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

[sgt tee]

They dont carry that type of paint here in Pa. Home Depot, are you from Canada?? seems thats where you can buy it at H.D.

 

[great white]

Primer has to be used on galvanized before the rust/metal paint is applied.

It can go directly on the metal if not galvanized. Its all on the can directions.

Yes, i am in Canada.

 

[sgt tee]

Canada sells that type paint. my trailer is painted black already, I just want to touch it up, You guys probably just finished putting your ice fishing gear away

 

[great white]

Canada sells that type paint. my trailer is painted black already, I just want to touch it up, You guys probably just finished putting your ice fishing gear away

Tremclad paint is sold in Canada eh?

You don't say.....

 

[great white]

Final coat is done. Start putting it all back together this weekend!

 

[great white]

All put together and almost ready to roll!

I have a few electrical connections to make yet, a touch more wood working (couple small beauty panels) and a couple u bolts to add to the frame (they're on order).

But it's pretty much ready for this season and a trip back to the cottage to spread my fathers ashes in his favorite harbor.

 

[sgt tee]

Beautiful looking boat, and you are good person, Dad is watching over you and very proud also. Stay well and be careful on the water.............Pete

 

[bigwave]

Outstanding job Great white, you are a true inspiration. Your build is what makes this site great. Your fathers spirit will always be with you.

P.S. when you going to make me one of those covers...... :lol:

 

[sgt tee]

You have to wait your turn on the cover

 

[great white]

Sorry gents, making the cover was many things but fun wasn't one of them.

Never going through that again if i don't have too.....

 

[great white]

Been a while since I've done anything to the boat. Money and time has turned it into a "garage ornament".

I've been wanting to get back on it, but as mentioned, money.

I've always wanted to install a raised seat up front, but when I started adding up parts at the boat store it gets fairly expensive: 80 bucks for a telescoping post, 40 bucks for the deck mount, 30 for the seat mount, etc....

So what's a "frugal" guy to do?

Well, my town is having it's fall cleanup days this week. People have all sorts of stuff at the curbs. I was driving down the road and noticed a beat up office chair.

Now I'm not one to root through peoples garbage, but that telescoping gas strut mechanism in the chair was a bit too tempting. It looked like something I could work with. I swallowed my pride and went to knock on the guys door. "No problem, take 'er away!" was his answer (I feel the need to ask before I take something, even if it's in a garbage pile). He seemed appreciative that I would ask first.

So I get it home and strip the chair down to the strut. The seat bottom, back and casters goes right out into my own cleanup pile at the curb.

A quick test shows that the office seat attachments are very close to fitting my fishing seats. Some minor work will get it just right to bolt on.

Then I look at attaching it to the bottom/boat seat. Hmmm, I'll need to make a custom plate, woodwork, mounting, etc. That sucks and will cost money in more materials.

Then I think why not use the caster bottom of the office chair? It's already sized to fit the post, it's got long legs I can bolt to the OEM seat top and the legs are long enough to spread the load out and make the seat super stable.

I pull it back off the garbage pile, strip the wheels off and bingo, it will support the seat post just fine. I'll cut the caster "spider legs" off to fit under my decking and since it's nice and wide it will spread the load over the whole deck seat. I will have to make a hole in the OEM aluminum seat for the post to sit down in about 2", but that's no big deal. All that will be visible is a hole in the carpeting that the seat post will go through.

Here's a quick and dirty pic:

It's about 6-8" off the top deck when retracted and it extends about 4-5". The folded seat back will make a nice support for the boat cover as that's the longest unsupported run of the cover. I'll add a smooth covering ove rhte seat back as added insurance against ripping the cover. It's a milspec rip stop material, but no point in taking chances if I don't have to.

The seat also swivels on ball bearing down in the post so it's nice and smooth when you rotate. A nice side bonus is that there's a seat "tilt" adjustment also. Not really needed, but it's always nice to be able to "fine tune" for comfort.



I also saved the office seat arm rests. I may or may not use them as retractable/removeable arm rests on the fishing seat (what luxury!) and perhaps a place to fit a drink holder. Maybe a small velcro closing pouch for smaller items like keys, fish pliers, etc.

Not too bad so far for a "0" dollar investment and few moments of swallowing my pride.

 

[Mojo]

Great Idea! You could cut down those caster legs on to around 3-4 inches long each and not take up so much deck space then you could drill right thru the top of them and mount in place.. no need to go under the deck then. If you really wanted to get fancy make a nice box to go around the base with a hole in the top for the post then and carpet that and it would look pretty clean.

Good Luck.

 

[great white]

Great Idea! You could cut down those caster legs on to around 3-4 inches long each and not take up so much deck space then you could drill right thru the top of them and mount in place.. no need to go under the deck then. If you really wanted to get fancy make a nice box to go around the base with a hole in the top for the post then and carpet that and it would look pretty clean.

Good Luck.

Thats an idea for sure, but I would like to get the 2-4 inches lower that a below deck mount would give so the seat will fit nicely under the cover and provide support for it while traveling.

What i might do is compromise between the two options and flip the base to mount it to the underside of the decking.

Your method has it's merits though. When i build the deck supports over the original bench seat I added bracing where the boat store available mounts would attach. Would be easy peasy to just cut the legs to that length and bolt them down. The extra inches in height might make sitting more comfortable too.

Lots to consider now.....which option to choose.....

 

[great white]

So I decided to dive right in and just get it done.

I cut down the spider to fit in the framing for the upper deck. Then I shaved it down on the bench sander as thin as possible. A couple carriage bolts, some carpet glue, a bit of welding/cutting/drilling to make the seat mounting area fit and:

Very solid and comfy for sitting when fully extended. Removes easily and the bench area is still flat and easy to sit on for rowing (if needed, crossed fingers for not ever needed!).

It rotates freely, so I may devise a way to lock it in an orientation for transiting from one "honey hole" to another. Probably just some kind of strap, nothing fancy.

It sits maybe a couple inches too high for my preference once the cover is on:

The seat back also is a little bit too "sharp" for my preferences. It's rounded and smooth, there's just a touch too much tension over it. What I may do is make the seat back removable or maybe shave down the offending seat ribbing a little bit.

Overall, I'd call it a success for spending absolutely no money on it!

 

[Mojo]

That turned out great dude. Good Job!

 

[kylerprochaska]

I keep coming back to this build for ideas and motivation, great build and great tribute!

 

[Kismet]

Overall, I'd call it a success for spending absolutely no money on it!

Wonderful job, and GREAT improvisation on the seat.

In the pictures of your Dad in the boat, it sure seems to be more capable a craft than I would have though a 12' would be in somewhat choppy water.

Neat that you are making, and continuing, memories.

=D>

 

[great white]

Overall, I'd call it a success for spending absolutely no money on it!

Wonderful job, and GREAT improvisation on the seat.

In the pictures of your Dad in the boat, it sure seems to be more capable a craft than I would have though a 12' would be in somewhat choppy water.

Neat that you are making, and continuing, memories.

=D>

Its not the typical 12' lake boats most guys are used to.

It's 54" at the chine on the beam.

It hardly even flinches running 2-3 foot Atlantic chop. That's about as rough as I would go though as it really starts to pound with even minimal speed if you get a bit of air under the bow coming off the back of a wave.

Loosing power and going abeam the waves wouldn't be fun either. There's always a second boat with me if i venture outside the harbor mouth, it's usually a dead sea state day, the sea anchor is out if not under power and we never go more than a mile or 2 offshore.

Or we may pop out of the harbor mouth, rip up the shoreline to the next harbor and drop a line or tie up and grab a sea side coffee at the local store.

It's a "salty dog" tinny and pretty capable for what it is, but it's still just a 12' tin. No sense pushing yer luck any further than is prudent....

 

[TinSeahorse]

Great work! Please add more pic soon.

 

[great white]

Well, this one horse town has pee'd me off again.

Went looking for some oil for the leg on the 8 HP Johnson.

Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing.

Just another long line of frustrations in this bloody place.

If you want something even a bit off the "usual" you have to order it in. This place is like living death for a car guy like me.

Even the two stores that list it on the corporate web sites don't have it (Walmart and Crappy tire).

On another note, the boat goes into the water for the first rip of the season tomorrow.

I also ordered a set of repo decals for the engine cover. This winter the outboard will get torn down for a repaint and refresh of wearing parts.