V-Boat to Flats Skiff Conversion

[TexasJim]

I wanted a "technical poling skiff" to fish the Texas marshes and flats. But, I didn't have $30K. So, I bought a 1958 14-foot Blue Star runabout. I took out the center seat, cut the gunwales down to 2-1/2" above the seats. I took off 5" at the stern and 8" at the bow. I built a new, tall transom, and put a 5-foot wide flat plywood deck on it, with a nice cockpit and rear seat mount, where I could sit and run the engine with a tiller extension. I added a LOT of styrofoam in the remaining seats. I put a front seat mount socket on the foredeck and a trolling motor. Donald Trump sent me a stimulus check, and I got so stimulated, I bought a Yamaha 15 4-stroke for it. I've been fishing it in the Rockport/Corpus area two years, plus a few trips down to Souith Padre/Brownsville. Hope my picture shows up. TexasJim

 

[VinTin]

Do you have any 'before' photos?

 

[TexasJim]

I have a couple I will try to attach. It was pretty ugly. Cost me $175, on a junk trailer. Jim

 

[Kismet]

Texasjim? You do good work.

Betcha you miss the custom black paint job.

I'm kind of stunned that you reduced the height so professionally. Well done!!

 

[TexasJim]

Kismet: It was simple logic. I put 1" x 2-1/2" beams across the two remaining seats, thru slots in the hull. Then I used a long straightedge and scribed a line at that level around the inside of the hull. Then I drilled some holes thru the hull on that line and used my mini-grinder with a cut-off wheel outside the hull to connect the dots. I sold 40 pounds of aluminum I cut off! I put a few more deck supports in and built the 5-foot wide deck. I copied the deck layout, roughly, from an Ankona Shadowcast 16, which I wished I could afford. The rear hatches hold a 6-gal gas tank, buckets, bailers, etc. The forward hatch has an anchor stowage, battery, life jackets and misc. No poling tower for me. At my advanced age(77), my balance isn't good enough for that. The boat weighs about 350 pounds, draws about 8 inches with the motor up. I can go anywhere my fishing kayak will go. It will go 24 mph with the Yammer. If I were doing this again, I would build in a mini-tunnel in the stern. My neighbors were sure I'd lost my mind when I began cutting off the gunwales! It's been a great flats skiff. TexasJim

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I've not seen a deck on a tin boat extend past the gunnels before.
Looks good.

 

[sonny.barile]

Wow……..thats quite a job you did……..I bet that fishes super skinny like a ganoe but you get the stability of a skiff.

 

[chadc]

Awesome work!!

 

[Popeye]

Awesome work. Maybe I'll see you on the flats when I move down to Ingleside next fall.

 

[eeshaw]

I like the fact that you worked with what you have available. Kudos to you.

 

[skeet]

Great lookin skiff. You took something old and made it modern.