14 ft. Alumacraft T14V Project

[BottomDweller]

UtahBassKicker,
With your framing on the rear of the boat, did you bolt the 2x4s into the transom/through the boat for support or are they just resting on those vertical 2x4s for support? I am trying to decide how to do mine and wanted to understand how you did yours.

 

[ober51]

The only thing I did differently on my guide ons was that I connected the two pieces of ladder stabilizer under the trailer with a piece of PVC pipe. It helped with the little bit of movement/wiggle that was there.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

UtahBassKicker,
With your framing on the rear of the boat, did you bolt the 2x4s into the transom/through the boat for support or are they just resting on those vertical 2x4s for support? I am trying to decide how to do mine and wanted to understand how you did yours.

I built the parallel or horizontal framing first. Then, on the furthest 2x4 to the rear, I measured straight down to where the transom support was and I took that measurement and cut a vertical 2x4 that bolted right to the transom support and screwed that to the horizontal framing.

You can kind of see it this picture...

So the vertical 2x4 is bolted directly to the transom support and screwed to the upper, horizontal framing. On the sides I ran the front-to-back 2x4's level with the rear bench and they did not touch in the very back but there are some small styrofoam filled aluminum boxes (you can kind of see these in the picture too but you can really see what I'm talking about if you look at some of the pics on the first page of this project) on my boat so what I did was cut a small 2x4's (about 6 inches or so) and screwed that in vertically to the side 2x4's and then those rested on the aluminum boxes. I attached the 2x4's to the boat with some "L" brackets and that was it. I hope this helps. If not let me know and I'll take some better pictures for you.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

The only thing I did differently on my guide ons was that I connected the two pieces of ladder stabilizer under the trailer with a piece of PVC pipe. It helped with the little bit of movement/wiggle that was there.

That's a good idea. Maybe I'll do that with the section of PVC that I have left over. Thanks ober51.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Looks awesome. Great Job!

Thanks buddy.

 

[sturdi87]

Eventually I'll have decks like that!

 

[UtahBassKicker]

So I took the rig out this last weekend with my 2 year old. I was surprised at how well the boat still planed with the added weight of a rear deck. The new trailer guides worked like a charm as well. A funny story...finished up fishing for the day, tied the boat to the dock and took my 2 year old to the truck with me. I put him in the front seat while backing up the truck. I jumped out to get the boat on the trailer (once again the trailer guides worked perfectly), cranked it up on the trailer with the winch, ran back to the truck, pulled on the handle and.....nothing. Locked! My two year old locked the doors with the trailer still in the water with the truck running! After a few choice words because of my stupidity, and a few minutes of trying to coach my son into pushing the unlock button I remembered that I had a spare key attached to my frame with a hide-a-key. Unfortunately it was hidden on the rear of the truck so I got soaked retrieving it but at least I didn't have to call the wife to bring a spare. Stupid me! Lesson learned I guess, but I should know better. Just got in too big of a hurry. Needless to say, the hide-a-key is now located on the front of my truck so if something like this happens again I wont have to get soaked getting the key.

 

[phil]

It looks great. I have a sylvan I would like to do something with. How did you connect the wood frame for the front deck to the front of the boat and the seats?

 

[UtahBassKicker]

It looks great. I have a sylvan I would like to do something with. How did you connect the wood frame for the front deck to the front of the boat and the seats?

The nose of the frame actually rests right on the hull of the boat. I drilled a 3/4 in. hole in the center 2x4 and threaded a 1/2 in. rope through it. I then drilled some 3/8 in. holes in the nose piece on the boat. I knotted both ends of the rope and used some steel clips and attached to the holes drilled in the nose piece.

Then I used some small "L" brackets and screwed one end into the 2x4 and the other into the bench. I used the "L" brackets all across the bench, the pictures only shows some of them. The others are covered by the decking. I've had the boat several times and the little casting deck is as sturdy as can be.

Hope this helps. This seems to be a popular question in this forum.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

I made one more minor adjustment, I switched my transom mount motor to a bow mount. It was a simple change, all you have to do unscrew one bolt, turn the head of the motor, line up the holes and put the bolt back in. It's nice having the extra weight up front and having the control from the casting deck but I wish the handle on the Minn Kota could pivot up and down like the older model I had.

 

[ober51]

It looks great. I have a sylvan I would like to do something with. How did you connect the wood frame for the front deck to the front of the boat and the seats?

The nose of the frame actually rests right on the hull of the boat. I drilled a 3/4 in. hole in the center 2x4 and threaded a 1/2 in. rope through it. I then drilled some 3/8 in. holes in the nose piece on the boat. I knotted both ends of the rope and used some steel clips and attached to the holes drilled in the nose piece.

Then I used some small "L" brackets and screwed one end into the 2x4 and the other into the bench. I used the "L" brackets all across the bench, the pictures only shows some of them. The others are covered by the decking. I've had the boat several times and the little casting deck is as sturdy as can be.

Hope this helps. This seems to be a popular question in this forum.

Looks great - just wondering if you used a buffer between the L brackets and your aluminum bench? The reason I ask is because unless they are aluminum, they may cause corrosion. Rubber gasket material worked great and can be cut to size, for future reference.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

I actually didn't use a buffer because I was under the impression that the paint on the bench would be enough. Do I need to rethink this?

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Well I haven't had much progress lately but I did put the rubber gasket material between my steel brackets and the aluminum. I also placed carpet between the wood and boat where there was contact. I think I have the pressure treated wood issue taken care of. I did mount a seat base on the front deck but now I'm looking for advice for what height of pedestal to use. I think I'm going to go with the plain 13" but I'm also contemplating one of the adjustable height pedestals. I figure with the seat+seat base+13" of pedestal I'll be setting at about 19" which seemed pretty comfortable when I tried it out. Any input is welcome. Also, I think I'm going to purchase a hydrafoil to see if it'll help the boat get on top of the water instead of push it's way through it.

 

[BottomDweller]

ober51,

Wondering how much of an issue I have with the transom I just replaced. My boat is aluminum. My transom is wood. I used stainless steel bolts to secure the wood transom board to the boat. Is this going to cause alot of problems? Do I have an option here? It seems that using anything other than stainless steel would eventually rust out but stainless does cause some corrosion with aluminum. My project is completed currently and I have secured my bolts with 3m 5200. I would hate to remove everything but will if this is going to cause alot of problems.

 

[perchin]

They factory build aluminum trailers with SS..... I would have to imagine you'll be fine. :wink:

 

[UtahBassKicker]

So not a lot of changes since the last pics but I did get the seats mounted so I wanted to keep ya'll updated. Also wanted to add a pic of my last trip to the lake. My wife took the picture without me knowing. At least you can see the pedestal in action!

In case you didn't read my whining post in the "Watering Hole", no fish were harmed in this picture taking process (unfortunately).

 

[perchin]

Your boat makes me envious...... clean, stable, and loving the looks of that outboard. Nice job =D>

 

[BottomDweller]

Utah,
How did the guide ons work this time?

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Your boat makes me envious...... clean, stable, and loving the looks of that outboard. Nice job =D>

Thanks. It's still a work in progress. I want to do some cut outs on the middle bench and drop in some empty battery boxes to use for storage, I've found that you can fit 4-5 Plano boxes inside your typical battery box. That way I would have more room in the boat since I wouldn't have to tote around my big lunky tackle box. Also still need to do wiring for lights and bilge and add a level, flat floor. The motor was a new edition to the boat this year. I previously had a '97 Yamaha but it was only a 5HP so I decided to sell it and this 15HP Johnson 4 stroke showed up for $1200 so I jumped on it. The guy even delivered it from about 5 hours away (he had to head my direction for some business meetings).

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Utah,
How did the guide ons work this time?

The guides have been awesome. Ever since adding them loading the boat has been a breeze, even with my two year old with me. We had 20-25 mph winds my last trip out and still loading went very smooth. How have your's worked out for you?