270Handiman's 1649 Custom Flat Project

[jdbassin2003]

That paint Job is amazing, Getting ready to start my own project, So many ideas on here

 

[270Handiman]

To hold the the new longitudinal support ribs in place, I cut a bunch of 1/2" angle in 1/2" pieces to make "L-Brackets" to be riveted down to the original boat ribs. I had originally planned to rivet them to the new 1/2" tubing as well, but because the 1/2" tubing was 1/8" thick, it only left a small area for the rivet to go through, and I found it easier to go to small stainless screws. With these new ribs in place, the distance between ribs was reduced to a maximum of 9" which is now easily bridged by the 1/8" sheet for the floors with no flex at all.

 

[270Handiman]

In the process of getting these new ribs installed, I realized that on 2 of the original ribs I needed to shim between the new rib and the old to keep the new ribs flat where the rake of the bow starts. I picked up some small aluminum flat stock from HD to cut the shims from.

 

[270Handiman]

To secure these new ribs to the front of the rear seat, I attached a piece of angle to the rear seat to create a ledge for the new ribs to rest on. Also in these pics you can see where I cut the leg of the console loose from the floor to be able to slide the flooring under it. (rest assured that I cleaned it up before the floor went in)

 

[270Handiman]

Now for this!

 

[270Handiman]

I cut my sheet to follow the contour of the hull, and then I primed the whole sheet top and bottom and painted the cut edges and a 4" strip around the outside OD green, thinking that the Hydroturf will cover most of it (and it will if I ever put it in! #-o ).

 

[fish2keel]

handiman,

Great boat! I have followed this thread and read it over several times!

I have a few questions. You said when you were painting your motor you used red putty....do you have the name of this stuff? I have some dings in my motor and want to fill them. Your motor is amazing as with the rest of the boat! Also what was your procedure on painting the motor? I saw you said you wet sanded but did you sand, paint, wet sand and paint again. Just curious. I hope to have my motor half as nice as yours!

Ill keep following along! Thanks in advance

 

[270Handiman]

Installing it was the easy part!

 

[270Handiman]

handiman,

Great boat! I have followed this thread and read it over several times!

I have a few questions. You said when you were painting your motor you used red putty....do you have the name of this stuff? I have some dings in my motor and want to fill them. Your motor is amazing as with the rest of the boat! Also what was your procedure on painting the motor? I saw you said you wet sanded but did you sand, paint, wet sand and paint again. Just curious. I hope to have my motor half as nice as yours!

Ill keep following along! Thanks in advance

The red putty is just a body filler putty that you can buy at the auto parts store. It comes in a tube, and is easy to work with. I actually used Bondo on the deeper gouges, and then finished it off with the putty to smooth out any remaining spots.

The prep work is THE key to making the paint come out right. Spend as much time as necessary to get everything smooth, then prime it and check for smoothness again. You can wet it at this point to see any remaining issues. Once your satisfied, prime it again and sand with fine grit paper or a scotch brite pad. Then I painted, sanded, painted, clear coated, let cure for 7 days, wet sanded, buffed, waxed.

Hope this helps!

270

 

[270Handiman]

You may notice the area at the front where the floor stops.........On to the next step!

 

[270Handiman]

The idea was to extend the deck to create a place for the new fuel tank, TM battery storage, and a gun box.

 

[hsiftac]

glad to see an update from you, awesome boat keep up the good work and keep us updated!

 

[270Handiman]

After a bunch of dry fitting and head scratching, I got started on the bulkhead for the new deck extension. It is supported directly over one of the original ribs for strength. I also have a Tempress hatch to work into the mix. In the last pic you can see the piece of angle attached to the rear of the original deck that will serve as a ledge for the deck extension.

 

[270Handiman]

In case anybody is wondering, this is absolutely the best way to cut a bunch of aluminum angle and tubing!

 

[270Handiman]

One of my best ideas was creating the small fitting block you see in the bottom left hand corner of this pic. It is just a piece of my deck tubing with a small piece of scrap floor plate attached to it. I used this to position the piece of angle that is attached to the rear of the existing deck. By holding it up flush with the existing deck, I could just slide the angle up below it and drill my holes. The top edge of the existing deck is rounded over, so there was a small bit of overlap in the way the new deck would attach, and make the tightest joint possible. I also used it on the top of the bulkhead in the back to determine what height to cut everything back there to have a perfectly flat surface from the front of the original deck to the back of the new extension.

 

[Jonboat Jerry]

One of my best ideas was creating the small fitting block you see in the bottom left hand corner of this pic. It is just a piece of my deck tubing with a small piece of scrap floor plate attached to it. I used this to position the piece of angle that is attached to the rear of the existing deck. By holding it up flush with the existing deck, I could just slide the angle up below it and drill my holes. The top edge of the existing deck is rounded over, so there was a small bit of overlap in the way the new deck would attach, and make the tightest joint possible. I also used it on the top of the bulkhead in the back to determine what height to cut everything back there to have a perfectly flat surface from the front of the original deck to the back of the new extension.

Sometimes it's those "Eureka Moments" that yield some of the really clever solutions that make life so easy. Beautiful work! =D>

 

[Howard]

Very nice! Love that you left it opened without to much decking. Why did you not rivet the floor to the ribs?

 

[270Handiman]

Very nice! Love that you left it opened without to much decking. Why did you not rivet the floor to the ribs?

It's screwed down with stainless steel self-tapping screws and finishing washers. If I ever need to pull the floor, I just uncrew it!

 

[270Handiman]

A few more of the deck fabrication

 

[270Handiman]

I guess I don't have a singl picture that shows it, but I build a "cradle" where the floor stops to hold the gas tank on the back side. This cradle protects the tank and holds it level with the floor. More deck build pics.