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

[bulldog]

This is a little touch I did to the insides of the storage compartments. I took a wire wheel on a drill and scuffed the aluminum up just to give it a little flair. I think it looks better that just plain old aluminum.

 

[reedjj]

Did you replace one of the bench seats that you previously removed? If so did you put it back in the same place? It looks like you moved the 2nd bench rearward and put the console where the 2nd bench was originally.

I am asking because I am trying to figure out how to balance my build. I would like and end product to be a smaller version of yours.

It looks like a professional build. Very nice.

 

[bulldog]

Thanks. I took the front bench completely out and did not replace it. I mounted my seats to the middle bench seat and to be honest I completely guessed with the balance but with the old deck it was almost perfect. With the new aluminum deck it is going to be a little back heavy but I am alright with that. The best way for you to find the correct balance for your boat is to just try a couple things. There is no real way to tell if it is going to be perfect or not until it gets wet.

Good luck on your build.

 

[bulldog]

Finished my deck for the most part tonight. I still have to do a couple more small things but it is 99% done. I am going to line the storage compartments and rod locker with the same material that yard signs are made out of. Called chloroplast. It is very light, easy to clean, it will work perfectly, it is easy to work with, I have an abundance of it, it is cheap, and it will make the compartments look finished.

I have to mount the trolling motor, mount the butt seat holder, mount some sort of handles or something to open the lids and that is about it. More work than I imagined but I love the way it looks and it will be very user friendly for me when I am fishing and that is all that matters.

 

[Brine]

=D> Looks great Man.

Since you're on a roll.... how bout a trip to GA to finish mine?

 

[richg99]

Really, seriously ..a great job. Rich

 

[bulldog]

I got locking flush mount latches from Cabela's today. Thank God for gift certificates because they were $27.99 a piece and I got 4. Cost me $30 out of pocket. I'll post pics later after they are installed.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Livewells-Bilge-Pumps-Hatches/Hatches-Storage|/pc/104794380/c/104743980/sc/104378580/T-H-Hatch-Latch/737202.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-livewells-bilge-pumps-hatches-hatches-storage%2F_%2FN-1100642%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104378580%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104794380%253Bcat104743980&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104794380%3Bcat104743980%3Bcat104378580

 

[fender66]

So, how many feet of tubing do you have in this build?

 

[bulldog]

I have 92' of 1" box tubing and 83' of 1.5" angle. I also used about 4' of 1.25" box tubing with 1/8" wall on one spot that needed to be stronger than the rest.

 

[Codeman]

Looks great and you got done quick.

 

[S&MFISH]

That looks slick bulldog. Really nice job.

 

[bulldog]

Looks great and you got done quick.

I have about 45 hours in to it and it has been on my mind since I started it about 2 weeks ago so I am pretty glad it is getting close to being done. I still have some stuff to do. It just never ends but I'm still having fun. Once fishing season comes around all the hard work will pay off.

 

[bulldog]

I got my latches mounted yesterday and they look great. My review on them would be that they function well and look well and they were VERY easy to install. Probably took 5 minutes per and that includes lining them up and drilling the holes. They seem solid and will keep people out that want to steal your stuff but if someone really wanted to get in, I am willing to bet they could. I'd give them an 8.5 out of 10, losing 1 point for the cost - $27.99 per and .5 point because they don't mount as flush as I would like. I'm probably nit picking that last one but all in all I'm happy. It will give me piece of mind knowing that my stuff is locked up. I'm like a lot of you guys and I have a couple expensive combos and a ton of tackle that is worth some $$ so having locks is great.

 

[bulldog]

Here is a picture of the console and the rear of the new deck. I just put the finishing touches on the sides and back of the deck tonight. I'm trying to make it look as clean as possible. My boat has a lot of digs and dents so everything I am building I am trying to make look clean I guess to make up for that. You can see the exposed aluminum cross members. This is a pretty big stretch to not bend for 1" box tubing so I used 1.25" box tubing with 1/8" walls on the bottom and a 1" on the top. It does not flex at all even with a 235+ pound man stepping on it.

All that is left to do in this picture is to mount the Hot Foot. If you don't have a Hot Foot in your boat, you are missing out. I have heard both sides of the argument and I have owned boats with and without and IMO a Hot Foot is the way to go and I will never own another boat with a console without one.

 

[bAcKpAiN]

The boat looks incredible! If you don't mind, what do you think you spent in aluminum for this build?

 

[bulldog]

I think around $300 plus the decking so about $400 in aluminum. It used more than I thought it would but I wanted to build it strong.

 

[cathprod]

Looks great! I am planning for an alumuminum deck like yourself and was trying to figure out how to support the large hatch lids so that there was no give if standing right in the middle of one. I like what you did but was wondering what the framing underneath the lid sits on while closed? I couldn't tell in the pics.

 

[bulldog]

To make sure the compartment doors did not fall through, when I built the sub frame I used 1.5" angle and the actual framing was done out of 1" box tubing. This way there is .25"-.5" of the compartment doors that sit on the 1.5" angle of the sub frame when the doors are closed. The only part of the doors that do not sit on the sub frame is the edge that has the hinge, that is supported by rivets every 2.5-3".

I really planned this thing out with very little planning and just committed to an idea that actually worked but I'm glad I did it the way that I did or else you have to add support to the lids and that is just a waste of expensive aluminum.

I hope this helps and if you need pics, just let me know and I'll get some taken.

 

[cathprod]

If you wouldn't mind taking a couple pictures that would help because I am having a hard time visualizing it. No rush though because I am still in the demo stage. Thanks!

 

[bulldog]

Alright here are some pics and an explanation:

The sub frame of my build was made to match up to my cross members already in the boat as the supports of the boat itself. So this left me with little choice in to where my middle storage units were going to go or how big they were. That was decided by how far apart the cross members were. I built my sub frame according to Brine's build pics. That is really all I had to go off of were the couple pics in his build up. I knew that the actual frame was going to be built out of 1" box so I figured If I built the sub frame out of 1.5" angle, I would have some place for the frame to rest on along with a small ledge for the doors of the storage lockers to rest on.

Here are some pics and if you need more, don't be shy as I am more than happy to help.