Fish Chris
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- Oct 12, 2007
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I thought it came out really good. It was kind of an interesting build, as the deck was 52 inches from the front tip, to the back edge, and 52 inches wide, also. So the first obstacle, was how to get this from a 48" X 96" sheet of plywood, and appear, as one solid piece.
The next thing was, I wanted a nice, big hatch, that my fat arse would likely be jumping around on top of, for many years to come ! So it had to be really strong.
Finally, I knew I was going to mount a pedastal seat on it (well the base anyway, the seat and post are easily removable... or swappable from the back where I steer from, to the front where I often fish from)
So then, I came up with, what I thought, was a great idea ! I cut a seperate, single piece of the same high grade, 3/4" plywood, into a fairly intricate shape. I laminated {with both wood glue, and lots of drywall screws} this piece underneath the deck, where it 1) ties the front triangle piece of the deck, to the rear major portion, 2) since it is cut out about an inch smaller all the way around, than the cut out for the hatch in the deck, it gives the hatch a very strong, level lip to land on, and 3) this piece extends back behind the hatch, effectively doubling the plywood thickness to 1 1/2" through which my pedastal mount is bolted to.
Results: One very strong, zero flex deck, that looks like it was made from one piece of wood.... especially after I put marine carpet over it
Oh, I also sealed the heck out of the whole thing.... both sides double coated, and triple on the edges, with outdoor wood sealent primer.
Anyway, the deck is secured firmly across the only bench my boat ever had (so now I don't have any benches at all I love it !) and also, I have a strut system, which transfers some of the weight of the front deck, directly down to the stringers of the hull itself. I'm telling you, even after two years of hardcore use, the whole thing is about as solid as the sub flooring in a quality built home !
Enough rambling..... This photo should help:
Note, you are looking at the underside of the deck here.
Isn't she purty ;-)
Thank you for allowing me to show her off just a bit
Hopefully this might give some of you an idea or two for future mods on your own tin boats.
Peace,
Fish
The next thing was, I wanted a nice, big hatch, that my fat arse would likely be jumping around on top of, for many years to come ! So it had to be really strong.
Finally, I knew I was going to mount a pedastal seat on it (well the base anyway, the seat and post are easily removable... or swappable from the back where I steer from, to the front where I often fish from)
So then, I came up with, what I thought, was a great idea ! I cut a seperate, single piece of the same high grade, 3/4" plywood, into a fairly intricate shape. I laminated {with both wood glue, and lots of drywall screws} this piece underneath the deck, where it 1) ties the front triangle piece of the deck, to the rear major portion, 2) since it is cut out about an inch smaller all the way around, than the cut out for the hatch in the deck, it gives the hatch a very strong, level lip to land on, and 3) this piece extends back behind the hatch, effectively doubling the plywood thickness to 1 1/2" through which my pedastal mount is bolted to.
Results: One very strong, zero flex deck, that looks like it was made from one piece of wood.... especially after I put marine carpet over it
Oh, I also sealed the heck out of the whole thing.... both sides double coated, and triple on the edges, with outdoor wood sealent primer.
Anyway, the deck is secured firmly across the only bench my boat ever had (so now I don't have any benches at all I love it !) and also, I have a strut system, which transfers some of the weight of the front deck, directly down to the stringers of the hull itself. I'm telling you, even after two years of hardcore use, the whole thing is about as solid as the sub flooring in a quality built home !
Enough rambling..... This photo should help:
Note, you are looking at the underside of the deck here.
Isn't she purty ;-)
Thank you for allowing me to show her off just a bit
Hopefully this might give some of you an idea or two for future mods on your own tin boats.
Peace,
Fish