'88 16ft V mod. muskiecraft

[danmyersmn]

I had one other question.

Where did you buy all of the aluminum angle?
How much $$ do you think you had in just the aluminum?

I may have to copy your paint job. I wanted to go with rusto because of the availability and price, and when looking at their colors, I think you picked the best color combo.

I picked up all the aluminum angle at "discount steel" in Minneapolis. I bought it at the full lenth price because it is cheapest that way. I rolled my front van passenger window down and drove home with it sticking a out the window and all the way back in my van. I have a lot of money in the aluminum I didn't keep track but wood would of been cheaper for sure!

 

[danmyersmn]

This might be a dumb question, but where might I look to have the brazing work done locally?

I don't want to just add rivets and the boat I'm buying has a VHF radio antennae, and grab rails that are coming off, to just name a couple things.

Any HVAC company could probably do it for you. I don't know if they would though, it is beyond what they normally do. You are better off just going to Lowes/Home Depot/Menards/etc. and picking up a bottle of MAPP gas for $10.00 and doing the work yourself. Its not terribly difficult. The hardest part is learning how hot to heat the aluminum. It needs to get pretty darn hot to get a good bite.

 

[Decatur]

Thanks for sharing your build. You answered some questions, and gave me some ideas for my 16' Alumacraft build I started, and haven't been able to finish 3 years ago. Maybe this year! :wink:

 

[danmyersmn]

Hey all,

I private message brought me back to the forum and I thought I would give an update for anyone questioning the paint I decided to use. Bottom line is its great! I have had no flaking, pealing, or anything like that. I have run the boat to a dead stop by driving up on a sandbar once #-o and I have run up on a number of oyster beads. As you could imagine the combination of the two has left some deep scratches that have removed metal. I can't imagine anything would stand up to that torture. So yes, I do have some spots where the paint has scraped off. But I have tied the boat to a wooden dock without bumpers dozens of times, and run it hard all the time and the paint has held up as good, or better, than I ever expected it would.

My GPS has died and I have not replaced it. I am using my phone with the Cabelas hunting app as a map/gps tool. I also added a front trolling motor. It is foot operated and I want to get rid of it and replace it with a hand control model. The foot control is not for me.

 

[Gators5220]

Hey man love the boat nice work! Are you gonna put carpet on the plywood or just leave it as is? Just curious.