Will's Starcraft Part 2: Freshwater to Saltwater!

[skyline223]

Alright so I bought a 12" Jon boat cover and a center console cover. With the help of the women in my life I'm going to attempt to put these two pieces together. Hoping it's as easy as cut hole in center of boat cover, sew on console cover, voila!

I'll let you know how that goes!

 

[Gators5220]

Man that thing came out sick! Nice clean work...

 

[skyline223]

Thank you very much!!

Been working on the trailer a bit the last few days, primarily on replacing some worn out wiring, adding new lights, and adding guide posts. I go by the old saying "you can't have too much lighting."

I decided to add the guide posts for a few reasons
-I can't see my trailer at all when towing because it is so much narrower than my truck
-This tiny lightweight trailer is borderline impossible to back up because of reason number one
-Helps align on the boat onto trailer when loading back on, especially on steep ramps
-Posts are lighted to add increased visibility

So I am really looking forward to the added convenience of having these... that being said... Here's some shots with every light I got turned on!

 

[25yamaha]

that looks amazing isn't it tippy being only a 12 footer though?

 

[derekdiruz]

To say I love your boat is a huge understatement. I've been thinking of decking mine in the exact way you have yours, just without the console. You pretty much just sealed up my decision to. Awesome work, What material did you use on the decks?


Derek.

 

[bobberboy]

One more time...awesome!

 

[skyline223]

Thanks so much!!!

that looks amazing isn't it tippy being only a 12 footer though?

Thanks! You would think it would be, but for some reason this old boat is just really stable. When I first decked it out as a bass boat I was always so shocked at how stable is was walking around on it. That is one of the reasons why I decided to take the plunge and build it as a saltwater boat! I'll say this, when you are used to standing and moving around in a kayak, this boat is like running around on a cruise ship!

To say I love your boat is a huge understatement. I've been thinking of decking mine in the exact way you have yours, just without the console. You pretty much just sealed up my decision to. Awesome work, What material did you use on the decks?

Derek.

Thanks for the kind words! The deck is just standard 1/2" marine plywood, sanded to 320 grit, sealed with spar varnish, marine silicone on the edges, coated the top in Leak Stopper Rubber-Flexx, and then topped it all off in semi-gloss Rust-Oleum.

So yesterday I got my Minn-Kota Riptide 55 SP with Copilot. This thing is awesome!!! After getting it moutned up I took the boat out to the local lake for a test drive. Everything functioned great!! Having a remote for the power pole and trolling motor is a dream. Fishing banks is such a breeze. I can stand on the front deck, drive to the spot I want to fish, and then anchor all just by using the handheld remotes. Pretty slick!

Plus I can drive the boat around from the dock to get a photo! 8)

 

[skyline223]

Some good work today. My frankenstein cover idea came together! As stated I just bought a 12' jon boat cover and a generic center console cover and sewed them together! It may not be the prettiest thing, but it will work!!



Also the leaning post style cushion came in. Pretty happy with it! Also added a removable bait cutting table!

 

[jethro]

Wow, talk about a great way to make a little 12 footer into what you want. Looks terrific.

 

[huntinfool]

Very nice. I'm doing more and more salt water fishing in mine too. Slowly I am making changes, but they are in general just for functionality. Haven't made the full transformation.

 

[tsezan]

wow what a nice clean conversion! Im sure I am not alone in wanting to see some video of this rig in action. =D> =D>

P.S. it is your fault i have a riptide sp 55 with ipilot in the mail right now...

 

[g0nef1sshn]

dont want to beat a dead horse, but that is a sick custom craft you got there. Make it camo and Id like it even more! Nicely done!!

 

[skyline223]

Thanks for the kind words guys!!! We just got back in from our trip down to the gulf. The boat did great!!! We had multiple days with some pretty rough chop but she handled it just fine! Yes, there's no getting away from the fact that she is a 12 footer, but she really did everything that I needed. The power pole and trolling motor made fishing the grass flats a true pleasure. We also fished some of the deeper water in the bay and managed to run into some great bull reds!!! Of course the way it goes it seems I never get any pictures of myself, but here are a few pictures, all featuring my friend Hank from the trip!

The boat hanging out on "Crab Island" (shallow shelf off of the east pass in Destin, FL). The boat is anchored by the micro power pole. It's auto compensation feature is fantastic when dealing with mild chop and a swift current.. the craft stayed in place!


Hanks first big bull red:


And the monster of the trip.. Hank reeled in this 25lb hog! What a fight!


My one negative comment on the boat: We ran and abused this boat hard over the past week and really saw what my decking work was made of. For the most part, everything help up great. The Rubber-Flexx held up really well and cleans easily. However some of my silicone around the edges is beginning to slightly crack due to the flex of the hull against the deck. What I am probably going to do eventually is fiberglass the entire deck and up onto the inner gunwale. That should be practically bullet-proof, so stay tuned for that!