Dustin's 14ft alumacraft conversion... lots of pictures!

[Dman23]

Oh yeah and he caught a big one! Lol

 

[Jamison73]

That's a nice fat perch. I wouldn't mind him and all his freinds.

 

[Dman23]

Perch on the lake i was on are always really nice. 12-13 inch, fat, and super healthy never a single worm. And on a 12-13 inch the meat is about equal to a 15-16 inch walleye. There is tons on that lake too.

 

[Dman23]

Been out two more times for about 8 hours or so not including people ive been with ive caughtvprobably 20 more walleyes in the 13-17 inch rangle plus some smaller ones and perch and sunnies. One nice 12 in crappy and maybe 10 northerns between 20-30 in. Very good luck, and the modified boat is amAzing!!!! Wouldnt change a thing about it

It is 10x more enjoyable to fish from now. Just a few pics from this week. My one walley sitting in the chair was from ome evening we spent im His boat

 

[Kismet]

Dustin?
Did you ever lower the pedestal posts? In one picture, the front seat seems lower than the back. For bigger water, does your center of gravity seem high?

Really a great upper-midwest utilitarian fisherman's boat you've made there.

Nice work.

=D>

 

[Dman23]

The 11 inch pedestals i originally had (which put the floor to bottom of seat at 13 1/2) work great. Center of gravity is absolutely zero issue. For while im fishing its all i use. I did get two 6 inch pedestals too. That puts my total height at i think around 8 1/2. And in fact that puts the seats right at the height they were on the benches. For my 5 foot 3 fiance up front with short legs, it just fits her better. For me, when i drive i put the shorter one. It just naturally puts me closer to the motor and to the side of the boat behind me to hold with my right hand. Driving slow or in calm water even at 28 mph isnt a big deal up high. Or in choppy water slower. But when its choppy and i want to go as fast as i can, the lower one just fits better for driving.

It is still comfortable fishing with the shorter one just as it was with the benches. But when you put on the taller one it just is way better. And it does zero for stability either way its okay.

Thanks for the kind words. I am so happy with it. It was really a big difference not having those benches taking up room and climbing over.

 

[Hanr3]

Nice job and thanks for the build. I'm considering removing my center livewell/battery/seat box and opening up the floor similar to yours. However I still have to figure out where and how to put in the livewell. More than likely the livewell will go where your battery box is, and the battery box will go where you have your sonar unit with the sonar on top.

 

[Kismet]

I just read through the entire thread again.

Really a nice narration, good photos, and excellent work.

Thank you.

 

[NextTopBassFisherman]

Looks great! =D>

 

[Cudaboy]

hey Dustin,

Newbie here,
just curious to know how much weight was added to the boat with the mods you did. i have a neighbor selling me a 14' aluminum V hull but im scared that it wont hold the weight. im a big guy at 280 and if i add another person im already looking close to 500lbs.

thanks

cudaboy

 

[snuffy47]

How did you attach the floor down?

Curious how much weight it added also?

 

[pauldanielm]

Hey Dustin I am a newbie to the site and was looking through some post and found yours. love your deck that you built. I am going to be doing the same to my 14' Mirrocraft boat. I am so glad you posted i have a ton of ideas going through my head for my boat. thanks again

 

[gsh341]

First, that's a great idea for the floor and the post seats to replace the benches. It's so nice I'm thinking about doing the same for my boat. However, I have a couple questions.

I looked for the load limit on your boat and couldn't find it. I have a 14' '59 Alumaline AZ (49" beam and the transom is 43" wide) and the load capacity is 600 lbs. Is that what your boat is rated for?

Also, I saw you put a 2x4 on edge and 2x8s going sideways. Do the 2x8s go the full width and the 2x4 sits under them? Or is the 2x4 against the plywood and the 2x8s butt against it? it isn't really clear in your pictures since the foam covers it up.

Also, do you think you could have used 3/8" plywood instead of 1/2" since the foam also provides support? It's about a 12 lb difference between 3/8" and 1/2" plywood for a 4'x*' sheet and that adds up quick when weight is at a premium.

Thanks.

Here's a picture of my boat. It's very similar to yours and, like you said, those benches can be a real pain.

 

[Miken426]

Dustin - where did you buy your switch panel? Do you recall the brand of it?

Thanks - Mike

 

[GoblinBuild]

I see this is a pretty old post. I’m curious how the boat held up over the years. I just bought an old Alumacraft and this build is just about perfect. Hope to hear back.

 

[MstrDan]

I just got around to reading this post. I have a similar Alumacraft in the FD model. They are very sturdy and reliable little boats. I don't claim any skills on the remodel but I am pleased with my set up.
This works for me fairly well. Rides the wakes from the big boats well.