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I cleaned up the existing front deck .064” sheet metal. I also wire brushed & sanded the interior hull skin, up under my front deck. I will paint it all before I attaching the deck extension the final time. Right now the front deck extension framework is cleco’ed in place.

It’s all 5XXX series aluminum. That stuff from Lowes is probably 1XXX series. When I build my transom frame I’ll probably use 7075 T-6 .25” thick. I wish I could weld better.

I did a little more fab work on the deck extension frame. The front hatch is going to be a small 17” x 23” wide. It will be the anchor locker. The big hatch is 18” x 42” wide. It will have a flat floor/shelf for a 12 gallon gas tank, and room for a battery or two.

A tunnel hull added to your current boat and the same outboard will get you more shallow water capability. If you want the ultimate shallow capabilities, put a jet outboard on a tunnel hull Jon boat. A properly rigged Jet outboard on a tunnel hull Jon boat will run in very shallow water.

This is where I ran out of gas for welding, welding the 3 x 1 cross beam. More to come after I get more gas.

My welds started out kinda ugly, but they got better. I will finish adding to this and final weld it before riveting it in place. When the frame structure is out of the boat it is kinda weak and wobbly, but very light. When it is cleco’ed into the boat it is rock solid. That’s how these boats...

I made the time to work on my 1751 this weekend. I fabricated an aluminum frame that will rivet to the front seat/deck sheet metal. The vertical wall that ends the deck extension will be bonded & riveted to a rib. A previous owner had cut a hole in the front seat to accommodate a 12 gallon fuel...

Sorry about that. 3M 5200 is what I use. If you ever glued something together with it, and then tried to remove or separate the two parts, you will understand how strong 3M 5200 is.

My middle kid bought a Tracker 175 Pro last year. He gave me the fish finder that came on it. I guess he upgraded…and I get the brand new never used unit he took off. I need to do some research and figure out what this thIng does.

The rivet length mentioned above is dead on! After bucking it should be 1/2 D in height and 1 1/2 D in width. Just make sure you seat the head with pressure and drive the buck tail until you have a nice permanent rivet. Sometimes it’s hard to get perfect buck tails in tight areas. Wet install...

Seven of ten rib reinforcing angles installed.

I was unable to post any pictures in the post above…I will try again. My internet has been hit or miss for the last week…I hate Brightspeed! The pictures below show how I wet install a rivet.

Thanks Thill. I installed seven (of ten) rib reinforcement angles after work tonight. I stopped at seven because that’s how far one tube of 3M 2200 adhesive went. I have another tube on hand, but I want to have a use for what I won’t need on the three reinforcement angles. I’m going to...

Thanks for the kind words, she has been through a lot in the last four months. I had to bend the 1.5” .125 angles a little past 90 degrees. The vertical sides of the ribs aren’t perfectly perpendicular to the floor, or parallel with themselves. I guess the ribs or hat channel’s bowed when...

My wife has been sick & hospitalized since December 26th. I haven’t had time to do anything for the last four months. I decided to start making time to work on this boat, otherwise it will never get done. Yesterday I started sanding, inspecting and preparing the interior so I can paint it...

Watch this video. He talks about how the sheet metal has to be clamped to the transom, to pull it into shape.

The boat hull sheet metal relies on structural components (ribs & stringers) to maintain its shape. In your case the wood transom was the structure that helped the sheet metal maintain its shape. You removed the wood, now the thin sheet metal can bow or flex out of shape. When you install your...

Yup, SS bolts & 5200 sealant.

If the title reads “Maid”, and the data plate reads “Texas Maid”, why do you believe it is not a Maid, or Texas Maid. It sounds like a little play on words. Texas Boat Manufacturing Company INC, manufactured a boat in Texas, the boat was made in Texas, hence the Texas Maid. I like the lines and...

Nice boat you have there, built for salt water or big water. I like the idea of pouring the foam in the sides and keeping it out of the lower water prone areas. As far as the splash well goes, you want to have a low spot where water will drain out, if you back-down into a wave accidentally. The...