1985 Sears Gamefisher 1436

[dyeguy1212]

Wow must be nice.. I literally too a spade shovel to mine... but all I did was cut out a rectangle on the top and leave the rest for storage

 

[kbkid]

Today I ran into a little bit of trouble, or mess I should say.

My plan was to dig out a block of foam from the rear bench and remove it from the underside of the bench. There is about a six inch opening across the bottom of the hull and I figured I could break it off into chucks to remove it. I was doing all of this because I needed something study to fasten the 3/4" plywood board on top of the seat and to give the boat chair something to mount to. I was going to make a 2x4 frame and mount it under the bench, then attach the plywood to it, along with the pedestal base for the chair.

The picture above is after I had picked up majority of the foam. You can see that it came apart in individual pellets. I guess I spoke too soon yesterday when I was talking about the foam coming out in one block.

An hour into the project, I had only put a small dent in the styrofoam. It was too time consuming to try and cut the foam and dig it out with my hands. It was also making a terrible mess that stuck to anything and everything. So I made a change of plans...

As you can see I cut the rear bench out as well. I am going to do just as I did on the middle bench and build a 2x4 frame. The frame on the middle bench seems pretty stout and sturdy, so I figured I'd just replicate it and do the same in the rear.

On both sides of the boat, I'm going add a small rod locker to hold hopefully up to four rods in each. These lockers will extend out just as far as the old benches are left. Tomorrow I hope to begin framing the lockers and getting those covered.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Sorry for cursing you :lol: #-o

 

[kbkid]

Ah, no big deal.

I kind of like the amount of room that opens up once the benches are taken out.

Also, I was thinking today that maybe a rod locker won't be quite possible. I'm beginning to think I'm trying to squeeze too many components into the boat I have now. I may just make a narrow "countertop" between where the rear and middle bench were and extend it up to where the front deck will be.

I don't want to make the front deck too tall, so I may just run it directly off the very front bench. Tomorrow afternoon my description should be better to under, as I should have most of the framing cut.

Check back tomorrow for additional pictures.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Ah, no big deal.

I kind of like the amount of room that opens up once the benches are taken out.

Also, I was thinking today that maybe a rod locker won't be quite possible. I'm beginning to think I'm trying to squeeze too many components into the boat I have now. I may just make a narrow "countertop" between where the rear and middle bench were and extend it up to where the front deck will be.

I don't want to make the front deck too tall, so I may just run it directly off the very front bench. Tomorrow afternoon my description should be better to under, as I should have most of the framing cut.

Check back tomorrow for additional pictures.

I'd go with both of your self-given suggestions. I was thinking the same, but didn't want to discourage you.

Rod lockers always seem like a good idea, but sometimes they turn into a big space eater.

 

[kbkid]

I'm always open to suggestions, so don't hesitate, especially if you think something can be done better.

With the rod lockers, I realized space was the issue. I was trying to keep the lockers within the ten inches I left of the benches. By doing so, I needed to have one wall of the locker pretty strong, as it would have the hinged locker lid. I also needed something just below the gunwales to catch the lid when it closed. By trying to have both of those criteria met, it cut down on the inside size of the locker.

I think I will be happier with what I have planned now. This is my first tin boat I've modified and I'm sure it won't be the last. Hopefully I'll learn a few things from this project and I'll be able to do better on the next.

 

[kbkid]

Next, add a piece of plywood to finish the "countertop" around the boat. The countertop will run at the same elevation as the front deck.

In the front, I want to bring the front deck out to the middle rib, which equals about a 42" front deck. I am going to mount a pedestal base on the deck for the days when I am alone, therefore I can remove my middle seat and mount it on the deck.

Beneath the deck I plan to have a dry storage container and hopefully mount two marine battery on the other side. Do you guys think I have enough room on the front deck to mount a bow mount trolling motor and use the foot control comfortably?

 

[dyeguy1212]

If you keep the TM off to one side, you'll have plenty of room. Thats the nice thing about a square bow, the TM doesnt have to be at the centerline of the boat.

 

[kbkid]

Thats good to know.

I'm hoping to have some time this weekend to begin building the front deck and hopefully get all the wood cut so I can begin coating everything in Waterseal.

Also, I've see a few people mention that Lowe's has marine carpet. I went there this morning in hopes of finding some and the closest I could find was interior/exterior carpet. It was gray in color and the sign said it was good in all weather types and had a marine backing. Is this what most people get to use on their boats or is there something more specific?

The carpet I saw was: 12' Stratos Gray Carpet. It sold for 5.88/yd. I even took down the part number in hopes of finding more information about it online, which I've had no luck with thus far. I know Stratos is a company that makes glass boats, so I'm wondering if this is the same company or just a coincident.

 

[kbkid]

I got a little more work done this afternoon. I have most of the framing done in the entire boat, whats left is just cutting plywood for the floors and deck.

This was just a rough cut for the "countertops". I hope to finish cutting it tomorrow and get around to cutting the floor sections by mid-week.

 

[HammerDown]

Great thread! keep it comin!

 

[kbkid]

Thanks HammerDown!

Today I was able to get everything but the floors cut for the boat.

Below is a picture just how cluttered and dirty the boat gets while I'm fooling with it.

Here are both side panels after mounting them...

Here is also a picture of the front deck. The pedestal base is not mounted yet because I'm unsure where it is going yet. I'm hoping the front deck has enough space to mount the trolling motor and still have enough room to operate it the foot control. I'm still debating about whether a foot control is the type I will settle for. It would be nice to have both hands free, but for this boat, I'm not sure if it has the space. I am still hoping to run across a larger jon boat, so maybe I'll hold off for now...

What do you guys think?

 

[Nick Jones]

Man that boat looks great but you might want to put it in the water and sit in the front to make sure it is not too high before you make it permanent. I made this mistake with my first mod and ended up getting rid of it because it was too unstable. Just a suggestion. looks great though. Wish I would have thought to do that on the first mod I had.

 

[kbkid]

I've been thinking I should probably take it to the river and check it out. The only time I'll use the front deck is when I'm out by myself on the water and just trolling around.

 

[kbkid]

Well after considering the front deck and the stability issues that could arise, I decided to change my plans once again. I was unable to take the boat to the river or lake this week because the dock at the river is flooded and the lake is frozen over.

I'm going to do away with the front casting deck idea and just have two pedestals on the boat. One in the rear and originally planned and the second one will be further towards the front of the boat than previous said.

If you remember, this is how the front deck was going to be:

With that concept, I was able to have two storage areas on both sides of the pedestal.

Today I tore out the decking and started with a clean slate again.

I moved the front storage area up to the next rib of the boat, which leaves me with one compartment in front of the original bench in the front of the boat. The compartment measures 36L"x 14W"x14H". I'm hoping this leaves me enough room to have two batteries and then some extra space.

It will have a hinged lid and I'm hoping to be able to mount a trolling motor on the front.

Finally, I will extend the deck from the middle bench area further more and mount the pedestal in reach of the compartment and trolling motor.

That's the plan thus far. Any comments or ideas?

 

[aviationgrade]

The transom was not treated with anything. I was hoping since it was exterior grade ply, it would hold up to a little bit of weathering.

The boat is garage kept, so if the transom holds up for a couple seasons, I would be more than happy.

Is it true I can find the 5200 and 4200 at most Wal-Marts? If so, I may pick some up. I'm hoping the silicone will be fine for now, but if I ever go back and use rivets, I'll be sure to use the 3M product.

The reason they didn't use treated wood in that boat is because the treated plywood of that time had copper chromium arsenate in it, which is very corrosive to aluminum-don't ask me how I know this. Nowadays they do make cca free treated marine plywood just for aluminum boats. So its safe to use on your boat. I have a 12' Gamefisher that I bought when I was 13 years old-I'm now 42-and I didn't have to replace the transom until about 5 years ago. I used stainless steel button head machine screws with 3M 5200 and they held up just fine. In fact, every time I find loose rivets in the bottom of the boat I just drill out the rivet and replace it with a machine screw and 5200 and they all hold up just great. Just make sure you use the nylon lock nuts to hold them in place.

I hope this helps