Hi, my name is Wildman and I have an addiction

[Wildman]

I have to change the tags.......... pictures in a minute

The first step is admitting you have a problem. I only know this from past experience and after reading literally 100s of posts I have to admit I too have a problem. My addiction is a 1972 Terry 15' flat jon boat. You see, I bought this boat 3 years ago and the guy that did the "fixing" up did it halfass, so since I have been trying to do what I can to keep her a float.

My first mod was new wood, carpet and transom. That worked out great except for the two broken ribs that I tried to patch; that and the carpet started to smell from all the fish slim.

I will try to dig up some pictures ----

This is a test as I am not familiar with the image tag: Most are calling me crazy, but the boat is now stripped bare again!

Why you ask? Well, I fish a lot, hunt a lot and this is my river boat. You can imagine after a season of crappie/whites and several dead hogs the carpet was not a good idea at all. So, I am now going to go with aluminum framing and fiberglassed wood/decks. I am also moving my console to center with a passenger seat on the front of the console. I will be asking some questions along the way, but for now consider this as "Wildman's Second Modification"


My first issue is that who ever took the seats out did not properly brace the side walls and three ribs cracked all the way through. I will post some pictures later and also some pictures of how I attempted to fix this problem. But for now, enjoy what I did to her, and then realize all the work is in a dumpster now. I will post my "issue", and the reason for this thread later this evening.

The beginnings .....

The Build ...

 

[Captain Ahab]

Welcome aboard there Wildman

I take it you are from Texas - please tell us what part and add it to your profile


Nice console

 

[Wildman]

Excuse me while I get use to the rules and such. I will dig around the administrative stuff this evening.

I am from Lampasas but live in Austin.

 

[BassAddict]

Welcome wildman and good luck with your new addiction!

 

[baptistpreach]

Wow, nice job you did, then undid! I'm sure it will look good again!

 

[ben2go]

:WELCOME:

Thanks for signing on.Nice rig.

 

[Wildman]

Here is the shell and reason that I had to tear down and start over. As you can see I was a wuss with the hts-2000 last time. Now, with some help maybe I can talk some of you in to giving some opinions on how to go about making the structure of this boat more stable.

Here is my plan

As you can see, I HTS-2000ed the cracks to death. I am sure that the bottom of the boat will rip out before the ribs break again, BUT

How can I stop the pressure of the ribs breaking. As you can see, I put some bracing from the floor to the wall and I plan on putting in angle braces on the two "kicked" ribs on the front and back. It will get a face and deck on the front and back.

What caused the cracks to begin with? Flex from the side of the boat without supports?

 

[russ010]

Nice build - and I think you definitely have enough bracing! Nice work

 

[Henry Hefner]

Welcome, Danny!
What took you so long?
Glad you are here!

I am guessing that you are right, the cracked ribs appear to be from the hull flexing.

 

[Jim]

:WELCOME:

Thanks for joining! :beer:

Great looking boat!

 

[Wildman]

Thanks for the welcome. It will be a new LONG build but an all fiberglassed interior will make for a easy clean after a trip.

I will post a drawing of the bracing and floor plan tomorrow. Maybe you all can look at my thought and tell me if it will shore up the flex of the sides of the boat.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Thanks for the welcome. It will be a new LONG build but an all fiberglassed interior will make for a easy clean after a trip.

How much weight will that add?

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

welcome, looking forward to the build. if it looked that good before i cant wait to see how it turns out this time

 

[Wildman]

I don't know what kind of weight it will be. I have never done an all fiberglass interior. But we will see as this build goes along. I can't imagine it being any more heavy than the wood, carpet glue and carpet that was in there. That and I understand that I can do my floor and decks with 1/2" marine ply and my side panels, console our of 1/4" marine ply. There is also the issue of hatch covers that will be out of pre molded plastics. That is going to take some weight back, too.

Money is going to be the issue with speed this time. I just spend $250 on aluminum so my month's allowance is gone

But its the middle of the month =D>

 

[Captain Ahab]

Sounds very interesting - keep us posted

 

[Wildman]

On holding pattern now. Waiting for my aluminum shipment to arrive

 

[Ranchero50]

Wildman, since this is your first post I'll reply here with my humble opinion on your project. I think for the cracked rib you should girder it with a 1" peice of square tubing 2" above the existing rib and overlap the original rib with an inverted peice of aluminum angle, welded in if possible. A girder will allow the two stringers to support each other through the angle bars between them. Remember the strongest structure is a triangle.

I don't think I would fiberglass it, the glass will absorb water over time and will be difficult to remove for the next round of repair. Maybe Linex (@ $400) instead since you are using it so hard.

Only real concern is modding an older aluminum boat that has metal fatigue damage. How much value will you get out of it vs the time and effort to make it what you want.

Should be an interesting project regardless.
Jamie

 

[jarhead]

It looked good before you started dismantling. The problem with a lot of conversions is making the boat more rigid or having the stress load up in specific points. You will have your work cut out for you. I made some references to advice I received from a good friend/welder/structural guy (see post https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11211 ) I am trying to make my conversion a floating deck. Only rigid where the boat is rigid now.

You will probably need to reinforce the ribs where they were broken with angle material. When you weld it back, DO NOT WELD the ends. This will allow the stress to transfer through the length of the rib. If you weld the end, it will become harder and the stess will load up there and crack before of aft of the weld. By NOT WELDING the end, it will allow the stress to travel along the ribs as it should.