Questions for 15ft Lund V hull modification options

[musky lunkin]

Brand new to this site, just found it last night. Awesome modifications!

Few questions for you though, My boat is pretty wide and deep, just bought it a week ago. Looking to add a front casting deck, mount a foot controlled trolling motor, run wiring throughout for navigation lights, spotlights, lighting inside the boat, and put a stereo in. It's your typical 4 bench setup, planning on leaving the back bench as is. (kind of horseshoe shaped, we will call that bench 1) Bench 2 (working our way up to the bow) Is a full bench from side to side. I want to cut a walkway through it and put some hinges on those half seats for storage. Does the foam inside these seats matter? If I clean it out and turn the half seats into storage am I losing any major structural importance? Planning on putting a carpeted I shaped floor from bench 1 to bench 3. From bench 3 to the bow (bench 4 is just a piece of wood) I want to do a casting deck. I have seen a lot of those modifications on this site, they really look great but does it make your boat really tippy? I live in MN, mainly musky fish and have to finish every cast with a nice big figure 8. If I do a casting deck from the top of bench 3 all the way to the bow is this going to make things awkward? Had a 14ft starcraft and did this and if the wind was blowing at all I didn't even fish up there. Made my boat extremely tippy. This boat is much deeper and wider than my old one but I will be extremely disappointed if I do this and get the same result. Any tricks or tips for this? Is it a weight issue up front? As far as wiring I have no idea how to do this, serously, no idea. How would someone go about doing this? Thinking of a box with switches mounted back on bench 1. Any and all comments and help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Jim]

:WELCOME: Thanks for joining!

Can you get a picture or two of the inside of the boat?

Jim

 

[jdsgrog]

Pictures would definitely be helpful. What model lund did you get? I have a 14ft lund s-14 I'm currently redoing. You can take a look at my thread (https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=17093). I took out the rear and middle bench seats, but decided to rebuild the rear bench seats just a little differently. If you cut down your middle bench seat, don't cut it down all the way. If you are just building a walk through, it should be enough support as long as you don't cut the bench all the way down. You still need a couple of inches from the bottom of the boat (see how the lund boats are on the lund websites).

As for stability, I wouldn't stand on the deck in large waves or extremely windy weather, but the s-14 I have is pretty stable. I also do most of my fishing by myself, and only use the deck when I need the front trolling motor, fishing small channels, shallow water, weed lines, etc. But I have no problem fishing on the deck in most "normal" conditions (winds of 15 mph or less).

The foam in the bench is not structural. It's for emergency situations so your boat is able to float if you get swamped, capsizes, etc.

BTW, what lakes do you fish up in MN? Lived up there a number of years and am familiar with some of the lakes. I also go up to Detroit lakes every spring.

 

[clarkbre]

It sounds like you're right in line on how you want to mod your boat. None of your ideas are crazy at all. I have a Lund WC16 with a very similar configuration as yours. I've modded mine a bit and you can view it in my signature or here:

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v282/clarkbre/Lund WC16/

For taking foam out, it does stiffen the boat a little bit. I've taken some out of my bench seats and needed to add some aluminum angle to help support the section without foam. Also, the less foam in the boat, the lower it will sit (...or sink) if it ever gets swamped. Just take out only what you need gone and leave the rest. I do think it is a structural stiffener in the boat.

For cutting a seat or two out, do what was said above. Leave a couple inches and tie that into the floor for support. The metal from the bench seats do add much rigidity to the hull of the boat. Properly supported, the seats can still provide structural integrity after removing some of the seat.

The front deck is actually really a simple thing to build and install. I don't know about your boat, but my front step/seat was 3/4" lower than the full front bench seat. I was able to make the deck even with the full front seat and layed it over the step/bench. I'm not sure about standing on it while on the water. It's really going to depend on how stable the boat is and really how comfortable you are up there. It will probably be just fine with no wind or chop.

For wiring, consider using a PVC pipe for conduit. I did this on mine and you don't see any of the wiring. I've got mine wired for a trolling motor, depth finder, and bilge pump all in the rear. The battery sits under the front deck and is completely out of the way. I also have an onboard charger mounted in that compartment that is not seen at all.

 

[jdsgrog]

@clarkbre:
I guess the structural design of the wc-16 and s-14 are different. My boat is over 30 years old and the foam in it was just styrene blocks (styrofoam) and did nothing for the structure. They were very loosely laid in the boat bench seats and had plenty of room to move around. The wood on the bench seats (that is attached to the aluminum bench supports) added the primary lateral structure of the boat whereas the ribs and strakes were the primary bottom structure.

@musky lurkin:
the lund model and year will be helpful if you need anything else.

 

[clarkbre]

jdsgrog:

Interesting. Lund must have changed their foam methods throughout the years. The foam that is in my boat is a closed cell, sparay in foam. When you knock on the seats they sound solid. Even without the wood benches, the seats are extremely stiff. The only way I could get some of the foam out my seats was to dig it out a little at a time with a chisel. Really messy, but I was able to take only as much as I needed out.

 

[musky lunkin]

Thanks for letting me take a peak at your boats guys, already getting some ideas. I will post some pics tomorrow morning, took them today but my fiance has to find the cord that goes from the camera to the computer.

jdsgrog: Really like that casting platform, exactly how I will do mine. I fish mainly metro lakes, my main focus this year will be Waconia, Minnetonka, and Mille Lacs. Big Water = Big Fish. I do a camping trip to Moose Lake every year (right next to Deer lake) think that might be a little closer to detroit lakes area.

Going to kind of mentally figure it out this weekend, draw it out and pick up supplies monday, get crackin Wed! Only have a month til opener!

Thanks again jd & clarke! Ill get some pics up tomorrow!

 

[jdsgrog]

I fished mille lacs a couple of times and minnetonka at least a few times a year (didn't have a boat back then, had to rent). Those lakes can get quite choppy during a good wind. And minnetonka is great if you can deal with all the pleasure boaters. But definitely they have some good fishing.

One of my favorite metro lakes was Bald Eagle. Lot's of structure and some good size fish. Has the usual muskie and pike. But surprisingly it was actually a good LMB lake as well.

Looking forward to your pics.