Zubes' 14 ft Alumacraft shallow V

[Zubes]

So, I got this boat and trailer from my Grandpa (for free) a few years ago. It came with a '57 Evinrude 18 hp and the trailer. I used to waterski behind this thing when I was younger!

I didn't do much the first year... basically just cleaned it up and tested it on the water once or twice before the winter set in. I only got a few trips out of it the second season, but I added an Endura 50 transom mount TM and built the floor between the front two seats. The third season (last year) was a short one as the Evinrude let go about 3 hours into my opening weekend. Unfortunately the boat sat for the rest of the year. This spring, I found a great deal on craigslist for a '65 Evinrude 18 hp for $200 (UPGRADE, lol). I got a bit inspired and built a bow mount for the TM and ran a power wire up to the front with plug/recepticle. I got a free Lowrance x48 locator from a friend and I got that mounted with transducer and speed/temp sensor. I also decided to start working on the trailer. Sanded off all the paint, primed and painted (used a brush w/ spray can for touch ups), new wheels/tires, new bunks/carpet, new rollers, new winch, new submersible LED lights, bearing buddies... it's basically a brand new trailer. After finding this website, I'm thinking about working on the boat again. I've attached a bunch of before/after pics and a drawing of my floorplan proposal. Let me know what you think. I'm a bit worried the boat will be a bit heavy and slightly tippy if I do too much. The motor could probably handle the weight, but not sure how low it will ride in the water.

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Looks like a good canvas and a good plan/layout. I'm a Alumacraft guy too (slightly newer though but definately not free!). Feel free to check out my build by clicking on the address below. Good luck with your project.

 

[netman]

Amazing what a lil paint and new carpet can do for a trailer. It sure looks nice.....like new

 

[Rat]

That hull looks like it is in great shape! Nothing like fishing out of a family heirloom. You did a nice job on the trailer as well, looks sharp in all black. I wouldn't worry about the additional weight. In reality you are proly only adding the weight of an additional person so that woould cut your number of people down by one; but the hull and motor will handle it okay. Lots of guys have modded similar boats like you plan to do. As far as tippy goes, since you can put her in the water; I would mock up a deck to the height you want and then launch it and see how she does. That's the best way I think to get a real feel for how tippy it will be.

 

[Zubes]

Thanks for the comments. I figured "trial and error" would be the best judge for how much weight and height I could add for the floors/storage compartments. Like you said, I've seen similar boats on this forum, with similar mods as I have planned, so I'll probably be OK. Too bad I found this site during the fishing season... it's going to be tough knowing I could be fishing instead of working on the boat. Time to go fishing is hard enough to find!

The hull is in great shape. Best I can tell, I only have one small leak that only leaks when I'm up on plane. The floor must flex just enough for one rivet to leak or something. It's nothing I'm overly worried about. I get more water in the boat after it drips off the net when I catch a fish... and we don't catch that many!

I don't plan to make any of the floors permanent to the boat, so I can remove it for cleaning and maintenance should a problem occur. The front floor is just set in place and it's as solid as can be. The ribs (2x2s) are screwed to the bottom of the wood floor and I have a 2x4 running down the center. It's basically the same ribbing/bracing I've seen on many other builds on this site, except mine aren't riveted to the floor. They lay on the aluminum ribs of the hull.

You're probably right regarding the extra weight only being equal to one more person. That front floor is only like 20 lbs, if that much, so the rest of the floor is probably only going to be 50-60 lbs. There's obviously going to be weight associated with covering the bench seats with a thin layer of wood, and carpet, but that’s going to be thinner material than what’s on the floor. I also typically only fish two guys out of the boat, with a third as a rare occasion.

I’m undecided as to if I want to paint the exterior/interior or not. I’ve seen some great paint jobs here and it makes me curious enough to investigate, but I’m worried it will peel and flake and make it look worse than before. It probably all comes down to the prep and self-etching primer. Is that stuff the secret? Is it easier than I think?

 

[Rat]

I would hate to say it's easy, because it isn't. But it isn't hard either. The self etching primer is definitely the secret. Follow the application directions from the manufacturer and you will not go wrong. Sanding and cleaning it the hardest part, actually priming and painting is pretty easy. Depending on the finish you are looking for makes more or less difficult as well. A work boat or hunting boat finish using something like Parkers is going to be easier then a yacht like finish using something like Sterling. Even though both paints can go on the same way; Parker tends to hide the little bumps and wiggles and Sterling tends to show them off. Just like anything else it takes careful consideration, proper preparation and proper application. But its really not that hard.

 

[Zubes]

Well, it's been almost a year since I posted in this thread, and that's mostly because I haven't done any more improvements to the boat. However, I have been busy designing a new floor plan and I plan to get started on it today by pulling it out of storage and removing the middle and rear benches.

Improvements to the design include more storage, more floor area, and an angled trolling motor bracket. The side storage will not be long enough to be used as a rod locker, but they will work for storing 2-piece oars I found online as well as life jackets and a small lunch cooler, etc.

The split rear bench added more floor area, but I'm also thinking I could make that area a large rear casting deck by laying two boards on the edge of the rear storage boxes. That way I would have the option for standing on the floor or up on the deck by simply laying down two boards.

The front floor storage compartment should be large enough to store a seat and save us from tripping around it once we're fishing. I plan to use a pro-style butt seat on a taller pedestal up front to use while casting and operating the trolling motor. The other seats will all be on shorter 11” or 13” pedestals.

I'm thinking of adding a small storage area under the trolling motor deck as well.

I'm still on the fence about the final design for the new trolling motor bracket, but it's a step in the right direction. I'd really like to find a mount from a MinnKota Edge. Does anyone know where I could find one of these? Are there any companies that sell brackets like this? I’ve searched all over and can’t find a thing.

 

[Zubes]

Well, I found a couple of those MinnKota Edge mounts around, but they want like $160 for them... I guess I'll keep looking.

Also, my packages form Cabelas and BassPro arrived Thursday and Friday. I bought Action Ergo-Angler seats, seat mounts, 11" pedestals, and bases. I decided to go with the Swivl-Eze wedge design.

I noticed I might need to make an adapter plate to attach the seat to the seat mount. The seat mount is angled at 3 degrees, but the screw hole pattern on the bottom of the seat does not allow the seat mount to be orientated the correct way (45 degrees off). Has anyone ese run into this problem? Am I overlooking something? I suppose I could use larger screws in the larger holes, but I kind of like the idea of the adapter plate. That way I'm using the correct mounting holes and placing stress on the seat where it was designed to be.

 

[jasper60103]

... Too bad I found this site during the fishing season... it's going to be tough knowing I could be fishing instead of working on the boat. Time to go fishing is hard enough to find!

...

Nice rig, but fishing comes first! You got five months of winter to mod! :LOL2:

 

[Zubes]

If only I had the heated indoor space to work on it. I think I'll have it ready (fishable) by opening weekend, the first Sat in in May. Just looking to get the front casting deck and floor done by then.

 

[Zubes]

Here's a few pics of my progress so far.

We removed the center bench and braces from the front bench. The boat seemed a bit less rigid with the braces removed but it's barely noticeable (must be yanking on the top rails of the boat). If it's still noticeable on the water, under normal use, I can reinstall the braces to the front deck and top of the side storage compartments.



The front casting deck will cover both the bow and front bench. It's cut out, but I forgot to snap a pic of it. It took alot of sanding to get all the contours right. The shape of the bow (front to back) wasn't as bad as the slope (top to bottom). We'll be making a smaller sub-floor under the casting deck where the battery will sit against the front of the bench.


Here are the angle braces that the bench was attached too. I plan to use these when building side storage compartments.


This is the floor bracing layout I decided to use. The outer braces lay on the taller ribs, while the center braces will require supprt from underneath. I'll be screwing short braces between the long braces to keep the floor rigid. I left the center open so I could install seat bases (require clearance under them). The two center braces are spaced 7" apart so I should be able to screw into them when installing the seat bases.


We used 2" x 2" angle and rivited it to the bottom edge of the bench seats. This helped me level the floor and gave me somewhere to start. Allthough the 2x2 wood braces are only screwed to the bottom of the aluminum angle, the plywood floor will lay on top of it.

 

[Zubes]

A few more updates & pictures from this weekend...

Front deck area is framed. The square opening will be a hinged hatch with storage for my battery (sits on a sub-floor) and it's also just large enough to fit one of my seats when not in use.



Here's a couple pics of the seat & pedestal temperarily set in place. It's only an 11" pedestal, but I don't think I would want it to be much higher. I sat down and it felt comfortable enough for me.

 

[wasilvers]

Looks great! Should be very fishable. The platforms will make is seem bigger and make using it a lot of fun!

 

[zaneroni]

Looks very good so far Zubes, nice job. I have a similar Alumacraft 1955 FD and was thinking about removing the middle seat as well to give more room.

 

[Zubes]

Here area couple pics of the floor without carpet or hatch, but at least it was fishable! The first outing was a huge success... a buddy and myself caught 142 pike and 27 largemouth in 7 hours on a local lake! The boat was plenty stable, and the extra room was awesome. I'm so glad I found this site and finally modified my boat. We're currently in the process of carpeting the floors, so there should be more pics in the near future.

 

[breachless]

This is looking awesome so far! My boat is very similar to this (a bit older, but pretty much the same boat, and it is also an heirloom).

Anyway, keep us posted on how you like it with the middle bench removed: I am still on the fence on whether or not to remove it...

 

[ROBB]

Zubes,

Awesome job!

I am curious in your decision in splitting the rear seat? I like your revision design done in Autocad.

Rob

 

[bulldog]

You caught 142 Pike and 27 LM, holy crap!!!! That, my friend, is a banner day. Great job on the boat so far. Keep up the great work.

 

[z0mbie f1sherman]

nice boat!

I noticed in the "before" pics of your trailer that it is a tilt trailer, but in the after shots, the latching mechanism was gone, did you weld it together?

Just curious... great looking rig so far, keep up the good work

 

[Zubes]

No, we didn't weld it. I just drilled a hole and ran a bolt through the tongue. My dad was hesitant to remove it, but I NEVER used the tilt feature so we took it off. The boat is so light that we can push/pull it on in the shallowest conditions. It's one of the benefits of a small boat!