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

[bulldog]

I pop rivetted everything. I think it was 700-800 all together. My right forearm is enormous from the hand opperated gun.

 

[bulldog]

Sounds to me like the top water bite will be on at the upper Meramec.

Very true...if the water isn't too high and muddy.

Supposed to be at 2'-3' out West. Lower than I have ever fished it. I'm excited!!

 

[bulldog]

Did you pop-rivet the entire frame, or did you weld some of it?

It looks good, real similar to what my basstracker is going to be....eventually #-o

Put a link of your build in your signature. That boat is one of my favorite styles. I'd love to have the 18 footer with the inboard 175 horse Merc.

 

[possom813]

When I actually start the build I'll get a lot of pics and link for ya, right now I'm just trying to get it seaworthy so I can go fishing :lol:

First lake test is tomorrow afternoon.....hopefully I'll post good news after that.

 

[bulldog]

Sounds to me like the top water bite will be on at the upper Meramec.

Very true...if the water isn't too high and muddy.

Supposed to be at 2'-3' out West. Lower than I have ever fished it. I'm excited!!

Well the water might have been 2'-3' but I got a 2-3 sheets to the wind at a wedding Saturday night so I did not make it fishing. Maybe this weekend but I have another wedding this Saturday. I'm going to go a little easier for sure. At 28, I'm getting too old for this. :LOL2: The hangovers are starting to last for a day or more instead of just an hour or so.

 

[fender66]

The water is really muddy....IMO, not worth fishing. Might be different down river a bit (or up), but I'm not hopeful as backed up as it is. I will be out of town fishing Pomme deTerre in a tourney with my youngest daughter all weekend. Hope we stay dry. Let me know how the Meramec goes.

 

[bulldog]

I got my rear floor done this evening along with new side bunks for my trailer. The old bunks were dry rotted and junk. New ones are awesome!! The new rear floor is solid and looks great. I'm going to build a deck of some sort on top of the rear floor with a livewell. I have an idea in my head but now I just have to get it done.

 

[fender66]

Very nicely done.

 

[Brine]

Awesome bd. You've put together a great rig thus far.

 

[bulldog]

Thanks fellas. I am getting everything pretty much wrapped up with the build. I'm working with my insurance company right now to get it insured for what I believe it is worth and that is like pulling teeth. They just look at the year and model and can't believe all the things that are done to it. They want to insure the boat on a separate plan that the trailer and the motor on a separate plan than the rest and then another plan for the tackle, trolling motor, fish finder ect. I have a feeling this is going to be a long running problem but maybe everything will work out well.

Thanks again for the kind words.

 

[fender66]

Man, my insurance company asked me how much I wanted to insure boat, trailer and engine for (separately) and we went from there. I also have an additional clause on top of that to cover my electronics and fishing gear in the event of ANYTHING happening. Push some buttons on their calculator and give me a total for a year. Simple as that.

 

[Seth]

Man, my insurance company asked me how much I wanted to insure boat, trailer and engine for (separately) and we went from there. I also have an additional clause on top of that to cover my electronics and fishing gear in the event of ANYTHING happening. Push some buttons on their calculator and give me a total for a year. Simple as that.

This is how mine was as well. They just asked what I wanted it insured for and that was about it.

 

[bulldog]

Called a buddy of mine that does insurance and it litterally took 15 minutes to get covered. I think the first person I asked just had no idea what they were doing. I have great coverage and it is very affordable. Goes in effect today and I could not be more satisfied. What a relief. Seriously.

 

[reedjj]

Man I love that boat. I remember looking at this thread back when I first joined tin boats. I've been through your thread a few times. But, I cant find what kind of boat it is.

What kind is it (was it) and what's the size?

 

[bulldog]

It is a 1983 Lowe 1848. It is really about 18'6" long with a 48" bottom and 71" across the top. This boat was just sitting on my dad's farm rotting away and I asked him if I could use it for a "project". He said sure and the rest is history. It would prbably be sitting there still if I did not grab it. He has not seen it since the aluminum decks were put in so I'm pretty excited to show him soon.

 

[reedjj]

He's gonna want some money for it after he see's what you have done..LOL!

 

[Ranchero50]

That wrap turned out really nice. Do you have any full hull pics of the boat on the water?

Second question, what's the average retail value on doing something like that?

 

[bulldog]

That wrap turned out really nice. Do you have any full hull pics of the boat on the water?

Second question, what's the average retail value on doing something like that?

I will post some pictures of the boat on the water after this weekend.

The wraps run from about $500 for a Camoclad wrap installed up to around $2000 for my wrap not including design time. My wrap is 100% custom and from scratch with about 10 hours of design time. I have seen similar designs on boats but I wanted to take it to a new level. We even made every rivet look like they were aged and oxidized. Lots of little things you don't notice right away. The whole goal in designing something custom is to put a lot of detail in it so that every time you look at the wrap you see a little more detail and design aspects. Design rates are $45 per hour for tinboats.net members.

 

[Ranchero50]

Price makes sense. I was mentally figuring how much time it would take to measure the hull so the rivet lines were parallel and it would turn out looking as good as it does. I like the sharks mouth detail on the front and the girl looks fine too. It looks much better vs. a leaf pattern camo.

Jamie

 

[bulldog]

I bought a new to me fish finder. It is a Lowrance 522ci gps, 2 years old and looks like it is brand new. Works well and I have been shopping for one for a long time. I still have to move the Humminbird to the front but in the pictures you can see what it is going to look like. I'm very happy with the purchase. Thinking about getting a Navionics chip but I'm going to use it like it is for now.

You like all the gauges in my console? The only one that works is the tach but the rest of them sure look good. :LOL2: I had to fill the holes with something right? I thought about flush mounting the Lowrance in the console but the steering wheel will be in the way too much. That would look sweet though.