1652 Weldbilt customers boat for [email protected]

[Prowelder]

Curious, Is there a reason you chose to weld the seam between the bench top and the bulkhead, I guess I'm wondering why you wouldn't have used your break to put a lip on that seam. That's a long weld to buff down to a clean line.

Yes it was a lot of grinding and Welding if you notice on the metal it says 6062. That is a hardened aluminum sheet it cannot be bent. My customer already had the sheets and wanted to use them. That is why I did it that way

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Nice work!!! 6061 t-6 can be bent, do it all the time,,,not sure what you have equipment and tooling but just takes a larger bend radius, 2 times mat'l thickness ,,,,,,https://www.americanmachinetools.com/bend_radius.htm

love them hatches!!! are they lockable???

Just curious what the plan is to replace the required flotation that's been removed??? under the floor??? great use for pods

I guess it's not impossible but a lot of times it will crack at the seam. In this case it made it easier to make in 2 pieces since I had a lot of custom fitting work to do. The hatches come with a stab Lok that is not keyed, but you can upgrade to a keyed version.

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[Prowelder]

Curious, Is there a reason you chose to weld the seam between the bench top and the bulkhead, I guess I'm wondering why you wouldn't have used your break to put a lip on that seam. That's a long weld to buff down to a clean line.

Yes it was a lot of grinding and Welding if you notice on the metal it says 6062. That is a hardened aluminum sheet it cannot be bent. My customer already had the sheets and wanted to use them. That is why I did it that way

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Nice work!!! 6061 t-6 can be bent, do it all the time,,,not sure what you have equipment and tooling but just takes a larger bend radius, 2 times mat'l thickness ,,,,,,https://www.americanmachinetools.com/bend_radius.htm

love them hatches!!! are they lockable???

Just curious what the plan is to replace the required flotation that's been removed??? under the floor??? great use for pods

I do not think we are going to replace the flotation from the backseat. It is really not necessary if you're going to be fishing in calm freshwater. From my understanding pods have their advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is that it lets you run in shallower water but it also can make the nose dive deeper and run at lower speeds.

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[Prowelder]

@Riverbud is that the company you work for ? American Machine Tools?

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[Gman4]

Does anyone know exactly what kind of non water absorbing close cell foam to buy as inserts to lay under the subfloor? I see guys using foam board you can buy from Lowes or Home Depot, I do want to replace the foam from the back bench just in case Coast Guard does board my vessel and notices no foam in the Bench. That way, I could at least tell them I replaced the foam in the subfloor for flotation and safety purposes. However, since the subfloor is going to be welded and permanent, I want to make sure I put the right type of foam in place so I won't have waterlogged foam in my boat that would weigh it down and be very difficult to take out if need be! I did read in other sites that the foam boards you buy in the hardware stores will over time absorb water, thats why I was a little hesitant on replacing the foam. Any advise would be appreciated! On another note, Matt from Professional Welding is doing an outstanding job on this rebuild for me! This kid has mad metal skills!!

 

[dearl]

Welcome to the site Gman4,

Most if not all the sheet foam from Lowes guys use for flotation is closed cell, and yes over a long period of time it will hold water. It is way better than the stuff they used to use years ago. With that being said, if you really wanted to replace the foam in your bench and under the floor, simple pool noodles cut to length stuffed under the floor and bench will serve that purpose and provide plenty of floatation, plus they are super cheap. I think 1 of those things displace like 250 lbs.
The floatation In a vessel is to provide protection to the operator in case the vessel became swamped that the foam will support the boat up to the gunwales, meaning it would not completely sink. This was a boat building standard for insurance reasons. Not saying it wouldn't happen but if the coast guard were to inspect your vessel, they would be looking more for personal safety gear, (life jackets, signal flares, fire ext. etc.) Your guy is doing good work, and as long as you are not over powered, and your bilge pump works, I wouldn't sweat the foam.

 

[Gman4]

Thanks Dearl for your insite! I did a little research and yes there is a Federal and Coast Guard regulation stating that if your vessel is less than 20ft it must have adequate level floatation which means your vessel when filled with water should float level or neutral with the top of the gunnels. Most Boat manufacturers adhere to this regulation and fill boats with the adequate amount of foam required. So technically the CG could give you a ticket if they were ***** about it, but I think your right, if you have all your personal safety gear and required documents you should be good. A friend of mine purchased a brand new 1448 Weldbuilt from a dealer in Alabama and he custom ordered it with no foam in the back bench for storage reasons. Along with the yellow and white Coast Guard Placard there was another placard stamped into the boat that was bright red and it stated This vessel is designed for shallow water use only! Im guessing this placard was a catch all insurance waver to protect the CG and the boat manufacturer.

 

[dearl]

Thanks Dearl for your insite! I did a little research and yes there is a Federal and Coast Guard regulation stating that if your vessel is less than 20ft it must have adequate level floatation which means your vessel when filled with water should float level or neutral with the top of the gunnels. Most Boat manufacturers adhere to this regulation and fill boats with the adequate amount of foam required. So technically the CG could give you a ticket if they were ***** about it, but I think your right, if you have all your personal safety gear and required documents you should be good. A friend of mine purchased a brand new 1448 Weldbuilt from a dealer in Alabama and he custom ordered it with no foam in the back bench for storage reasons. Along with the yellow and white Coast Guard Placard there was another placard stamped into the boat that was bright red and it stated This vessel is designed for shallow water use only! Im guessing this placard was a catch all insurance waver to protect the CG and the boat manufacturer.

Good info, thanks for the clarification. If you really want to replace the foam, I can provide you with the calculations so you can figure out how many cubic ft. of 2 lb. closed cell foam it would take, but honestly it would be easier just to stuff pool noodles in every nook and cranny you got, lots of people use them, I've even seen milk jugs and 3 liter coke bottles, lids on tight stuffed under the deck. I mean, they float right.

 

[Prowelder]

Attached the hinged lid for the back compartment

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[Prowelder]

On a completely different subject. I made this for another customer for trolling.

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[Catch Release Repeat]

I made something like that for an old Tin of mine. But for my new boat I've been trying to find something to just go up and over the tiller motor not across the entire transom. Something like a radar arch on a inflatable boat. But there all 500 bucks or more and that's ridiculous. Today I stumbled upon this handle today and think it may fit perfectly over the tiller motor with some clamp on stainless rod holders.

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[Prowelder]

I made something like that for an old Tin of mine. But for my new boat I've been trying to find something to just go up and over the tiller motor not across the entire transom. Something like a radar arch on a inflatable boat. But there all 500 bucks or more and that's ridiculous. Today I stumbled upon this handle today and think it may fit perfectly over the tiller motor with some clamp on stainless rod holders.

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That's not a bad price for that if it will work for you. For my next boat I'm going to make one that covers the entire back transom, but I am going to make it removable with a couple of Lock Pins

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[Catch Release Repeat]

I'm actually going to use structural pipe fittings, an offset wall flange to be exact, that has a set screw to tighten it down. And then get some stainless clamp in rod holders to put on it. I'm just waiting for them to give me the OD so I can get the right size fittings.

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[Prowelder]

I was in Disney World for a week but now I'm back and back at it. Framing for the floor joists and the front deck extension. So we decided not to weld the floor in permanently I will be reinforcing it with foam and screwing it down. I guess it's worth it for the little bit of foam that will fit in there lol.

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[Prowelder]

Finished framing the front deck. I'm going to add some more supports across the floor braces to screw the deck down. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have the floor installed and this front decks skined.

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[Prowelder]

Some templating for the front deck and final adjustments on the floor. That's going to be a big front deck!

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[Prowelder]

This thing is starting to come together. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

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[DPI]

Where did you get the hatches?

The build is looking good.

 

[Prowelder]

It's in the thread. They are made by R&R hatches.

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[Prowelder]

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[Lockndam25]

Very nice build you do good work