Quick 84 Mirrorcraft Northport 14 Rebuild

[Jinxd12]

Started to replace the bunk boards today. $6 for a 10' section of gutter at Home Depot.

Used a heat gun to get the plastic to bend, came out 7 out of 10. Definitely will do a few things differently on the other side. Just hoping I don't lose the boat halfway down the ramp!

1st time I launched boat it was a pain to get off the trailer.

 

[Fishingman48]

Def. right there, the mind is a terrible thing to waste & so is life! Me I am no brainiac far from it, but I mess around with diff thing's and at times will just watch & learn from the trout in my brook on their own ways of how they fish themselves to catch bait / food. Hell, I even sat in boat in shallow's and watched bass & some bottom feeders cats' do their thing one would be amazed! Hunter's they are! Have taken some old wooden crank bait's and just messed with them to see if something would hit it so far, they laugh at them don't know if it's color or movement i do it when board during winter months when nothing else left to do but one day!!!lol! Nice baits will be checking out tackle forum. P/s > Thanks to all gettin back on the foam issue, yeah, I didn't think it would be right to put inn hull as ?????? about equal buoyancy all way round it kinda floated around in my half working brain lol! Never seen in any boat I was ever in or helped do work on .

 

[airshot]

You have been one busy man !! Working and doing an awesome job on your tinnie at the same time !! Then building lures and being a dad and husband all at the same time !! Hats off to you my friend....

 

[Stand Up]

Started to replace the bunk boards today. $6 for a 10' section of gutter at Home Depot.

Used a heat gun to get the plastic to bend, came out 7 out of 10. Definitely will do a few things differently on the other side. Just hoping I don't lose the boat halfway down the ramp!

1st time I launched boat it was a pain to get off the trailer.

I have wood bunks wrapped in bunk carpet. Works excellent.
To unload my boat whether I'm alone or not, I untie everything holding the boat to the trailer and load it up with fishing gear etc. Then I attach a long rope to the inside of the truck box and to the boat. I back up toward the water somewhat on the quick side. Once the trailer wheels are in the water far enough I hammer the brakes on and the boat slides right off into the water. Then I get out and untie the Jon from the truck and park the boat. I should take a video of this procedure sometime.

 

[Jinxd12]

You have been one busy man !! Working and doing an awesome job on your tinnie at the same time !! Then building lures and being a dad and husband all at the same time !! Hats off to you my friend....

Appreciate the nice comments, I do my best!

I have wood bunks wrapped in bunk carpet. Works excellent.
To unload my boat whether I'm alone or not, I untie everything holding the boat to the trailer and load it up with fishing gear etc. Then I attach a long rope to the inside of the truck box and to the boat. I back up toward the water somewhat on the quick side. Once the trailer wheels are in the water far enough I hammer the brakes on and the boat slides right off into the water. Then I get out and untie the Jon from the truck and park the boat. I should take a video of this procedure sometime.

I tried the same method when I went out last week. I had to get on the trailer and physically push it off while my buddy held the rope to bring it to the dock.

I think i need to adjust how the bunks are sitting on the trailer, and make sure everything is level. I noticed last night while installing the 1st bunk that the boat was only resting on 1/2 of the bunk. I adjusted the front mount up a bit higher, the boat and trailer were level (checked with a 4' level) so I'm hoping the minor adjustment also carries the load of the boat better now.

 

[LDUBS]

I have wood bunks wrapped in bunk carpet. Works excellent.
To unload my boat whether I'm alone or not, I untie everything holding the boat to the trailer and load it up with fishing gear etc. Then I attach a long rope to the inside of the truck box and to the boat. I back up toward the water somewhat on the quick side. Once the trailer wheels are in the water far enough I hammer the brakes on and the boat slides right off into the water. Then I get out and untie the Jon from the truck and park the boat. I should take a video of this procedure sometime.

I do similar with a couple differences. I'm lucky I can keep just about all my gear stays on the boat. The only things to load are the ice chest and fish finder. I do remove everything if we are are going on an out of town trip. I don't unhook the bow eye until the back of the boat is over the water. My bunks aren't that slippery and I probably don't need to do this, but I would worry if I didn't. Then, I either tie the line to a cleat on the dock or I stick my arm out the window and hold it. If I do that I don't slam the brakes because I would probably rip my shoulder off! Hahah. Sometimes someone standing on the dock offers to hold the bow line. I always try to return that favor if I see someone launching by themselves.

I need to replace the bunk carpets. I'm irritated the ones sold as for bunks are mostly 12' long. I need like just under 16' to cover both bunks. It is kind of like the package of 8 hot dog buns when you need 10.

 

[TAB]

Sorry for the long read! Atleast there is pictures of fish!

29 day quick build. Told the wife I'm coming home early to take the boat to get registered. She was surprised I actually completed a project with no hiccups or boredom setting in haha.

Game and fish inspected the boat, but Illinois didn't answer the phone for 2 days, had me worried! When I got home I had a package from a buddy. He sent me a 7" fish finder to use until I figure out what I want. Ran all the cables, and mounted it on the deck. Pretty much just for depth and water temps and some side scanning.

Boat was registered for $22 on Friday morning and I took it out that afternoon/night.

Awesome results. Not a single drop of water in the bottom of the boat in a 6+ hour trip. Everything worked as planned, floors and decks are perfectly sized, motor started with 1 pull every time. Being that the boat is 65" wide it is super sturdy. Been fishing of a buddies 15/48 and that doesn't even compare to this. Even caught the 1st fish and on my own bait!

Back deck had enough space for my buddy to fish comfortably without issue, even with us both swinging 8' rods the boat had enough space.

Things I'd like to add/change. Cup holders and rod tubes into the deck. I am a 2 rod guy he was 5!!! There wasn't an issue with the amount of rods, but I didn't like the look of "stuff" everywhere.

Also new bunk boards. The boat got "stuck" kind of when launching. The bunks are about 6" back the transom, they could be shorter and still carry the load of the transom/motor. But the carpet is worn out. Might go with new wood and some plastic gutter material for easy loading and launching.

Let me know what you guys think, or think I could do to make it better.

Looks great ! You have a talent for working on tin boats .

 

[Jinxd12]

Got out again Friday. Motor is running great, and having confidence the 2nd time out that everything will work as it was intended made fishing more enjoyable.

I'll add some rod storage PVC sleeves into the front deck to clean up the boat a little bit.

I also think a small jackplate might benefit the motor/boat a little bit. The cavitation plate is about 2.5" below the bottom of the boat so raising it a bit might give me a little more speed?!

Boat really moves as is, but who doesn't want more!

Picture is looking over a canyon during full moon on the lake.

 

[Still Afloat]

This reminds me of a Startrek episode where the species that they encountered moved so fast that that you could hear was a slight buzzing sound once in awhile.

 

[Jinxd12]

This reminds me of a Startrek episode where the species that they encountered moved so fast that that you could hear was a slight buzzing sound once in awhile.

Haha, I just old enough to have watched that the John Luc Picard shows. Damn I'm getting old!

 

[Still Afloat]

An impressive amount of progress in a short amount of time.