14 ft. alumicraft NEW PICS!

[russ010]

I would go with a deck stain/paint. It's a little better than Thompsons as far as durability and how long it lasts. I would use something like Cabots you can get at Lowes. It's pretty good stuff. I used this stuff called TWC.. I've got a link to some on my post of my boat. 2-3 coats and you should be good to go

I too would use something other than OSB board, but if that's what you can afford, then seal it and move on! It will work just as well... just maybe not as long.

 

[phxbuckeye]

spent the day treating the wood and cutting the hole for the storage on the lower deck. didnt feel like a lot accomplished because its a hurry and waite process with treating wood. after this i will doing the carpeting and putting it all together.

 

[Troutman3000]

spent the day treating the wood and cutting the hole for the storage on the lower deck. didnt feel like a lot accomplished because its a hurry and waite process with treating wood. after this i will doing the carpeting and putting it all together.

How is you attach it to the stern?

 

[phxbuckeye]

how do i what to the what?

 

[Troutman3000]

how do i what to the what?

How did you attach the fron deck to the stern?


Jason

 

[phxbuckeye]

you mean the front deck to ther BOW? stern is the back. anyways, its not attached yet, i still have to carpet it and attach the door for the storage. i havent decided if im going to use just screws or drill holes and put bolts in. if i use bolts i have to remove the foam under the seat which is quite the project, but ultimately the better way to go. im still up in the air but i will definately let you know so keep watching! haha

i picked up the lights today that im going to be using. i purchased 3 of them. im going to have two up front on the sides where im building storage and one in the back on the side. the cost 20$ a peice at BassPro. a little pricy but they are L.E.D. and they are recessed so they pretty much sit flush when mounted. i got white for all three. i was thinking a different color because of the night vision issue and because they will attrack bugs but i wont really have them turned on for long periods of time and i was afraid that a different color really wont be that bright for rebaiting etc. i guess i will have to see when i get her out there and its dark. worse case scenario, i just replace them, which is easy.

 

[Troutman3000]

Meant the bow, sorry.

 

[phxbuckeye]

i got a lot accomplished today. a buddy of mine helped out a lot so it made things easier. a lot of carpeting! i decided not to go with the upper lever where i planned on mounting the trolling motor. after putting the flooring in where the storage unit is up front and the platform on front, i realized how much weight i just added to the boat; especially with the battery up there! i plan on putting the second battery in the back next to the gas tank.

i used just 2x2's and screwed them under the lip to mount the trolling motor too. i think it makes it much easier to take the motor on and off for towing purposes. when i lays down its at a perfect angle too. the handle is at a perfect distance too when sitting in the front seat. i have yet to put in a dc outlet on the deck to the right of the storage door. this will be for the guy up front to plug the spotlight into at night. i will have my own outlet on the switch panel i bought.

anyone have any ideas on a bow light? i would like to have one permantly mounted up there and run the wires to the switch panel.

also decided not to put in a wood floor for the purposes of saving weight again. im just going to run carpet on the floor and about 1/3 up the side. had it laid out and it looks good. i bought some textured paint for the insides of the boat. did the front above the deck. it looks great.

 

[dyeguy1212]

looking very good =D>

 

[phxbuckeye]

finally got a chance to get some work done. cut the holes and installed the two lights on the front deck as well as the 12v/dc outlet up front as well. the dc outlet will make it easy for the person up front to use the spotlight at night so more worrying about batteries! woohoo!

got the back seat piece cut out, carpeted and the storage compartment cut out. this was good because it fixed what i did some time ago when i first got on this site. i wouldnt have made the storage compartment that way if i knew i was going to get this extravagent with the boat. oh well, live and learn.

also got the two holes cut out in the back bench for the other two lights. i couldnt install them becase bass pro only had three left! so hopefully tomorrow they will have more in stock, otherwise im gonna have to order it and be patient.

im still waiting on my switch panel to be delivered. i forget who on here i saw using it, but whoever it was, thanks a ton because its gonna be great. i have decided to forego the flooring for now with the intentions of saving weight and because of this ive decided to switch up my controls for the lights. i dont want to run wire from the front of the boat to the back if i dont have a floor to run it under, so on the front next to one of the lights i will be installing a switch panel as well control each of the two lights up front and the bow light, both of which will be wired to the trolling battery up front. the two lights under my seat in the back will be ran to another battery next to my gas tank in the back wired to my switch panel. im going to run my fishfinder to it as well as my Garmin GPS.

if anyone has any suggestions, gripes, moans, groans, or just a plain ole adda boy, let me know. thanks a bunch everyone for all the advice and ideas. im no pro but im really happy with everything so far. especially my buddy whos been helping me out a lot on this.

 

[Troutman3000]

looking good man

 

[Rubin56]

smooth =D>

 

[phxbuckeye]

i have a switch panel from Seasense. it the marine 5 way switch panel. im having some trouble wiring it. can anyone help? the only part im confused about it what do i do with the positive wire coming from my lights? the negative one gets wired to the neg buss bar on the panel. makes sense. it also says to wire the positives together from the panel and then run it to the battery. makes sense. but what about positive from the light? what do i do with it?

 

[270Handiman]

The positive wire from the light is connected to the "on" side of the switch

 

[phxbuckeye]

thanks everyone for all the input. here are a few pics of the semi finished product. i used spray paint on the floor. its by krylon and is for indoor/outdoor use. so far it has held up pretty well. only a few scuff marks which was easily covered up with a bit more spray paint. i used spray paint because its cheap, light weight, and easy to apply. each of the switch panels have a dc outlet for charging the cell phone and plugging in my satellite radio. put one in the floor up front so the person up front can plug the spotlight into it as well. the only thing im having trouble with is finding a rod holder that doesnt suck to attach to the gunnal. i want it to ge a c-clamp type so i dont have to drill holes in the boat. im also wondering where im going to mount a fishfinder. any suggestions on either?

 

[case91]

what size motor is that is it a merc 110 known as 10hp

 

[Hanr3]

I have a 14' Alumicraft that I modified. Link to my build in my signature.
It should give you some ideas on a flat floor, and how to mount your desk to the bow, and maybe a few other things.

 

[phxbuckeye]

its an old Merc 110. its actually a 9.8 but it run like a bat out of hell! i love it. would love to get a 15 horse back there but motors are pricey. thanks Hanr3 for the link.

 

[case91]

are parts for them pretty cheap or no

 

[atuck593]

Lookin good...I like the lights mounted in the benches like that.