Wildman
Active member
Ok, well, I guess I can put all this on one thread to start the time line.
The boat is now named "Middle Finger" because I stuck a cut off wheel in my middle finger Saturday cutting aluminum angle. My friend named the boat "Middle Finger" because of the gash I have on my middle finger from the grinder.
Bought a 1972 Terry Jon Boat a few years back. It had the middle seats taken out already and not knowing jon boat structure I was blind to the problems that this would cause. The boat had a floor in it and a mini deck on the front so I could not see the structural integrity of the boat, but the guy I bought it from said it was a "solid" boat. He lied.
A year after I had it and after having to buy a bilge pump to pump the leaking water out I decided to do a make over. After ripping out the old wood I thought the structure of the boat was not solid but in fact had three cracked (in the middle) ribs. Not really knowing boats I "patched" these up and then cosmetically fixed up the boat.
After two years of leaks progressively getting worse and the fact that carpet, fish slim, hog blood, stale beer and left over minnows do not go well together I tore the boat down again to the skin and started over. This time I am going with expoxy fiberglass wood and fixing the structural issues with this boat the right way. So, I might need some help along the way.
I started out fixing the cracked ribs. I "scabbed" in 1/4 flat bar and 1 1/4 angle
Then I moved backward in time and re-framed the seat(s). I have yet to put my back bracing in because I have to plumb and put the sole down. I put 3 stringers in and plan on moving them to the transom with 2 more under my knee braces that will be glassed to the sole and transom.
And the transom....... oh lordy the transom! What a mess!
Here is my thought. I am now, with the stringers 3" off my original boat's aluminum floor. I am going to stay up in 3" with my transom wood (fiberglassed in of course) so that if I do get any water in the boat it has to come up a full 3" before it touches any of my transom. Yes, someone cut out the transom for a short shaft motor but that will be easily cured with my new transom boards that will go full width and top to 3" short of bottom.
I am thinking of getting a 1/4 of aluminum plate and putting it in to the bottom of the floor then put in 1 1/2 of laminated fiberglassed marine in for the rest of the transom. Any thoughts? You can see the rot from where the board was down the bottom of the boat and the leaked water that got to the wood.
A bunch of clean up work ahead of me. I am stuck between steelflex and gluvit for the bottom. I would like to hear pros and cons of both. The boat hits stumps from time to time but for the most part is not on rock or gravel.
The boat is now named "Middle Finger" because I stuck a cut off wheel in my middle finger Saturday cutting aluminum angle. My friend named the boat "Middle Finger" because of the gash I have on my middle finger from the grinder.
Bought a 1972 Terry Jon Boat a few years back. It had the middle seats taken out already and not knowing jon boat structure I was blind to the problems that this would cause. The boat had a floor in it and a mini deck on the front so I could not see the structural integrity of the boat, but the guy I bought it from said it was a "solid" boat. He lied.
A year after I had it and after having to buy a bilge pump to pump the leaking water out I decided to do a make over. After ripping out the old wood I thought the structure of the boat was not solid but in fact had three cracked (in the middle) ribs. Not really knowing boats I "patched" these up and then cosmetically fixed up the boat.
After two years of leaks progressively getting worse and the fact that carpet, fish slim, hog blood, stale beer and left over minnows do not go well together I tore the boat down again to the skin and started over. This time I am going with expoxy fiberglass wood and fixing the structural issues with this boat the right way. So, I might need some help along the way.
I started out fixing the cracked ribs. I "scabbed" in 1/4 flat bar and 1 1/4 angle
Then I moved backward in time and re-framed the seat(s). I have yet to put my back bracing in because I have to plumb and put the sole down. I put 3 stringers in and plan on moving them to the transom with 2 more under my knee braces that will be glassed to the sole and transom.
And the transom....... oh lordy the transom! What a mess!
Here is my thought. I am now, with the stringers 3" off my original boat's aluminum floor. I am going to stay up in 3" with my transom wood (fiberglassed in of course) so that if I do get any water in the boat it has to come up a full 3" before it touches any of my transom. Yes, someone cut out the transom for a short shaft motor but that will be easily cured with my new transom boards that will go full width and top to 3" short of bottom.
I am thinking of getting a 1/4 of aluminum plate and putting it in to the bottom of the floor then put in 1 1/2 of laminated fiberglassed marine in for the rest of the transom. Any thoughts? You can see the rot from where the board was down the bottom of the boat and the leaked water that got to the wood.
A bunch of clean up work ahead of me. I am stuck between steelflex and gluvit for the bottom. I would like to hear pros and cons of both. The boat hits stumps from time to time but for the most part is not on rock or gravel.
