Aluma-Weld 1440 Jon to "Flats" Boat

[nbullard]

Hey Tinboats fam, I recently acquired my late grandfather's Jon boat. It's a 1440 AlumaWeld, not sure what year it is, but it's older than I am and I'm almost 20.



I don't have a trailer yet, so it is still at my grandparent's house. Once I get it down here, I will begin the work on it. I've thought hard about what I want to do to it and I think I've decided on a Flats/Saltwater style boat.

To begin with I am going to cut the top of the front bench out and remove the foam so that I can make that a storage area. I'll be decking in between the front bench and the bow of the boat. I will be putting a floor in between the front and back bench seat, first by putting foam sheet between the ribs, then cutting notches into plywood and placing it over.

I want to have the walls between the front deck and back bench seat flat, so i will be using plywood to do that, but i'm not too sure how to go about attaching these to the hull.

I will need to build a riser for the trolling motor. what is the best way to go about this?

Finally, the color scheme will be blue and white, modeled after my father's bay boat. For the interior I'll be using durabak, and then once dry, i will take a paintbrush and splatter blue randomly to give it a bit of color and make it easier to look at.

this build is going to cost roughly 400 dollars after I buy the decking materials, durabak, etc

Any tips will be much appreciated!

 

[Fire1386]

Do not use pressure treated lumber....

 

[Johnny]

Welcome Aboard !!

up in the top right hand corner, there is a "search" box.
you can find hundreds of good examples of things you need help with.
search words such as: motor riser, jack plate, transom replacement,
seat removal, deck frame, deck support, decking, paint removal, primer,
what paint to use, yada yada yada

.

 

[nbullard]

Do not use pressure treated lumber....

That or green treat!

 

[nbullard]

Welcome Aboard !!

up in the top right hand corner, there is a "search" box.
you can find hundreds of good examples of things you need help with.
search words such as: motor riser, jack plate, transom replacement,
seat removal, deck frame, deck support, decking, paint removal, primer,
what paint to use, yada yada yada

.

Thanks johnny, I appreciate it. i've utilized that feature quite a bit the past few days lurking before i decided to join

 

[mattr0924]

I recently re floored my boat project, first thought of wood but ended up doing this, came out well. Read some saying it would be slippery but I've had no issues at all, and should last a long time! 1/8" aluminum diamond plate, no foam underneath...

 

[nbullard]

I recently re floored my boat project, first thought of wood but ended up doing this, came out well. Read some saying it would be slippery but I've had no issues at all, and should last a long time! 1/8" aluminum diamond plate, no foam underneath...

that looks nice, but i think that would be way too hot down here in texas. Im making sure to cover every piece of metal i can so I don't burn my legs or feet

 

[mbweimar]

Bullard, take a look at my Welbilt 1752 Build thread for some ideas. I suggest using aluminum in place of plywood anywhere you can get away with it. A thick coating of durabak in a light color will keep the floor cool enough to walk on. I live in south Florida and so I know about heat.

 

[richg99]

"and remove the foam so that I can make that a storage area"

Hmmm.. if you take xxx cubic feet of foam out, please put back the same amount of foam. It was put in the boat for a reason.

Your overall plan sounds great. To mount your trolling motor, you may want to add a professionally made support. One of our sponsors, A.K McCallum offers them in various sizes, depending on the boat.
https://www.akmccallumco.com/store-troll.htm

On one occasion, I did make up my own support out of a 2x6 and a 2x4. Painted black, it really didn't look all that bad.

Before you get head over heels into this project, you may want to look into the legalities of putting the boat into your name. If your grandpa has passed on, the paperwork and legal mess may cost more than the boat is worth. However, "where there is a will, there is a way".

regards, and welcome aboard.
richg99

 

[nbullard]

Big update on this project.

I now have the boat at my house so work can begin on it! That's a huge step in the process for sure. I still don't have a trailer, so working on that.

Paint job is no longer going to be a blue/white but instead the traditional hunter green/dark olive color, and i may do some tan accents.

Instead of durabak i'll be using Tuff Coat, it's a bit cheaper and looks fairly easy to work with.

Instead of cutting the benches open, i'm just going to add hatches under the deck, not too many, maybe 3 total.

I think i can get under 400 with all the mods i'm wanting to do. Luckily my father upgraded his trolling motor in 2017 so I got the old minn kota for my boat. Bow mount, foot control. I would like to add a transom mount TM as well for electric only lakes where I can take the gas motor out.

If anyone has any rod holder suggestions, Let me know! I'd like to do some catfish drifting out of this boat and possibly crappie trolling.

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Bob9863]

Just remember the golden rule of painting a boat, 99% preperation and 1% application.
Thats the advice that saves time and money in the end.

Thats also my preferred color scheme, doesn't stand out to the fish (they make lures bright for a reson) and it doubles up for ducks.

 

[nbullard]

Did a bit of work on the boat last week. started stripping the paint and realized that it was a lot of work for just cosmetics so i may not even repaint the boat.

started installing the deck framing, realized i got the wrong size hangers so i have to take those back.

also got the trolling motor mounted, which is great.

i would like to get a trailer before mounting the deck. this boat is super heavy as is. I do have an old boat with a trailer but not sure if i can register it, dont think it has numbers and can't register as homemade in my county, so unable to do that.

i'm trying to figure out if i should buy hatches, or just make them out of the cut out piece of plywood. since i'm using tuffcoat instead of carpet, i'm not sure if it would look ok.

 

[nbullard]

Got a few more things done on the project on my day off yesterday.

Framing is basically complete. I am going to add a side console between the rear bench and mid bench, this panel will hold my switch panel, hide wiring, fuse box, etc. I'm excited to be getting so close to finishing this project and getting it on the water for some fishing.

I also got a couple flush mount rod holders as well as anchor cleats mounted in the rear near the transom. they fit like a glove back there and don't stick out at all.

a couple more trips to home depot and ordering a few things online and she'll be done as she can be, minus trailer and registration of course.

 

[richg99]

Looking good.