spring project

[exhumed07]

well I bought a boat last year for $900. just boat and trailer. well this spring i got a few good deals. got a 30hp outboard for $300 ( looked it up, still worth about 1300) and an electric 50 pound thrust trolling motor for $50. so $1250. had to do some repairs to the boat as well. transom needed replaced. still the original wood from 1978. it was rotted as could be. so i got some plywood and replaced it. well there was $40 bucks for the green treat kiln dried plywood. then around $150 for all the stainless hardware, nuts bolts washers. didn't help that i needed 80 nuts and bolts and 160 1 inch washers. then i got a quart of oil based paint which is hard as hell to track down. that was $35 for just a quart so right now I've spent about $1475 on my boat. and i still need to do the floor and console for my steering and throttle. the saying is true for a boat. bust out another thousand cause it's just a hole in the water you throw money into lol. I'm guessing about another $200 should get it done and on the water.

anyone else got any spring or summer projects this year?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You posted a story like that with no pics?

 

[exhumed07]

ok caps i'll post pics lol. they will be off my phone so i'll post under it what everything is

 

[exhumed07]

this is what the boat looked like when i bought it. It has been used for a duck blind for years

this is the front with the shooting stations

here was the start of the tear down

this was after i got it all torn down and was doing a good wash and inspection

this was after i cut the plywood and did a dry fit. also if you look at the knee braces in the center you can see that they are broken. the one on the left had a chunk completely broken off.

So I replaced them. this is the final product. I painted everything before the build. everything front back and edges were painted

this is a close up of the knee braces i made. it's 2x2x1/4 inch aluminum angle stock with 1x1/8 inch flat bar stock. all the replacment aluminum is good quality 6061 t6 alloy. very strong

this is the back of the boat showing all the bolts i had to put in and the tape is filling some holes that were in the back of the boat that are no use there from the pontoons that were on the back to hold up the dog hide when it was a duck blind. I drilled them out about half way and then filled them with a strong adhesive sealant.

then of course the side view. I'm thinking about painting the boat next year since the oil based paint i need to use is very expensive as i stated above. took nearly a quart to paint the entire back of the boat with 2-3 coats.

I still need to build the console and back deck yet though. one side of the floor is painted but still need to paint the other and fit it in place. then i will put some sand in the remainder of the paint and put a none slip surface on it. that will only be for the console though. the rest i'm using a dense foam and covering with a rubber horse stall mat. quiet, light, and none slip.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Wow, I always admire people with that kind of handy skill. It looks like a totally different boat now that it has been de-retrofitted.

 

[exhumed07]

Yeah. and I'm good with wood working but I'm not setup for metal working. so all my aluminum was cut with a hack saw and as u can see with the bolts some I almost missed when drilling the holes. but I figure the transom can hold a 150hp outward without breaking lol. my boat is only able to hold an 80. but id rather have it to strong then to weak.

 

[exhumed07]

well I'm making progress. the console is nearly finished. just need to mount my throttle, ignition, buy and run a new steering cable, and finish boxing it all in. then i can paint and the front horizontal part i'm going to put a cutting board, with measuring guide. that way for fish with legal length limits i can measure and when i'm catfishing or flathead fishing i have a cutting board for my cut bait.