1976 18x48 Ouachita Jon conversion, Pictures are back!

[Codeman]

OK guys here I go boat is pretty well done as far as getting sea worthy now comes the fun part. I hope to start getting the decks built this week and getting it ready for some summer fun.

Just a refresher for ya.

Started here. Last September.



Now its here. After months of rebuilding the trailer and tinkering with the motor shifter etc.

[dyeguy1212]

THATS A BIG BOAT


all i have to say...

[Codeman]

You should try backing it in to my yard/ shop. LOL

Also I might add. Since those photos it is cleaner. It has been to the car wash and I have started stripping the paint off.

[russ010]

what are you using for a bow stop or bow tie down on the trailer?

Looks great by the way

[Codeman]

That's done too just wasn't in those pics.

[Codeman]

Sorry guys no real update because I haven't had time to work on it. I have had time to put it in the water and use it a few times.

[Codeman]

Ok, I'm on a mission. If all goes the way I want it too decks will be started by the end of the week. I want to have this thing a little more "comfortable" before July 4th. I have been delayed by one thing then another, one of being that the welder that we used to rebuild my transom has been somewhat unavailable and I needed to make some repairs on the nose before starting on the front deck. So I started doing some research on whether on not my 110 mig would get the job done. I was always under the belief that you pretty much had to have a spool gun to get the job done. Not so. I found a nice tutorial on Lincoln's web site on welding aluminum. It said that it was very possible and the key was setup, and practice with wadding up the wire being the big deal to get over. My welder is a Clarke 130en. Far from top of the line but gas capable, that's all I needed, so I got a tank of argon and got busy. After one night of getting the welder set up and some practice I was off and running.

[Codeman]

Ok first aluminum welding project. If I screw this up I throw it in the trash and start over. I changed out some of my controls and the shifter is now on the motor so all I need is a place for my switches. So I used the bracket that I bent up for the shifter box and started from there.



It was as simple as cutting a couple of triangle pieces and starting to weld.



Not professional work but hey I'm doing it at home in my shop and I have lots of grinding disks.



After a little more grinding here was the end result.





Holes will be cut for rocker switches either on top or the side I'm undecided at this point need some switches first. That was Friday night's project.

[willfishforfood]

Don't forget the safty chain, I've seen a few boats on the ramp and side of the road over the years.
Nice job.
WFFF

[Codeman]

And now on to the repair work. This is an old boat that was used hard in its former life. Its beat up, banged up and in need of a few repairs. The nose is what had taken the brunt of the abuse all those years and is in need of some serious TLC. I took it to my friends shop a while back, he does car restorations and is a master body man among other things. After a couple of hours he had beat the front edge of the boat back into a recognizable shape. It was still gouged up and a little wavy so that is where the welding comes in.

This huge hole was actually worn into the edge of the boat from being run into God knows what.



So I took a piece of scarp that had laying in the floor and shaped it to fit the hole and started filling with the welder. Keep in mind I had not touched the boat with a welder myself. So after a few minutes of welding, filling, and grinding I couldn't be happier with the result.





The leading edge of the boat also had a pretty good split where apparently a cable had been dragged in and out of the boat what looked like thousands of times. This is where I worried about just blowing big holes in the very thin aluminum.



But no problem just turn down the heat and go to it, and after a little grinding it headed in the right direction.



Lots more to do but like I said I'm kind of on a mission. Stay tuned.

[Codeman]

Don't forget the safty chain, I've seen a few boats on the ramp and side of the road over the years.
Nice job.
WFFF

On the trailer? They are there.

[stinkynathan]

Don't forget the safty chain, I've seen a few boats on the ramp and side of the road over the years.
Nice job.
WFFF

On the trailer? They are there.

I think he means the safety chain that keeps the boat on your trailer in case your winch strap should break.

[ober51]

Don't forget the safty chain, I've seen a few boats on the ramp and side of the road over the years.
Nice job.
WFFF

On the trailer? They are there.

I think he means the safety chain that keeps the boat on your trailer in case your winch strap should break.

Can you show a picture of this - I only use a winch

[flintcreek]

Nice job. Did you use a different liner for your Clarke mig or just use the argon gas. I have a Cebora mig and have a bottle of Argon, ordered a teflon liner and larger tips, that have not come in yet. Hoping to get set up and try some mig welding on aluminum. Is this much harder than steel?
Any tips would be appreciated. Again nice work, after it is painted your patch on the rail will not even show.

Tight Lines...Flintcreek

[Codeman]

Nice job. Did you use a different liner for your Clarke mig or just use the argon gas. I have a Cebora mig and have a bottle of Argon, ordered a teflon liner and larger tips, that have not come in yet. Hoping to get set up and try some mig welding on aluminum. Is this much harder than steel?
Any tips would be appreciated. Again nice work, after it is painted your patch on the rail will not even show.

Tight Lines...Flintcreek

No I just left the liner alone. I haven't had any issues so far. I did read that they recommended using no smaller than .035 wire and a .040 tip which I did. Try to keep your lead as straight as you can that will help too. Only set the tension on your rollers enough to push without slippage, don't over tighten because if and when the wire flashes back in the tip it'll bird nest something fierce. As far as tips get a stainless wire brush and clean clean clean the area you will be welding. Only brush one direction it makes a world of difference. I also preheat any of the thicker stuff with a propane torch, I didn't find it necessary to preheat the thin stuff on the boat.

Good luck, I actually found it easier than I thought it would be.