newbie 1st build: '76 Meyers SuperPro 14','73 25hp Evinrude

[rkc118]

First off, thanks to the mods and everyone else here on tinboats for all the resources. I had been thinking trying a modification before i even realized that a community like this existed and now that I see what others have done, I finally decided to give it a try.

I hope to have a boat that will work well for inland lakes in SE Michigan, hopefully a few trips to the UP for some of the pike lakes there, there is a lake within an hours drive that is stocked with musky with electric motor only restrictions, some bowfishing in protected bays on Lake Erie, etc.

I have a complete wood shop (table saw, planer, jointer, etc), but i have no experience with metalwork or working on engines of any kind, so i have some learning to do in that department.

After searching craigslist for 6 months or so, i finally pulled the trigger on a 14' 1976 Meyers SuperPro with a 25hp Evinrude motor.

I welcome suggestions and would really appreciate anyone who points out any bad ideas that I come up with before I make any mistakes.

I picked it up a week ago and have been working on the motor and trailer so far. The guy i got it from said he didn't think the motor would not start until the carb was cleaned, and he was right. so i took the carb apart and cleaned it, checked the spark plugs, put everything back together and was able to get the motor running in a barrel. I still need to replace the killswitch that was dryrotted and figure out if the choke was connected correctly when i got it or not. I'll post some picture of that problem in the motors section of the forum.

the trailer needed a lot of work, i am in the middle of rewiring the lights, the winch was installed incorrectly installed so I had to fix that and cut down the towstrap that was too long and was getting caught in the gears of the winch. the ball hitch and safety chains needed fixed. I'm also installing guides in the rear because i will be on my own for most of my fishing trips.

I plan to work on it through the fall and winter and hopefully have it where I want it to be by next spring. here are the "before" pics wish me luck...

 

[water bouy]

Should make a dandy fishing machine. What kind of upgrades are planned.

 

[rkc118]

Should make a dandy fishing machine. What kind of upgrades are planned.

right now i plan on finishing getting the trailer road ready and then take the boat to a local lake and run the motor for a while to make sure it runs well. After that i will probably put in a temporary casting deck up front and get a feel for how sturdy the boat is, how much storage/deck i want, and just use the boat a bit and see what seems to be a good fit.

 

[rkc118]

finally finished the trailer repairs today and took it to a parking lot to practice backing up (never trailered anything before). haven't been able to work on the boat itself yet as the trailer and motor repairs have taken up all of my time.

here is a link the the thread about the motor repair questions:

https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=41763&p=422320#p422320

 

[rkc118]

finally got out on the water today, everything went well. the motor runs strong and the boat planed out at 20mph according to my depthfinder. Cabela's had the minn kota powerdrive on sale so i picked one up. I just have it attached to an old shelf clamped on the bow for now, i want to see how everything feels for a few trips before i get serious about designing the modifications.

there were a few small leaks in the front of the boat. upon closer inspection, there seem to be some cracks in the crossbraces (ribs? not sure what they are really called) that go across the floor of the boat. there is some sort of sealant that is starting to crack off as well. it is white and hard, any ideas what it might be? looks like most/all of the joints on the floor of the boat have been treated with it.

i took a few pictures after about 2 hours on the water.

i think the single rivet that is leaking i can probably get away with a little silicone on both sides, i'm not too worried about that one.

I'm not sure what to make of the other areas with the cracks though. any suggestions?

 

[rkc118]

After a few trips out on the water I think i have a gameplan figured out, but still have a few unknowns...
I plan to install a casting deck up front that will rest on the first two benches and overhang the second bench a bit. I dont want to remove any of the benches, but might have to cut into some of them a bit. I plan to use 2 batteries. One for just the trolling motor and the other for lights. I will try and tuck the batteries under the second bench with access from near the floor. I will also put a hatch in the casting deck to access storage. I am still trying to think trough how much i want to raise this deck. Im trying to keep the center of gravity of the boat as low as possible, and also dont want the step down from the deck to the floor to be too great. Once that deck is ready, i will build a mount on the bow for the trolling motor and the headlights. Still havent put much thought into the lights, but they will most likely be marine leds mounted on something that i can easily remove and store in the forward hatch.

In the rear i plan on building another casting deck with a pair of hatches to make kind of a lazerette to keep the gas tank in. When i use the tiller i like to sit off center on the starboard side, so the seat will go there, but i am trying to figure a way that i can set it up to be easy to remove and store so it isnt in the way when fishing. Im going to try and extend that deck a bit forward of the last bench to make a locker for the bowfishing equipment. Next i will build a deck in the middle that just covers the middle bench and that i can attach the vertical supports for the floor to. I may cut the middle out of this bench to make a live well there, but i also want to be able to mount a second seat there in case i have anyone else come out with me. And i also want to make a rod locker about 7' long to run down the port side and rest on the back and middle decks.

Again not sure exactly how this will all get put together, but it will be plywood/ dimensional lumber as that is where my skill set it at. I need to do the calculations on weight and see where i am at, but the boat is rated for 915 lbs so i should be good.

Still need to seal the leaks in the bow and adjust the motor before i get too serious about the build, but i did take some 2x4's and plywood with me last time out to get some very rough measurements

 

[rkc118]

got the boat off the trailer and tried to patch some of the leaks with gluvit. having never worked with an epoxy like this i was surprised how much it ran down the side of the boat. I mixed it at the 5:1 ratio as stated on the can, and waited until a day when the temp was above 50. the epoxy ran down past the area that i had prepped and onto some areas that i had not stripped the paint, probably going to have to clean that area again but time will tell.

while the boat was off the trailer, I decided to repair the bunks on the trailer. once i got the old carpet off i realized there were way too many old nails and staples and the wood was too rotted for me to want to reuse. I will get some new 2X6 material and use leftover deck carpet and make some new ones at a later date.

boat is back on the trailer and i am waiting for a warmer day next week to seal the inside of the bow with more gluvit and then start laying out the casting decks and flooring.

 

[Chaser0721]

When using my marine epoxy to seal the inside of the boat it would run as well, so I ended up letting it sit for about 10 minutes and mixing it in small batches that I could apply for about 15 minutes a time due to the working life of the epoxy being 20-30 minutes. Maybe let it cure a bit so it wont run as much, and keep brushing it back onto the area you are targeting until it cures up a bit as well.

 

[Hanr3]

I recommend you get those rib cracks welded by a pro. The ribs are a critical part of the boat hull integrity. Epoxy has no structural strength.

Otherwise, good start so far.

 

[rkc118]

thanks for the tips, I was able to get the boat sealed and tested it in the garage, looks to have work, I will try and find someone local to weld the cracked ribs.

finally had time today to work on the framing for the front casting deck and it seems to have come together well. I am going to seal the lumber using the old timers' formula and then put everything back together. I decided that i am going to have to cut through the top of the front seat and put the batteries there, i had hoped to be able to cut through the back of the seat and slide them in that way, but it won't be tall enough. I want to get the front deck fit and before i actually make the cut. I will have to take some of the foam out and will need to replace it under the floors or somewhere else in the boat.

 

[rkc118]

I took advantage of the 3 day MLK weekend to finish the framing and cut the decking. I wasn't sure how to approach the layout for the vertical pieces on the existing benches. I found some construction paper laying around and it worked very well to tape it to the bench and crease the paper to the contour of the bottom of the boat. wouldn't work for horizontal pieces, but it saved me a lot of time trimming cardboard. Now I will seal the plywood with the old-timer's formula and then figure out what carpet material to use to cover it with.

 

[rkc118]

Only been able to work once every other weekend or so, but have made some progress.

got the front bench cut out for 2 batteries. I plan to either run a single battery or 2 in parallel depending on how long i plan to be out, if i'll be out at night, etc.

ordered this carpet off amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B013VKZ82U/ref=olp_twister_child?ie=UTF8&mv_color_name=4&mv_size_name=0

8x10 was just the right amount to get all of the decking/floors covered and have enough left over for when i redo the bunks on the trailer.

it has a lot of loose threads when i first cut it, but a quick pass along the edge with a lighter seems to clean it up OK.

one thing that i guess i should have thought of ahead of time, but didn't... after i sealed the plywood with the old timers formula, I also put 2 or 3 coats of straight spar urethane on them. I used outdoor carpet adhesive in the middle, and wanted to use contact cement on the edges and underneath where i wrapped the carpet an inch or so. the issue was that the contact cement reacted with the spar and turned to sludge that i had to scrape out of the way. after thinking about it for a while, i decided to just clean the edges with lacquer thinner before putting the contact cement on. frustrating to have to scrape off a bit of the finish that i spent so much time on, but at least it isn't as sticky as it was with the contact cement.

 

[Hanr3]

Slowly but surely your getting her done. =D>

 

[rkc118]

Finally ready to paint. I decided to tear my woodshop apart so that I could drag the boat inside to paint the interior (not gonna worry about the outside this year). I didn't think that I could get my 2 car garage warm enough, but it gets plenty warm in the shop. I spent the morning moving the tablesaw and work benches out of the way, and had to unscrew part of the backyard fence so that I could push/pull the trailer into the yard, and then somehow force the boat through the door. I used rustoleum flat camo spray paint. also cut the wood to replace the trailer bunks, used the old ones as template to drill holes for the hardware. going to have to let them sit in my basement for a while, wood is too wet when it comes from lowes.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

When you say the new bunks are too wet are you saying your using pressure treated wood?

 

[rkc118]

I wanted to share the fish finder set up that I have McGyvered together. I bought this Lowrance a couple years ago and made this set-up portable so that I could take it on the family Canadian fly-in trip and use it on my float tube. I can mount the transducer on a piece of wood that clamps to the stern of the boat (my new one or the outfitter's in Canada) or rests on a strap on the float tube. i ran the power cable from the unit into a waterproof box and put insulated quick disconnects and an inline fuse on it. I can use a pack of 10 rechargeable AA's to get 12V or use the cabelas 12V battery. the AA set up gets me about 3 hours of run time, so 2 packs lasts 6 hours, which is more than i can last in the float tube. the cabelas battery holds 8 Amp-hours and lasts about 3 full days of fishing. the solar panel is designed to trickle charge a battery on a car that sits in the driveway most of the time. 2 of these with some recharging from sunlight will last a full 7 days, and weigh about 10 pounds total.

I think i want to keep it all set up the same way for the boat. I can have it in rear of the boat when I am trolling, and move the display up to the front when casting without having to do anything to the transducer. I might run wires to plug into the main electrical system of the boat, but I have not decided on that yet.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Are you using pressure treated wood for your new bunks?

 

[rkc118]

When you say the new bunks are too wet are you saying your using pressure treated wood?

no, didn't use pressure treated wood for the bunks.

 

[rkc118]

getting closer. the framing, foam replacement, and decking are finished. so is the electrical system, check that out here: https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=43061 .

I took it out on the water one time, pretty happy with everything, but the motor didn't run like it did in the fall, so I will have to work on it more.

as far as weight goes, the framing added 55 pounds and the plywood (used about 3 full sheets), carpet, and fasteners added another 120 pounds.

other weights: motor - 90, gas tank (full) - 30, trolling motor - 30, 2 group 27 everstart batteries - 100, and another 50ish for misc seats, lights, anchors, etc. puts the total right around 500 pounds.

the boat is rated for 915, so by myself it will be OK, but it will be close if I take a buddy with me.

 

[rkc118]

I finally gave up trying to figure out the problems with the motor and took it to a marina. They fixed it up and it runs OK now. I've had the boat out a few times to test it out and I guess I have to call it "done"! though I'm sure I will continue to tinker with it. Everything is working great, just as I had planned.

Here is a picture of how it looks in the water.



here are links to the other threads i started in the appropriate forums about the motor:

https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=41763&hilit=1973+evinrude

and electrical systems:

https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=43061


I also wanted to share the costs for anyone who is considering doing a similar project. I realize every project is different, but this will at least give a ball park figure for someone just starting out.

boat, motor, trailer (bought off craigslist) and registration $1250
materials for boat conversion (lumber, plywood, carpet, fasteners) $600
trailer repair (hitch for car, lights, wires, bunks, new fasteners, added trailer jack, spare tire) $300
USCG requirements (life jackets, throwable, extinguisher, portbale marine radio, etc.) $150
motor repair $650
boat cover $120
trolling motor (Minn Kota Powerdrive, 2 walmart group 27 batteries, minn kota power center, smart battery charger) $800
electrical system (switch, fuse box, LED lights, running lights, misc connectors) $400


total of just over $4000