My 12' flatbottom is gonna get "Phished"

[SrPhatness]

Just got the stuff to get started on my 12' flat bottom upgrade.

I got the boat on Craigslist for 500 dollars on the trailer with trolling motor, battery, anchor, oars, and two seats. I think it was a good deal. However the boat is far from ready to claim the title "Get Phished 3". My dad has a 16' Jon boat that we decked out and gave the title "Get Phished 2"

So this weekend I picked up the stuff to get started: Fish finder, navigation lights, new tires, spotlight, new seat, 2 seat posts, tire holder, U bolts, L bracket, 1 1/4 PVC, 1/2" pressure treated plywood, 1" Foam board, anchor lock, bildge pump, 4 toggle switches, pole holders, rod storage, 40ft wire, seat swivel, spare tire holder,battery charger, and driving lights.

So here is the overall plan. I'm going to use the foam and plywood to make a removable deck in the bottom front and back. The two seats will be mounted to the removable decking. Trolling motor and battery(s) up front, looking for a 5hp motor for the back, and I'm thinking about putting a double live well in the middle bench.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Sounds good.. looks like you've got it under control.


You should probably make sure that pressure treated wood isnt touching the aluminum.. theres a possibility it will react with the metals in the wood and corrode

 

[SrPhatness]

Thanks for letting me know, sad face indeed. I'm just putting removable decking on the bottom, on top of the 1" foam board. darn. I guess I will have to take it out between trips. I don't know how long the 1/2" ins ply wood is going to last anyway, but I want to keep it light.

again tanks.

 

[Jim]

Nice man! Looks like you got everything under control! :beer:

 

[njTom]

looks like you have everythng to get started on a great build. Can't wait to see the progress.

 

[D-Man]

Rock & roll baby! Just like dyeguy said: #1 rule ,post those pics! :mrgreen:

 

[SrPhatness]

I took the pressure treated 1/2" ply back and got some stuff called DRYBOARD from Menard's It's just under 3/4" thick and surprisingly not much heavier then the 1/2" PT.

Ive got a pretty good idea of how I"m going to do everything, except the live-well. I don't know how I'm going to put a partitioned live-well (for bait and fish) in the middle bench that is only 8 1/8" wide and about 11"tall. I'm thinking about gluing some plywood to the front and back of the bench for structural purposes. Then cut the top of the bench completely off and using that aluminum to seal off the bottom and making the partition. The only problem is I don't know how to weld. So I need to find a way to seal all of the seams. I think I could use some sort of silicone or adhesive to do the bottom and side wall seams, but I don't think I can for the partition. Wish I knew how to weld. Maybe do away with the partition and just keep the bait in some sort of container in the live-well.

Does that idea make any sense? Then I will just make a plywood lid to keep the fish and bait out of the sun.

 

[Bugpac]

You likely could get a welding shop to do it rather cheap, get it estimated before you buy a bunch of silicone and stuff, it may surprise you... Looks like its gonna be fun, I so want a bare alum boat, just to mod...

 

[SrPhatness]

stopped by a small welding shop on my way home. The guy told me $45 and hour. and he could probably do it in an hour or so. So I'm thinking that would be my best choice. Got to check the bank account. Then I'm going to take it to the shop either tomorrow or maybe this weekend so he can look at it.

Right on.

 

[SrPhatness]

So I checked with the bank account and it didn't agree with the idea of welding the live well just yet (tax return is gone). So I will save the live well for some other day.
Today I'm going to get the garage cleaned up and ready and maybe mount the lights, and mess with the trailer a little bit.
I need to get my tools from work (cabinet shop) as well as some card board to make a template for the decks.

 

[SrPhatness]

Today's progress

installed the head lights, navigation lights, anchor lock, pvc trailer guide-on's, put seats together and new tires on. As well as put the one good old tire on the frame as a spare.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get my Foamboard cut and my deck template made and drawn onto the plywood. maybe a little wire ran as well.

After I put the decking down I'm going to put a layer of plywood on the front and back of the middle (live-well) bench and to make a lip to help hold the decking in when transporting.

spare tire on the front of the trailer.
pole holders in the back for trolling and cat fishing. I will also mount the rear seat far enough forward to both help with weight distribution and so I can comfortably fish off the back of the boat all night long. I also can't wait to see how the headlights work when running at night.

I've got a guitar for sale on ebay for 300 and I think someone is going to buy it soon. So I can use that money to get me a used 5hp outboard.

I'm exited about getting my first boat out on the water.
Ice needs to melt so I can see how it floats.

 

[RBuffordTJ]

Man I am loving this! Of course I own an modified 12' boat so I tend to like to see people take the time to work them up! Keep us posted and the pics coming.

Bufford in Orlando

 

[Truckmechanic]

You are doing great..and seems you are making good timing as well. Keep us posted.

 

[SrPhatness]

todays progress.
I cut up the Foamboard that will be under the decking.
Tomorrow I'm going to take the plywood with me to work to cut it on a table saw.
Then nut and bolt both seats trough the deck before I glue (liquid nails) the decking to the top of the Foamboard. Leaving it removable but the foam will help to "lock" the deck in place.

So far so good. Am I missing anything???

I can't wait for the ice to melt around here.

 

[Troutman3000]

How do you plan to bolt the decking to the floor?

 

[SrPhatness]

I'm not going to bolt the decking to the floor. Ive got the foamboard cut to a pretty snug fit. Then I'm going to glue decking down to the foam. I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere as far as during transport. Just as a precaution I'm attaching 3\4 board to the middle bench above the decking. This will act as a lip. so the main deck can only be lifted from the back end. As far as the front deck, nothing is really holding it in but weight.

I want to keep the deck removable for cleaning, but I would like to find a way to "lock" the deck down so if the boat where to go down the foam under the deck would help it stay afloat.

Today's Progress.
cut the top of the middle bench off for a future live well and a current form of storage.
Got the DryPly cut to size at work. Tested it's water resistance by pouring a little water on the underside of the board and the water stayed puddled for half hour and didn't soak in, so that's a good sign.
Mounted the seats to the deck via nut and bolt with a large washer.
Couldn't find a caulking gun so that stopped progress.
Tomorrow I'm going to Liquid Nails the plywood down to the foam.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Looking good.. you're making some fast progress.. I'm impressed

 

[SrPhatness]

It's hard to sit still when I have all the materials and they just need put together. But now that my tax return is gone, I won't be getting much else for it. Probably won't even carpet it (at least for a while).

Todays progress.
Glued the Dryply down to the foamboard. Put some weight on it letting it set up for 24 hours.

The next task is attaching Dryply to the front and back of the middle bench to help hold down the decking and for structural support.
Mounting fish finder to the Dryply on the middle bench. Installing transducer.
Then running wires and switches to the lights and the bilge pump.

After that it's just a matter of when and how I'm going to get a motor.

I think my dad has some green marine grade paint left over from his boat. But if not, I'm not going to stress painting it yet. Especially being how the plywood is pretreated.

 

[Troutman3000]

What did you use to cut the bench? Would a dremel tool work?

 

[RBuffordTJ]

Looking really good man, I look forward to following the process. I'm taking mine out fishin' this weekend, hopefully Friday AND Saturday!

Bufford in Orlando