And so it begins... OhioStateBuckeye's Alumacraft 1648 Mod

[OhioStateBuckeye]

So it officially begins. after all the storms and high winds, I was only able to get to taking front deck off. also you will notice the trolling motor is crooked, but that's because the screws are taken out. I bought a new cooler for my life well but unfortunately it looks like it maybe too big, I will be winging this as I go so we will see if it will work and not th most likely I'll probly have to use the center seat storage for my live well. If anyone has any comments or suggestions please feel free to throw your point of view in. I look forward to completing this with all of you.

as you will see I basically just threw up a flat piece of wood for my deck

 

[Johny25]

Boat would look great painted in Wolverine blue and yellow :mrgreen: Just sayin......

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Or maybe with the record of wolverines from the past ten years .

Urban Meyer

 

[dyeguy1212]

Looks cold down there in OH. Better throw on your sweater vest. :wink:

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Man a lot of wise guys around these parts

 

[Johny25]

Ahh were just messin with ya I look forward to watching your progress. I have never done a square bottom boat so I don't have much input to give you other than the blue and yellow paint. I know when I was doing my V hull I would look at other people and there square boats with envy lol. The rounded sides and all the compound angles in my bow made framing it a bugger.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Yeah, fortunately I just a few angles to deal with.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Quick question... Do you think I should run PVC pipe through the drain channels on the boat floor? I know sometimes, especially in some of the backwoods and shallow water I take my boat in, debris can get in there and clog up the drain channels not allowing water to reach the back to the drain plug. I plan on putting a floor on pretty much all of the boat, I would just hate to have them get clogged and have to take out everything i just put in because of debris clogging up in certain areas. Does this make sense to anyone else?

Also does anyone have any problems with running their fishfinder on the same switch panel with other devices? I was wondering if anyone ever had any type of interference problems?

I stopped by a local boating store, you know the ones that sell those $40,000, luxury "I would rather piss of fisherman and drive around with hot chicks" kind of places. I asked them the above question and the guy basically said he wouldnt waste any more money on a "poor mans" tin boat. So I quickly went to the local wal mart and bought about 300$ worth of stuff.

I like to support local shops, but man sometimes I realize why the bigger commercial stores are taking over the family owned, arrogant places.

 

[ericogg]

Where all do you take your boat to? I'm starting to work on my boat this week I'm hoping since the weather is finally getting a little nicer here. I made it out last year to Hoover a few times but I wanna check out some other places.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I live in the northern Columbus/Delaware County area, so I go to Alum Creek a lot, Hoover as well, Delaware Lake, and Indian and Buckeye lake as well.

Also noticed that you have beena member since October and this is your first post! Welcome aboard.

Alum is starting to get the crappie rush, pretty soon the white bass will be going crazy.

 

[ericogg]

Yea I found this site back then but haven't been on it much since then. I'm going to start posting my project once i get started on it and hopefully start posting on the forum more.

I've been wanting to get back out to alum before all the jet skis and boats hit to get some fishing in there.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Yeah we have about 45 days until the annoying people get out.

 

[ericogg]

Hopefully the weather will stay nice and be able to get on the lake. Can't wait to see how your boat turns out and good luck fishin

 

[jjkc]

I live in Delaware was out on alum the other day north end in my kayak caught some real nice crappie I hear they are biting at Delaware lake too.

 

[hotshotinn]

i has the same boat as you.I tookout the middle seat and putting in a aluminum floor.Put down 1 1/2 inch foam between the ribbs and rivit the tread plate floor in.water will drain no problem.Nice big open boats these square nose jons

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Hot- Yeah I love my boat. Many people seem to envy jon's when they have to spend part fo their day with maintenance to their fancy boats, I can just park it and leave it if I wanted and it would be fine rain or shine.

jjk- Do you have a boat as well? Yeah I am very surprised with this weather we have had all winter, I imagine the crappies are all confused.

 

[jjkc]

Yes I have a 1989 Bass tracker pro 17 currently undergoing restoration!! The Kayak just requires nothing more than me throwing it in the water and grabbing my paddle lol!!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Well there ya go! The easier the process to get fishing is, the better the fishing is.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

So I only had an hour to make a few cuts. I put in a new piece of plywood for the flooring, and this is the idea for extending the deck. I will have 16 inches of depth for storage, and about 19 inches by 21 inches for the box cut-outs. I am not sure if i am doing this right or not, to be honest I am not a construction guy. Most of my experience comes with a criminal justice background and guns, so this is probably the first time im using the tools such as a orbital jig-saw and using a circular saw for more than just a one time type of cut.

If anyone sees any flaws please call me out and tell me what im doing wrong. I like the idea of having the deck flush with the bow. Being that it is only another 24 inches of deck, i figured it should still be pretty stable. I will be adding 16'' vertical 2x4's for support. I'm a big guy and my friends are big too lol so we need some good support.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Got to doing a bit more today.. It's not perfect but I can say I'm pleased. I grew up hunting and with guns. I can honestly say I've never really been much into wood working or building and this is my first time building anything like this. With that being said this portion came from measuring 50 times before making a cut. All work so far has been done with a circular saw and a orbital jig saw. I have a bit more to do yet, with the wiring at the end (easier part for me) thanks for the help thus far from numerous members.. Not as fancy or technical as some of the builds in here but there is a hillbilly chance this may turn out alright! Lol