Dad's 12' Springbok reborn - "Dad's Buoy"

[UtahBassKicker]

Sorry about your dad. It's awesome that you have those great memories to hang on to. My dad is still in good health (after beating cancer a few years ago) but I also have great memories from my younger years with him. I hope that I am allowing the opportunity for my son to create similar memories. That's what's so awesome about, fishing, boating, and the outdoors in general. Keep up the great work on the boat and hang on those memories!

 

[fool4fish1226]

Thanks guys.

I'm thinking since Dad is never going to see outside the institution again, I'll trailer the boat home this year (Newfoundland to Nova Scotia) and take the boat out on the harbor at the cottage.

I'll fish the flats my Dad knew so well and maybe have a fish fry on the beach or the porch of the cottage like he would have......kind of a "full circle" thing for the boat.....

That sounds like a great day its always better to remember the good and try to put the bad behind you. A trip like that should bring back some great memories and stories.

 

[fishingmich]

Sorry to hear about your dad. My dad passed when I was 23 and we never got a chance to fish together as friend. Just as a dad and his kid. The boat and the woodworking is badass! Keep it up.

 

[great white]

Well, like always life gets in the way and havent done much with the boat.

A little of this, a little of that and a couple pics pretty much tells the whole story:

Basically, hinges, doors and carpeting. Im going to cover the lower deck area with the foam like standing mats. They don't absorb water, they're light, they're great to stand on, they're easy to keep clean and they're easy and cheap to replace.

Doesn't get much better than that....

 

[great white]

Cut the standing mats for the lower deck area today. Fills the area in nicely and feels great when standing on it. Its even a good color match for the rest of the gray carpeting. Cleans with a wipe of a damp cloth.

Should make moving about nice and quiet too.

All for ten bucks!

Good deal.

 

[great white]

Dad passed away this week. He was wasted down to about 120 lbs and got pneumonia.

He passed quietly while unconscious when his breath just gave out.

We interned his ashes in the cemetery where several of his good friends are resting and many more of the people he made a difference in thier lives through his work with AA. He was past his 25 year coin himself.

We kept a small portion to be spread at the cottage in Wine Harbour:

which is where he spent as much of his brief retirement years as he could:

I plan to finish "dad's bouy" and take his ashes out to the middle of the harbor:

where I will spread his final remains off his boat and say my own personal goodbye by tossing a line and spending the rest of the day on the water in his favorite spots...

 

[jasper60103]

Sorry to hear about your Dad.
You've done a great thing here, and he would be proud.

 

[great white]

Carpeting and woodworking coming to a close, started working on a frame for the storage/travel cover i'll be stitching up soon:

I need to pick up another piece of aluminum to make one more support bow.

Unfortunately, while cleaning the transom I found a spot where the aluminum skin has corroded through.

The only good thing is it's right above where I intended to mount the depth sounder sensor.

So, the plan is to clean corrosion back to good metal and then bond the "cutting board" mount right over the spot and down to the base of the transom.

Kills two birds with one stone....

 

[great white]

Got tired of the trailer winch being bunched up and the bow roller/stop being positioned wrongly.

So i redid the bow stop bracket:

You can see how short it was here and how it would have made the strap too short to effectively hold and winch the bow:

I also welded one of the spring pads on the axle and bolted up the proper u bolts instead of the temporary ones i had to use last year. The other side gets done tomorrow.

Soon, i'll pull the boat off the trailer, replace some rusty bolts and paint the whole thing black.

I'd like to build the fender steps i had planned this year, but i don't think I'll get that far before the season starts....

 

[great white]

Reworked the bow stop and loading winch position again:

The previous setup pulled the bow down too much when up against the stop. Once it was cranked in against the stop. the keel was loaded against the bottom roller and I was worried about damage to the hull when trailer-ing.

Now, the boat is a straight pull with very slight down into the bow stop (ignore the welded bracket on the crank, failed experiment and will be cut off)

I've also moved the boat up on the trailer to load the tongue more even though it used to tow fine.

 

[trueblue1970]

Condolences to you and your family. May your dad rest in peace. Keep that boat going, he will be proud.

 

[sgt tee]

This is a nice job, very talented, that front bow is the way I need to make mione and I like the idea you did not screw anything down, it all rest on the bench's

 

[great white]

I've been struggling with what to do about transom tie downs.

I normally hook to the rear handles and then down around the bottom of the transom and back to the trailer frame.

Problem is: It loads the handles down and it buffs the breakover at the bottom of the transom. Even when I slide the winch post all the way forward and have near 12" of bunk sticking out behind the transom, the transom is not level with the trailer frame so the straps have to go forward some.

So, I'm bonding some cutting boards on either side of the transom and they will protect the aluminum. I'll make a "clip" that will sit over the top of the transom and attach the strap to that which will spread the load out instead of loading up the rear carrying handles.

Finally, I'll look at welding something like this:

to the trailer frame to reduce the angle a bit more.

All this should make for a decent angle on the transom straps to hold the boat to the trailer on rough roads.

I've also got to make some light standards/trailer guide ons I have planned for the trailer.

Still have to change out a bunch or rusty frame bolts too

Once it's all sorted, I will shoot everything in a nice black epoxy paint.

 

[great white]

Start of the transom work:

Rh is just for strap protection, lh for strap and transducer mounting...

 

[great white]

Spent a little time looking at the transducer location and decided it was a little bit too close to the outside chine.

So I pulled it off the transom and cleaned it with spirits before the 920 set too much.

Spent the next hour building a mount for the transducer that will go close to the transom drain and almost at the lowest point. It's in to the right and in front of the outboard, but it's going to be nice and firmly in clean water under the boat with lots of clearance between the hull strakes.

 

[great white]

A bit more research revealed that transducers are mostly recommended to be around 15" from an outboard in order for a better signal (IE: noise interference).

Well, the boat is only 51" at the chine, so that doesn't leave a whole lot of space.

Back to the outer mount closer to the chine. I made sure the mount was between the bottom strakes for clean water and height is yet to be determined.

I chose a location where I had it on a suction cup mount before so I know it will at least work. It used to be good right up to the top speed of the boat.

I wanted it adjustable for at least height and removable for storage so I changed up the transom mount a bit:

The middle piece slides in between the two outside pieces:

This makes it height adjustable. Once I get it dialed in I'll put in a removable pin to lock it in place and still have it removable.

 

[great white]

Well, the end has come for a 4X6 utility trailer I had lying around:

I had already pirated the wheels, hubs, axle and springs for the boat trailer last year.

The utility trailer was only about 4 years old, but I paid nothing for it. As a matter of fact, it made me more money than it cost. My employer has moved me across the country twice and they give half again the standard mileage allowance (IE: fuel costs) if you tow a trailer. The first trip made me several hundred dollars even after buying the little 4x6 new for 500 bucks and the second trip was all profit as we already had the trailer. But it had outlived it's usefulness after I pirated the parts off it so it was now just taking up space.

first order of business is to get rid of the rusty old coupler:

Much better. The old one was still solid, but it was beginning to waste away inside on the foot and springs. Luckily, the frame member was still solid and the galvanizing had held up just fine.

Then, started using the steel to make some side stays and raised lighting:

Not a bad start. Looks like I's be able to weld the side frames and then clamp them to the rails. That will keep most of the galvanizing on the frame rails intact.

Some Cutting and welding still ahead of me and some adjustable side bunks (will slide in and out towards the hull to make loading easier and transporting more stable) to be built. A nice rounded bit of steel on the back of the side rails and padding will make loading a less stressful event.

I'll also add some foot steps tied into the side bunks to make getting in and out of the boat on dry land much easier. Maybe even a 4-5 inch wide "catwalk" style platform down the tongue rail to make walking to a from the boat easier when loading and off loading if there's enough grill steel left over...

 

[great white]

Getting closer. Bunk frames built and lights mounted:

Side view:

Welded up the brackets for the side markers:

More welding and metal work to clean up yet. Have yet to build the carpets side bunks, kind of thinking of just carpeting the metal pieces. Have to install some rollers on the back of the bunks. Thinking about adding some bunks under the hull further up for just a week bit more support when trailering. Some ubolts and assorted others still need replacing. Still thining about making some side steps and a walkway. Then it into paint and rewire.

 

[Pweisbrod]

Those are some great trailer mods and I will definitely be stealing them. I've busted one too many tail light covers to go through that again!

 

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Great White, First let me say how sorry I was to read about your father. My wife lost her dad at 66 in the same manner. My condolensces to you and your family. You have a fantastic build going on here. This is the first I ran across the thread, and really admire your work. A little jealous about the cabin as well. What a great view. I'm looking forward to your report about your first trip aboard "Dad's Bouy".