1979 Smokercraft 14ft Modification

[gwconrad86]

Hey Guys,


Just bought a smoker craft 14 footer for $330 bucks with a Chrysler Force 15hp outboard from the late 70's also... The trailer is pretty much junk and I though about fixing it up but by the time i put all the time and money in it, i probably could of got a new one for the same price.... So i decided to get a new one from Northern Industries which is made for 14 foot boats and has a weight capacity of 600 pounds... So I dont have to worry about my boat flying around on the highway. Anyway, I decide not to sand and paint it this year, I have no space in the garage and it would take to long. I would miss some great fishing days too. I use some permanit sealer on the front bow seam and siliconed the side seams and back seams... Hopefully this will last the year. I filled the boat with water before i sealed it to makesure there were no major issues with leaks.... which there wasn't but we will see when i put it on the water for the first time..I power washed the boat which really cleaned it up, its been sitting in a backyard upside down for a couple years so you can imagine the dirt on it...

 

[gwconrad86]

As you can see from the first photo i took out the two benchs for the mean time and plan on put the back on back on after i clean the bottom of the boat and checked for leaks... After that I sealed it with permanite sealent and sillicone marine grade sealent... What is nice is the brackets rivoted to the boat is going to help with the installation of the floor and casting decks in the front and back....


I put the front deck in this weeknd and worked on the back deck tonight just got to dark to take any photos, but the front bow deck is coming out ok..... Any suggestions for extra supports or is it good to go? I plan on puting lacker on the wood framing when im doing framing the whole boat.....

 

[gwconrad86]

Today i got off work a little earlier than usual, so i had about 3 hours to try and finish up the framing for the flooring... I plan on puting some wood sealer to help prevent decay for at least a couple of years. Then I am going to put some plastic tubing down and run wire from the front to the back of the boat for my trolling motor and external LED lights....

I finished the back storage area and managed to finish the main flooring area, which i was suprised I got done. I use 90 degree brackets to help hold the framing firm.... It worked out quite nicely.....

 

[gwconrad86]

Alright. so i got quite a few things done since my last post.... i finished up the frame work and stealed it.. All the electric is laid out also.... here are a few pictures of my progress

 

[gwconrad86]

Here is the beginning lay out of my decking with 15/23 plywood

 

[gwconrad86]

In this picture I use some electrical tubing which is actually made for special wire for high speed data in comercial buildings.. I ran 14g electrical wire for my equipment i plan on putting in later.