New to the site and lookin for input

[Catfan84]

Hello all. New to the site been looking at all the cool mods you guys have done. I have a 12 foot sea king and was wandering if I took out the middle and rear bench seat to make it more open if my boat would still be structurally sound still or if I work have to add some kind of bracing? Planning on putting in a floor and some storage over the winter and just wanting some input.this will be my first build of many if it turns out the way I'd like any input or advice would be great..Thanks for you time fellow fisherman

 

[bthompson92]

It would probably be okay, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. I would replace it with some type of bracing if it was me. Look forward to seeing your build, upload some pictures of the boat when you get a chance.

 

[Ranchero50]

It's been said time and again, keep it simple, especially your first hull. Personally I wouldn't mess with it beyond some floor boards. It's 12' short and no doubt doesn't have much capacity and is possibly one of the early ones with tin foil metal and no true ribs.

Enjoy it and if you like the sport enough, find a decent 14' hull to play with that you will grow into instead of outgrowing a 12' hull as soon as it's 'done'.

 

[Catfan84]

Thanks for the input. Yeah it is older but I scored the boat for free figured sink a little bit of money into it use it for a few years and get something nicer with the sale of this one.Would like something bigger but if it's free it's for me . Gonna be a slow project right now working 60 hour weeks and the time I do get is spent fishin so over the winter wanna rebuild the motor and finds a way to make this little boat more comfortable to spend long hours in. When I get started I will put pictures up.Probably just gonna take out the middle bench to give it a little more open feel to it we'll have to see what I come you with.Thanks for your time and any more input or advice would be appreciated thanks all for your time

 

[great white]

Nothing wrong with a 12. Mine is a 12:

That's pre- carpet.

It fits 2, but is much more enjoyable with one. Which suits me just fine.

I kept the center bench. It is the rear support for the front deck.

The 8 HP gets it on plane nicely. Its also easy to maneuver and fits in the garage easily.

Build it the way you want. You can always take it out if you don't like it or it doesn't perform properly. If nothing else, you will gain the skills needed (ie: practice run) for your bigger boat when you get it.

Just make sure you keep it light in your build.

12 footers don't like a lot of weight.

 

[Pembroke36]

great white » 07 Aug 2014, 20:02[/url]"]Nothing wrong with a 12. Mine is a 12:

That's pre- carpet.

It fits 2, but is much more enjoyable with one. Which suits me just fine.

I kept the center bench. It is the rear support for the front deck.

The 8 HP gets it on plane nicely. Its also easy to maneuver and fits in the garage easily.

Build it the way you want. You can always take it out if you don't like it or it doesn't perform properly. If nothing else, you will gain the skills needed (ie: practice run) for your bigger boat when you get it.

Just make sure you keep it light in your build.

12 footers don't like a lot of weight.

Nice boat. How is it with all of that wood in there? I just started a 12' v as well.

 

[Catfan84]

Thanks for the photo and the input great white got one question for ya though how is that deck on a12 foot boat? I was thinking about doing that but was worried that it would make the boat a little bit tippy. I did see a post where some one made pontoons for the side but some of the places I fish have allot of down trees and would probably end up just smashing them off a log jam so probably not the best idea for me

 

[rickybobbybend]

And here is one (in my sig) with a smaller and lighter front deck/storage area. The comment on weight is right on; weight is the enemy of smaller tins. Somewhere on here I posted on the the relationship between total weight and top speed with a 9.9 'rude. I found that speed dropped off quickly with added weight. A 12 footer can be a fun and very usable size in the right conditions. Just be careful not to try and make it something it can never be.

 

[great white]

Pembroke36 » Yesterday, 19:22[/url]"]
Nice boat. How is it with all of that wood in there? I just started a 12' v as well.

It's all modular and friction fit. Designed to be held down by the gunwales and overlapping sections. There's three screws in the bow plate and that's it. Pull those three out and it all comes out one piece after another. You can sort of see what I mean in these pics:

The rear deck is also modular. A couple screws out of the "wing boxes" and it all just lifts out:

The very bottom deck just sits on the chine "kick out" and some added Al angle:

Make sure you have and access hole in the very bottom deck to use a manual bailer (IE:bucket) if needed:

Besides weight and convenience, I built it this way so that the hull and the ribs/structure was not touched. No screws, no rivets, nothing. The only alterations to the actual boat itself is the Al channels blind riveted to the seats, which has no effect ont he struture of the boat. I wanted to maintain the integrity of the structure so nothing could be touched. This is also why I worked my design around the bracing and the seating, rather than alter or remove it. My tinny sees the Atlantic ocean from time to time and I wanted it to stand up to the pounding it sometimes sees. It's not just a flatwater boat....it runs 3-4 foot lake chop (on or off plane) without fuss and 5-10 foot rollers on the Atlantic. Fair weather only though and no whitecaps in the rollers. It is only a 12 foot tinny after all....I'm also never the only boat when out on the Atlantic. We go in a group of boats.

The electrical bits are all put together with weather sealed metripack connectors so they're easy peasy to remove.

Catfan84 » Yesterday, 19:41[/url]"]Thanks for the photo and the input great white got one question for ya though how is that deck on a12 foot boat? I was thinking about doing that but was worried that it would make the boat a little bit tippy. I did see a post where some one made pontoons for the side but some of the places I fish have allot of down trees and would probably end up just smashing them off a log jam so probably not the best idea for me

My deck is fine and stable, but my boat also seems to be wider than most tins on the forum. It's 60" in the beam and 51" at the chine. I still wouldn't stand on the rails though. I usually just sit in the front seat and fish:

Which is actually right in the middle of the boat, right over the center bench in the spot you would row.

My decking also isn't very heavy. The whole "insert" is just a tick over 60 lbs. The decking is only 3/8" plywood and a simple utility grade to keep costs down (it's covered in carpet after all). The strength comes from how I built it:

The understructure is bonded to the deck (clamped and glued) and is the real strength. I work in the aerospace industry and have a decent working knowledge of composites and keeping structures strong and light.

I didn't water seal it. I didn't want to add the weight of a gallon pail of sealer to the boat. I generally only fish when it's nice out and even when it gets wet, it goes back into a nice dry garage. I also stitched up a covers so it stays dry when traveling:

So it's pretty much dry it's whole life. If the wood rots out in 5-10, years I'll just replace it. Or I might do aluminum next time.

If you want "outriggers" and are worried about damaging them, just make them hinge-able and lock them up and down as required. I'd build your deck and try it before going to that extent though. Maybe even take your bare hull to the water and try standing around in different spots to see where the C of G is going to fall for your boat.

Cheers

 

[great white]

Forgot to add that by not disturbing the seats I maintained all the OEM floatation. I can swamp it and it will still float.

Also, I don't stand on the FWD deck much. I fish from the seat and when landing the fish I just spin around and step down onto the lower deck. That keeps my C of G low in the boat. As low as it would be without decking.

I've never GPS'd it, but it will plane just fine with the added weight. If I had to guess, it's somewhere around the 13-15 mph+ mark. The hull is rated for 15 hp, that would likely get it somewhere around 18-20 mph. But I'm never in that big of a rush. I check the weather and take my portable VHF radio with me to listen to weather and marine bands. It's also a talker, so if I get in trouble I can call out on marine distress or any of the local police channels. That's a big no-no, unless you're in trouble. Then, anything goes and it's all perfectly legal.

You just have to be smart in a small boat. It's never going to be a bass boat where you can stand on the front deck at the prow and fight fish so don't use it like that. Mine is just altered for comfort and storage, I still use it like a little tinny and that suits me just fine.

It's just a little "couple hour escape pod" from the rest of the world for me.....

 

[Catfan84]

Thanks for all the input guys really appreciate it. Well my question for today is I need to replace the transom wood and the 2 bench seats could use new also just wandering what the best wood to use would be and is there anything out there I don't have to seal first? Thanks for your time