1987 Alumacraft V16 DLX Rebuild

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Lost

Member
Joined
May 24, 2017
Messages
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Location
Minnesota
After wanting a boat for my entire life, I finally found a "project" boat that I could afford. The seller claimed that the floor was only getting "soft" and could still be used, but his policy of storing outside for the past couple years without a cover proved to be too much for what was left. Thankfully I found this forum while reading about how to fix it, and decided to actually start a thread to document my progress with the project.
 

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Shortly after getting it home, I began the process of cleaning everything out and removing all the old wood & carpeting. Had to take measurements of everything as the floor pieces were held together by only the carpet.
 

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After getting the floor pieces up, I began the process of removing the nasty water-and-who-knows-what-else logged foam.
 

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As I read more in these forums, I began to get concerned about the transom. Upon further investigation, I decided that I needed to pull that too. Good thing I did, as the lower corners literally fell off as I picked it up to make a template.
 

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Next steps are to scrub out the rest of the boat, check for leaks, seal with gluvit since the floor is out, rivet in some additional aluminum framing to increase floor support (I'm a big guy and wanted some extra support for the 1/2" floor), get marine plywood and start cutting new pieces for the floor/sides/transom, seal the pieces, get carpeting on the pieces, and re-install everything. Turning out to be a lot more effort than I initially had thought it would be, but at least I will know the boat inside-and-out and it should last another 30+ years.

I'll also be running new wires for the lights and adding a fuse block and switch panel for any accessories that I want to add.
 
Lost said:
Next steps ... seal with Gluvit since the floor is out ...
IMHO West Systems G-Flex 650 is the better choice on any areas subject to stress ... as it is flexible. One key area is that area 1/3rd back from the bow, as that's where a boat typically hits the waves. I've seen a TON of boats in my life with stress and/or fatigue cracks localized in this area.

See: https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40954
 
Great job so far! You'll be so much happier knowing that you took it bare bones and fixed everything, especially that transom!
 
Well, after doing some cleaning and filling it with water, I have discovered that the supposedly not-leaky boat has leaks! So now I get to seal. DaleH, I'll look into G-flex, but I think I will start with the Gluvit since I already have it on hand.
 

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Congrats on the boat! I have the same thing minus the fact that the previous owner removed a bunch of the original equipment etc. I can't wait to see where you go with this! Mine is going to be a very open floor plan with lots of pedestals for the kids, myself and maybe my dad on occasion. Keep up the good work!
 
The work continues. Boat is sealed with no leaks and I started adding in my extra supports. Manual riveter decided to stop working after 6 rivets so that's going back to amazon and I've already replaced it with a pneumatic one. Should have done this initially, as it makes riveting a breeze.
 

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That's gonna be a nice boat. It appears it only had one stringer in the middle to support the floor? Seems like they usually have two.
 
It just has the one. The original floor rested on the stringers at the edges and on the single center support.
 
Flooring supports are in and I'm finally starting to cut the new decking pieces. Floors are 1/2" while all the compartment lids/tops will be 3/4" (just copying what it was originally). I've also ordered some hatches that I can install to gain more storage space, which will allow me to utilize the side chambers of the front bench for storage, leaving the center for the dual battery setup I want to have for the bow trolling motor.
 

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One more piece to cut for the floor and then I can start on all the hatch/trim pieces.
 

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Will you be putting pink foam boards under that floor support? Lots of volume down there you could make use of as emergency flotation.
 
That's part of my continuously ongoing debate with myself. At first I was leaning towards not having anything, but now I'm leaning the other way again. At least I have a little while before a decision is necessary, since I still have to finish cutting and sealing all the wood and applying vinyl.
 
I'm almost finished with cutting wood, just have to cut the inserts for my additional hatches and finish cutting the transom. Tried to dry fit the transom last night and it kept binding on something, so I'll have to do some sanding to make it slip in. Otherwise I just need to sand the edges of the new pieces and I can start sealing everything.

My plan for the black loom tubing is to run the wire for the bow mount trolling motor under the floor and up into the center compartment of the bench seat. This will keep it out of the way for the dogs and should give the bow a clean look.
 

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Wood is sealed, foam is in, vinyl has been rough cut and will be getting glued tonight. Transom is also in place, but I still need to pick up some extra washers before I finish bolting it in.
 

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