My build from then 'til now - Motor swap completed!

[Brine]

bulldog,

I'm happy to take one for the team :wink:

I think the carpet or not is all personal preference. I like the idea of the sound dampening, comfort, and look, but my main reason for not using it is that most of the lakes I fish don't have a boat dock at the ramp which means you're often walking through GA red clay and then into the boat. If the bank happens to be wet, it's a horrible mess on carpet.

Great looking rig, and good luck on the future mod. Please don't let your fiance (congrats by the way) know when I started my build and that I'm still not done. She might never let you back on here again. :LOL2:

 

[Seth]

That camo wrap is awesome. I like my boat being blue, but my next boat is going to be camo.

 

[bulldog]

Got the old deck ripped out and this is the start of my subframe. I am using 1" box tubing with 1/16" wall and 1.5" angle with 1/16" wall. All of it is rivetted together with 1/8 rivets but anywhere it is rivetted to the boat I am using 3/16" rivets. It is very solid and I am shocked how light it is compared to the wood I had in there. This is just the start and is approx 70% done. I ran out of angle or i would have finished it today. I'll get some more work done on it tomorrow evening.

 

[fender66]

Looks great. Where'd you get the tubing?

 

[bulldog]

Shapiro Steel Supply near Union and 70.

 

[fender66]

Shapiro Steel Supply near Union and 70.

FYI
If you go back.....you can often get a better price if you offer cash direct to the owner.

 

[bulldog]

Little more of the subframe done. Approx 90% now. I started cutting some of the frame pieces. I bought a $15 miter saw from Craigslist to do all the rest of the cutting and it is working great for a $15 saw from Craigslist with a wood cutting blade. Hopefully I can have this all completed by Sunday. I have two square storage boxes in the middle, one long one in front of the console, and a 7'10" rod locker on the other side. I can't wait to get it done. It is a lot of work that is for sure.

 

[Brine]

Nice pics on the bow :mrgreen:

 

[bulldog]

Yeah, I might be stealing your design a little. You inspired me to do it and I'm not sure if I love you or hate you for it. A LOT of work. Tons of little stuff that you don't think about until you are there.

 

[S&MFISH]

Bulldog,your progress looks good.Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[Brine]

Yeah, I might be stealing your design a little. You inspired me to do it and I'm not sure if I love you or hate you for it. A LOT of work. Tons of little stuff that you don't think about until you are there.

Steal away, and I'm honored. It is a lot of work. Much more than I anticipated when I started. Looks like you've made some good progress. =D>

 

[bulldog]

A little bit more done now. Subframe is about 85-90% done and I have about 40-50% of the framing done now. I got the floor done where the driver and front passenger sit. Insulated and all. I am also going to insulate the flooring in the front where the framing is already done for support and I have some extra insulation so why not?

I was breaking down the hours so far:

old deck tear out - 1.5 hours
last Saturday - 6 hours subframe
last Sunday - 2 hours subframe
Monday - 2.5 hours subframe/ frame
Tuesday - 3 hours subframe/frame/flooring
Wednesday - 2 hours frame

Probably another 20 hours minimum.

It never ends. Hopefully I can get this thing done by Sunday night. It is so much more work than you think it is but I feel like I am doing it correctly. Just a ton of little stuff that is going to pay off in the long run.

On a lighter note, it pays off to work next door to a tool and die shop because they have EVERYTHING possible that you could need and eager people to lend assistance and knowledge. Most of all a band saw to cut all the 1" 45 degree angles I needed for support. I cut a couple with a hacksaw and I knew there was a better way. Also it pays off to spend a lot of $$$$ at my sign supplier because I got a couple $90 4' x 8' Max Metal, like ACM, for $20 because the corners were dented. When I say dented I mean someone sneezed on the corner and there was a tiny little dent on them. Great deal.

Here are some pics of the floor insulation and the framing after tonight.

 

[bulldog]

I forget last Friday was 5 hours for the Durafixing of the rivets.

 

[moelkhuntr]

Looking nice!!! A lot of self satisfaction in a job like that! =D> =D> =D>

 

[bulldog]

Put another 6 hours in today doing the framing. Popped rivet #700 also. Here are some pics of the progress.

 

[bulldog]

Pictures of the storage lockers. Gonna be SWEET!!!!

 

[LonLB]

Very nice work.....I hoping to go with aluminum on my boat too, instead of wood.

=D>

 

[bulldog]

I did it in wood last year and it is just too heavy and it gets rained on and warps. Just sucked. Aluminum is more expensive but worth it in the long run and it looks and functions awesome.

 

[bulldog]

Side note on the aluminum: Get your stock from a metal wholesaler as it is half as much as retail and get your rivets from Harbor Freight as they are 1/3 the price of retail.

 

[bulldog]

Got a lot of the decking done today. It is almost done completely but I still have about 10 hours of work to do still. Looks awesome!!