3 Man Bass Boat. Done and on the water!

[tholdah]

We used 'em! We actually bought these off of Craigslist for $10 each. They are "pleather" so they can be left out side; they have the swivel, and can be adjusted up and down.

We cut off the legs, welded on a base plate, and painted them. We then added the cotter pins on a chain so we can drop them all the way down for cruisin' and not lose the pins.

 

[tholdah]

Pic of the seats on the posts and installed.

 

[tholdah]

Accessory item: Pole/beverage holders. My father (extremely skill machinist) made the aluminum bases which are basically upside top-hats that would be recievers for poles we drilled and tapped to accept the rod holders we bought at the Bass Pro Shops. They also double as beverage holders.

 

[tholdah]

Seat in the down position, rod holder, and fish finder.

 

[tholdah]

To increase the strength of the doors, we used aluminum angle iron around the inside edge of the boxes. The frame 2X2 frame of the door sits right onto the angle iron making it very strong.

By the way...building and fitting the doors was by far the biggest pain of the project. We originally cut them 1/8" short to compensate for the carpet....but you need to compensate for both sides!!! 1/4" INCH FOR THIS CARPET!! When we got the doors built, carpeted and fitting correctly, we added the aluminum angle iropn supports. Again they were too big!! Measure 1 time...cut three times! At that point, the theme became "3 monkey's f#$%n' a football".

 

[tholdah]

Pic of the cooler style live well installed.

 

[tholdah]

Although our trolling motor isn't the prettiest, it works and it came with the boat. Rather than trying to build a base from wood and then carpet it, tuck it, and try to make is seamless, we took some more "scap metal" from my father's shop. It's acutally 2 pieces of 2" thick aluminum bar that is bolted to the deck. We then drilled and tapped 1/4 -20 holes and boltd the trolling motor to the bracket. It is strong, and works very well. The mistake...we wanted it off the peak as much as possible, but we should have put it closer to the edge?

 

[tholdah]

So there it is. All done. We've been out twice so far and it's great. The 35HP is plenty of power and speed. The seats are strong and comfortable. The compartments are great, and the fish finder is confirming there are no fish in the lake we are fishing (although my brother pulled out a 4.8 lbs'r last night and now leads the pool)! It is very stable, and sits very well off the water.

The boat is not perfect, but it's strong, and we have a great platform for 3 people to fish. For our first boat build...I think we did great. I'll gather all the receipts and list our cost on my next post. Our budget was $1500, and I think we came out around $1625. It was a great project.

 

[Zum]

man great job...
that carpet really finished it off nice

 

[kemical]

man o man,,, this boat looks great,,, love to get this same size boat for my next project!! :fishing: :beer:

 

[Jim]

Congratulation's guys, The boat came out Awesome! :Beer:

 

[evattman]

WOW :shock: It looks AMAZING!! You guys should be proud! Congrats!

 

[Waterwings]

Outstanding job! =D> 8)

Is that your private dock?

 

[pt0872]

Yup that's our private dock on a private lake so there's not that many people fishing it.

The boat really did come out great and is alot of fun to fish from. Only problem I see is the front seat....I feel like Leonardo from Titanic when sitting up there.....not alot of room for your feet.

We've fished from it twice so far and we're having a great time...except for the old man, he hasnt caught a fish yet but has come up with a million excuses why. :^o

Really was worth the time and effort to build this boat. We all love to fish and this boat makes it possible for all 3 of us to fish at the same time in comfort. =D>

 

[phased]

Boat looks great! You guys did an awesome job.

 

[Jim]

Yup that's our private dock on a private lake so there's not that many people fishing it.

So when am I going to be invited out for a day!

 

[pt0872]

Jim,
You know you're welcome ANYTIME. But I'm sure there's a dozen lakes between you and us that have better fish in it.

I'm dying to try fishing Sampson's pond here in Carver.....supposed to be some very large bass in that lake. And it's right down the street from me.

 

[Jim]

Jim,
You know you're welcome ANYTIME. But I'm sure there's a dozen lakes between you and us that have better fish in it.

I'm dying to try fishing Sampson's pond here in Carver.....supposed to be some very large bass in that lake. And it's right down the street from me.

I don't care about the fish, its more of meeting you guys and just shooting the s**t for a day.

 

[seif5034]

great job on your boat! Congrats I hope My build looks as nice when I attempt it.

 

[mbrooky]

Boat is sweet..i plan on doing the floor of my jon boat like that.....what would make it look real sweet is a poling platform!