Alumacraft 1232 Jon Boat (Miss Peach) - Complete!

[Ictalurus]

At this point I'm just going to lieave it and see how she floats

I think you'll be just fine, by the time the treated wood starts eating at your boat you'll most likely have traded up for a larger one

 

[super_dork]

I got my electrical parts and carpet in last night. I cut a hole in the battery hatch to mount the switch panel. Then I was able to get the carpet for the front and middle floor completed. Just have the back seat and hatches to cover tonight. I also reworked my trolling motor mount to make it removable and use less weight. It's a 2x2 mounted with 2 2x3's on either side mounted to the motor mount with bolts that go through all 3 boards. See the post here for more info - https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21559

 

[Sgt. Stiglitz]

That's funny, I just ordered that same switch pannel from Overton's Monday I think. It will be here today or tomorrow. How big is the hole for it?


https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21376

 

[super_dork]

That's funny, I just ordered that same switch pannel from Overton's Monday I think. It will be here today or tomorrow. How big is the hole for it?


https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21376

It comes with a template that is about 3 1/2" square. I went with 3 1/4" square to start and it fit just fine. I wanted to have a little more lip on it to screw into.

 

[wwoodard]

I am thinking about ordering the same panel, can you post a pic of the back of it?

 

[super_dork]

I don't have one right now, but I will when I get home. I had the same issue. I couldn't find the back anywhere. Not sure if it helps, but in the Customer Images section below the picture on Amazon, they guy shows the back of the panel somewhat.
https://www.amazon.com/Seasense-Marine-Way-Switch-Panel/dp/B002VHWLP2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1313680233&sr=8-2

I'll get something tonight.

 

[super_dork]

I am thinking about ordering the same panel, can you post a pic of the back of it?

Here's the back of the 3 switch Seasense Switch Panel as requested:

 

[super_dork]

So I was able to put in just about all the carpet last night. I am going to add panels with carpet to the front and back of the rear seat to give it a finished look. Then all that's left is the electrical and of course the maiden voyage. My sweet wife, who I built the deck for, looked at it this morning and said that it looked very legit and not ghetto at all. That made me happy.







Oh and I picked up a 25-31" pin seat post that I'm just going to put the front seat in when I'm trolling to lean against. Some day I'll get a pro seat.

 

[wwoodard]

Thanks for posting the pic of the back of the switch panel. I hope you don't mind, but I have a couple of questions. Will the red wires with the in-line fuses now be connected to a bus bar, and will the wires that run to whatever is being powered also have an in-line fuse, or is that overkill? Thanks for your help.

 

[super_dork]

Thanks for posting the pic of the back of the switch panel. I hope you don't mind, but I have a couple of questions. Will the red wires with the in-line fuses now be connected to a bus bar, and will the wires that run to whatever is being powered also have an in-line fuse, or is that overkill? Thanks for your help.

I am actually in the process of posting a similar question int he Electrical section of the Forum. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=5. I am not quite sure how it's all going to go togehter. As far as the fuses go, I believe that the fuses on the switch panel are all that are required for the items going to the panel and the red wire will go to the bus bar. The 2 trolling motors won't be attached to the switch. They will have plugs with 50 AMP breakered fuses inline.

 

[Sgt. Stiglitz]

Thanks for posting the pic of the back of the switch panel. I hope you don't mind, but I have a couple of questions. Will the red wires with the in-line fuses now be connected to a bus bar, and will the wires that run to whatever is being powered also have an in-line fuse, or is that overkill? Thanks for your help.



I am actually in the process of posting a similar question int he Electrical section of the Forum. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=5. I am not quite sure how it's all going to go togehter. As far as the fuses go, I believe that the fuses on the switch panel are all that are required for the items going to the panel and the red wire will go to the bus bar. The 2 trolling motors won't be attached to the switch. They will have plugs with 50 AMP breakered fuses inline.

When you look at all those wires, it makes you scratch your head #-o, but it is easy if you just think about how the stuff needs to go. They supply a wiring Diagram.
Yes, ALL red wires go to the Positive side of the battery, wire all of them together with the supplied wire nut along with another wire. This will go to the POSITIVE side of the Battery. You will attach one of your leads from the bilge pump or lights to the other end of the switches that don't have a wire on it. You will need wire ends.
The other wire from say the lights or pump will go to the NEGATIVE side of the battery. You can use a bus bar if you want. I just have lights right now so I just wired them together, then connected them to the Negative side of the battery. The fuses in the red wires is plenty.

I actually bought the 5 position switch instead of the 3. You need at least two switches to run the marker lights. One for the front, one for the rear. My Sea Ray lights had two light switches, one for both the bow and stern together and a separate anchor switch light for the rear.
I might add a bilge pump later. My boat doesn't leak, only water that gets in it is from us getting in and out and with the dog and maybe a little spray if is choppy. I might add a stereo next to the switch pannel later. The cut out stencile is a little on the large side. I would cut the opening say 3/8-1/2 smaller if I had to do it again. I had to use larger screws to go all the way through the thick carpet and into the wood under it. Even then, two of the screws were just barely able to bite into the wood. Easy fix with epoxy.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21376

 

[super_dork]

This weekend I was able to finish up most of the remaining items. I ran out of electrical connectors, so I have to get some and redo some of the connections. I started removing the Alumacraft lettering with a heat gun so I can the name on the side, not sure on what I'm going to put yet though.

On Saturday morning, I took the wife out for a test run. We didn't have any issues and most things worked as expected. The boat is a little tippy in the front, which was expected. I wasn't a fan of the bow trolling motor though. I used a 24" pole seat while driving it, but it found that being that high wasn't very stable when changing direction and that the foot control was very erratic. Overall though, it was a success and the wife loved it! I wasn't too crazy about the position of the back seat, which is off center. I wasn't thinking when I added the battery to the same side as the seat offset, so it kinda leans, but it's not too bad.

When we got home, I found a remote control MotorGuide Lazer 370 RF bow mount motor on Craigslist for $75. When I told the guy I was coming from an hour away, he dropped the price to $50. It works great and I'll be able to drive sitting in the front of back without having the step on the pedal! So, now I get to sell the other bow and the transom mount motors! Getting a little money back!

Thanks to everyone for the advice and guidance. It really helped!

 

[super_dork]

.....

 

[topgun15v]

Hey man the boat looks good. Also glad to see a fellow Texan on here =). I have a baby on the way in Feb/March to, so congrats to ya! I am hoping to still get some Saturday morning early fishing in even with the baby. haha

 

[super_dork]

Since I finished the build, I've taken the boat out several times and caught several decent bass. Last night I took the real Miss Peach (my wife) out on the water for an evening dinner cruise. We ended up trolling for a while. I was able to sit in the back and run the TM via remote while she laid on the front. It was just like I imagined it would be and worth all of the effot. I even tried my luck with a black worm (my go to bait this year). Only got one (about 1.5 lbs) but it exploded out of the water twice! My wife loved it and couldn't believe it. I just looked at her and said "Now do you get why I love this so much?" I think we have reached an understanding.

Thanks to everyone for your help putting this boat together. I sure couldn't have done it without the help and inspiration!

 

[Androsyn]

cool

 

[Fishfreek]

Great job

Looks awesome

 

[Hanr3]

Nice job.

 

[-CN-]

I really like the simplicity and the layout.
I did not extend the front deck of my 1442 NCS, but pictures of yours make me wish I had!

 

[AllOutdoors]

Nice job.