21ft flat bottom The "Bucket"

[BrazosDon]

Looking good, Flat Bottom. Is there a wooden transom board that goes in there? Also, what kind of wire feed welder are you using? What type of gun, spool gun or other? I have the Millermatic 130 with the standard welding gun(M15) that came with it. I would like to have a spool gun but there is not one for the MM130.

 

[Flat Bottom]

Looking good, Flat Bottom. Is there a wooden transom board that goes in there? Also, what kind of wire feed welder are you using? What type of gun, spool gun or other? I have the Millermatic 130 with the standard welding gun(M15) that came with it. I would like to have a spool gun but there is not one for the MM130.

Hey brazos, I'm using a mm180 with the 100 series spool gun. For the amount of welding I had to do it was alot easier than trying to push aluminum wire through the normal leed. If you were to upgrade in the future the 180 seems to be a fairly well rounded machine

 

[Flat Bottom]

Not much to report, the wind has been blowing constantly so I can't get any welding done, hopefully we have some calmer weather coming up here as I'm very close to testing this bad boy out in the water. I'll report back soon

 

[Flat Bottom]

Update, back on the trailer, slapped some paint on the bottom and decided to go see if it would float. Floats good, a couple small leaks through the transom where i tried to weld some holes, so after a couple failed attempts to weld them back up, i went with jb weld... leaks solved. Today were gonna work on the transom board, hopefully get the boat ready for the engine within the next day or two.

 

[Flat Bottom]

More progress, I have managed to get alot done in the last few days. painted what was left to be painted (at least the first coat) got red oak hardwood plywood cut and drilled for the transom and coated 4X with spar urethane (that stuff makes a beautiful looking durable finish) cut and coated a few wood cross members i'm using on the new part of the hull. as of now, transom is ready to accept the engine, and i need to start modifying the console and get it riveted in so i can plumb everything for the engine. I'm going to leave it floorless for the first few test runs just to make sure the hull is good and sound. Here are a few pictures.

 

[fool4fish1226]

Looks great =D> You should be on the water before you know it.

 

[Apex Predator]

You gonna add any bracing to that big ole wide transom?

 

[Flat Bottom]

Should be very soon.

 

[Flat Bottom]

You gonna add any bracing to that big ole wide transom?

it's 1/8th" aluminum with 1 1/2" of red oak plywood and 28 stainless steel bolts it has plenty of support, when I got it the transom wood was rotten and didn't cover near as much of the transom and that still worked. i thought about adding some sort of support, but honestly the hull is probably weaker than the transom

 

[Andy Taylor]

Red Oak plywood? Is that a common choice for that?

 

[Flat Bottom]

Red Oak plywood? Is that a common choice for that?

I couldn't tell you for sure, I went with it because it looks nicer than regular, and it looked like it was constructed with a higher standard. It's stout, and i put 4 coats of spar urethane on it, so far water just beads right off it.

 

[Flat Bottom]

Rainy day here at the dry dock... I got the engine mounted started it up, it sounds pretty dang good, wasn't pumping water though so i dropped the lower unit, the impeller was in sad shape... all it took was a little movement for 2 of the fins to break clean off. Its been in that water pump for the last 20 years... time for a new one haha. Have that on order. Other than that I need to get to work on the console so I can get all the wiring plumed to it. Here are a couple pics let me know what you guys think.

 

[bigwave]

Looking real good, what you going to do on the inside other than a center console?

 

[Flat Bottom]

Looking real good, what you going to do on the inside other than a center console?

Well as of right now my plans have changed from earlier on in this thread. The boat is going to be simple, and have kind of a utility boat feel to it. It will be used primarily for fishing and just having a good time. The center console is going to be moved over to the side to allow better movement through the boat. It is basically going to be open, with the sides of the boat being used to hold life jackets, extinguisher, possibly some lighting. Going to use foam insulating board between the ribs for sound and vibration dampening with regular plywood over that. I have yet to 100% decide what to use as a flooring material. I am toying around with the idea of textured painting of some sort, rubber matting, or possibly just wood. I am also going to be figuring out some means of storage, for tools, personal gear etc... weather that will be a built in of some sort or something removable. I will also have a live well. Most likely one that I can remove when i'm not fishing. The open concept in the boat is going to be good for more temporary seating for now ie lawn chairs, cooler... whatever can be used. Fuel tank will be in the rear with 1 big deep cycle battery strapped down. And a second deep cycle will be further up front for accessory power (lighting, fish finder, possibly radio in the future etc... Other than that, I am kind of thinking as I go. It is going to be pretty neat... at least according to what I am visualizing.

 

[bigwave]

Well it sure looks good already. I really like this style of boat, lots of potential.

 

[Flat Bottom]

Well it sure looks good already. I really like this style of boat, lots of potential.

I sure appreciate the compliment, I love the style of boat too, gotta get it out on the water soon, as it's bound to get hot fast and it will be nice to have some fun on, and fish with.

 

[Flat Bottom]

Alright today the rain was temporarily blocked out by 30mph winds... so i said heck with it and did a little work anyways. Got the console cut and a couple pieces of unnecessary angle aluminum removed that used to hold the console in when it was centered. Here are some pics

 

[bigwave]

I like the way you moved the console to the side.

 

[fool4fish1226]

I like the way you moved the console to the side.

+1 looks great

 

[Flat Bottom]

Yeah I like it too makes for alot more room... I decided to put a floor in first then the console, working on the console today, heres what got done yesterday. 2" foam board between all the ribs, 1/4 " plywood primed and three coats of deck and patio paint with non skid additive... We'll see how it works.