12 Ft Deep V Lowe boat

[sgt tee]

I am the new kid on the block, I am hoping to do a few things to my small boat, the first will be a trolling motor bow deck, I see from some of the pictures some guys lay the wood on top of the curl of the boat, Are screws run into the curl to hold the wood piece in place??. I was told to install a cross member under this also, I am going to use 3/4 plywood and it may be around 2 ft. long.Also a plate under the mount of the motor Enough room to install my bow motor light and anchor mate. I see others just frame out. I also see wood going down on the floor of the boat. I am wondering how the wood is fastened to the boat. I may just put 2 Small decks by each bench. I will also have to install wood on top of the bench's , Do you run the screws right into the top of the bench?? I see plenty of pictures but I need some more detail. I am going to cover all the wood with Marine carpet. The boat is rated for only 2 people so I am also afraid to get it too heavy for the water. I will post a couple of pictures here soon. I am a disabled Vet and I do things when I feel good, so my chores take twice as long to do. Thanks for listening and I hope I will be able to help some future members as I learn

 

[sgt tee]

Here are a few pictures of the bow, I would like some ideas. If I were to screw a board on top of the curl of the boat, I am thinking it will not be level, can someone give me an idea on where to get started, I am in no rush but I would appreciate all comments, Thanks, Pete

The one picture is the floor in front of the middle seat, Would you guys remove the front seat shown or build all around it?? I hope the pictures came through as I am new at this

 

[great white]

Check my link in my sig for how the decking is done on my 12..

Except; mine is a bit wider and a little different inside than your 12....

 

[Driftingrz]

use your bench's as a reference as to whats level in the water.. if you slap a deck on top of the bench or build your deck parallel to the benches you'll have a level deck when in the water.. i built my front deck around the front bench in my boat using it as support

im not sure how high id wanna be standing in the bow of a 12v boat though. guess if your not as top heavy as i am it wont be a huge issue haha

 

[sgt tee]

Yea thats a nice job. I want to put a bow mount moror on the front, What would I do then, put it up on blocks to clear the edge as your set-up is recessed from the top curl. Dont worry about me standing up in the boat, I want to be as low as I possibly can. I am no swimmer and my woman does not swim. We did have a 14 alum craft with all the trimmings but it was just too much for us to get back on the trailer etc. If I do anything to the boat it will be the bow and put wood on the seats, but they are not pedestal seats, they just have a swivel on them and thats the way I want to keep it, Your boat came out nice, you have to have a little caepenter in you as I am a electrician but I try. I can build it the way you did I think with no problems but then again, what do I do about my motor

 

[sgt tee]

Also did you screw your wood right to the bench, I see you put a brace of two under it also, I just need that whole thing to go up to the curl

 

[sgt tee]

You also have another piece in the front V under the metal bracket, was that there already and how would you fasten something like that, screw into under the curl of the boat, then you have your wood butt up aganist it, I only have a small metal piece up front, How wide is your boat, This one I have is 52ins

 

[Driftingrz]

Yes i have some screws running into the bow seat and front bench.

Mine doesn't curl up. Wanted it to stay level. I did build a box of sorts to raise my trolling motor up. Still need to fjnish wiring it and do a test on the water

 

[sgt tee]

Thats very cool, What kind of block did you use for the mount and did you wrap that carpet around it after you did your main rug. Your rig is sharp looking, I hope I get to feel better in the coming weeks so I can get started. My Dad always said , "If you dont have your health ,you have nothing" and now I understand what he was telling me. Thanks for sharing

 

[Driftingrz]

Thanks for the compliments. I just framed it up with some scrap 2x3s no ply just carpet wrappwd around it then secured to deck. If the stability and deck space is suffient ill build something more permanent and nicer looking.

 

[sgt tee]

Yea the motorguides you need 3ins for the shaft and prop etc. to clear, Also said you must have the motor and bracket level or the bracket will not open and close correctly, My motor came today but something is rattling around the motor head so I contacted the company and told them I want a refund, just to be safe I also contacted PayPal, they usually get things done for the buyer, bne sure to letme know how that block works, I think I am going to go with this setup and make my deck come over to my middle seat, I will just have to face to the back of the boat

 

[sgt tee]

looking at your boat again, is your metal piece that big that you were able to mount that 2&4 too, or did you build that piece out yourself. I see the deal where you can mount to the bench seat but where do I go with it heading towards the V of the boat, I would need some angle to build a header there to hold the wood up on that end. I hope i explained myself correctly

 

[sgt tee]

i think I see a 2&4 standing up holding the end up, I guess I will have to build some support brackets, made out of wood or metal. I have a metal plate that I was thinking of running across that V part and screw it up into the curl with self tapping screws, then I can rest my wood on top of the metal plate and use a foot here and there

 

[sgt tee]

Not mentioned on the forum here as far as I see, I will be wanted to pop rivet angle up near the top of the boat in the bow section. Is there any certain rivet I need, I am sure its above the water line but I want to make sure I buy all the right stuff once I get started. Also did you guys buy want size and thickness of angle. This stuff may seem like dumb questions but when you know nothing about it, I like to ask. I see plenty of guys had their angles welded. This is one option but I don't know if I can get my boat to the shop to do this for me. Thats why I am asking about the thickness etc. in case I do get it welded, There is a welding shop around 10 miles from me. Would this be the way to go, or just go ahead and use rivets, I will not be standing on the bow, its just going to hold motor and anchormate. I am thinking maybe tractor supply will have some type of waterproof rivet, There are no boat shops in my area. Just looking for some encouragement and advice, to wards the back of the built bow I will be drilling into the seat if thats OK. I like the way driftingrz did his, I guess its OK to have that much space on the ends, I was thinking about putting a bracket of some sort near the front of the bow to hold it up, I don't have that header to drill in to, So the front I need something to hold it up so I was thinking of putting angle brackets up near the top and below the curl to hold it up