New guy with a "new" project

[thedude]

Glad to see the project continue! Looks like a good start..

 

[chbarnha]

Well I got the rest of the framing done yesterday on the 1985 Grumman. I am now ready for a deck.im going to have 6 storage compartments two of which will be for the trolling motor batteries up front under the seat. Getting a little closer!

 

[heron2000]

On the motor
Mariner is a very good engine
New water pump
Carb kit
Do not use starting spray to start the engine - it's a 2 cycle and needs oil in the gas

 

[onthewater102]

A few thoughts on the motor:

1.) I agree, change the impeller/water pump. It's too important to not inspect and it's an easy part to swap out. Plenty of videos of how-to and what to watch out for up on youtube

2.) I would order a carburetor gasket kit for it with the impeller - it's cheap, not worth the extra shipping you'd pay to order it later, and you're bound to need it eventually, so it won't go to waste. There is a vacuum powered diaphragm in there that acts as a fuel pump which is easily weakened by the alcohol in gas or just prone to drying out and cracking over time. It is included in the kit and likely a part you will need if it's been sitting that long.

3.) If that's a 15" transom on that boat you'll likely want to frame a riser out while you're working with that aluminum to get the most performance out of that motor. I found with my mariner the cavitation plate naturally lined up almost 2" below the bottom of the boat (I also have a 15" transom). Raising it up to be level did a lot for the performance/ strain on the motor.

Framing work looks great.

 

[chbarnha]

Thanks for all the help. All the motor work is done. I redid all of that last year and it runs like a top. Replaced the carburetor gaskets and the impeller. Trying to decide if I want to go with an aluminum carpeted floor or a plywood carpeted floor. Won’t work on the boat again until next weekend. Paper mill will take up all of my time until then. Then I need to find a foot control tm that won’t break the bank. Then hopefully we will
Be fishing and tweaking the setup

 

[onthewater102]

Personally I avoid carpet, having had it on both my grandparent's dock for 30yrs and then on my first bass boat, but I'm farther north and temperature isn't an issue for me. Vinyl gets a lot of attention, brighter colors will stay cooler than dark, but I prefer the ease of textured paint.

FWIW I don't like carpet for 2 reasons...
1 - I snag it constantly with my treble hooks no matter how hard I try to avoid it.
2 - ESOX fish stink it up something fierce and the stench never seems to go away. Nothing worse than pealing back the boat cover on a sunny day to a face full of stank from three week old sun-baked pickerel slime. No thanks.

 

[LDUBS]

FWIW I don't like carpet for 2 reasons...
1 - I snag it constantly with my treble hooks no matter how hard I try to avoid it.
2 - ESOX fish stink it up something fierce and the stench never seems to go away. Nothing worse than pealing back the boat cover on a sunny day to a face full of stank from three week old sun-baked pickerel slime. No thanks.

I love the smell of pickerel slime in the morning! :LOL2: :LOL2:

 

[chbarnha]

Well I got the carpet ordered and just waiting to go pick up the wood or a few signs. Haven’t decided yet. Should I go with aluminum decking or plywood decking? Looking for opinions.... on another note I am now the owner of another Grumman. Me and a boy I work with were looking at craigslist and came across two 14’ John boats for 250$. He said he really wanted one but didn’t need two, so I told him if he wanted one then we split the cost and I’ll take the other one. His is the alumacraft and mine is the Grumman. Not a bad deal I don’t think. May flip mine, or make it into a little pond boat for at the hunt club... not to sure yet

 

[chbarnha]

Well here’s the carpet I’m going to be going with... my dads 16 foot alumacraft has had this carpet in it for over 10years and it’s still going strong. Doubt if I will be duck hunting out of this boat but if I do the carpet will be semi camo. It’s 97$ for 6x15. Also free shipping. I’ll take that type of deal.

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[chbarnha]

Well I finally took the time to actually deck the boat. Got tired of looking at it sitting over next to the field and never using it. It came out great, gonna carpet it tomorrow. And then it will
Be time to fish it.

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[chbarnha]

Well the carpet was a little more intensive than I thought. This is all new to me. But I got all but two of the pieces covered before I had to head to the mill. Definitely
Happy with how it is coming out. I have to finish the two pieces and then I think I am gonna do the vertical surfaces of the bench as well but I need to figure out how will be best to mount a radio and speakers. I’m thinking the bench vertical surface but am open to
Suggestions.

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[chbarnha]

Well I finally got it to about 90% completion and said heck with it I’m putting her in the drink. I’m sure I will find plenty more I want to add and still need to wire up most of the electrical components but it was done enough to spend a day on the water. The mariner gave me a scare right out of the gate. The kill switch in the tiller handle must be randomly vibrating closed and killing the engine. It happened a few times sporadically through the day but as long as I took pliers and messed with the switch it would fire right back up. Overall pretty happy with how it came out. I did end up having to replace the pvc compartment doors with half inch ply as they bowed in horrible as the glue set. Now to
Just wire up the radio and speakers and the fish finder and after that it will all just be things I figure out I need as time goes on. Definitely been a fun project but glad to finally be able to put her in the water.

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[richg99]

Nice work.

 

[chbarnha]

Well the money keeps going.... probably the most expensive part of my build bought today. Didn’t want to go this expensive but here it is. Simrad go9. Anybody got one? I’ll put it on tomorrow.

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[Colorado1135]

I've had good luck with the cheap LED trailer lights, use heatshrink splices and you should have no issues. I tend to not own a boat long enough though to see how long they will actually last, 2-4 years is about average until this last boat, I think I'll keep her for a good while. I second the suggestion of using it a few times before deciding to customize it, maybe check out some other styles of boat to see what features you like on the water- if you have the ability to do so. should be a fun project, I've never been a fan of the square bow of johnboats but to each their own, lots of folks love em.