14ft Bluefin wanna be bass boat project

[Fishizzle]

New member here from south florida. Ive had a couple aluminum boats before, but have never built one the way I want.
Came across this 1984 Bluefin v hull on a trailer for a great price. Made sense because Ive had a sweet electric start 15hp Johnson sitting in my garage for years unused. I want to take it from a basic jon boat into a bass fishing machine and I definitely will be looking for advice!

Heres how it looked when i brought it home.



All ive done so far is strip everything off of it and get rid of all the misc screws and hardware from past accessories. Fired up the old Johnson, runs great. Basically the goal is to get rid of the center bench seat, paint the inside, build a low partial width floor, deck over the front to make a storage/battery compartment/casting deck. Think any problems will arise from removing the center bench? I want to cover the floor and front deck with vinyl of some sort, ive seen there are options. After this phase is complete, ill have more details to add, but i do want to keep it simple. I have a saltwater boat too, so this Bluefin can just be my lake beater. This sucker has a 60" beam, hope the 15hp will push it alright!

 

[Johnny]

Welcome Aboard !!
there are several Floridians here - a great place to hang out.

you have a really nice platform to work with !!
just take your time, measure twice !!

 

[Fishizzle]

Thanks Johnny!

I'm excited to get this sucker on the water and see how stable it feels. I'm pretty nimble so hopefully it wont be too bad once I build a deck.

Anyone have any input about removing the center bench seat? Think I need to add bracing of some sort? it seems like a sturdy boat and the there are ribs in the floor the whole length of the boat.

 

[Johnny]

use the search feature - there are literally hundreds of good pointers
on just what you want to do - especially photos of members builds.
if you install a floor or deck after you remove the seat, that should
compensate the rigidity to the hull.

 

[Kmelo]

Im absolutely stunned to find another bluefin on here with a similar body to mine. My bluefin is a 1982. I bought it last year and have been working on it since I'll have to start my thread soon. Ill look forward to seeing your updates.

Goodluck!

 

[water bouy]

That's gonna be sweet. Did it have a floor already? It has the same ledge along the sides as my Monark where I laid aluminum bench planks. Once i rivet everything together I think I can safely put an aisle thru the middle bench.

 

[earl60446]

You know it's florida when there is a 10ft high, 20ft long, pink and blue fish ready to eat the boat.
Tim

 

[Fishizzle]

Ive been slacking on this project, but I'm getting moving now. I got the center bench out, got a hole welded up, finished removing the misc screws, brackets, etc., sanded it all down and repainted inside and out. Looks like a different boat! Ill get some pics posted soon.

 

[Fishizzle]

Finally got her in the water today! Had a good time, caught 7 bass, nothing big.

Was interested to see how the 15 horse would do, and to check out ease of use of the trolling motor with my homemade mount... It worked great, the old johnson ran perfect. Had a heavy group27 deep cycle in the bow for the trolling motor, and the boat jumps right on plane. 22 mph at WOT, cruises nice at 17-18. It was plenty stable for standing and fishing on either bench. Overall im very happy and excited to get to work putting a partial width floor in. Im thinking about 28 or 30" wide (overall beam of boat is 60"). Any thoughts on how to best accomplish this? Mostly, how to attach and/or support it properly?

 

[Fishizzle]

So after today i have a list... need to get a 3 gallon tank that will fit in the back behind the bench, a couple rod holders, a way to secure the battery.

Also, found a problem. the transom is soft where the motor mounts. It looks like a big project to replace all the wood in the transom, but maybe i can get lucky and just replace part of it. Its all solid except where the motor pinches it. Any ideas on this, or reinforcing it maybe with some aluminum plate?

 

[Fishizzle]

That's gonna be sweet. Did it have a floor already? It has the same ledge along the sides as my Monark where I laid aluminum bench planks. Once i rivet everything together I think I can safely put an aisle thru the middle bench.

Thank you! it appears to have had a floor at some point that was almost full width of the boat. Appears to have been screwed in with self tappers into the ribs. I want to do a lower floor, only about 28" wide i think.

This boat is very sturdy without the middle bench, virtually no flex. Its a tank, all original from 1984 and not one single leak. The pictures of the transom are from today right after i got home from the water. Bone dry.

 

[water bouy]

Looks good.