14' Semi-V North West Fishing Machine

[Alex_c]

So originally the plan was to do the deck without carpet and stain it a rich brown or cherry fpr a classy touch. I decided I want the floor to not get hot on my bare feet like it would with a darker stain, but I still want to see the wood grain. The stain i'll be using is varathane "sunbleached". It's a light grey but still lets the grain show through. It will then get 3 coats of urethane with a fourth coat that will have an anti-slip additive for all the top surfaces.

The flooring I will be using is called "multy-tile". It is a black plastic interlocking floor that has gaps to trap dirt and mud. We get a lot of rain, and river fishing can be pretty dirty when you're getting on and off the boat from the shore. Not many river boats have any carpet in them for a reason. I am waiting for my goodies to arrive from walmart so I can cut out the speaker holes, stereo, switch panel and bilge drain. Until then I am going to be sanding and staining the wood that doesn't need any holes in it and working on small bits and pieces. I also plan to get the transom bolted in soon. Once all my holes are drilled and everything in the interior is mocked up, I will flip it over and prep, gluvit, prime and paint the hull. The trailer will also get a wire wheel and a fresh coat of paint.

 

[DOBSONFLY]

Looks like you have made some good progress, keep it up! Also sounds like the goodies will be in soon. Look forward to the pictures to come. 8)

 

[Alex_c]

Thanks! I actually got the goodies today, although Walmart messed up and only sent one rod holder. Seats are great and will match the colour scheme of the boat interior 100%. I decided to build a small console for the stereo and switch panel on top of the middle seat on the starboard side. I was going to mount the stereo/speakers elsewhere but decided against cutting up the metal, so I am going to be building boxes for each.

I sanded and stained all the decking today after I picked up the goodies and 75 Ah deep cycle marine battery/box that I also got mounted.

Right now the interior paint is getting a bit chewed up from fitting installing the floors, but I planned on doing a second coat above the deck line from the get go, so I will sand and re-coat it all once everything has been mocked up and fitted. I finally have some spare time this week and the weather is holding up, so I hope to make some more progress with the goal of getting this thing done by June at the latest.

 

[Alex_c]

Got the transom reinforcement plate made and the transom bolted in, also refurbed the transom cap and got that mounted too. There were a bunch of holes in it courtesy of the PO, so I used some JB weld to fill them.

I also got the hatch built for the rear deck. This will allow access to the battery and the fuel tank. The hole is big enough that the tank can be easily removed thru the hatch.

All the wood was stained last night so I got 2 coats of spar down today. I also did some "body work" and used the JB weld putty to fill in some holes above the waterline in the hull, as well as some in the gunwale.

I also picked up some more hardware and got my SS piano hinge today. Price wasn't too bad, but still pretty costly. So far I am over $1500 in to this just for materials, hardware, paint, and of course all the new stuff like battery, fuel tank, bilge pump, stereo and speakers, switch panel, and other accessories, etc...but hopefully there aren't any more big expenses looming.

Got the day off tomorrow as well, so I hope to get the boat flipped and start prepping the outside of the hull for some gluvit, primer and paint.

 

[DOBSONFLY]

Alex, Hows it coming?

 

[Alex_c]

Good!

Today I got some random holes patched up above the water line, got the 3rd coat of spar on the wood, got the boat flipped, wire brushed, sanded and cleaned and got 1 coat of Gluvit down. I filled all the little holes in the pop rivet heads with Gluvit as well as all the seams along the stringers and other rivets. I still have to do another coat of gluvit before I prime, so it will be a couple days to get painted. I have some work coming up the next three days and it looks like they are going to be long days...so I hope to get a few things done, when possible, if possible.


Here are some pics of the hull. No pics of the finished decking yet, I am going to wait until it is assembled, I think it's going to look pretty sharp.

That's 1/8" aluminum plate at the back of the transom :mrgreen:

That should take care of the motor being 5 HP over the boat's rating. 8)

 

[DOBSONFLY]

Keep it up, looking good! =D>

 

[Alex_c]

Today was over a 12 hour day at work, and I suspect the next 2 days will be even longer. Next week I will resume progress on this fine vessel with another coat of Gluvit, a coat of etching primer, at least one coat of metal primer and two coats of Rustoleum gloss grey.

 

[Alex_c]

Well I didn't get any more painting or sealing done...The weather turned to crap so I decided to tackle the leaking upper crankshaft seal on my motor.

I got it all buttoned up, as well as cleaned the contacts and fixed the rubber boot on the stop button. Before the rubber stuck out too far and you would have to really push in hard to get the motor to stop and the bad contacts sometimes meant it would cut spark but not enough to fully stop the motor, now a light press and it stops without drama.

I cleaned it all up, removed all the controls that were on it, and got rid of the wire splice that ran to the kill switch. Now that the stop button works well I don't think I'll need a kill switch at the switch panel like I had originally planned.

I also picked up my wiring, and got a breaker/switch for the battery. It was about $70, but that's worth not causing an electrical fire!

Pics are of the motor all cleaned up. Before, everything was covered in fuel/burnt oil so after an hour or so with a rag, toothbrush and a bottle of simple green, it looks pretty sharp.

I let the motor run for about 15 mins and no sign of leakage at the seal, but a WOT run once the motor is on the boat will tell whether or not my seal job will be up to snuff.

 

[DOBSONFLY]

:beer: You got the Evinrude looking really nice, how much HP?

 

[Alex_c]

It's a 35 - Gets the boat up on step with 4 people in her with zero drama :mrgreen:

Today was another productive day:

Got the first coat of Gluvit sanded, washed with soapy water, rinsed and dried. Applied second coat.

I ended up using the full can. I covered some areas that will be dragged over rocks on the river bank..the stern got two coats about a foot back from the transom all the way across the hull.

I also covered some pitted spots in the aluminum...in the end the most of the hull got at least a thin coat.

I got the trailer ripped apart completely. I pulled out all the wiring, pulled of the bunks and rollers, pulled off the plywood "platform" the PO had added along the main beam, cut off the rusty safety chains..you get the point. The bunks had some green astro turf on them that had filled itself full of grit and sand, and you can see where the trailer was wearing away at the hull. I have to come up with something better than a putting green that will allow the boat to slide nicely and not mess up the paint. The wood for the bunks had some rot so I decided to toss them and start fresh. I'll be using cedar most likely.

I wire wheeled off the rust, sanded the old paint down a bit, washed it all with soapy water and then rinsed and dried. I went over some of the rustier looking areas with some rust converter/primer stuff. I could have used more than the half can I had laying around but I got most of the bad spots. I got a thin first coat of the grey Rustoleum that I am using on the boat. I will get another coat on pending the weather. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but Thursday I have the afternoon off and it's supposed to be sunny.

Here's some pics of the boat with the Gluvit all over it (yeah, there are a lot of drips...that's why I have a palm sander ). Also some pics of the trailer all stripped down and painted. If you scroll up to the first couple of posts with the pics of the boat "before" you can see the condition of the trailer.

 

[Alex_c]

Some more updates:

Got second coat of paint on trailer, new tires, rollers, got material for new bunks, so I am going to finish that up today.

Got the gluvit all sanded down amd ready for primer...weather pending!

 

[Alex_c]

Got what painting I could get done in my small garage today. Was raining hard all day so I tried to get as much done inside as I could. Good news is that the trailer is ready to get put back together. Bad news is that I have been turning down jobs with plans of getting this thing painted and the weather not co-operating at all. It's supposed to be nice towards the end of the month so I still think I can get it done before June.

 

[DOBSONFLY]

You will make it, no worries. Keep it up. I took mine out on a maiden voyage last night and couldn't have asked for a better night to be out. It made all the hard work well worth it to be out and about on the lake. Didn't catch much but did spend 90% of the time just cruising the lake.

Anxious to see the next set of pics on your build. 8)

 

[DOBSONFLY]

Oh yeah trailer looks great, that is good color. :beer:

 

[Alex_c]

I know what you mean. I started this project almost a year ago, so I am getting to the point where I just want the damn thing done, but I just can't cut corners if I try. I don't think I have much left once it's painted, just a matter of putting everything together. The only bigger parts of that are going to be building the speaker boxes and my little console for the stereo and switch panel.

Thanks for the motivational speech :beer:

And the trailer is the same colour as the bottom and interior of the boat. I am going to go with yellow but I'm not sure if the catch cab idea is going to come to fruition. I might do a bit of a design on it, but I want to keep it simple!

 

[Alex_c]

Amazing what a coat of paint and some new hardware will do. I bit the bullet and got new tires..they were on sale.

Here's the trailer all bolted up. I placed the new bunks on for the picture, but I will have to set their exact location once the boat's resting on it. Still have to do the wiring, but I can do that whenever. The main goal was getting the trailer painted and freshened up while the boat was off it.

Edit: Added a "before" picture of the boat sitting on trailer.

 

[Alex_c]

Primed! Tomorrow, paint. Can says wait 24 hrs for primer to dry, but I will hopefully get at it early tomorrow so nobody tell them I might break the rules.. :-$

 

[Alex_c]

Here's a list of what's left. So close I can taste the fish!
- Finish painting hull exterior
- Get boat back on trailer and adjust bunks, fore keel roller
- Install lots and lots of floatation foam
- Mount hatches and figure out latches for the hatches I made myself
- Build gunwale braces from 1/8" plate aluminum (x4). These will also act as mounting spots for rods etc.
- Build anchor and anchor roller (this one isn't as pressing since I only need it when fishing the river).
- Build speaker boxes to fit under fore gunwale braces.
- Build small console for switch panel and stereo
- Install seat mounts on fore and aft decks
- 4th and final top coat of spar on decking with anti-slip crud added.
- Install all decking and trim to cover my poor carpentry skills
- Secure battery and gas tank
- Mount motor
- Touch up interior paint where needed.
- Install stereo/speakers/wiring/lights/bilge pump etc.
- Make a tiller handle extension.
- Drink a beer, have a smoke.
- Get the damn thing in the water and see how many leaks it has.

 

[Badbagger]

GREAT job =D> =D> =D>

Just about to finish mine as well...