I’m looking to renovate an old 1965 14’ Alumacraft ([strike]1970’s maybe[/strike]) that I’ve recently obtained. My goal is to have it finished by June for a fishing trip to northern MN. This sounds like a long time, but the problem is, the boat has to stay at my parents’ house, over 220 miles away! So realistically, I’ll only have around 2-3 weeks to work on the boat (2 days at a time).
I’m not concerned with aesthetics at this point. I just want a safe, reliable boat.
Now, to the first of many questions:
I plan on replacing the front deck and adding some flooring, but first on the agenda is the transom. I have been reading up on how to replace the wood, and I’m confident I can handle that aspect. I will, however, need to replace the knee brace. Since I can’t weld, I was thinking of making my own from angle aluminum, basically forming a triangle from doubled-up pieces and using bolts or rivets. Anyone ever tried this?
The wood from the old transom (that has been replaced before) was cut to go around the (broken) knee brace. Should I do this as well, or connect the new brace to the wood?
I’m not concerned with aesthetics at this point. I just want a safe, reliable boat.
Now, to the first of many questions:
I plan on replacing the front deck and adding some flooring, but first on the agenda is the transom. I have been reading up on how to replace the wood, and I’m confident I can handle that aspect. I will, however, need to replace the knee brace. Since I can’t weld, I was thinking of making my own from angle aluminum, basically forming a triangle from doubled-up pieces and using bolts or rivets. Anyone ever tried this?
The wood from the old transom (that has been replaced before) was cut to go around the (broken) knee brace. Should I do this as well, or connect the new brace to the wood?