just scuff it up not sand down to metal.

But its your project which is the cool part, you get to do it your way :wink:

Have at it =D>

Welcome friend. Nice little starter rig. What kind of water do you typically fish?

Is it easy to work with this stuff?

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Yes.

are rivets a pain in the but?

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No.

Can I use one of those cheap 20 dollar rivet tools?

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Yes.

what size angle should I use?

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Depends on the span length, and what it is supporting. I would see the correct combination of 1.5 inch angle in some places, and 1 by 1 inch square in others being the cheapest, lightest, easiest method.

I would also recommend using aluminum sheet as well, if the wallet can take it. Eliminate wood and you eliminate rot, and the need to cover (except to keep the leaves out - carpet will be fine in the rain, but will be a soggy mess until the sun comes out).

I like your layout, but I would recommend putting the aft seat on one of the aluminum 3/4 inch pin style bases, then putting a second base in the center. I have that on my rig, and trust me, your backseater will like to have a pedestal, and be in the center.

Nice layout bro! I have a 12' v hull I finished this past summer, from bare shell to totally modified, totally sanded and painted (trailer was a rusty mess!) totally carpeted with decks, 5 lights wired to a toggle switch box, 12 volt plug in for spotlight, I used 3/8 inch plywood (waterproofed with thompsons) light wood underneath for support. My friend and I are big boys 250 each, we walked on the decks, and sat in the pedestal seats-no problem! Boat floats awesome, 6hp Johnson and gear too! The only thing I"ll add this winter is a front platform, for a seat up front like on your diagram, for more room between two people. Here's my link for photos of my mod. - https://s388.photobucket.com/albums/oo321/delmonte67/ (use the slide show top middle) Have fun! Its well worth it! Got any questions, myself and anyone on this site will definitley help- Its my first boat, and I did'nt know a thing about fixing it up , and all the guys from this site helped me alot. 8) D.

Alright well today I was able to head over to my dads print shop where my boat is being kept and do a little work. I first used a steel wire brush bit on my cordless drill to remove any loose paint and scuff up the bonded paint as suggested, I then went over it again with a sanding bit but my battery ended up dying mid way so I ruffed it up a little more as much as I could by hand, but i think there was plenty of roughness for the primer to bite to. after that I wiped it all down with mineral spirits. Now I went to walmart because grandma was nice enough to give me a 5 dollar happy thanksgiving gift card so I figured hey, sweet, theres one free can of primer! ...however I couldnt find anything that said self-etching on it Rustoleum had a few primers for metal, one for lots of rust etc, so I ended up getting the clean metal primer as it boasted its excellent adhesion for metals and could go on top of existing paint. Now I hope I didn't royally screw up by not being absolutely sure it was self etching, but i figured (a) i only had a few big bare spots of metal and (b) i was going to rough everything up quite a bit manually and (c) if it says it bonds to metal, and aluminum is metal, this stuff should work right? so 5 cans gave me a good 3+ coats and it looks pretty good, but we'll have to see when it dries I suppose... also, i can now fully understand and appreciate why every time I see a car get a paint job on tv they put it in a room that looks cleaner than a hospital... dirt just SOMEHOW finds a way to leap onto your project right after you lay a fresh coat of paint down! lol, well i dont mind a few perfect imperfection, she'll still look 100 times better than she did when i brought her home... Now just a quick quest before I buy my top coat... what makes marine paint marine? Sometimes I've noticed that simply putting the word marine on something is just an excuse to raise the price of something you can get fairly cheaper. So i guess my question is enamel enamel or is there something more that goes into the stuff labeled marine that makes it more suitable for a small job like this... also I read on one post that a quart was enough to do they're boat, somehow that doesnt sound like enough to me, but I dont want to get a gallon for $70 and be hung with something I'm never again going to use... and now the pictures...

after brushed/sanded/wiped down



And after 3+coats of primer



And also I found this nice little hole in the umm... i dont know the right word, long support thingy that runs from the bow to the stern that likes to take a beating when loading or unloading or beaching on the boat ramp :wink: should i try a repair? or no biggie as its not in a spot that causes a leak...

:WELCOME: Thanks for joining!

Another MASS guy :beer:

Thanks for joining!

The primer looks great!

Great computer skills too! Love the way you plan to do the boat! =D>

And the Tattoo is hardcore! :beer:

Welcome to the site, looking good already. Man thats a lot of paint in the air in that one pic, I hope you wore a mask :lol:

The part that runs the length of the boat is the keel.If it has a hole, I would fix it.It will fill with water and possibly corrode.If nothing else it hold water and add water weight to the boat. :mrgreen:

what would be the best way to fix it? could i just throw a fiberglass patch on it?

DryFlyRy said:

what would be the best way to fix it? could i just throw a fiberglass patch on it?

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NOOOOO. I will let others with better experience elaborate on what works best, but I will say from experience fiberglass patches are NOT it.

bassboy1 said:

DryFlyRy said:

what would be the best way to fix it? could i just throw a fiberglass patch on it?

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NOOOOO. I will let others with better experience elaborate on what works best, but I will say from experience fiberglass patches are NOT it.

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lol, bondo maybe? i dont know? a wad of big league chew? i definatly dont have any kind of welding/metal skills... #-o

It's hard to tell how big the hole is from the pic.JB Weld has been used and seems to work well.Sand the area well,apply, sand to shape,prime and paint.

I thought I posted on this earlier. My ISP has been giving me grief all week.

Bondo and fiberglass are out. I have pulled both from some past boat projects, and neither did much to fix the leak, and then made the small leak into a big ugly mess. Fiberglass and aluminum don't expand and contract at the same rate, so problems will be had there. Bondo doesn't like the marine environment, and thereby doesn't work. I believe some people have used JB weld, or durafix or something.

It looks great so far, keep the pictures coming.

I think Marine Tex makes an epoxy putty that would werk also.