Sylvan 14 Seabreeze - Let the Mods Begin! ^COMPLETED^

[TheMaestro]

Thanks for the compliment !

:lol: I love the BOAT acronym! I have to use that one!
Im thankful my whole family has been very supportive, and even more thankful that my wife and daughter dont get seasick and arent afraid of water/fish etc. Its really something to spend time on the water!

 

[trueblue1970]

That bring on another thousand applies often lol. Its nice to play around with the jon and not have to spend alot of cash like I have on occasion with the other boat. Nice build, your boat looks great!

 

[TheMaestro]

So we've taken Lake Breeze out now a number of times, spending about 4 hrs on the water each time. It handles well, and the layout is working out well. This last outing I left my stadium seat at home to see why my wife and daughter like just the plain benches, and so I brought just a cushion, and it allowed me to sit and shift quite easily, and only near the end of our outing did I feel like wanting to lean back on something. So I may reserve the stadium seat for longer outings than 3-4 hrs.
I still need to figure out a better system for attaching the fenders, would love a quick clip or similar to attach them to the seat brackets...Also am going to get a garbage bag from case logic that i have in my car. Simple, inexpensive and keeps garbage secure from falling out or blowing around.

I did come up with a strap system for storing our rods while trailering and when we are done fishing and want to just cruise. I was going to use velcro, but my mock up kept sticking to the carper, so I came up with this:



It holds them snugly and securly, and hasnt hurt the rods at all. Easy to get in/out once you stagger the rods.

I am so happy with this boat and mod and all the time its now giving me with my family!

 

[TheMaestro]

Another early morning on the lake, and it was nice and cool...lots of bites, but no takers...Doesnt matter, its time on the water that counts!

This week Im beginning the restore of the motor cowl. The body still has the original Evinrude blue/gray thats in pretty nice condition, but the cowl looks really bad against the fresh paint of the boat. I had a local sign shop that I always saw on my way to work make my boat name and Sylvan replacement decals, so I went back with the cowl to see if they could make replacement decals as close as possible in color and font to the evinrude originals on my 9.9 .. The guy took a ton of measurements and put the cowl on the scanner to get as much original reference as possible. I was really amazed at the turnaround time... one day!, and, he had found a font that was identical to the Evinrude, but the E and N had some funny tails on them, so he used some software to alter the font to make a near perfect match. I cant tell the difference.
Here's my motor cowl now, before I start the process this week:




Here are some 'action pics' of the Lake Breeze from this morning... This is on a nearby lake/reservoir...

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

your boat looks like it FLYS!!!! im so jealous! my boat is just too heavy for the old 7horse i have... in the process of trying to find a 9.9 or something close that will help me go faster than just a few miles per hour!

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

also... cant wait to see how the motor turns out!

 

[TheMaestro]

It does fly, and sometimes I think its really a 15 hp that someone threw a 9.9 cowl on....but then I check the serial number and it when I google it it comes up as a 9.9... So with all my mods, it really does zip well! And all the while during my build I was worried it would just putt putt along like a small electric..

 

[TheMaestro]

Ok, I cleaned, removed decal gunk, sanded and primed my motor cowl. Forgot to take a pic of it primed. After primer was dry for a few days, I applied the gloss white. I then used running shoe polish/whitener to spruce up the rubber gasket which was in good shaped, but yellowed. The shoe whitener is safe for rubber and vinyl and can be touched upwithout buildup... Now just the decals to be applied!



Running shoewhitener for gasket:

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

looking really good! it looks like i am selling my ESKA tonight and buying an Evinrude 9.9 tomorrow! so i will be painting my new outboard soon! i hope it turns out half as clean as yours!

 

[TheMaestro]

Motor cowl is now done, complete with decals. Here are before/aft pics:

Before:


After:

 

[TheMaestro]

Well it's been awhile since Ive posted on my mod here, as we've been busy enjoying the summer, fishing just about every weekend on our local small lakes. We spent a nice week in a friends cottage in an area called Tobermory at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula here in ontario. The tip shares Lake Huron (on the west side) and Georgian Bay (on the east side). It was absolutely beautiful up there, and we did manage to get the boat out on the big lake in the harbor area. There are two harbors, Little Tub and Big Tub, and they are called tub because the sides of the harbors are a near vertical drop about 45 feet+. There are some sunken ships that you can see from the surface, as well as nearby islands with neat habitat.
We ventured from Little Tub out to the Big Tub harbor, and Lake Breeze held her own very well, even though there were 2 foot swells at times!








Now, onto the mod again... Ive made some very minor additions to the boat since the last post where I finished the motor cowl. Since then Ive added a zigzag cleat and anchor. The anchor is about 8lbs, folding type and it actually holds really well, even with 3 of us in the boat:

The anchor folds up and the rope and itself are stowed neatly in one of my bow access hatches with dry bag attachments:

I also came up with a simple system for clipping on/off our fenders using s.steel hardware:

And I used some 3M hooks and caselogic chutes for garbage. Even with a lot of wind they stay put, and the trash is kept in by the elasticized openings:



Ive also now driven through a couple of rainstorms with the boat and the boat cover that I purchased for it, and I have to say the cover works incredibly well, keeping everything very dry! It hasnt come loose, it doesnt flap in the wind, and its really easy to put on and off. Here's a link to the cover I purchased:
https://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/bro...791240P/Orion+Deluxe+Boat+Cover.jsp?locale=en

And finally, here's what the rig looks like before putting the cover on it. As you can see, we keep all our rods, tackle boxes, gear etc inside and the cover keeps everything nice and dry:


Im still wanting to purchase some Attwood LED clamp on lights, and Ive asked for a fishfinder for Christmas..
Thats' all for now!

 

[Ictalurus]

Maestro

Thanks for the tip on the anti fatigue/slip mat. Got one at Lowes last night, would have gotten two if they had another. They're going to line my storage areas. I looked at the mats previously, but like you had mentioned, they were heavy as all get out. These thinner gray ones work perfect. I may hit another Lowes this weekend. Thanks again. =D>

 

[TheMaestro]

Maestro

Thanks for the tip on the anti fatigue/slip mat. Got one at Lowes last night, would have gotten two if they had another. They're going to line my storage areas. I looked at the mats previously, but like you had mentioned, they were heavy as all get out. These thinner gray ones work perfect. I may hit another Lowes this weekend. Thanks again. =D>

Hey im glad it worked for you too Thats the beauty of this site, a wealth of knowledge and ideas that you can re-jig into your own!
I definitely would also suggest the cargonets to anyone, they are so handy......

 

[btkees]

Your boat looks great! I am in the middle of my mod. I am in the same perdicament as you were about raising the deck. So I think I am going to use your brilliant idea of insul. board and mat. Question I have is, where did you find your antifatigue mat? I seem to only find small like place mats. Thanks again for the idea and research.

Bryan

 

[NextTopBassFisherman]

Great looking boat!! Have you thought about buying a trolling motor?

 

[TheMaestro]

I just did get one! Im about to start a 'phase 2' of my build, with most of it electronics and some reconfiguration of storage.. Of course, it just snowed again today.... So gotta wait some more for spring to arrive.....

As for the foam/mats, all of that is from Lowes.. Theres a link above to the antifatigue mat

 

[Pweisbrod]

Really nice work maestro. I was considering using antifatigue mat in my boat floor during the summer months for when my little girl is in there, I'm sure she and mom will appreciate it!

 

[TheMaestro]

Thankyou the antifatigue mats really do lend themselves well to this apolication. The trick is to get the thick mats.. You can get cheaper ones at walmart, but they are 1/2 the thickness of the industrial strength ones.. The mats cost me $35 each canadian, but for $70, i had instant floor that has held up perfectly.

 

[Pweisbrod]

Actually, Lowe's Has a huge 20' long mat for like 100 bucks intended for use on patios. I was going to pick that up and cut it to size to cover up the anti skid I will probably be using in my boat so my kid doesn't fall and get scuffed up (10 months now, will definitely be walking by fishing season here. LOL)

 

[TheMaestro]

Hey Ill have to check that out
Thats so much fun to look forward to with your kid!