1967 Lund S-16 rebuild

[mikejjmay]

Good day all! First off thank you all for this excellent forum, first time posting but definitely been watching/following threads on here for a while now. So much information and knowledge to be gained!

Having one kid already, and another on the way, really pushed me to get a boat so that I could experience fishing with my kids. Some of my best memories from childhood were getting up at 5 and helping my grandpa prep the boat, and making that trip to the lake to get out there as the sun came up and fish all morning. Really some of the best memories.

Having 2 kids though means a budget, so i was looking for a budget base that i could turn into a fishing machine. Something light, that i could launch by myself. Outboard was a must, preferably a tiller (again, in the vein of keeping everything simple). If a small light outboard breaks, you can just lift it off the boat and take it in. Worst case, you can just buy a new small outboard and throw it on the same boat.

Was looking for an 18', but 18' old open tin boats are harder to come by, 16' is everywhere! So i saw one and i jumped. 1967 (yikes!) Lund S-16. New paint job on the outside (give it a 7/10, but better than i coulda done), nothing done to the inside - a nice blank canvas! The motor is sweet - 25hp Merc XD, runs amazing, first pull start after sitting all winter. Trailer was rough, but came for free essentially with the boat. Issues with the trailer are an easy fix.

Plans to come are trailer reconditioning and safety issues, casting deck, removing a middle section of a bench to make a walk-through, floor, bow V mount for bow troller, new wiring, and then outfitting it for fishing.

Already replaced the rotten tires, rewired the trailer, and "de-tilted" the trailer. The pivot bolt on the trailer had almost worn through all the steel aft of its hole, creating an immense danger for a break/collapse. Since i was never going to use the pivot function, i drilled and inserted a 1/2" grade 8 bolt through the frame closer toward the bow, locking it in place and making it a rigid trailer. Worked well.

Im sure there will be many questions to come, just dealing with the state now to get her all legal before the money starts flowing!

 

[mikejjmay]

Alright so got my letter from the State of MN saying it was never titled there (PS WI is pretty crazy on boats without titles, even if they were built in 1967, MN statutes say they don't title anything before 79, and you have a signed registration and bill of sale), they still need verification from MN it was never titled there. All the paperwork is in the mail, so hopefully a quick turnaround.

Planning ahead - the casting deck supports will be aluminum, with a ply deck covered in vinyl or carpet. Local supplier had 1/8"thick angle aluminum, which i know has been used with some success (i would prefer 1/4" thick but they don't have it. They also have 1/16' thick square aluminum tubing.

Which is stronger? The power of Google seems to have the consensus being the box tubing, while thinner, is stronger than the angle aluminum. Thoughts? Anyone use 1/16" square tubing?

**edit** i found a local supplier that has 6061 structural aluminum, 1.5 x 1.5 x 3/16 thick angle is $48 per 25ft, so ill likely go that route. 1.5 x 1.5 x 1/8 is $33 per 25ft

 

[water bouy]

I used 1" x 1/8" angle which feels like more than enough on 10" or 12" centers.

 

[jasper60103]

Welcome aboard and look forward to seeing your progress.
I can't recall any issues getting my boat registered in MN,
but I think it had been registered before in WI.
Anywho, I'm sure it will work out.
Nice boat.

 

[mikejjmay]

while on the question of materials, are folks finding 1/2" ply sufficient, or should i go to 3/4 for the casting deck and floors?

 

[water bouy]

Probably depends on how far apart your framing is. I think most people use 1/2" and coat it against rot. I used composite panels so that rot will never be an issue.

 

[mikejjmay]

Yea plan for me is to seal with 1:2:1 mix of boiled linseed:spar varnish:mineral spirits

 

[mikejjmay]

So question, this picture is me standing on the middle seat, looking down and toward the bow, at the space between the middle and front seat. The rivet line along the sides are were the sides begin to slop up, essentially marking the edge of the floor of the boat. You will notice the ribs running horizontally do not go all the way to the edge. When i lay a board horizontally across the top of the rib, from rivet line to rivet line, the board is resting on the sides of the boat, essentially right next to the rivet line (since the ribs do not run all the way to the side). There is probably a 1/4" gap between the bottom of the board and the top of the rib. i see everyone running their floors all the way to the sides. Is it not an issue having the outsides of the floor resting/being supported by what is essentially the skin of the boat? or do i just need to make the floor smaller than the width of the boat, so it rests on this rib at the edges?

Obviously, i will add support under where the center of the floor will be.

 

[water bouy]

The floor may need to be higher if you plan to replace the flotation that comes out of the middle bench. A diagram of the layout would be good to see.

 

[mikejjmay]

Ill try to get a layout sketch posted up when i can. Even if it is higher yet, i guess the underlying question is how do you support the edges of the floor when there is no rib there? Is it ok to have the edges supported by the skin of the boat so long as you have support in the middle? Im thinking 2 stringers, about 12" off center on either side of the centerline to support the floor. The issue is just getting support at the edges. Most boat rebuild have those ribs running all the way to the sidewalls. Maybe this is something they started doing in late models.

 

[water bouy]

You could rivet four supports from bench to bench and also support them off the ribs. Rivet a small piece of angle ( 1x1 or so) to the benches that your framing will then rivet to. Also need em on the ribs. I bought a bunch pre-drilled off ebay cause I knew I would need a lot.

 

[schukster]

https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=39912

Maybe you have already made up your mind. Take a look at my lund project. I had similar question when I did mine

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[mikejjmay]

Hmm good idea, i may go that route.

Also, Since our family is growing (#2 on the way) the wife is thinking in a few years she would like to go up to something wider and with an entire middle section that can essentially be a deep empty space for kid safety, etc (think like a tracker grizzly 1860, but the tiller one where the center is totally empty with no console). With that in mind (the eventual upgrade i mean) i may go this kinda route to keep it more in stock shape, without cutting out seats, etc. Just making a floor between each section that is essentially a "floating" floor, and using angle on the front and back side of the seats to essentially hold the floor down and keep it from bowing, etc. the angle would not be supporting anything, just holding it down, so it would not need to be big or heavy angle, and would need a minimum amount of rivets. I would still do a casting deck in front of all this, from the front bench to the nose cone. I just want to take it out first and stand on the front seat to make sure the height of the deck wont be too "tippy for me. Thoughts on this design?

Schuckster, yours is awesome. How did you secure the 2x4s that run lengthwise along the sides under the floor? are they just pocket screwed to the horizontal 2x4s you mounted to the angle on the seats, and then held down by the weight of the deck?

 

[schukster]

Yes. Pocket screwed. The flooring 2x4 framing is bolted to the angle aluminum that I bolted to the seat based (front and back). The plywood flooring is screwed to the 2x4 frame after I covered it with vinyl. I can unconstruct the flooring without removing the floor covering. Let me know if I need to explain it better.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[mikejjmay]

Schukster, yours is looking better and better and basically where i want to end up. In addition to my other question to you posted in my last post about the floor members, how did you attach the front of the casting deck to the nose piece? Trying to figure out how i want to do that, since the angle of that nose piece is slanted, and not level to the rest of the seat tops, which is where the casting deck will come off of.

**edit** thanks for answering the other question

 

[schukster]

Schukster, yours is looking better and better and basically where i want to end up. In addition to my other question to you posted in my last post about the floor members, how did you attach the front of the casting deck to the nose piece? Trying to figure out how i want to do that, since the angle of that nose piece is slanted, and not level to the rest of the seat tops, which is where the casting deck will come off of.

**edit** thanks for answering the other question

As I recall, I screwed a 2x4 flat left to right on the nose seat. I then screwed a 2x4 on edge against the flat one. I think I did a bevel cut on the on edge 2x4 to keep it plumb. The casting deck framing was then fastened to the on plumb edge 2x4 at the height it needed to be to keep the casting deck level.

If you didn't follow all of that let me know and I will try to draw a picture

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk

 

[mikejjmay]

Hmmm i think i get it - i you dont mind though ill take any drawings i can get. Also was thinking i could just mount another piece of aluminum angle to the front of the casting deck frame at the right height, and essentially use it as a hanger off the existing front piece, although yours sounds a bit more secure.

 

[schukster]

I apologize for my crude drawing. As I recall the front seat is lower towards the bow. I fastened a 2x4 flat on the seat. I beveled the edge of that flat 2x4 so I could attach a second 2x4 to the beveled edge. This provide a plumb surface to attach my front deck framing. You could also attach a angle aluminum to support the deck framing.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[mikejjmay]

yes sir that makes sense, thank you!!! Did you use 1/8" aluminum for all your angle brackets? Probably what like 1x1x 1/8"

 

[schukster]

I think it was 1 1/2 inch 1/8 angle



Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk