Old boats

[hamms-scooter]

Great idea! Nice old boat! I love the fact that she is paid for! You don't have to look out in the winter and think of it as just a payment. I LOVE OLD BOATS!

[hydro]

Here's a 1956 Crestliner that I owned a while back. I did some interior work, added a front deck, and built the trailer that it's sitting on. Those old crestliners were built like tanks, and almost as heavy as one!

[shizzy]

Great idea! Nice old boat! I love the fact that she is paid for! You don't have to look out in the winter and think of it as just a payment. I LOVE OLD BOATS!

I also forgot to mention she only needs about a foot of water to get through. I cant count how many times I have walked the Sea Monkey through a half dried up channel to get to a good spot

[fishinfey8]

Shizzy you are right on the money there! I can bring my boat in a local river and I can put the oar's in the oar locks and float the river and flyfish off the deck if I want. Or, I can get through very shallow areas to find backwater that holds almost every type of fish. I can't tell you how many times that single feature has put more fish in the boat. They also save LOTS of $$ in gas...

My 15hp is a short shaft. Another nice feature for getting in shallow areas. There is just storage under the front deck, no livewell.

[hamms-scooter]

fishinfey8, I have to mention once again how much i like your boat you did a great job! Just what I want for these small lakes i fish.I have to mention that i do want a lund alaskan 17 or 18' some day for bigger water like mille lacs. Tiller steer of course! Nice and open layout and SIMPLE!

[thebman]

This came with our cabin. It is a Lund and I believe it is a 1962. Not sure on the motor.

[jwmiller33]

ya fishinfey's boat is awesome and works great for getting to the spots that the other big boats can't. seeing that pic of it down to the bare aluminum reminds me of the 3 days we spent sanding that thing! man was that a major pain in the arse!

i have a similar older lund style boat that i did a similar modification that fishinfey did.

BEFORE

DURING/AFTER

dont really have any good pics of the finished product.. i was too busy fishing in it once it was done to take pics i have a 35 hp Johnson tiller (long shaft) on the 16ft lund. it gets into some pretty shallow areas as well

[SimilarIsland]

I have a 1968 Alumacraft FD 14' with a 65 Johhny 6 HP on the back. I built a small hinged casting deck on the front and added carpet to the seats. purchase price, rebuild on the trailer and outboard and I think I'm still under $1000. I go out 2-3 times a week in it. I love my little "Sea Monkey"

BTW, the old Johhny starts on the 2nd or 3rd pull.

here it is the day I bought it.

a scrap chunk of plywood, some cheap hinges and a $9 I/O rug from menards and I had lockable storage

it isnt fancy, doesnt go very fast, but its mine and its paid for.

[hamms-scooter]

ya fishinfey's boat is awesome and works great for getting to the spots that the other big boats can't. seeing that pic of it down to the bare aluminum reminds me of the 3 days we spent sanding that thing! man was that a major pain in the arse!

i have a similar older lund style boat that i did a similar modification that fishinfey did.

BEFORE

DURING/AFTER

dont really have any good pics of the finished product.. i was too busy fishing in it once it was done to take pics i have a 35 hp Johnson tiller (long shaft) on the 16ft lund. it gets into some pretty shallow areas as well

If I could have one boat setup it would be this setup exactly! Nice job love the open layout with nice storage and front deck... Nice job! I go into the BWCA so a 25hp is max, but if i could have something bigger it would be a 40hp or so. I have to add some rod holders like that to mine. Nice boat Have to say my #1 so far With your buddies right behind in 2nd place

[hamms-scooter]

jwmiller33, how did you make the front deck so it laid nice and level/flat to the fron?Was it the 2x4 and then 3/4ply to make it good off of that front bench? Does the 35 hp scoot you along pretty good? How wide is your boat? Looks nice and wide in the pic. No Wave wackers...Jk nice boat

[jwmiller33]

jwmiller33, how did you make the front deck so it laid nice and level/flat to the fron?Was it the 2x4 and then 3/4ply to make it good off of that front bench? Does the 35 hp scoot you along pretty good? How wide is your boat? Looks nice and wide in the pic. No Wave wackers...Jk nice boat

the front bench was not completely level with the back bench for the front deck.. the front bench was about 2 inches below what would be level with the back bench to the deck. so, i laid the 2x4's on top of the piece of plywood of the front bench, and that so happened to work out to be perfectly level with the back bench. so i just layed the 1/2inch carpeted plywood on top of the 2x4s... the really hard part is getting that 1/2inch piece of plywood cut out into the right shape to fit the contour of the boat.

the 35hp pushes the boat extremely well... the boat is rated for 40 hp, so i think 35 is plenty... most of the time when i am by myself, i dont even like to open it up all the way because it is a lot of power for a little boat like that with only me in the back. it goes about 26mph when i am by myself and 23 with 2 myself and a passenger and about 22mph with 3 people total in the boat.

i'm not exactly sure how wide the boat is... i could run out in the garage tomorrow and measure it if you are really interested. yes i know, no wave wackers... i thought about getting them but i dont really have the money for them right now, and throughout my entire first year with the boat (this past year), i cant recall one time when i wished i had the wave wackers... i dont do a lot of backtrolling... maybe if i had wave wackers, i'd be more inclined to use them

[ac777]

I am going to be on the look out for a cheap old boat, Id like to fix it up real nice and paint it to match my truck, I think that would be pretty sweet!

[LOTWSvirgin]

Not a super pld boat but olsd enough 87 bass tracker. Not to bad for FREE

Before

After

[hamms-scooter]

Looks nicely done to me! Once again a nice and open boat!

[Heartman]

jignlow, that old boat could look just like the one Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis used to ride around in. Get yourself an admiral hat when you're done with the restoration - maybe a long-stemmed pipe, and you're in like flint!

[jwmiller33]

jwmiller33, how did you make the front deck so it laid nice and level/flat to the fron?Was it the 2x4 and then 3/4ply to make it good off of that front bench? Does the 35 hp scoot you along pretty good? How wide is your boat? Looks nice and wide in the pic. No Wave wackers...Jk nice boat

if you want, i can send you some more pics of the process of building that front deck

[hamms-scooter]

Originally Posted By: hamms-scooter

jwmiller33, how did you make the front deck so it laid nice and level/flat to the fron?Was it the 2x4 and then 3/4ply to make it good off of that front bench? Does the 35 hp scoot you along pretty good? How wide is your boat? Looks nice and wide in the pic. No Wave wackers...Jk nice boat

if you want, i can send you some more pics of the process of building that front deck

Sure my email is [email protected] ... I built one in mine quick for last year and i will be redoing it perminantly this spring. Have no where to work on it now.. My starcraft doesn't have any thing way up fron to run any material to it from the next bench back. thought of just making something to set on the floor and angle up the bow and the decking could be screwed to that.I just don't want to put any screws threw the side of the boat to build a frame for the deck.

[hamms-scooter]

I might use the 2x4 setup you have there.I originally used galvinized steel studs form a job site.Thinking then i would be done with it, no rotting at all. When i rebuild i am making it bigger and 2x material might just be easier to work with and more quiet on the water. Is that treated lumber on your or not? Did it add alot of noticable weight to your boat? I only have a 15hp so that is another factor I'm thinking about. You used 1/2 ply , that must be plenty strong with the way you did the framing under it.

[jwmiller33]

yes weight was something i kept in mind while doing the front deck... but all in all, i dont think the added weight is much at all.. like i said before, when i am by myself in my boat, i dont even like opening the throttle all the way because it gets a little scary... i DO like having that extra weight all the way in the front of the boat for that exact reason.. i also have a deep cycle battery up in that storage too.. i like having more weight in the front of the boat then the back, for when i am riding myself.

i did not use treated lumber, but i did use marine plywood. yes 1/2 inch plywood. i figured that in a couple years, i will take the whole thing apart and replace all the 2x4s... 2x4s are really cheap and easy to get.. and my whole entire deck is assembled by bolts and screws and i could take it all apart in about 15 min if i wanted to. then, just re cut new wood to match the old pieces identically and re assemble it. very easy to re do and i am actually looking forward to doing it again because i love doing projects like that

i used 1/2 inch plywood and it is plenty strong.. i used 3/4inch marine plywood on the main part of the floor of my boat and i wish i would have gone with the 1/2 inch, but then again, the weight really isnt that big of deal because the 35hp longshaft is PLENTY of power for my little boat. i dont think i would ever put the 40hp that it is rated for on the boat unless it was a newer 4 stroke

if you are worried about weight, i would definitely not use the galvanized steel that you were thinking about using, as i think that would be a lot heavier then the 2x4s... if you place the 2x4s in the right spot (structurally), you will have an extremely strong support system.. i have had 3 people on top of that deck at one time before and it has never even flexed... using horizontal and vertical 2x4s is key

[hamms-scooter]

Thanks jw I can't wait to start on that project now! I might just keep my eyes open for a 25 or 35hp the boat is also rated for a 40.

[Far-I]

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj26/far-i/?action=view&current=0424091732.jpg

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj26/far-i/?action=view&current=0424091904.jpg

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj26/far-i/?action=view&current=0426091623a.jpg

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj26/far-i/?action=view&current=0423091303.jpg

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj26/far-i/?action=view&current=0423091320_01.jpg

Here is my boat. It is nothing fancy, a 1977 Alumacraft i bought a couple years ago.

The original motor that came with it was on its last legs (a poorly kept 9.8 Merc 1972) so I decided to get a new motor. I could have bought a "new" used boat and motor, but decided it would be cool to own a brand new motor and keep the boat. I've never had anything factory new before.

I actually got the idea for the deck from Shizzy, pics he posted somewhere last year.

I wish i had updated pics because the floor is finished, and i have a different rod storage system that is vertical instead of horizontal.

I really like some of your guys' designs alot, and want to do more than just have a flat-bottomed carpeted floor.

I'd like to pull out my middle bench too but i am wondering if i would lose too much stability in my little 14 ft, what do you all think?

The motor is a BEAST on this boat My Garmin had me clocked at 28mph last summer.The motor weighs 118 lbs i think, and i also rebuilt my transom which is not shown in the pics. Even with a stronger transom, my rivets were flexing when the boat was trailored so i had two braces welded from the transom to the main gunwales to give it extra support. (not pictured either)

Knowing all of this, do you guys reccomend i keep my middle bench for stability reasons? Thanks, and you guys realy have done some top notch work to your boats which inspires me to dink around a little! Thanks!

[Far-I]

oops...gotta figure this out somehow. never posted pics before

[hamms-scooter]

copy and paste the img code to your post.

[jwmiller33]

far-i that is a awesome motor!!! i'm super jealous! i could only imagine how fricken excited i would be to have a brand new motor and take it out of the packaging... do you mind telling how much you paid for that new motor? that increases the value of your boat sooo much! how many horsepower is that motor?>

as for your pics, here they are.. just use the image code

[jwmiller33]

I'd like to pull out my middle bench too but i am wondering if i would lose too much stability in my little 14 ft, what do you all think?

if you look at fishinfey's pics from earlier in this thread, i helped him sand down his boat and helped him with the design of his front deck.. his boat is a 14ft lund and he had the same 3 benches you have, plus the small one way up in the front... he took out the middle bench in his boat and it is just fine structurally. it opens up the boat soooooo much it is really nice... plus, if your worried about the seating, you can always bring a fold up chair with if needed if your fishing with 3 guys... it is super nice to have the open floor space