duracraft mod- v 16' conversion

[bthompson92]

I still have to do the inside of the frame then it will be ready for 2 coats of black to finish her up. I am currently working on grinding and wire wheeling the fenders and small stuff such as the parts for the rollers and such. Also my dad had some outdoor carpet so i picked up some wood and stained it should all come together soon. Oh and last pick is of my buddy's gator from eufaula (11.5 feet long, 485 lbs.)

 

[bthompson92]

I will definitely be trying to get a tag next year!

 

[bthompson92]

Here is my open layout. I will have to get three braces in the middle of the deck welded up and i was given an aluminum extension ladder that i wanted to use for the base of my front deck. Hopefully there will be no problem with the welder welding the ladder up for me. On the back i decided to just make a box big enough for me to sit on instead of a full bench since i will be using a tiller.

 

[Ail]

bthompson92 » 25 Aug 2014, 23:30[/url]"]I will definitely be trying to get a tag next year!

lol dude! That is one big beast.

I can't even imagine being on the waters with those things slinking around all the time up here in the cold north. :shock:

 

[bthompson92]

Finally made some time to finish up the trailer. All i need to do is add the rollers and the bunks and she is pretty much good to go. I'm excited to get the boat back on the trailer and send her off for some welding. Hunting season starts in a little over two weeks, so hopefully i'll still be able to get some work done on the boat.

 

[bthompson92]

90% done

 

[bthompson92]

Well the trailer is finally finished. I'd say it turned out pretty good. Now to start getting some welding done on the boat.

 

[jigngrub]

Here is my open layout. I will have to get three braces in the middle of the deck welded up and i was given an aluminum extension ladder that i wanted to use for the base of my front deck. Hopefully there will be no problem with the welder welding the ladder up for me. On the back i decided to just make a box big enough for me to sit on instead of a full bench since i will be using a tiller.

With the water stain that high on the transom it looks like that boat has sat in the water and filled with water for quite some time, you should seriously consider replacing the transom wood.

 

[bthompson92]

Yeah we have looked at it and hopefully will figure something out once I get a motor, checking craigslist daily for a deal.


On another note I've dropped the boat off for some welding, several cracks in the ribs and many ribs are not attached to the floor anymore caused from rivets coming loose. The previous owner welded the rivets solid on the bottom of the boat though. So he will be re attaching the ribs on the inside. He quoted me at $150-200 for the welding. I thought it was reasonable but I also did not check around as I should have. I will be getting it back next weekend so hopefully some new pics up soon. Next project will be getting the boat primed and painted on the outside.

 

[bthompson92]

here are the areas being welded

 

[bthompson92]

here is the front

 

[bthompson92]

Well here are some pictures from the welder. The boat is definitely a lot stronger now that the cracks along the three middle ribs are welded and the loose ribs are now welded back to the deck.

 

[bthompson92]

Also used a rivet gun for the first time had some aluminum angle laying around and started making some support for my deck. I have some aluminum square tubing that I will be using for the rest of my deck. Hopefully can start on that soon.

 

[bthompson92]

I bought some closed cell foam and pressure washed the old aluminum deck and plan on re riveting the deck back down to the ribs. but before I did that I put the boat in the lake behind my grandparents house. Although I know the welds were not the best I felt like they got the job done. The bad news is that when we put the boat in the water 1/2 of the spots he welded had small leaks coming from them. The right thing to do would probably have him fix them but if he messed up the first time he may mess up again. So I will be trying to fix it myself. I grinded the bottom of the boat around all the spots he welded and all the rivets on the bottom that were welded up by PO. I need to seal it up but at a low cost so I'm thinking some 3m 5200 fast cure then prime and paint. Maybe this will do the job

 

[bthompson92]

Finally put the foam back in the boat and riveted the old deck back down. Next ill start building my front deck. Using an old extension ladder and some aluminum angle.

 

[bthompson92]

My hands are still sore from all those rivets on the deck.

 

[bthompson92]

Well I finally finished the structure for my deck. I've almost been doing this for a year now, definitely taking a lot longer than I had planned. I also got some cardboard from work to mock up for my plywood.

 

[bthompson92]

I used an old aluminum ladder and some angle and it is actually very strong. Saved me a ton of money too. I also got the sides from work as well. It is some type of fiberglass/plastic material. So the only think I had to buy was the rivets.

 

[bthompson92]

Now what I am deciding on is going with sky grey outdoor carpet from home depot with olive drab paint for the boat, or go with a ocean blue carpet with smoke grey paint for the outside?

 

[bthompson92]

I finally got some stuff done in my free time. Sanded the boat down and got two coats of primer on it.