Tearing it apart and putting it back together..MY WAY

[fishfast41]

Hereeeee we go. i've owned this boat from brand new. Its a '94 Alumacraft V-14. I added decks and a livewell, then fished it hard for 15 years. Well, the wood decks got rotten, and the bow seam started leaking, so its time to rebuild her. i've ripped out the interior, and started building an aluminum frame, the decks will probably be aluminum too. I'd like to know what you think, and criticism is welcome. I've thought this project through pretty well all winter, If ya think I've missed anything, or am about to make a mistake, please chime in. So without further ado... here she is.... This is as far as I have gotten. What should I use to fill the holes? I put some 2 part epoxy stick in a lot of them, and I used it to seal a big hole when I made a mistake during the first build..it held for 15 years. I was looking at JB weld for this purpose...which do you guys think is better?

 

[fish devil]

:twisted: Now that is a project. Looks good so far.

 

[huntinfool]

I like the two part epoxy that comes in a stick. Just cut off what you need and knead it together and mash it in the hole. Mine has worked great. Godd project and it looks good so far.

 

[Truckmechanic]

You need BlueWatwr LEDs!!! I am a huge fan and beloved that no boat should be without :LOL2:

 

[Brine]

That thing looks big enough to hold a town hall meeting in.

Good luck on the build and welcome to TinBoats.

 

[fishfast41]

Yeah.she's pretty wide for 14 footer..61 inches from gunnel to gunnel at the widest point. I'm gonna have to hustle to get her usable for opening day in less than 2 weeks. Next week is all vacation for me, so I should have enuff time.

 

[fishfast41]

Wellllll..vacation time has finally arrived,and what do ya know? Of course it's RAINING!!!! ARRRRGGGHH! No electric power tools outside today. So today we have gone to Farm and Fleet to get some boat stuff. Today I will prepare the livewell for installation and make a switch panel. Pics on this later tonight. Now... presenting.... drumroll, please....................................THE NEW BOAT STUFF!!!!!! We have 2 new real nice seats, 2 bilge pumps, an 800 gph, and a 500 gph, the old bilge pump will also be reused in the livewell as a drain/recirculating pump.The new seat mounts and poles together with my old ones from the boat will provide multiple seating options. I also have 2 questions.. I plan to run twin bilge pumps...when I do this, can I get away with less floatation foam? I won't use less than the boat's original amount, but it would be good to reduce the amount of additional foam I had planned to add. Has anyone used these rod holders? They look pretty solid, but previous user feedback would be good . They will be used mainly for fishing very large live and dead baits. Thanks in advance. Off to the basement to work on the livewell.........

 

[Nevillizer]

It's looking good. Kepp it up.

 

[CHILLWILLATX]

AND I THOUGHT YOU HAD A BIG BOAT FISHFAST41-

CHECK OUT Nevillizer - THATS JUST INSANE- YOU FISH FOR WHALES OUT OF THAT THING?

WITH A BOAT THAT BIG - HAVE YOU EVER THOUGH ABOUT A BUILDING PLATFORM FOR BOWFISHING ON THAT THING? BOWFISHING IS FUN AND THAT BOAT LOOKS GREAT FOR IT. SORRY FOR THE ALL CAPS

 

[cavman138]

wow man you are doing a great job. I have those same tempress seats and I cannot wait to get them on my boat.

 

[fishfast41]

Can't wait to try 'em out myself,cavman. I suffered for years with cheap, crappy boat seats, 'cuz I was too cheap to buy the good ones. Well I'm up from the cellar for a bite to eat...livewell is close to done, just have to go back to Farm and Fleet and get the valves for the recirc. pump.

 

[fishfast41]

WOOOOHOOOOO PROGRESS ! Got the side supports built this week, got the wood sides waterproofed and installed, and the floor supports are almost done. Only 8 more of them little legs to build Also rear flotation pockets filled with foam and capped. I used Miniwax spar urethane for the wood, and a combo of original boat flotation plus pink foam insulation for the floatation pockets. Here's the pics.

 

[raven174us]

Lookin good! Your coming right along with it. Can't wait to see more pics....

 

[fishfast41]

Wow, has it really been 2 years?, Guess so. Had to halt progress on the tin 'cuz of work and family issues, but we are BACK! Been getting my fishin' fix in a nearby river for steelies in the spring, and smallies in the summertime, but I want my boat back. I've done a bunch of work in the past 2 days, and she's coming along fairly quick.I don't want to have to do this again in 10 years,so it's now an aluminum build all the way.LOL, I can still do at 48 what I could at 28, but it hurts alot more afterwards. Pics of progress will be up tomorrow sometime.

 

[fishfast41]

Almost forgot, I need opinion, am I figuring this correctly? The boat will normally hold only me, I usually fish alone. My outboard goes about 120, I'm 175 soaking wet, and a 6 gallon fuel tank in the stern of the boat. this should be about 330 lbs in the stern. I use 2 batteries, group 31, I plan to put these in the front ,just ahead of the front bench seat, which will be a 20 gallon livewell. This should be around 280 lbs up front with a full livewell.Should balance the boat fairly well well.I've previously had the batteries in the stern, which made the boat tougher to plane.Seems to me that I should need to trim the motor out more to plane with more weight up front. Since I don't have power trim, its a 25 horse Mariner tiller steer,the trim can't be adjusted while moving. Will this weight arrangement give me higher top end speed, since the motor will be trimmed out more while on plane? What do you guys think? Am I missing anything that needs to be considered about this?

 

[bigwave]

Very nice framework.....looks solid as rock.