My First Aluminum Boat Project

[squeak12]

Do ya'll think that the transom is something that can easily be fixed just by replacing the wood or will it need metal work also?

 

[squeak12]

I got to looking at what I could to do today, and decided to strip the boat out and start building from scratch. The rear deck had plywood under it that needed to be replaced, and there was no way to do it properly with out ripping the deck out. So I decided instead of replacing the wood, I would replace the deck. Hopefully tomorrow, I will get the front deck out, finish stripping the console out, and get the floor out. If I have time, I will run to the carwash and get to cleaning. By the way, the factory floor in this boat is nothing more than sheet metal layed out over the ribs with carpet on top. I would compare the thickness to flashing, maybe even a bit thinner.

The braces in there I believe are factory since they are riveted through the floor. They just weren't up to a 175lb motor hanging off the back for all the the trailer rides. I'm hoping I can reuse them, maybe with a little more beefing up and of course a motor toter.

 

[squeak12]

I got the rest of the console pulled today. Pulled all of the front deck that I wanted to. It came out in three pieces. The front piece was riveted down the sides of the boat. Since I am going to rebuild a deck anyways, I decided I would leave that as is to prevent a lot of headaches earlier. Pulled the flooring up, swept, and did a light cleaning at the car wash. After a while, drilling out and removing rivets isn't too bad...

I guess this leaves me more cleaning tomorrow before I can really get started on putting a plan into action. What is common practice on painting the interior? I definitely want to paint the top rails and any aluminum that will be exposed. Is is a waste of time to clean the entire hull and paint everything? The more I think about it, I think I will sheet over the floor and the side panels of the majority of the boat using ACM that I saw used in another build on here.

 

[soky72]

Just gutted my 83 sea nymph bass attacker like that and it was nasty. I got some aluminum pontoon cleaner from a marine shop (acid) and it really cleaned the hell out of the boat. Ive used air craft stripper to remove stickers and old glue from foam and carpet but extra strength "goo gone" works even better and seems less hazardous. I then used a brass wire wheel on a 4 inch die grinder and it really etched the metal nicely and quickly. Im next going to use some self etching primer on the inside and zinc chromate etching primer on the outside of the boat and then shoot the whole thing with Farm Implement Paint from Tractor Supply. You will see a lot of people on here have used farm implement paint and my dad had his boat painted with it a few years back and its worked great. Some people like using flat camo paint such as those sold by Krylon and Rustoleum. From what I read they dont seem to be as durable but they are very available and their flat texture makes for easy touch-up when you get scratches. You could use Rustoleum topside boat paint or order some higher dollar Interlux but I wanted to build my boat with as many local materials as possible without ordering anything so the last two were nixed from my plan. If you really want high dollar consider having it shot with a bed liner such as Line-x.

 

[squeak12]

I got started on ripping the transom out today. Flathead fasteners on a boat is a terrible idea, especially through the transom. I could only get one out with a socket and screwdriver. Nothing that a side grinder and cut off wheel can't fix. I think I ended up cutting about 8-10 bolts out. As far as rebuilding the transom, I am really leaning toward building it out of tubing. I figure 2x4 or something similar to box all around the perimeter and two uprights where the motor bolts through. My main reason for not using wood is all of the work I will have to do anyways. I have to cut out the corner braces and center braces to get the wood out anyways. Figure if I am in there I might as well swing for the fences.

Scrap. I will reuse the console temporarily, but I plan to build a new one eventually.

Pictures from today. The transom looks twisted bad in the last picture. While it is twisted, it looks worse because of the angles in the corner brace.

 

[FishinsMyLife]

My transom is in worse shape than yours, and I beat the hell out of my boat and motor. Previous owner syndrome sucks :lol:

 

[squeak12]

Yeah, it is manageable, but I figure if I am going to tear it down to do a new floor and change the decking, I might as well do everything and do it right. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some estimates on welding on the hull and building a transom.

 

[squeak12]

Here's my plan for the transom. I'm thinking about 1x3 maybe 1x2 rectangular tubing.

 

[Zum]

Similar to what mine is from factory.
I have a few pictures,may or maynot help you.