1976 Lowe Line 14ft Semi V build

[Begeti]

Also checked for leaks. Had about 7 areas. The front by the bow is pretty bad. I'm weighing my options on how I want to attack the problem. I see a lot of people use steel flex. I want to weigh out cost as well as I'm trying to keep this as low budget as possible. If anyone can let me know what they did it would be very helpful. Thanks!

 

[Begeti]

Tonight I cut out the other 2 benches and am going to use what's left as supports for my framing. I power washed the inside so I can get ready to fix all the leaks from the inside with 3M 5200. I doubt it will be dry enough by tomorrow since the temps in Iowa have been colder and it seems like it's been raining for weeks now.

 

[Begeti]

I'm getting the new transom glues together with 3m 5200 fast cure. I will likely put the first coat of spar urethane on late tonight and another tomorrow morning. Goal is to have the new transom in by the end of the day tomorrow so I can prime the boat.

 

[Begeti]

Got it all primed today. I used the same rustoleum gray self-etching primer that most people use. I plan on doing some light sanding tomorrow to get it ready for paint. I ordered Parker's duck boat paint in the bay gray color. Hopefully it arrives soon so I can have it painted by the end of the week.

 

[spacks013]

I had the same issue getting the transom out with my last boat, a Duracraft. It had a knee brace similar to yours. I ended up drilling out the rivets to remove the brace (it was leaking anyway) and using allen head ss bolts and 5200 to put it back together. It was kind of unnerving, but in the end it worked well. Once the brace was out, I was able to get at the wood.

 

[Begeti]

Good to know. I was wondering myself if 3 braces was overkill. They also take up a lot of space.

 

[Begeti]

So my paint hasn't arrived yet and I didn't want to let the boat sit and wait. I ended up getting my aluminum angle and started framing. I have changed my framing plans multiple times and changed them again while framing. I hope to be done by this weekend. It's the most exciting part of the build so far, but also the most tedious.

I also found a great deal on a bow mount trolling motor on Craigslist and went to Bass Pro today and bought a handful of stuff I need for the build. If anyone else needs a pedestal seat, Bass Pro has sets in sale for $40 and also adjustable height posts for $26. Both are great deals! I'll post some pics of the pedestals soon.

 

[Begeti]

Final coat of paint is on, I will light sand one last time and paint some stripes on it. Also my vinyl flooring arrived and it looks good! Went with Nautolex shark gray. Got it from Defender.com. Best prices I could find.

 

[rscottp]

Your boat is looking good! I got my nautolex from Defender too, it shipped very fast.

 

[Begeti]

Same here! Ordered it Monday with the cheapest shipping and it made it from Connecticut to Iowa in 3 days. Couldn't ask for better results.

 

[Begeti]

Stripes up! I have to say I'm pretty proud of these things!

 

[ccm]

Looking good!

 

[Begeti]

I am very happy with this rustoleum product! We'll see how it holds up overtime but it looks great right now. I bought it in flat black and it's a little over $5.

 

[Begeti]

Here's a few more pics after I got the boat flipped this morning. A few include how far I've gotten on the framing. I am going to try and finish the framing today. I haven't decided if I want to close off my storage areas with wood covered in carpet or use rubbermaids. Leaning towards the plastic since it will be more waterproof. But it will cost a bit more.

 

[Begeti]

Starting to get all of my hatches ready. Bought some plastic storage bins for the smaller ones. Don't forget the lids! They come in handy. I'm going to cover them in carpet and use then as barriers between hatches. So far working out well.

 

[Gators5220]

Lookin good! Keep up the good work.

 

[Begeti]

Thanks! I appreciate you taking a look!

I made a few small cubbies up front for shallow storage. I used the cheap plastic bins that target sells. They ended up being the perfect size other than a little too tall so I cut then down and carpeted them.

 

[Begeti]

Getting my wiring done. I've done a ton of research and I found it too expensive to buy a switch panel. I ended up using left over diamond plate and bought switches and fuse panel. Not including the diamond plate it cost me about $30, and if one switch goes bad it's easier to replace than one of those prefab panels.

 

[Begeti]

Tonight's project was to finish my livewell. I'll wait to do my overflow drain until it's in the boat. Not really in a hurry to get the livewell done since I don't plan on using it right away. It's more of a luxury on the boat than anything.

 

[Abraham]

Looking good. Eager to see how the live well looks in the boat as well. Maybe steal some ideas