Lowe 1436 + Trailer Mod (Page 2 Completed Pictures)

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rmzachar

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Well, got the boat last July and have slowly been accumulating things for it over the past 9 months or so and am just now getting ready to start working on it. Finally!

Anyways, with the weather warming up for at least a couple days up here in Michigan, I got started on some work that needed to be done with the trailer. I had to remove the old bunks, rollers, and various other things to get it to where I wanted it to be. I still need to get a cross bunk and bow stop done up, but the bunks are at least now in place. Once I get the bow stop and cross bunk done I'll be carpeting it all.

(All images are clickable thumbnails) Album is here. Every picture I took is in there if you want to look at it.


The motor:




Photos of the trailer when I got it:

3n33m53of5O25Q45X3a8m9e3b1c03edc51054.jpg


3n33m53of5O25Q45X3a8m9e3b1c03edc51054.jpg


3k63m13o15O35P15S6a8md020a6c52bb71aa4.jpg


Boat sat on that setup horribly, so off came the old bunks and various hardware and in goes the new bunks. Took two 2x4's sealed up with Thompson's Waterseal and then screwed together. These were then countersunk with lag bolts to the trailer frame itself to test the fit and to make sure all my measurements worked out for the boat to sit in between strakes. It does just that and worked like a charm. Now just need to carpet them.

Measuring up:





Attached to frame with boat on:







Where the 2x4 sits in between the strakes:


Forgot to take a picture of the winch arm up front, but plan on doing something similar to what Russ did on his 1236 build like this:

DSCF0244.jpg



So hopefully the bow stop and cross bunk will get done tomorrow followed by the carpeting. Anyone have any comments on anything else I should do for the trailer? I'm all ears on that one as this is my first go at this.

Once that gets done, I'll actually be getting to move on to working on the boat! It's a Lowe 1436 that I got from Cabela's last year after a tornado came in and scuffed it up a little bit. $300 for it brand new, so I bought it. Along with the boat and trailer, I also have bought a 20hp Mercury from I believe 1975 that runs great. Also bought a 70lb thrust (I know overkill for my boat but got a great deal on it) with iPilot from work (Cabela's, where I've gotten most of this stuff and a discount :D ). It's a 24V trolling motor, so I plan on putting the two batteries somewhere up front to help with weight distribution. Also got a Lowrance fish finder/gps to put on here too. If possible, I have an old head unit from my car and some speakers that I may or may not put in too. Anyways, still trying to get an idea on what to do with the boat.

The boat overhead view:





Pretty much the only damage from the tornado, what would be the best way to fix this? Just smooth it out then put some duck boat paint over it??



Most likely, I will be doing a combination of aluminum angle with plywood decking. Having a hard time though deciding on if I should cut out the bench seat and do a mod similar to dixie_boysles here :

392441681.jpg


Or if I should go the route bassboy did with this mod here :

9052.jpg


Either way, I still have a little bit of time to decide as the lakes are still iced over for the most part and the weather is going to turn cold again in the next few days. Any input on what route to take with the boat would be appreciated. Thanks a lot!
 
As far as a bow stop, this is how the boat currently sits up towards the front:



Is the method that I said in my first post the best way to go about doing a bow stop for this?

Also, for the cross bunk, would a 2 foot piece of 2x4 work out fine? Or should it go higher, or is it even needed at all?

 
I'll probably end up going with the low decks. I had been waiting for the ice to melt and to get out on the boat and just see how stable it is standing on top of the seats. Well, the ice finally melted out here a couple days ago, but the temperature has dropped down to the 30s again #-o . Might still try to get out and see, but I'm guessing low decks will be the way to go.

Anyways, finished up the trailer for the most part. Bunks are carpeted and attached as is the cross bunk. I kept the roller up at the bow for now to see how that works, but will probably make a horizontal bow stop out of a 2x4 still.

The carpeted bunks attached:





The cross bunk carpeted and attached:







The roller up front:



Woo hoo, measurements came out perfect with the boat sitting right on the back end of the bunks when it's all winched up on the trailer:




How bad is it to use the roller up front? I have a feeling that it will rub off that black paint or whatever that is on it onto the boat as well rub off some paint on the boat. Possible denting too? Or is it alright to use. I could probably find one at work that is more like a T with the flat end on the boat. If none of these are good solutions, I'll just go ahead and make a bow stop as I do have some more bunk carpet, and I think it would be pretty easy to attach up there.

Essentially though, the trailer is done and seems to work great. Now time for the actual boat modding to begin! **** weather needs to warm up a little bit though as I don't have a heated garage to work in...
 
I went with a flat bow stop. I feel like a roller set up like you have there may allow the boat to bounce around a little and if you was to snug it up too much its going to start lifting the boat off your bunks and then your putting stress on the bow where it makes contacts with that roller. Check out my trailer rebuild for ideas on a solid bow stop. My bracket is home made out of a couple pieces of small angle and a steel gas line was used for the tube the bolt goes through. I didnt have a welder at the time so I paid a guy at the local muffler shop 10 bucks to weld it up. It works great and is a solid stop for the boat. Link in my sig.
 
BassBlaster said:
I went with a flat bow stop. I feel like a roller set up like you have there may allow the boat to bounce around a little and if you was to snug it up too much its going to start lifting the boat off your bunks and then your putting stress on the bow where it makes contacts with that roller. Check out my trailer rebuild for ideas on a solid bow stop. My bracket is home made out of a couple pieces of small angle and a steel gas line was used for the tube the bolt goes through. I didnt have a welder at the time so I paid a guy at the local muffler shop 10 bucks to weld it up. It works great and is a solid stop for the boat. Link in my sig.

Yeah, I'm thinking a horizontal bow stop would be the best way to go. I really don't care much for that roller, and seeing as I have all the stuff to make the horizontal bow stop I may as well do it.

Would the place where the roller is now be fine for where the bow stop would go?

Another question for anyone, if I do remove that front seat completely, do I really need to reinforce it? I have seen mods with people doing nothing and people reinforcing it. Also there is the method that RBuffordTJ did with the seat in cutting it down, but not completely out.
 
Alright, this is what my general idea of what I want to do with the boat is. Mind you I did this in paint in like 10 minutes so it's not exactly the greatest, but it gives a decent look. Front bench seat would be removed...

Black = decking
red = trolling motor
blue = batteries below decking (2 for 24v trolling motor, 1 for all else)
orange = seats
yellow = motor/gas tank
red = fish finder
 

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Rigged up a quick test for a front bow stop, and I must say that it works much much better then the roller that was on there. This isn't the permanent attachment of it, nor is it carpeted yet, but it works out great and the boat seems much more secure with it on there. Just need to come up with a better way of attaching it to the frame then those 2x4's that I put on to test the fit...





 
Thats definately better than what you had but if at all poosible it needs to be above the handle that your hooked too so its pulling the boat against a solid stop. The way you have it there, the boat will still want to lift off the bunks if you crank it up to far.

A little more like this.

Trailer12.jpg


Heres a close up of the bracket that I made. Pretty simple.

Trailer13.jpg
 
BassBlaster said:
Thats definately better than what you had but if at all poosible it needs to be above the handle that your hooked too so its pulling the boat against a solid stop. The way you have it there, the boat will still want to lift off the bunks if you crank it up to far.]

I had tried to come up with a way to have the winch lower then the bow stop, but the holes were already in place on the winch post as it is and I figured I would try to leave it the way it is if at all possible. Also, with the winch cranked all the way as far as it can go, the boat still sits flat on the bunks and right at the back edge of the bunks. The current setup seems solid, but what I am concerned most with in this setup is if the winch fails and I slam on the breaks for whatever reason, nothing is there to stop the boat from flying into the bed of my truck. Would another simple tie down up at the front of the boat be good enough to keep the boat secure in a catastrophic even like that? Or is it just a better idea to redo the winch post with the bow stop higher and the winch itself lower?
 
Personnaly I would redo that whole contraption up front. There has got to be a way to modify the one that is currently there though and make it work. I just cant think of a solution off the top of my head right now. Your winch looks like it is at the level it needs to be though so I'd leave it there and just try and come up with some bracket that would work above it. Dosnt look like you have a whole lot of room above it to work with though. I'll post back if I think of something.
 
This is how I have mine set up.
 

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BassBlaster said:
Personnaly I would redo that whole contraption up front. There has got to be a way to modify the one that is currently there though and make it work. I just cant think of a solution off the top of my head right now. Your winch looks like it is at the level it needs to be though so I'd leave it there and just try and come up with some bracket that would work above it. Dosnt look like you have a whole lot of room above it to work with though. I'll post back if I think of something.

I'm going to take another look at it tomorrow and see about moving the bracket that currently is holding onto the 2x4. I'm thinking I may have enough clearance to move that up while still keep the winch in between the bracket.

This picture here shows where the bracket currently is mounted (look at where the holes are at, it's bolted on through those) :



I'm thinking I can move that up and still, hopefully, have enough clearance for the winch handle to still operate. Won't know for sure until I look at it, but hoping I can move the bracket up, have the bow stop be above the winch, and have the winch go through the opening in between the bracket.
 
I think your idea will work as long as you have clearance on your crank as you said. I mounted my winch and you can see in my pic I had to move it because I wasnt paying attention to clearance. The mechanism that flips to allow the winch to change directions didnt have enough room to flip. Had to drill new holes so now I have a set of bolt holes that are useless showing just below my winch.
 
Alright, moved the winch down a little bit, the winch post back a little bit, and now I think all is well. Now to actually start getting some work done on the boat itself!

The little bracket I found at the local hardware store:



Bow stop attached to the bracket:



Bow stop on the winch post (just need to bolt it down):








Next thing on the to do list is to cut out the bench seat in the boat...that's going to be a bit nerve racking on a new boat!
 
Well, trailer is finally done...I think it came out well all things considered. Bow stop is in the right spot now, so that's good to know.









I should probably look into extending the tongue...


Anyways, quick question to those that have cut out the bench seat. What is the easiest way to cut it out? Just a straight up sawzall? Drill a few holes in the seat and take a hacksaw to it? I don't have an angle grinder so I couldn't use that. Any input on that would be great.
 
As far as aluminum angle goes, should I be getting 6061 structural or 6063 architectural? I've seen people use both. I'm leaning towards 6063 as it would be easier to rivet together, but is 6061 with the added strength what I should be getting???


On a separate note, a friend of mine is going to lend me his air powered rivet gun. That should make things easier!
 
Alright, not much progress has been made up until today. Finally got a chance to cut out the bench seat! Now that it is out of the way, the real progress can happen. Next up will be cutting up the aluminum angle for the structure. Hoping my friend with his air powered rivet gun can make it out here, if not, I'll be hand riveting. Anyways, here are a few pictures from before and after the bench seat got cut out.

Before:





After:








I plan on bracing the ribs on the floor and up the sides with angle to provide some more structural integrity that was lost from removing the seat (or is that necessary as the ribs do go a little ways up the side as it is). I also am going to pick up some foam to place under flooring as I have removed foam from under the seat (dang that stuff gets everywhere!).

Hopefully some more progress can be made soon, just need to get up to the hardware store and pick up some plywood for the flooring and mini casting deck. That is, unless I can find a decent price on aluminum sheeting...
 
Alright, small update. Have gotten a few things done over the past week, but not a whole lot. Progress is slow but steady, which is fine as the weather has been mostly terrible up here lately save for a few days. Anyways, seats are out and angle is starting to go in.

Pretty much what will be going on is plywood secured to the angle for the flooring and up along the side walls. A pedestal seat will be added up where the bench seat was taken out...







That's all done now and today I started to frame the front deck. I didn't want it to be huge like a lot of people on here, just a nice small little deck that I may cast off occasionally and as a place to mount the trolling motor, fish finder, and other stuff up there, as well as a spot for storage. I just started on that today, still have some more work to do to make it stronger structurally as well as figure out what I'm going to be doing as far as hatch locations on that.









Will hopefully have the front deck framing done in the next few days and then got on to the back deck framing and be done with the aluminum portion of the project. Still have to go pick up some plywood and carpeting...hoping to get this all done in the next month or so.

QUESTION: The trolling motor is 24V (I got a 70lb thrust with iPilot from work for like $300, so I had to get the 24V). I plan on putting the two batteries for that up front under the deck. Would it be best to get another deep cycle battery to run all the other stuff (lights, fish finder, bilge, etc) or would it be alright to buy a few of those small 12v batteries? I can get those for like $4 and was wondering how well that would work to run the electronics. If they are useless, I would just buy another battery and keep that in the back back with the gas tank. Would the weight distribution of two batteries up front, and the gas tank and another battery in the back be alright?
 

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