typed by ben's 2001 Lowe 1648M all aluminum build (UD 6/27)

[typed by ben]

okay so long time no post. been very busy, and sneaking out at night to fish doesnt help either. but i HAVE been making boat parts. :mrgreen:

heres the bracket i formed to bump up the gator mount. its .125 6061. i used 5/16-18 SS button heads because i just prefer the look, plus maybe it will cut back on stubbed toes and broken toenails. the fuzz and scuzz is leftover from the PO's carpet, and that will come off with a flap wheel some time when its not so damn hot.

to attach the bracket to the deck i used some SS rivnuts. under that front deck is a practically blind application and i hope the rivnuts have the grip required for the kind of load that bracket will generate. plus they are really easy to use- provided you have the right tools of course. for this size you just drill a .531 hole, tap the rivnut in, and use the tool to pull it in. zip zap.

AND- this happened. its way more machine than i need but it was too good of a deal to pass up- 1968 model miller 330 gold star. for what i gave, i could not have even gotten half of a crappy taiwanese TIG.

 

[typed by ben]

busted out a deck prototype today. wanted to get a feel for how extending the deck would enhance fishability- seeing a mockup also helps decide where my storage is gonna go and how that will affect passenger movement and access to the existing features like the livewell. seeing a mockup and getting a good idea of spans also cements in my mind just how much reinforcement ill need.

i was worried about how complex the hull shape is- it did end up being pretty complex but not as bad as i thought. i just took measurements in 6 inch increments and interpolated the rest. never thought id use some of that calculus from high school and college but it did come in handy.

im still thinking ill have a hatch on the right and left hand side but the design i showed way at the start has changed. because the deck is so small and narrow compared to my old boat im no longer going for the side by side hatch option- too much work for too little return. instead ill have a flat hatch on the port side near the trolling motor. thatll give access to the battery box and maybe a little storage.

on the starboard side ill have an L-shaped hatch that wraps from the top of the deck down the bulkhead a few inches, like a trunk lid. that should give plenty of size to the door for stowing bulky things like seats and lifejackets.

i intend to form this from one piece of aluminum in order to provide strength. i did some espionage at bass pro today in order to see how they did lids and edges and their work was simple, if not flimsy. hopefully i can one up them with good reinforcement. i may even roll some beads!


the hardest part of this whole project, in my estimation, is going to be keeping tight tolerance on the gunwale. its a complex curve that does not lend itself to sheet metal fab as i am familiar with it. i can break straight lines but not curves so ive been racking my brain thinking of a way to form a lip around the deck like the factory provides. so far all i can think of is scoring the aluminum with a metabo disc and breaking it up.


a worse idea, but one that still might work, is simply cutting to fit the curve and then shearing a 1" strip that can be tacked to the deck, then laid onto the hull- but that seems like a backwards way to do it.

 

[typed by ben]

more cardboard work early this morning. laid out what i need on the front deck and i was again astonished at how quickly space got eaten up. but i do like what im seeing

got my foot pedal recess, port battery access, and starboard storage laid out along with the seat base location. i may not ever use the seat but i do want the option. the foot pedal recess actually asked some interesting questions about my support under the deck, especially as it relates to my seat base support.

i also toyed with a side storage hatch. this one is 20" wide and 57" long. i could put a cooler, first aid kit, throwable, extra life preservers, etc. in there and it would be easy to access from the ground. if i did rod storage it would have to be on top of the lid, which is okay with me as i dont leave rods on the boat. in this pic you can also see my improvised PVC boat cover supports.


im kind of thinking 20" is too broad across the top so i may cut it back a few inches and see how it fits then. i do like the side storage option like some of yall have though.

 

[Ranchero50]

Personally I'd go with a mid deck on the front, about battery height off the bottom of the hull. It'll give you storage under the floor and you won't be so high up while seated fishing. That's how I built mine and it's very comfortable to fish out of.

 

[typed by ben]

Ranchero50 » Yesterday, 13:39[/url]"]Personally I'd go with a mid deck on the front, about battery height off the bottom of the hull. It'll give you storage under the floor and you won't be so high up while seated fishing. That's how I built mine and it's very comfortable to fish out of.

ya i may still pull the elevation down to that of the middle bench- just makes more fab work on account of the stringers being two different heights in that section

 

[typed by ben]

heres the main hurdle that keeps me from lowering the casting deck:

the blue line represents a level line with respect to the final bench.

its a problem because of having to relieve the deck to avoid the stringers. if i do that, id likely end up having to do some kind of a bulkhead to keep crud from accumulating in whatever gap gets left between the deck and the hull. thats not to mention having to come up with some pretty custom support.

now in some ways it helps... it looks cleaner with the same elevation as the bench, and keeps the boat more stable overall. it also allows me to add in a little vertical bulkhead for my trolling motor plug.

an outside the box solution is to shorten those stringers since there will be plenty of support port to starboard with all the new deck that gets added.

 

[Ranchero50]

I'd go with the blue line. It might be some extra fab work but you get to enjoy the boat for a long time so the 'too much work' ratio argument doesn't cut it. Just run a 1/8" x 1" angle down the line and fab some connectors to the stringers.

 

[typed by ben]

so i felt energetic this morning while my daughter was having her nap. i looked back over the comments ive gotten and kept coming back to this one:

Ranchero50 » 07 Jul 2013, 17:00[/url]"]I'd go with the blue line. It might be some extra fab work but you get to enjoy the boat for a long time so the 'too much work' ratio argument doesn't cut it. Just run a 1/8" x 1" angle down the line and fab some connectors to the stringers.

its a convincing argument. i just had to see what this setup would look like. i pulled a line 4" above the rib in the gunwale, since its the only straight line on the whole boat. the top of the tape is the measurement.

ill zing off the tops of the stringers and fill in the holes left over from the abandoned rivet points. then ill be able to lay a halo generally over the blue tape that you see, matching the profile of the hull. the halo will lay on the flat section that has been cut out of the stringer, and that will effectively box in the front of the boat. it should be incredibly strong.

heres some cardboard deck mockups. the last picture shows actual deck height, but you will have to use your imagination where the stringers pop up through, as they will be cut off below the level of the deck.

i LOVE this setup and im 99% sure this is the final mockup for the casting deck before i start cutting material. thanks ranchero50!

 

[typed by ben]

mmmmmmmmmmmmoving right along. the boat has moved into the garage since the sun is going down very early, and im moving into the fabrication stages. easier access to my tools and good light.

so i went through the looking glass today and started cutting up the boat. i have officially passed the point of no return. i leveled the boat out independent of the trailer and dropped a broadcast laser into the center of the hull, marked my lines on the stringers, and cut.

this was cut with an angle grinder and a normal metabo disc. i scored the lines first, then cut through the boxed portions. after that i drilled out the rivets. the stringers pulled away from the hull ever so slightly, allowing a little clearance. i then went back to the cutting disc, working slowly and keeping the disc moving so it never had a chance to dig. that technique worked very well as i didnt even touch the hull.

after a little cleanup i felt even MORE emboldened and decided to started cutting some of my material. this is 1" .050 square tube. nothing too crazy to see- just cut to length and formed by hand along to roughly match the hull profile.


the funny thing was just how out of wack these boats are made. some of these stringers arent even close to square- one point on the port side of the hull may be 3/4" out of the same point on the starboard side. that works in the full cartesian grid, meaning that any designs i had on cutting out square pieces and using geometry can be eliminated.

this is gonna have to be built using the time consuming and aggravating guess and check method. oh well, at least its started. :mrgreen:

 

[gillhunter]

"the funny thing was just how out of wack these boats are made. some of these stringers arent even close to square- one point on the port side of the hull may be 3/4" out of the same point on the starboard side. that works in the full cartesian grid, meaning that any designs i had on cutting out square pieces and using geometry can be eliminated."

I experienced the same issue with my hull. Assembly tolerances must be +/- 1/2" :LOL2:.

I ended up making cardboard templates. :mrgreen:

Good luck with your build. I'm sure it will turn out great.

 

[typed by ben]

gillhunter » Today, 07:04[/url]"]

I experienced the same issue with my hull. Assembly tolerances must be +/- 1/2" :LOL2:.

I ended up making cardboard templates. :mrgreen:

Good luck with your build. I'm sure it will turn out great.

thanks and yeah that was eye opening. they must have all kinds of randos in there slapping these things together and bucking rivets. i cant imagine trying to run a manufacturing business without consistency.

i did some cardboard as well in my planning stages to get a better idea of what relationships i would have. i should have read the cards right there and noticed that the boat was out of wack but i chalked it up to operator error and the flimsiness of the cardboard. it took actually cutting the boat and cutting metal before i could see it for what it was.

i think where prototyping is really going to come in handy is laying out the deck (because its expensive to mess up a sheet) and making bulkheads for the trolling motor and foot pedal recess.

 

[Ranchero50]

Looks good. Are you running the lowered front deck all the way to the middle bench? I mad a big hatch there, it's great for tossing the landing net in and keeping the battery in the center of the hull. If you think ahead your square tube can be used to run the electrical to the trolling motor and front mounted goodies.

My middle bench of out about 3/4" side to side. I only notice it when I work on it.

 

[Flatbotm]

Looks like your build is going to be a great one. I'm glad I read this because I hadn't thought of running my electric thru my square tube. LOL. Thanks Ranchero50! Ben I know what you mean about the boats not being square. My center vertical stringer isn't in the center. Great choice for boat and motor. I'll be following along for sure.

 

[typed by ben]

Ranchero50 » Today, 10:14[/url]"]Looks good. Are you running the lowered front deck all the way to the middle bench? I mad a big hatch there, it's great for tossing the landing net in and keeping the battery in the center of the hull.

i would have loved to but i need to leave a footwell there. that bench will be a seat in case i fish with 2 others

If you think ahead your square tube can be used to run the electrical to the trolling motor and front mounted goodies.

definitely an option. right now i may not have anything running from front to back- front electrical will be segregated from back, again a matter of balance of the boat.

Flatbotm » Today, 10:31[/url]"]Looks like your build is going to be a great one. Ben I know what you mean about the boats not being square. My center vertical stringer isn't in the center.

crazy isnt it?

Great choice for boat and motor. I'll be following along for sure.

thanks for the compliments dude, it means a lot coming from crafty veterans like ranchero50 and you.

 

[Ranchero50]

When I fish 3, it's gonna be cats and it'll be me up front with the bait , the kid on the rear deck dealing with the catch and my guest sitting in the drivers position dealing with the rods. I'll anchor off the bow with a tag line going to the upstream transom corner and I'll use that to pull the boat about 45` to the current. Then I have four rod holders on the downstream side. Things can get pretty hectic and a lot of fun.

The foot well is going to end up with fish in it so close it in. I chose to put a hatch on mine and it seems like it would be a bit odd for the guy up front. His butt is about 8-10" off the front deck and not uncomfortable at all during our commute. My fishing seat post's stay in all the time so if things get too exciting he has something to grab onto. Once we get to the fishing spot I just move the seats onto the posts and have more free space where the seats were.

I have an extra older seat that I'll bring along if we have company.

 

[typed by ben]

to your point ranchero, i looked at it again last night- kind of outside the box but my third or a heavier guy could just sit on the bench more or less facing the rear or sidesaddle if i did extend that deck beyond the bench. might be something i have to re-examine. sucks because ive already cut and formed a fair amount of material but i want to do it the way i want it the first time, instead of always wishing

nobody wants to be saying "damn, that would have been sweet" while theyre fishing

 

[BigTerp]

Good work!! I like where this one is going.

 

[typed by ben]

BigTerp » Today, 09:13[/url]"]Good work!! I like where this one is going.

thanks dude

i didnt do much today because i ran out of material, but im starting to get a little confidence with all these oddball angles and lack of symmetry. doing a lot of guess and check saw work, which is time consuming but thats fine. i have time. not trying to make money off this thing.

first off i wanted to share the tools im using. the biggest investment is the miter saw and non-ferrous blade. the miter saw is a 10' compound model by hitachi, which i already had. but the blade i had to buy last week to the tune of $60. not cheap but cheaper than a scotchman and it works as advertised. cutting aluminum is not as loud as its made out to be, either. i was expecting "727 taking off in your tile shower" noise level but it was no louder than cutting wood.

other stuff: 19v drill motor, spirit level, metal ruler, tape ruler, protractor, scratch pad. and cant forget the PPE either, which is this case is just safety glasses

as far as progress made tonight:

since this will all be welded together, i mitered the formed side rails with the header up front. i was all worried about this but it worked out okay. just laid one tube over the other, traced the angle, measured with a protractor, then set the miter saw. done and done and it only took one cut a piece- no eyeballing.

i work by making the biggest (most material-consuming) parts first so i cut and mitered my first cross bar. it falls directly in the center of the deck and is square with each side rail- but not square with the stringers. dont care. its imperceptible, and i just like right angles. makes measuring that much easier.

the blue tape represents where ill have other cross bars. the spacing of the narrowest cavity is driven by the width of my seat pedestal mount- i want that to fall directly on top of the tube as the floor sheet will have very little structural quality. on the starboard side of that narrowest cavity will be the foot pedal recess.

one piece of the bulkhead mitered and in position. ive noticed some people have attached directly to those stringers, but i cant because its not plumb or square so i will be chasing my tail when i go to cut material for that area. looking at at it now i see that this picture is deceiving- that first upright will be resting on another piece of square tube, formed to match the hull.

 

[typed by ben]

and just some eye candy- i do this daily- to make sure im still in love with the design. i still like it but man it sure would be nice to have a deck from the bench to the bow. we'll see.

also, look at how much room that foot pedal recess takes on the deck. in some ways this boat feels half the size of my old 181 stratos. this is one of the main parts that is driving the "make the deck longer" dialogue.

 

[typed by ben]

mini update this morning, with a few changes in the plan (have a plan and plan to change it as i always say)

went ahead and got some battery retaining stuff done. i want two batteries up front. that will let me switch to a 24v trolling motor in the future if i like, and right now it gives me the option of either running 2 batteries in parallel or potentially segregating my sonar power so i dont get any interference from the trolling motor. running the batteries up front also helps balance the hull since ill have fuel and another battery (as well as passengers) in the rear.

i have some rubber foam mat under the batteries to isolate them from the hull. that should minimize vibration against the case as the boat cuts through chop or gets towed down a bumpy road. they rest perfectly between the stringers. they will be retained side-to-side with these little pieces of angle, with a hole transferred through the stringer to rivet nut. the sides of those angles have strips of foam rubber attached with gorilla glue to isolate the battery case, again just to guard against damage due to vibration. the battery will be held down with some run of the mill battery tie downs like you get from an auto parts store.


then the big decision: extending the front deck all the way back to the first bench. it just makes sense- more room to fish, no goofy footwell area to keep tidy, and more under deck storage. i think itll work out really well. it meant more cutting but thats okay.

in this photo you can also see where ive marked up the bench to be cut. as with homes, you can never have enough storage on a boat. that point was driven home last weekend when i went out in the evening with my buddy- 2 guys x 4 rods a piece = big mess.

so, im strongly considering a 7' rod locker down the port side. to make the length part of the bench would have to be removed. i will decide on that once my solid rivets come in and i see how easy they are to buck properly.