Mirrorcraft 14 Deep Fisherman

[bigwave]

Bigwave - Thats coming along nicely anymore updates?

Its been slow-going. I did prime the outside transom last night.....kinda messing around with a technique my buddy told me about. I have procured some more material for the aluminum framing. I will start to shoot the hull later today. My neighbor has a steam box that he bends hardwood with...I am leaning towards a possible Teak crush-rail........but that's way down the road. If I could get the weekend to cooperate with me, I might actually make some significant progress.

 

[bigwave]

I got most of the inside painting done this weekend, time to flip her finish the outside. Once again slow progress but only had one day to work on her.

 

[ChitownBasser]

The floor of my boat is bare right now. I eventually plan on doing the same as you. Looks good btw. How many cans of bedliner did you use? Or did you paint it on? I am flipping mine over this week too.

 

[bigwave]

I used four cans of bed liner, 3 cans of primer. I did not use the bed liner for leak prevention, more for added corrosion resistance. My primary use will be saltwater, the old paint held up pretty good for an 84 hull. I did have some pitting on some of the ribs so that is why I used bed liner. The sides on the inside will probably be white if I even paint them. The self-etching primer went on right over the old paint and it looks pretty good for one coat. I stripped the outside hull but I'm not sure I am going to use self etching on the outside. I am currently looking at Awl-crarft paint with an epoxy primer. I have a nice spray gun and I will probably spay with my compressor. It all comes down to money....the paint is kinda expensive. You know I still have one of my seats that I plan on using as a test dummy, If I self-etch and use a rattle can paint and it does not come off easy I might just go this route....its a hell of alot easier.

 

[esoxkid06]

starting to look real nice!

 

[bigwave]

starting to look real nice!

Thanks, you boat turned out real nice too.....I guess with all the winter yall get up there you have more time and buddies to help you....I have me....so I am slow......but steady...it just pisses my gf off when I spend all day in the garage working on my boat. Next step is to organize my stuff.....I have crap all over and its starting to get in the way....

 

[PitFishin']

starting to look real nice!

Thanks, you boat turned out real nice too.....I guess with all the winter yall get up there you have more time and buddies to help you....I have me....so I am slow......but steady...it just pisses my gf off when I spend all day in the garage working on my boat. Next step is to organize my stuff.....I have crap all over and its starting to get in the way....

i dont think your moving slow at all, looks great! i feel the same way about my pace but what are you gonna do? itll get done when it gets done. take your time and do it right. i had 140+ holes in my hull, fortunatly ive got a buddy that was willing to tig them shut for me. got a few more then ill be waiting on the weather to break a little so i can paint. keep up the good work!

 

[fool4fish1226]

Bigwave looks good once you get the outside done the project will start moving faster. I know I felt like I was making no progress at points but good things come to those who wait.

 

[ReelLowBudget]

Lookin good so far man, you're not coming along too badly, I'd pe happy going at that pace. At least you're doing it right the first time, I'm just slapping stuff together in hopes to get on the water this weekend at the latest... And about the girlfriend, I hear ya, mine loves to fish though so I just keep reminding her that we can't go until I finish the boat... That usually buys me till about 9pm, then there's nothing I can do but go inside if I don't want to hear it for the next few days...

 

[bigwave]

No real updates on the boat, but I did get my garage cleaned up.....now I have lots of room to work on the boat. I got the compressor fired up and have made myself some room to spray.....woo hooo. I have realized that it is going to take longer to finish my boat than I anticipated. I cannot believe how much crap I had laying around my garage.....some of it has been in boxes for 20 years, bye bye old crap I will never use. I had a large pile of plywood that I was tripping over while working in the garage......now I have lots of shelves to put stuff on. Overall I had a real productive weekend for me, now its back to the boat for the rest of the week. No work this weekend because I am going to the St. Pete Grand Prix.

 

[esoxkid06]

starting to look real nice!

Thanks, you boat turned out real nice too.....I guess with all the winter yall get up there you have more time and buddies to help you....I have me....so I am slow......but steady...it just pisses my gf off when I spend all day in the garage working on my boat. Next step is to organize my stuff.....I have crap all over and its starting to get in the way....

yup up here in the northwoods its either work on stuff in the shop or jig through a hole in the ice... ur getting there there tho, try having ur gf help on the boat... or maybe thats a bad idea #-o she could hand you tools possibly? haha

 

[bigwave]

starting to look real nice!

Thanks, you boat turned out real nice too.....I guess with all the winter yall get up there you have more time and buddies to help you....I have me....so I am slow......but steady...it just pisses my gf off when I spend all day in the garage working on my boat. Next step is to organize my stuff.....I have crap all over and its starting to get in the way....

yup up here in the northwoods its either work on stuff in the shop or jig through a hole in the ice... ur getting there there tho, try having ur gf help on the boat... or maybe thats a bad idea #-o she could hand you tools possibly? haha

Well looks like the weather is breaking for you guys up there, as far as the girlfriend goes, there are way to many spiders in the garage for her to be in there, gotta love my mancave....

 

[bigwave]

Well my boat now fits nicely into the garage.....all junk is removed and I made some nice little workbenches out of the plywood I had laying around. I have had one thing on my mind for the last two weeks. When I made my first transom board the cavitation plate hung about three inches below the water line. Since I had to re-do it I changed my measurements to raise the plate just a bit......What do you guys think? I finally got to hang the motor on it again and this is where she falls now. Is the cavitation plate at the optimal depth now?......looking for some opinions. It is not too late to adjust it, if need be.

 

[fool4fish1226]

Looks like it’s at a good height to me. Any other progess with the boat.

 

[bigwave]

Looks like it’s at a good height to me. Any other progess with the boat.

Thats about it, that thing called life keeps getting in the way of my boat....... :lol: I plan on working a little on it saturday, going to grand prix on sunday, so probably be next week before I get going again. I did manage to clean up my garage and she now has a home to rest in. I got the garage area ready to shoot with my new spray gun....cant wait to start playing with that thing. I am leaning toward using a product called awl craft, in a light teal color. two part epoxy primer coat followed by a couple of coats of paint and then some hi gloss over it all.....depends on how this gun shoots though.....I cant believe how good the rattle can looks on a test piece of aluminum.....and I still might just get some topside like you did...its a hell of alot cheaper. I still cant paint until I get all the rivet work done for the framing.....that is where my focus is right now. Time to break out the drill and get her going again.

 

[esoxkid06]

yup up here in the northwoods its either work on stuff in the shop or jig through a hole in the ice... ur getting there there tho, try having ur gf help on the boat... or maybe thats a bad idea #-o she could hand you tools possibly? haha[/quote]

Well looks like the weather is breaking for you guys up there, as far as the girlfriend goes, there are way to many spiders in the garage for her to be in there, gotta love my mancave.... [/quote]

Looks nice with a motor on it!... yea it has been unseasonably warm up here reached 82 the other day... for Wisconsin thats unheard of, usually still drilling holes in the ice... on the bright side i got the new boat out on the river yesterday, landed a nice Walleye in it to break it in!

 

[MrSimon]

That's a monster eye!!! Nice job =D>

 

[bigwave]

I started my framing for my decks. I cant wait until I get my chop-saw metal blade. I had to make the clips using my angle grinder I cut the castle clips to suit my needs. I think I figured out how to get the compound angles, now I just need the proper blade for my saw and I should move right along with the rest of the frame work. Here are a few pics.

 

[Johny25]

I like that rivet into the ribs idea. My neighbor has the same boat and wants me to put a floor in his boat so I will be following this mod to see what you do Bigwave. Nice job so far : ) Oh and be careful with that chop saw cutting that aluminum, even with a metal cutting blade it will snag that aluminum right at the end of the cut and throw that aluminum around. I cringe when I see people cut aluminum with a chop saw, can be very dangerous. Get a cutting disc if you can that does not have teeth like the blades do. May cut just a little slower but much safer.

 

[bigwave]

Thanks Johny25, It is pretty easy to drill the ribs, you just have to take it slow so you dont punch through the hull. I only had a few of the braces with rivets in them and it was already feeling strong. Super light too. I plan on getting a fiber blade with no teeth,just like the one on my grinder only thicker. It is pretty easy cutting with the grinder but its hard to get a flush plumb cut. I should make some significant progress now that I have figured out how to attach all the aluminum. Thanks to johnboatjerry.......got the idea from his build. On a side note I just found a place that will sell me 1x1 square tube in 24 foot pieces for 30 bucks......they are a hell of alot cheaper than Homedepot. Town and country industries.....great prices on aluminum.