12 foot v hull bass boat modifications

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scastro35

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Hey Guys first time poster but got many of my ideas from here. Last year my uncle gave me a 12ft aluminum v hull, a trailer and a 1963 5.5 hp johnson outboard. The motor had been in a garage for maybe 4 years and the boat and trailer were left outside for many years. Here is the condition of the trailer.
 

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so first thing to do was power wash the boat and get years off dirt off of it. It came out beautiful I wish I took pictures the boat looked brand new. So next was the trailer. I sanded the whole thing with a drill and a wire brush attachment got off all the huge rust spots and got down to some fresh metal. Then I spray painted it black and silver. After that I installed new tail lights, cut off the old hitch and put on a brand new one.
 

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Actually here is a picture of one of the seats half cleaned half dirty. She cleans up nice.
 

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This is how she sat at the end of the summer after I did all the fixes.
 

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And this is where it gets good. Fast forward to spring of this year and I had big plans first things first get the motor running.
 

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Now after reading on here many people were against decking a 12 foot boat. Last year my fishing buddy and I experimented by standing on the seats and fishing and it wasnt all that bad and thats when I decided a deck was going in. My first purchases were a minn kota edge 45lb thrust bow mount trolling motor and all the components to a front pedestal seat.
 

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Next step was to test fit the trolling motor to see how I wanted to mount it and see how it would look.
 

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After that I decided to switch the trolling motor to the other side. Now it was on to the deck. I decided to deck over the front two seats and from the last seat to the transom and I wanted it all removable. I made templates and measured 3 times cut once only taking off a little at a time until I had the perfect fit.
 

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Next was to cut out the piece for the trolling motor mount. The mount is screwed into the gunnel by 6 screws but can be removed easily. Here is how it turned out.
 

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After all the hard stuff was done all that was left was to cut out the holes for the pedestal seat and the trolling motor quick connect and add carpet. And after two weeks my boat was finished!
 

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Now after having fished on it numerous times I have to say its awesome! It has added a lot of weight to the boat and in very rough waters sitting on the pedestal seat gets a little scary but I have yet to fall in. Since the boat is not very wide I have to lean against the seat if I am going to lift a foot up to control the trolling motor. It definitely makes me want a bigger boat but im putting myself through college so money is tough. The boat is great it holds up great with people and gear in it and everyone that sees it always asks me about it. I hope you guys enjoy my build as I certainly did.
 
My buddy and I do a lot of night fishing so Im looking for ideas for some lighting. I only run one 12v battery so I need something with simple wiring and would like to use red light. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Thank. Im also on a budget so nothing in the hundreds of dollars but I dont want junk.
 
That's a really nice build and the finished product looks awesome. I can't wait to get started on mine.
 
How much weight do you think was added from the decking?! I'm starting a project on the same hull and visioned the same idea you did here!!! Just concerned about wait!!
 
Really not that much maybe 60-70 pounds. the weight really isnt the issue for my boat its just a little top heavy but easy to deal with. if you have anymore questions just let me know
 
Ok cool thanks!! Did you have to add more flotation? Also what is securing the deck if it isn't permanent!!?
 
No I did not add extra flotation I like that it sits down a little deeper in the water now. And no everything is removable. The only thing that has screws in it is the one with the trolling motor attached to it but I remove it every weekend to lock it in the shed so its not really permanent. It is screwed in with 6 stainless screws.
 
nice rig. I also have a 12 footer. I decked mine and took it out, after realizing how crazy unstable it was i decided to rig up some pontoon/outriggers for it and it stabilized it a lot. check it out https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=31597
 

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