1984 16' Bass Attacker Complete Rebuild

[Hanr3]

Looking good.

 

[Bigwrench]

Had a few hours this morning so I checked on the sealant and it has set up solid , that Kevlar sure is some tough stuff !
I started mocking up the front bow area using the thin piece I cut off as a template (I also made a copy of this piece onto one of the new 1/8" sheets using a scribe just to have a reference point later) and a copy onto cardboard to play around with a bottom for that area also.
Here's some random photos of that process

And here's a drawing of what I want to do up front. My plan is to use this thinner piece to mock up what I want and then have one made up out of 1/8" maybe 1/4" on the top square area for strength. Then drop it in and have it welded in place.

 

[Hanr3]

Plan sounds and looks good. Couple things to consider, box/structure to mount the trolling motor too. Didnt see it on the diagram but assumed you have it.
One other thing I recommend is a dual purpose 12volt outlets, USB/12volt outlet. I use mine to charge cell phones and power my GoPro camera, and the 12 volt for night lights, fillet knife, etc. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. And will be hared to add after the build is complete.

Do you anchor up? If so you may want to design in an anchor box too.

 

[Bigwrench]

Plan sounds and looks good. Couple things to consider, box/structure to mount the trolling motor too. Didnt see it on the diagram but assumed you have it.
One other thing I recommend is a dual purpose 12volt outlets, USB/12volt outlet. I use mine to charge cell phones and power my GoPro camera, and the 12 volt for night lights, fillet knife, etc. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. And will be hared to add after the build is complete.

Do you anchor up? If so you may want to design in an anchor box too.

All very good suggestions ! Thank you , I was going to box in the TM mount on the left and thought about adding a door to the inside for some storage. I hadn't considered the extra power outlets and that's a great idea because I use the GoPro and cell phone a lot on the water. I definitely want an anchor box up front and still trying to figure out where to put it . I wish I could figure out how to use a CAD program to make an accurate blueprint of that area . In my hand drawn version it looks skinnier than it actually is up there.


Bass Fishin and Banjer Pickin !

 

[Hanr3]

My wife thinks I'm nuts. I spend plenty of time sitting on my seat on a 5 gallon bucket staring at the boat. At least that was her view. Sometimes for a 1/2hr at a time. What she didn't see was the thoughts running through my mind. I would move gear around and see how it fit, how it would work while fishing, and then determined if I could make the space work.

 

[Bigwrench]

Got a little accomplished today when I got home and the kids and grand baby stopped by so I called it an early night. I mocked up the front in cardboard to get an idea what I want and here's what I came up with so far

I tweaked it some from the original design and made room for a 12" graph if I want one lol.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Tomorrow hopefully I can cut that one stringer with the oval hole off flush with the deck and extend the deck forward to get my angles right on the vertical pieces. Looks like there is going to be a lot of room to play with.

 

[Bigwrench]

Got a little more done last night on the front bow Mock up.
Removed that one panel and smoothed all the edges out.

Then started trying to figure out the angles

All sorts of math lol

I really had to dig way down deep in my smarts to get it all figured out lol
But I'm pretty happy with the layout so far. I'm sure I will tweak some things before I get to cutting metal but it's really starting to come together !
Hopefully I can find someone to weld all this stuff up for me or just fabricate the whole front section and drop it in place.

 

[onthewater102]

It wouldn't be the end of the world if you had to do those sections out of sealed & painted plywood. Hell, you could apply enough epoxy to the plywood that you could just paint it the same color as the interior sides of the boat and no one will visually be able to tell the difference.

I really like the way you've got that bow laid out - especially how you're able to keep the deck lower relative to the gunwale. I used to fish with my dog with me in my fiberglass boat, but he's too excited for the 14' I've got now especially now that my 3yr old son wants to be going with me. I've got a similar 80's vintage 16' tin myself ('85 Tracker III) I'm planning on re-working starting in the spring. Hopefully if I do something similar both of my boys can safely be out with me.

 

[Wyatt]

That layout turned out much better than I thought it would have looking at your earlier cardboard rendition. Like Onthewater stated, It would still look good if you just jointed some wood up there and painted it or maybe even carpet it. The extra weight of the wood may be either a positive or negative pending the rest of the layout of the boat. Nice work so far!

 

[Bigwrench]

Thanks guys ! I actually considered building it out of wood and glassing it in ! There's a whole lot of angles to consider and I'm really surprised at how well it turned out ! I like the deeper decks also because my son fishes with me more and more. I know I could work the wood and glass easy enough myself but really had my heart set on using aluminum but may change my mind if I can't get someone to help me out.


Bass Fishin and Banjer Pickin !

 

[Bigwrench]

I am also going to have trouble matching up the sides to the floor to make it look nice and was thinking ant dragging a protractor along the edges with a sharpie on the floor and hopefully that will make a real nice clean joint there


Bass Fishin and Banjer Pickin !

 

[bonz_d]

Bigwrench that really opens up the front of the boat nicely. I like it.

I have never worked with aluminum when it comes to bending it but have done a lot with sheet stainless.
If you could find someone with a box brake bender it would be easy to fab that up with stainless in two pieces and then rivet them together in place. Though that method may be a bit costly. Might be worth checking into.

 

[Bigwrench]

Here's something I'm kicking around as far as what I want

What do you guys think ?

 

[Hanr3]

I think it looks like a well thought out plan. Good job!

 

[onthewater102]

What? No coffee maker????

 

[Wyatt]

Coffee maker goes on the console.

I like the positioning of all the controls but I'm curious about seeing the mounting of the TM. I reckon before anything, I'm curious of seeing the deck/control area formed and fitted.

 

[Bigwrench]

Coffee maker goes on the console.

I like the positioning of all the controls but I'm curious about seeing the mounting of the TM. I reckon before anything, I'm curious of seeing the deck/control area formed and fitted.

Yeah I can't wait to get it all done up. I found a local machine shop that may be able to help with my ideas . Would definitely love a Keurig at the console lol

 

[Shoedawg]

Man, looks like my boat project. A lot of work!!! :LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2: Looking good man. I plan on using cardboard for making templates for the design I want, like you did. Just not quite there, but getting close. Keep the progress going. My goal is June! :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Wyatt]

Any more updates for us?

 

[Bigwrench]

Any more updates for us?

Lol I somehow deleted my response to you Wyatt but there has been a little but I won't be able to glue the front like I wanted too. I'm back to having it all welded , up there but am determined to use the glue somewhere on the build lol
I did get a jack for the trailer but I'm not real happy with it so will probably return it for a different design.
Once I was finally able to bend that front center piece none of the other pieces would match up so I cut the bent part off even and flipped it so the bent part was down in the hull.
As soon as Uncle Sam deposits my remaining contribution to society in my bank account its game on again lol