New life for an old Smoker Craft

[fool4fish1226]

Nice =D> love your set-up kinda reminds me of what I did minus the carpet

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Very nice! Will that flashlight and bow light stay put while trailering? Are those clamps pretty solid? I like the idea of having a flashlight onboard at all times and knowing exactly where it is.

 

[fishingmich]

Hey edge, how wide and how long are the storage boxes for your rods? I'm gonna do something like that for my Smokercraft. Its just going to be tackle storage on the port side and stoargage for rain jackets, sweatshirts and stuff on the starboard side.

 

[Doubles]

Sorry to hear about the tools, they'll get theirs eventually. Great work on the boat, super cool.

Doubles

 

[edge540]

Hey edge, how wide and how long are the storage boxes for your rods? I'm gonna do something like that for my Smokercraft. Its just going to be tackle storage on the port side and stoargage for rain jackets, sweatshirts and stuff on the starboard side.

The hatch lids are 4'-8" and the rod tubes go 3'-4" into the bow to hold an 8' rod. The whole system works better then I ever planned in my head, rods slide in and out super easy and there is no chance of damage in transport. There is plenty of room in there for back packs and sweat shirts and the benches are a great bench to sit on while fishing or tying up. M boat is a 16' wide model so your hatches will depend on the size of your decks minus whats left in the middle. You could certainly make the hatches on the benches cut into part of the front or rear deck on a shorter boat to keep the large hatch size.

Sorry to hear about the tools, they'll get theirs eventually. Great work on the boat, super cool.

Doubles

Thanks,
I never seem to get the last laugh in these situations but I did get a call from the detective to come ID some tools today. His @#$%$## but is in the county lockup and I was able to prove ownership of tools found in his truck from ser# VS my receipts and picture tool inventory. He is looking at some hard time but 99% of my tools were not found. I hate thieves!!! He admitted to selling them to support his drug habit...

 

[fishingmich]

The boat had 4 benches in it and I took out the 3rd bench back for more room. Between the back bench and the middle bench I have almost 6 feet to work with. Utahbass had mentioned something about using battery boxes for tackle storage so I'm gonna build in a couple of those on the port side. So my side storage compartments should be about 6' long 18' high and about 8-10' wide. witha couple of sorage hatches on top of the benches. I'm taking alot from Utah's build. I think his boat is pretty badass. Simple but efficient. My side storage is going to look similar to yours.

 

[edge540]

I sure wish my seats and bilge pump were here. I got all the plumbing and electrical finished. Shut off the lights in the shop to show the lights working. It will be really nice after an evening of fishing to be able to stow all the gear without needing a flashlight to see what im doing. The light are all switched separately and there are two separate live well pumps one that in aerates fresh water coming in from the transom and overflows out the side of the boats thru hull fitting. The other is a recirculating pump that runs on a timer to save the batteries. I Hope to gave time and a break in the rain to take it out on the pond in the morning :LOL2:

 

[fishingmich]

Where did you find the holder for the Mag-lite? Thats prety sweet. I would like something like that in my boat.

 

[edge540]

She floats :mrgreen: Went out and played on my pond for an hour and a half and tested all systems. Live well works awesome!!! The Fill pump works great and you can drain most of the water out just pulling the plug in the bottom before you get to the trailer. Its still stable as heck and I can walk on the side benches to get from the front to the back without feeling tippy at all.

When I got done I found out the wife had been snapping pics of me from the front porch so Ill post em. Note the pics of me standing on the sides of the back corner :LOL2:

 

[dmccullough12]

Looks like you did a great job on this boat.

 

[Doubles]

Thanks,
I never seem to get the last laugh in these situations but I did get a call from the detective to come ID some tools today. His @#$%$## but is in the county lockup and I was able to prove ownership of tools found in his truck from ser# VS my receipts and picture tool inventory. He is looking at some hard time but 99% of my tools were not found. I hate thieves!!! He admitted to selling them to support his drug habit...

All in time my friend, more to life than tools (and drugs -- as one thievin' jerk off figured out last week)... like that beautiful boat build you have going on. Ain't worth gettin your heart rate up over. Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!

Doubles

 

[edge540]

Oh Yea SEATS!!!

Getting real close now, wife was teasing me about the giant Cabellas box in the living room while I was at work :LOL2:

I got home and FINALLY put the seats on, Im really impressed with the quality now and dont mind the cost as much. Glad I went with the gas charged adjustable height posts now :lol:

Time to finish the buoyancy foam and hook up the bilge pump so I can take the kid fishing.

 

[edge540]

Thanks,
I never seem to get the last laugh in these situations but I did get a call from the detective to come ID some tools today. His @#$%$## but is in the county lockup and I was able to prove ownership of tools found in his truck from ser# VS my receipts and picture tool inventory. He is looking at some hard time but 99% of my tools were not found. I hate thieves!!! He admitted to selling them to support his drug habit...

All in time my friend, more to life than tools (and drugs -- as one thievin' jerk off figured out last week)... like that beautiful boat build you have going on. Ain't worth gettin your heart rate up over. Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!

Doubles

Thanks Bro, Sounds like the boss man is going to replace everything im missing and it should all work out. I spent a couple hours with the engraver today scratching my drivers license # in to my tools. Boats getting close to some relaxation on the lake so im pretty excited. (Cant do that from a jail cell) :LMFAO:

 

[Doubles]

That is awesome; congrats. That's a boss that needs a day on the lake.

Where did you get the lights on the inside walls of your boat? I've been looking for something like that.

Thanks,
Doubles

 

[edge540]

That is awesome; congrats. That's a boss that needs a day on the lake.

Where did you get the lights on the inside walls of your boat? I've been looking for something like that.

Thanks,
Doubles

Yea ill be taking him fishin soon :LOL2:

Lights are just a collection of license plate lights that I had. I drilled the top of the hood on some of them to let more light out of the housing. Seem to work well, I can upgrade the bulbs to led later.

 

[De Hoog]

Love the build you did and glad to see the Pacific NW represented here. Just curious about the Coat-It product you applied to the bottom. I went to the Tap Plastics website to get info. How much did you use for the bottom of your boat? I see the 2 lbs. amount and the 8 lbs. amount. Which did you use? I have a 12' Hewes Craft that I want to do the bottom of and I was hoping I could get by with the 2 lbs. Is it a single coat product and how thick do you apply? I've been looking at Steel Flex, but I like the fact that you can apply Coat-It in colder weather. Thanks and again, great build!

Ever make it over to our dry side of the state to fish?

 

[edge540]

Love the build you did and glad to see the Pacific NW represented here. Just curious about the Coat-It product you applied to the bottom. I went to the Tap Plastics website to get info. How much did you use for the bottom of your boat? I see the 2 lbs. amount and the 8 lbs. amount. Which did you use? I have a 12' Hewes Craft that I want to do the bottom of and I was hoping I could get by with the 2 lbs. Is it a single coat product and how thick do you apply? I've been looking at Steel Flex, but I like the fact that you can apply Coat-It in colder weather. Thanks and again, great build!

Ever make it over to our dry side of the state to fish?

Glad to represent the NW I used a #8 kit and coated the whole bottom. I buried a row of rivets the length of the boat under a 1/4" of epoxy though. Id say #2 might not be enough for you but its all up to how thick it is. Do you have a specific leak that your trying to cover? You might be better off bucking the rivets and just painting it with Rustoleum if you don't have any serious leaks. Good luck,let me know if you have any questions. :beer: