Boat Resurrected

[Pujic 0]

Last year I picked up a cheap 14' aluminum boat, no motor, no trailer, totally bare bones from an elderly lady down the street. Her husband used to use it and he had passed away so she just wanted it gone. Although the boat was structuraly in good shape, it was an eye sore. The paint was all but gone and the transom was rotted out.

 

 

Well, after stripping all of the old paint, repainting the entire thing, making a new transom, finding & wiring a trailer and getting a strong 9.9 merc, I am proud to say that this boat will finally see water again this weekend!

 

 

Now, I can turn my attention to a casting deck on this bad boy which will strike fear in those bass, pike and muskie which I've always wanted to get on a fly in offshore settings

 

Has anyone ever built a casting platform for these types of boats? If so, any advice you can pass along? I can't wait to see the look on bass guy's faces when they see a guy fly fishing from one of these

[Guest]

Good looking boat, Nick

 

Don't forget to move the winch strap under the roller.

[Pujic 0]

LOL Thanks Ralph, good catch!

[Guest]

Nice looking boat Nick

I know them Bass will be catching hell now with you on the water, just be safe and don't eat any of them green stinky outfits (wouldn't want you to get sick)

 

 

OSD.

[Guest]

well my friends chad, scott, and myself rebuilt and put in casting decks in their boats (both 14'ers). First off, put it as low as possible. Too high and you lose a lot of stability and the boat lists back and forth a lot more. We used outdoor carpeting that you can find at Home Depot or Lowes, a pneumatic stapler (good to have carpenters as friends), a good razor knife (to cut the corners for folding). We always made it easier on ourselves and followed the ribs that are molded into the aluminum. after you get that measurement, you are going to want to have at least one support (down the center chine is the easiest). We left the deck open on the side for storage (life preservers, emergency oars, etc.) In order to hold it down in place, we used the original front seat braces to tie it into the hull. USE stainless screws, or other weather resistant hardware.

 

Basically try to keep as much weight as possible low and centered. This will give you a LOT more stability. other than that, have at it. Not a hard project by any means. Can't remember if we used 1/2, 5/8 or 3/4" plywood, in the first boat we didn't use treated, second one we did. Both are holding up fine. Prices for plywood are outrageous now. But just for a front casting deck, you wouldn't need much, we put in an entire floor in each of the boats, dry storage, livewells, and seats.

 

Good luck man.

steve

[Guest]

All of what Msuiceman said- you don't want to be very high up in that hull at all, so, essentially what you're building is a deck, mounted no higher (and in fact lower) than where the chine meets the waterline.

[Guest]

I'm with Dave

 

How wide is it? It appears somewhat narrow (from the picture of the motor on the transom) I would consider installing a floor and calling it a day.

[Pujic 0]

54 inches wide at the widest spot, and 48 inches wide at the transom.

[Guest]

I wouldn't go any higher than 3-4" at the bow. That will still give you a decent flat deck.

 

That boat would be perfect on many of our rivers. SWEET! (Been looking at it for the last hour )

[Guest]

But NOT! down where the center of gravity balances the rig. If you come up much higher than the last lateral rivets, you're walking (and eventually rolling) on the (tumblehome) secondary stability of the design. Trust me - I've got a 1969 Grumman made for Sears, little draft, and it's not stable to stand up in. The MirroCraft at camp has a teeny bit more vee and holds better, but still not enuff to go doublehauling your underwear off.

 

It's okay to whip it around on its axis while under power, like the teenage moron in my lake did last weekend, almost dumping the two chiquitas he had in front out, because it will bite down on the chine and heel into the turn, cutting and grabbing water as it's pushed forward, but the minute you start rocking a shallow draft, low entry hull, meaning that it has no vee aft of the first seat, it is like a Novi hull lobsterboat- rides everything out like a whore, but rolls at the least little push of water or momentum.

 

Build a deck low enough to feel safe.

 

p.s. - the moron on my lake was the only one with a life jacket on- the chiquitas didn't have them, were bounced side to side and almost went over.

[Guest]

Here's a solution to the stability problem, get another boat and lash them together to form a catamaran. Now you can put that platform up as high as you want. While you're at it, a poling platform would be really cool too.

[mcfly 0]

From the picture the boat doesn't look that deep to need a platform. When fly fishing half the time you are in water from your knee up to your waist. I'd take it out for a test before trying a platform.

[Guest]

This whole thread bothered me all weekend, wondering whether Nick thought I was trying to be a b@$t@rd or not- contrary to my normal daily b@$t@rdly demeanor toward the rest of the world, I was not.

 

Continuing the thought- like I said, these low profile, shallow draft, zero deadrise planing hull type stampings are great for getting close to the rocks and plunking a bait where some behemoth is lounging, but not for stand-up combat casting.

 

As a kid learning boat handling and seamanship, teaching merit badge classes at scout camp and in the military, handling what were designated as "small boats", I learned a ton of "useless garbage"- I can tell you none of it is useless when it comes to educating others. I also qualified merit badge instructors on their own, before they could sign-off on things for the kids. While teaching scouts to handle skiffs, canoes, kayaks and such, one of the demonstrations I used was to 'upset' each type of vessel. I've flipped skiffs by standing on a seat and too far to one side, walking from the centerline over the thwart into the drink, making a quick 'lose-your-balance' move by mimicking getting your feet crossed up and crashing against the gunnel, walking out the bow into the water while the bow followed my weight below the surface, and lastly, by having a powerboat swamp any of them by passing too closely at speed enough to cause the upset.

 

It is amazing to see the looks on people's faces when you show them just how much at risk they are if they either do something they shouldn't or get jammed up with nowhere to go.

 

Maybe more blahblah to some, but to me, more reason to not overextend the boat's capabilities.

[Pujic 0]

I took the boat out on both days this past weekend (our bass opener). Saturday it was windy as hell, causing a nasty 3' cross-chop on the water. I still took it out never-the-less but quickly returned. I justified my near-death excursion as a test run to make sure the boat and motor worked as they should Although, I don't think my Father who was with me in the boat appreciated that much. I don't think I've ever seen him that pale and scared in my life. LOL

 

On Sunday the winds subsided and the sun was more pronounced. I launched into a creek (really should be called a river by all means) famous for it's muskie population; despite spending 6 hours casting without a single follow

On the way home we stopped at a smaller lake to try our hand at some bass and northerns. After only 45 mins on the water we were into the fish.

 

Now, when we were on the smaller lake, in calm water I wanted to test the stability of the boat. Although you can't see it in the picture, there are 3 bench seats throughout the boat, factory installed, and maybe raised 8" or so off the bottom of the hull. The boat was quite sturdy while standing on the bottom of the hull and even when standing on the seats, although you could notice a considerable difference in the ceneter of gravity.

 

After getting a feel for how the boat handles and reacts, I agree that a simple subfloor, maybe 4" off the hull would be the best idea. That way there will be a flat surface to walk around on, instead of the angled V that exists today. Thanks to all who provided advice, even you Dave

 

Cheers,

[stel 0]

Sweet looking boat, Nick!