Hello all,
I love rebuilding older boats and have been a fan on tinboats.net for a while looking at the different builds. I have been into kayak fishing over the past few years and decided a few weeks ago to go back to boats. Since I love the challenge and love to troll for various species I decided to look for a v-bottom to start my next trolling fishing machine.
My wish list:
Older 80's v-bottom 16-17 feet but max 18
something that will take a open cockpit design and did not have built in seats in it already
Engine must be running and in good condition since I wanted most of the budget to go into the rebuild not the engine
something stable and wide so that I can carry 3-4 and fish 2 comfortable
I looked all over Craigslist looking but I am very sceptical of boats on the website so I continued to look around. I found one a few days ago on Craigslist so I decided to go look at. I called the owner and much to my surprise it was a nice older man.
I called and we met at his home. He showed me the boat and I was really surprised at the condition. It is a 1982 SmokerCraft that he purchased. It has a 1985 35HP Mercury engine that he ran in his driveway. It cranks first try and he had just had it fully serviced. Tilt and trim worked perfectly too.
My plans are to gut it and replace the decks. I want to make a lower deck in the front, a plate for new trolling motor, open the floor plan up so I can move around while trolling.
I have a few questions for the experts:
- on the sides of the boat there are areas with Styrofoam that I would like to remove and build lower spaces like the new boats. do you think this will hurt anything if I make sure the flotation under the desk is all secure and in good condition?
- I think I'm going to move the livewell to the middle front deck to open up the cockpit. Does anyone see any issues with weight if I do this? I will post a sketch of my thoughts
- any suggestions on widening the gunwale rails so I can mount down riggers?
Stay tuned for the progress! and I will try to keep this a real-time posting as much as I can
I love rebuilding older boats and have been a fan on tinboats.net for a while looking at the different builds. I have been into kayak fishing over the past few years and decided a few weeks ago to go back to boats. Since I love the challenge and love to troll for various species I decided to look for a v-bottom to start my next trolling fishing machine.
My wish list:
Older 80's v-bottom 16-17 feet but max 18
something that will take a open cockpit design and did not have built in seats in it already
Engine must be running and in good condition since I wanted most of the budget to go into the rebuild not the engine
something stable and wide so that I can carry 3-4 and fish 2 comfortable
I looked all over Craigslist looking but I am very sceptical of boats on the website so I continued to look around. I found one a few days ago on Craigslist so I decided to go look at. I called the owner and much to my surprise it was a nice older man.
I called and we met at his home. He showed me the boat and I was really surprised at the condition. It is a 1982 SmokerCraft that he purchased. It has a 1985 35HP Mercury engine that he ran in his driveway. It cranks first try and he had just had it fully serviced. Tilt and trim worked perfectly too.
My plans are to gut it and replace the decks. I want to make a lower deck in the front, a plate for new trolling motor, open the floor plan up so I can move around while trolling.
I have a few questions for the experts:
- on the sides of the boat there are areas with Styrofoam that I would like to remove and build lower spaces like the new boats. do you think this will hurt anything if I make sure the flotation under the desk is all secure and in good condition?
- I think I'm going to move the livewell to the middle front deck to open up the cockpit. Does anyone see any issues with weight if I do this? I will post a sketch of my thoughts
- any suggestions on widening the gunwale rails so I can mount down riggers?
Stay tuned for the progress! and I will try to keep this a real-time posting as much as I can