# Alumacraft 1436LT Conversion



## onthewater102 (Mar 18, 2014)

Ok, here we go - this is why I signed up here so that I could pick the brains of so many experienced folks...I'm decking a 1436LT - plan is to put a livewell inside of the middle seat (replacing the foam), framing the decking with aluminum and topping everything using FRP backed by expanding urethane foam. In the end the deck will be coated in Tuff Coat rubberized marine coating. 

The final product (sans accessories alla trolling motor, battery, fuel, motor etc.) should weigh in under 230lbs - this is important as there is only carry-in access to the river behind my house where I will keep this tied up. I'm looking for suggestions on the design/layout or issues that other people encountered in their builds or after the fact that caused them to revisit something... 

The volume of foam behind the decking is almost double that removed from the center seat - though I plan on filling all non-storage areas in the bow section with 2# expanding urethane (overkill is underrated.) Ok, so the plans at the moment look like this:







Finished product's decking layout will loosely resemble this - major differences being the side rod-lockers rather than shelves and the layout of the hatches / livewell & hardpoints for seats. I will use a hole-saw to cut through the middle and rear bench seats and install PVC tubes extending up under the bow flooring and through the rear bench to allow for storage of 2, possibly 3 clearances permitting, 7' rods on each side of the boat. I live in a remote area, so being able to lock the rods in the boat and not have to lug everything up and down the bank would be nice.

Also - my flooring between the aft and middle bench seats will be anchored flush to the top of the structural ribs - all other decking surfaces will be roughly 1/2" higher than the plane of the middle and rear bench seats - with a step up to the bow bench which will be topped with the trolling motor mount, anchor mate (mechanical) and receptacle for the 12" pole-mounted bow-light (for visibility clearance above the trolling motor when stowed.)






I apologize for not referencing this builder and giving them credit - I saved the image during my research and didn't save the source.


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## onthewater102 (Mar 19, 2014)

Livewell and forward tray rack are complete - rack actually fits 8 (4x2) 3700 trays rather than 6 in my rough schematic. Pics will have to wait for a day when I'm working on it during daylight hours. Getting ready to frame the rear bench and hatch over the gas tank area...nervous b/c there's very little clearance above the fuel line fitting to the underside of the hatch - I'll have to line the underside with aluminum chimney flashing with a bead of caulk down the joists to ensure even if gasoline splashed it cannot get to the polystyrene board above.


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## sledneck22 (Mar 19, 2014)

I'll be interested in seeing how your project goes. I have a platform built on the bottom of the upper section of my 14' between the middle seat and front "deck" and I am just so skeptical that it won't be extremely tippy when putting the deck that high above the water line.


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## onthewater102 (Mar 19, 2014)

While I'm fortunate that there isn't access for motor boats on the waterway behind my house I still didn't want to push my luck with elevating the front deck. 

I wish I could have worked with something wider but the 1436 LT (base of 145lbs for my 2002 model) was the biggest size I could work with so that once I add the weight of the decking to it my brother & I can still carry over the barricade at the car-top launch. I'll have to run back and forth to add the trolling motor, battery, fuel tank & gas motor afterwards...and all our gear...but once it's in the river it'll stay for the season - so I want materials that can take a lot of exposure and still last me a long time (I'll cover it but it only protects so well.)

If it weren't for the fact that it will barely clear the fuel tank in the back and needs the ~1/2" foam backing for support I'd be level with the tops of the benches. Very lucky my father is an engineer - by his math this setup should save half the weight that I otherwise would have added using 1/8" aluminum angle and sheeting, with similar cost savings too.


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## onthewater102 (Mar 26, 2014)

Picked up a 50' roll of 10" wide thin gauge aluminum flashing from the roofing department at Lowes - I'm going to lay this beneath the foam under the main deck to keep any splashed gasoline from floating around and getting under the foam.

Also going to use it to reinforce the underside of all hatch covers which won't have the same support lattice as the rest of the decking (the rear hatch, rod lockers and hatch over the front tackle tray storage.)

Tackle tray rack used a piece of angled aluminum 1/2"x1/2"x8' and two pieces of 3/4"x3/4"x8' (all 1/16th thickness) cut as follows:

*1/2" x 1/2" x 8'*

2 pieces 29 1/4" long
4 pieces 9" long

*3/4" x 3/4" x 8'*

each piece cut into 10 9" sections for the vertical dividers between the trays (20 total)

I riveted a piece of the aluminum sheeting (cut to be 29 1/8" x 8 7/8" with a pair of tin-snips) to make a rectangular base bordered by the two 29" sections of 1/2" angle and two of the 9" sections forming the outer border of the rectangle. The rectangle was bisected by the remaining two pieces of 9" long 1/2" angle set back to back denoting the separation of the left and right trays. This formed 2 smaller rectangular sections the equivalent of 4 3700 trays standing on end. Then I riveted the 9" sections of 3/4" angle on end standing up to act as dividers between the trays creating the slots for each tray to sit in. These will ultimately be hung riveted to the floor supports outlining the cutout for this storage compartment.

Pics to come tonight. Now to work on framing the deck supports in the front of the boat - design change here - a friend found a stash of 1/8" thickness 1" x 1" aluminum angle in a barn he was hired to demolish so he brought it home and is allowing me to as much as I need...can't beat free so my latticed 1/16th support design won't get to prove itself on this boat...


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## onthewater102 (Apr 5, 2014)

Wow - I knew I was in for a project when the carb to the motor that came with my boat was in a child's beach-toy pail...figured no problem, $75 rebuild kit and I'm back in business...WRONG

Took a piece of general advice to heart, that being with any used outboard before you start it up, if you don't know the history - replace the impeller! Well, I did, and when I opened it up there was an EXTRA GASKET between the impeller housing and the face plate ( parts #28 & 33 on this diagram https://www.boats.net/parts/search/MercuryMarine/06535686/274/180/GEAR%20HOUSING%20%28DRIVER%20SHAFT%29/parts.html ) - mind you I'm not talking about the large O-ring seal for the housing - no - an entire sheet gasket which invariably was all chewed up and clogging up the outlet port from the water pump housing leading up to the motor. Add insult to injury - only one of the impeller washers was even there - and it was on the OUTSIDE of the impeller housing!!!!! On top of it all the bushings which align the impeller cover to the base plate were missing, and the housing looked as though it'd been hit with a hammer.

Somewhere, sadly, there is a person who put this together presumably thinking (and I use the term EXTREMELY lightly) they'd done this correctly... Considering there was a diagram with the correct order to assemble these parts along side the parts list...yike...some people are so dumb it's amazing their brains can keep their hearts beating.

Be ware - this mystery person has the right to VOTE!!!


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## onthewater102 (May 14, 2014)

Been a while since I updated - progress is SLOW - too my reality in my life.

I've got the front framing 80% done. I still need supports from the framing to the front bench seat (if you can call it that) to support my Tempress access hatch, along with more vertical load supports all around but on the whole it's taking shape. The tackle tray is in - though the hatch is yet to be completed. Seat mount is set in place but not secured yet until the decking is installed. I still need to attach the thin chimney flashing material to enclose the sides of the tray area and block out the expanding foam - for the money i deeply regret not purchasing one of the injection molded plastic tray liners such as this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Plano-Molding-974-StowAway-Organizer/dp/B000CRHD6K/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1400123066&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=plano+3700+rack

although it might not have fit in the tight confines of this space - as it was my home-grown version only has 1/4" clearance to the underside...oh well, making it is half the fun right? It'd better be - it took WAY too long...







While I was at it I setup the trolling motor mount






I flip-flopped the position of the tackle trays and the seat mount to give the seat mount a sturdier mounting position. I will be adding a second 45deg support to each side of the seat mount abutting the rib so the rivets won't be carrying load in shear. I will need similar supports for the sides of the tackle rack - then 4 vertical supports on the front cross-member. So much time spent cutting and grinding. The trickiest part to this project is figuring the order you need to attach the various pieces so that you have room to drill and get the rivet gun in there - I think I've drilled out 25% or more of the rivets I've installed. 

Hooked up the anchormate:












Hopefully the front decking will be done soon - need to run conduit through the sides and get the wiring for the trolling motor and fish finder set...the front is by far the most intricate part to the project - the rear deck will be much simpler - as will the rod lockers - OH which reminds me - I need to get pics but I found oars which have an aluminum tube with a plastic insert blade - I was able to make the plastic blades removable so they are retained by a hitch pin, but they come apart for easy below deck storage. I was pretty happy knowing I'll always have an emergency propulsion option available (I don't trust 2 strokes).


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## onthewater102 (May 14, 2014)

what I wouldn't give for a TIG welder...


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## onthewater102 (Jun 4, 2014)

After the expanding foam set-up I realized I'd gone way too far with the aluminum angle up front - two trusses capping off the manufacturer's ribs level to the middle bench seat would have been fine. The FRP backed by 2# expanding marine urethane foam is like concrete - no flex what-so-ever. And it's super light. Had I just run the 2 trusses (as it's all I really needed) the aluminum would be the same as what I'd needed to use a conventional 1/2" plywood deck, but the plywood would have weighed 25lbs whereas the foam/FRP combination weighs 17lbs and stiffens the entire front of the boat. Cost works out to be about the same. I should have just set a pair of Plano 974 tray organizers flush with the deck surface rather than fabricate the tray slots myself.

I anchored the seat mount to the framing by first installing U-Nuts to the aluminum angle or into the rear bench(I've seen them called Fender Nuts, J-Nuts or Speed nuts online) which allows me to unscrew the seat plates if I ever needed to. I foamed the deck in separate stages - first blocking off the front cavity to be a storage bay with some FRP scraps sealed together with tape. I ran a hose down the center channel so the front can drain, and blocked the side channels with pieces of aluminum flashing tapped on so I can still run wires through there as needed. I foamed between the trays and the front compartment with a piece of scrap FRP capping the compartment (held down by hand pressure) so the excess foam would spill out to the sides of the trays - then I foamed the sides capping them to spill back into the area around the seat base. Lastly I glued down the FRP deck and filled the cavity below the seat mount with foam through a hole cut in the FRP which will be covered by the seat mount. All that's left to finish the front now is to primer & paint on the Tuff Coat rubberized top. This will give me traction and prevent the FRP from being exposed to any UV light.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 4, 2014)

My helper hard at work with the rivet gun:






Then foaming the bays from the front back along the sides toward the rear (aft most-compartment incomplete):






Beginning of the gluing down of the FRP:






And finally with the deck surface (unpainted) installed:











Now for a bit of fiberglass touch-up, install the tempress hatch for the front compartment, fabricate a hatch for the tackle tray and a shot of Tuff Coat and I'll be done with phase 1 - Phase 2 is the mid-deck, oar compartments and livewell.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 4, 2014)

For anyone interested - I weigh 240 lbs +/- and there is absolutely no flex in the FRP decking (bathroom wall board panel from Home Depot or Lowes) backed by the 2 lb density marine grade closed cell expanding urethane foam (from US Composits) And the best part is my wife and I could still easily lift the boat up off the trailer, once the two motors, gas tank, battery, and anchor were removed of course...


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## Keystone (Jun 5, 2014)

That is looking real good!

What foam insulation are you using?


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## onthewater102 (Jun 5, 2014)

2lb expanding closed cell urethane from https://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html - Oh, and I ran a piece of 1/2 hose through the channels stamped in the floor from the rear compartment to the front so the front cavity can drain. You can see in one of the pics I've got a pair of vice-grips keeping the hose from getting pulled rearward. 

Despite my efforts to block the foam from filling the channels it did spill through and fill them in. Had I not added this I would've been in big trouble the first time I took water over the bow.


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## bklepsig (Jul 4, 2014)

how did front deck hold out great idea I been lookin into ways to raise front deck just worried about how stabile it is let me know im also using tempress hatch how easy is it to se up


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## onthewater102 (Jul 4, 2014)

excellent so far. Nice & stable - I'll get a video up when I can of me taking it out on the water. PM sent with more info on the hatch & framing.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 4, 2014)

I recently came into an 80lb thrust 24v bow-mount w/ foot control that I'm tempted to install in place of my traxxis/edge setup...apart from the weight of a heavier motor & extra battery does anyone have any reason why I wouldn't want to do this? I realize it'll be like a monkey F'ing a football on my boat, but the pond by my house is SOLID weeds - so the heavier chopping power will be nice.


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## Timtactical (Jul 16, 2014)

This seems exactly what my plans are. Keep up the good work.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 16, 2014)

Pulled the trigger & bought the quick release mount for the trolling motor and the prop to finish the rebuild on the motor itself. I need the release as this motor is considerably heavier than the 12v and would make carry-launching the boat a PITA. So tonight's plan is to run another wire under my front deck to feed 12v power to the bow light so I can send 24v through the trolling motor wiring (previously I had the bow drawing power off the trolling motor socket...) I've got to grab a momentary switch from radioshack for the bilge, even the small float switch isn't useful until the boat is damn near submerged.

I'm debating making a compartment in the middle bench to relocate the batteries so they'll be out of the way. I've added so much foam supporting my decks that emergency flotation is a non-issue. I've still got more to add to the floor space between the rear and middle benches. I'm constantly pulling trays out of my in-deck rack while fishing so the material I had for making a cover for it would probably be better spent making a cover for a motor compartment instead.

Other than that, I decided I'm going to build a support frame with three seat mounts (one centered for fishing, the other two equidistant to the sides for riding) forward of the rear bench seat so I can install the livewell in the bench. I found having both people sit on the rear bench while under way on the gas motor the boat rides much higher on the plane & runs faster and smoother through the waves. This made long runs up the river much more comfortable.


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## Timtactical (Jul 22, 2014)

With a live well in the rear bench, plus 2 seats plus motor etc. is that going to be too much weight in the rear? :wink:


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## onthewater102 (Jul 23, 2014)

I'm going this route as I found when the 2 people in the boat sit on the rear bench it planes better - I will have 2 size 29 batteries in the middle bench and a 80# trolling motor up front - so it's not like there isn't any weight forward.

I don't like the idea of batteries that far forward, but they'll weigh less than a full livewell - and I don't want to give up what little floor space I've got in a 14' boat. Plus this way I can use 3/4" square tubes for the rear seat frames and run them across the top of the rear bench livewell (parallel to the keel line) to support a deck above. I was struggling trying to design support for the floor that keeps a low profile but would be strong enough to allow me to cut from the top down into the bench to install the livewell. I'll need some foam boards under there too, but I should be able to get it together. I'm filling underneath the seat framing with expanding foam to replace what I'm taking out of the bench seat. 

Materials ordered yesterday - should be here in time for the weekend.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 28, 2014)

Well - installing the 24v motor was...disappointing. The quick-release mount from MinnKota is awesome, I love that I can completely remove the motor just by pulling a pin and removing a bracket, on the downside I dropped it prop-guard down on the deck and of course it punched right through. Fortunately it missed the hatch, as I'm sure it would have had no problem going through that. So...new sheet of FRP, which I would have needed anyway to finish the rear so no biggie there, but I didn't cut out the bow nearly as well so I now have a 3/8" gap along the side above the front storage bay - oh well, I'll fit a piece of scrap in there and use some fiberglass to touch it all up... Fortunately mounting the batteries in the bench with the new hatch was easy - so that clears the deck off. Tonight I hope to get the supports for the livewell in place so I can drop it in and start the seat framing.

Final product is marginally resembling my original design - though I dropped the middle seat mount, added two to the rear for travel and moved the livewell to the rear.


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## Timtactical (Jul 28, 2014)

Thats too bad, at least it was backed by foam and didnt punch through the bottom of the boat. I'd like to see some pics of your battery set up. I would have done the same but wanted to use my seat for the live well. 

I have found twitch panels that have built in breakers for around $50, thought of mounting it on the rear of my middle seat with the wiring inside. I'd bend a piece of aluminum around so I have access to it then add foam around it.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 28, 2014)

Will do when I get in tonight - it's just a hole cut big enough to install the 1330 Tempress hatch - which conveniently has and opening which is 1/2" wider than 2 size 29 batteries side by side...


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## onthewater102 (Jul 28, 2014)

Scratch that - thunder & lightning out there


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## onthewater102 (Mar 7, 2015)

I finally found on ebay the parts I need to convert my tiller to remote steering, so I'm going to build a little side counsel and install my steering wheel and finally finish the layout of the boat as soon as tax season is over. Then I can finally apply the Tuff Coat to the final decking surfaces (I had it on an earlier rendition, but the edges were terrible and nothing lined up nicely so I tore it out & redid the FRP.) I saw BigTerp's thread with his beautiful custom made hatches, which I'm thinking I'm going to get for the rear engine compartment as my make-shift setup looks like crap. I'm so far behind updating my build thread it's sad...

Updates since last time - added a rear deck twice, decked the center section, converted it to 24v Maxxum 80# thrust TM with a quick-release bracket & 2 size 29 batteries under a hatch in the center bench - added a livewell to the rear bench with controls mounted on the face of the middle bench, added a port side storage compartment for the 2 part oars I always carry (tube handle & blade separate for storage) added 2 seat mounts to the rear bench in addition to the one centered one so when in transit people can sit 2x2, mounted the fishfinder on a pivoting ram-mount post offset with a 2' section of PVC so i can pivot it back to where i sit when driving (that's going to have to change somehow with the new remote steer, not sure just how yet, probably a clip or bracket for it to sit in just not sure yet)...pictures are somewhere...


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## onthewater102 (Apr 23, 2015)

Found some pics of the rear deck in process from last year. Unfortunately, I have none of the livewell going in or of the hatches installed through the deck afterwards.











The hatches install in the rectangular opening in the frame behind the side seat mounts.










These were all before the Tuff Coat was added, so the bow section of FRP has since been replaced. There is a livewell cut into the rear bench with hatches on either side. The area below the new seat mounts has been filled with foam to make up for the foam lost in the bench for the livewell.

I'm working on adding the side console steering helm this weekend (hopefully), but I'm finding there is very little place to store rods on board...apparently I've pushed the 1436 as far as I can. I'm looking at adding a 1" high rectangular cavity along the port side, at least that would let me conceal the tips of my guest's rods on that side (I've already broken one of my own in a moment of stupidity) but the 6 rods I carry are probably going to have to be stored vertically around the side console unless I come up with something.


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## EZPZ (May 4, 2015)

Hello OTW102. Vertically stored rods always get in the way on a small boat while fishing. On My 16' Alumacraft 1648 NCS I usually carry 5 rods for myself. I store 4 of them horizontally on gunnell mount rod holders (up to 8' rod) and the one I am using I store in a vertical rod holder while underway. When I need to carry more rods or my 9' fly rod I use this system from Driftmaster. It can hold up to 8 rods. It is very easy to mount and it is removable.

Nice build so far.

Spud


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## onthewater102 (May 4, 2015)

Hmm...wouldn't be too hard to duplicate that using some PVC...but that's along the lines of what I'm thinking of. I hate to store them vertically, because you're right they're going to get in the way, certainly on a small boat, so they'd only be verticle while I was underway on the gas motor. Perhaps I can situate them horizontally to the port side of my TM somehow, that's where I've been resting them lately, I'd need some sort of configuration of tubes to align everything and protect the tips. There's only maybe 4" from the decking to the gunwale up front, not much to work with. 

I was thinking about a 2 tiered layout...with the rear fisherman having spots for 3 rods and my gluttonous outfit allowing me to carry 6 up front...I'm going to play with it tonight and see if I can make something of it.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 1, 2015)

Some more updates (sort of, these pics were from the end of last summer). Taping the boat before applying the Tuff Coat & some of the final results. 

Installed the side console and remote steering too - found out that my connectors at the end of my control cables don't mate with my Mariner, so a quick call to boats.net and the right parts are on their way, hopefully here by the end of the week so I can convert it over on time for my trip out Friday at O'Dark-30 in the morning.

Pics are of the result of the rollon application of TuffCoat - very easy to do. I had enough paint to cover the interior sides of the boat, but was too low on primer so I will have to revisit this part of the project once I can get another quart. All in it will require 1 gallon of paint & 2qts of the 2part epoxy primer to cover the entire interior of the 1436 for anyone interested. Also, try not to apply the paint in full-sun, it dries too quickly and cracks a bit, which was ultimately covered up in the 2nd coat but still...

Bad-hair day and child-labor all in one






Finished view of the rear deck with the hatches to the livewell. I had to shift the seat mounts forward so the posts beneath the deck didn't protrude into the livewell tank.






Front deck area with my well worn Tempress hatch. In the end the Tuff Coat will run all the way up to the gunwales, but for now it is what it is






And one from testing the lineup of the console with my little buddy at the helm. Not pictured is the install of the mounting plate for the remote controls - I had to re-bend the flange for the anchoring point for both the console and remote mounts so they wrapped to the outside of the gunwale - this bought me a few inches more floor space clearance by shifting the whole setup to the starboard ever so slightly which allows the seat to just clear the remote control (picture didn't come out clear)


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## onthewater102 (Jun 1, 2015)

Up next is some fiberglass filler to the exposed foam alongside the mid-deck to drain the water to the drain lines in each bay, along with the framing for the port-side hatch that will run from the rear deck to the front. Hopefully the primer shows up quickly - I don't want the deck discolored from the sides by the time I get them painted.

Also to come this week (weather permitting) will be the transom mounted tilt-tube for the steering (so I can disconnect the linkages & remove the motor for carry-in launches) & the hatch-lid for the front tackle tray storage. Tested the final setup with the most recent permanent additions mounted (console, wheel, remote & cables) and all the removable items (motors, batteries, tank, anchor, gear & seats) removed and it's definitely heavier, but still manageable that two people can lift & carry it a short distance to clear obstacles or drop in from the bank. Certainly won't be enjoyable, it's tricky with the side imaging sonar sender protruding from under the bottom, cause you have to be careful not to drag the boat.

For longer carries I made up a boat dolly that slips between the bunks on the trailer and allows me to walk the boat down to the water when no launch is available.


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## Kismet (Jun 1, 2015)

Great build, and very nice detail in description!

As I read through, I was counting up weight addition and was hoping to see a dolly of some sort to support the boat.

You mentioned you'd put it in, and then could leave it there? Any concern about theft?

Nicely done.

=D>


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## onthewater102 (Jun 2, 2015)

Not really worried about theft behind my house - the banks are extremely steep, so there isn't anywhere but from out on the water that someone could see the boat (no visibility of the boat from any road in the area, opposite side of the river is a swamp, so people won't see it from there.) The only ramp to the river is on school property and has a locked gate across it, then the only two carry-in access points are 2 miles in either direction from me. Not to say someone who wanted to steal it couldn't, any hardware store bolt cutters could probably cut the cable I lock it to shore with or the padlocks on the motors, but someone motivated to do something like that would probably be unaware that it was even out there.

That, and the river I'm on has a stigma from being heavily polluted with PCB's & other contaminates by GE for a long time, so there are very few people even out on the water save for the residents and people like me who know how awesome a fishery it has become - hence it needing to be light enough to launch at the carry-top access point up in town.

-------------------------------

I'm so thrilled with the way it's coming together. After getting part way through it last year I got impatient and started fishing it half-complete which I've resolved not to do this year so my itch is getting really bad!!! Weather skunked me from making progress last night, hopefully tonight will be better. I'm picking up some odds and ends today so I will have all the parts & hardware to hook up the remote steering & controls - I want to route a switch for the bilge to the new console along with a kill switch for the motor,a button for the horn and a switch for the deck night lighting. I'm going to leave the livewell controls on the aft side of the middle bench as they're accessible to me from the front seat. With some luck the sun will come back out Wednesday and the little water that makes it by my tired cover will dry up and I can fiberglass the drain routes on the side so they taper to the drain lines run through the foam under the deck to the back of the boat. If not no biggie, it's only 6x 2" wide by 11" long strips along the sides between the middle and rear benches, and it's not like they weren't that way all year last year with no ill effects, I just don't like water pooling on top of my foam for any length of time even if it's only 1/2" deep. 

If all goes well and my wife doesn't have jury duty Friday I hope to get it out first thing in the morning for the first time without the tiller. After that I'm still waiting on the port side hatch, and a set of red LED lights to set along the sides for some low-intensity night lighting. I'm debating what to do with the opening over the livewell pump/bilge pump/gas tank. I'm thinking another hatch from Fish-On Fabrications, but that's $$$ that I will have to conjure from outside the normal budget which means more side work and less fishing time. 

I'm still searching for a horizontal rod-securing solution beyond the BPS velcro straps that attach to the deck surface as there really isn't any room anymore for rods to be laying out.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 2, 2015)

Everything was wet tonight, so no fiberglass. I did get the engine converted from the tiller to remote throttle & steering. I've got the throttle & shift controls adjusted and dialed in. It worked out nicely - I was able to reuse my throttle arm & pivot so there was no effect on my idle or engine side throttle adjustments. No pictures, as this was a very greasy endeavor.

Unfortunately I broke one of the bolts holding the tiller arm on so I will need to drill into it and tap it tomorrow so that I can attach the steering plate and hookup the steering controls. The cables are in the boat, I just didn't mount the tilt-tube to the transom yet as I want to make sure I have the positioning right. I'm not using the tilt-tube in the motor mounting bracket because I want to be able to remove the motor with basic hand tools should I go to a carry-in launch. Hearing myself think that, I've got rotary steering, so it's actually easier to remove the steering cable with the engine should I need to pull it off and use the original tilt tube...oh well, better flip flop in my decision making now rather than later. This way I don't need to worry about the geometry of the steering being thrown off.

Now where's that wire brush????


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## onthewater102 (Jun 3, 2015)

Grabbed a quick pic of last night's progress on my way out to work this morning. The throttle control box and cables were courtesy of fellow tinboats.net member Barefoot_Johnny and are all greatly appreciated.

...the lack of grip atop the shift/throttle leaver is courtesy of the inept gorillas at the USPS who beat the package like a [email protected]$tard red-headed stepchild - but that's what you get from a bunch of union scrubs accountable to no-one. Of course I can't find a replacement part, so without a value for the damage my claim with the post office went no-where. Oh well, I'm working something up using the broken pieces that hadn't fallen out of the busted up box and a bit of fiberglass and a lot of patience.


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## Ictalurus (Jun 3, 2015)

onthewater102 said:


> ...the lack of grip atop the shift/throttle leaver is courtesy of the inept gorillas at the USPS who beat the package like a [email protected]$tard red-headed stepchild - but that's what you get from a bunch of union scrubs accountable to no-one.



[-X [-X [-X 

Might want to tone it down a bit chief.


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## T_Clark (Jun 3, 2015)

EZPZ said:


> Hello OTW102. Vertically stored rods always get in the way on a small boat while fishing. On My 16' Alumacraft 1648 NCS I usually carry 5 rods for myself. I store 4 of them horizontally on gunnell mount rod holders (up to 8' rod) and the one I am using I store in a vertical rod holder while underway. When I need to carry more rods or my 9' fly rod I use this system from Driftmaster. It can hold up to 8 rods. It is very easy to mount and it is removable.
> 
> Nice build so far.
> 
> Spud


EZPZ, can you post a pic of the way you have those rod holders mounted? I'm trying to figure something out for my 14 Alumacraft jonboat.

Thanks


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## onthewater102 (Jun 3, 2015)

Last night & tonight's efforts:

Wired in the switch for the bilge pump and I put a kill switch for the motor on the remote bracket since my motor was a tiller up until last night and I still need some way of shutting the motor off. Need to grab more wire looming from Big Lots to pretty everything up.






Attached the all important stow-away cup holders (there are actually 2, pictures in the dark don't work as well as I'd often like)






Remote connections to the motor are complete - the cables I happened upon were all in great condition but 14' long, so they make a loop around the rear compartment before going into the motor. In time I'll splurge for the proper 7' cables, but for the time being they're functional so I'll worry about other punch list items first.






A view of the Tuff Coated FRP front deck with the 80# Maxxum and quick release bracket from Minn Kota






And lastly the livewell drain control and timer mounted to the rearward facing face of the middle bench.






--------------------


Up for tomorrow is the fiberglass work to channel any water that gets on the mid deck to the drains & attaching the middle bench trim piece and the 1/2" trim w/ the hinged lid for the front tray compartment.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 9, 2015)

Ran out of time before the rain hit to get the fiberglass done - managed to get the trim all installed, but raced the rain to get everything cleaned up so pics will have to wait for a dry day.

Had the boat out Friday & Sunday last week, still hits 20.5 MPH no matter how much weight I add (full/empty livewell, fishing buddy etc.) so I'm back to looking into a different propeller. Sun is supposed to show itself later today and tomorrow, hopefully the boat will be dry so I can fiberglass the drain channels, then all I have to do is wait for the hatch to arrive


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## onthewater102 (Jun 9, 2015)

Trim around the tackle tray box in the front deck showing my extended ram mount for my fish finder allowing me to use it both up front and have the charts and imaging close to my eyes when driving:






Fish finder mount pivoted up to the console and locked into the grip:






Another shot of the now prettied up edges around the tackle tray slots






A bit of trim on the face of the middle bench - I used the same 1/8" angle as I used in the skeleton of the boat as the trim will be supporting the hatch that is coming from fish-on which will run from the backside of the middle bench to the leading edge of the rear bench and form a narrow compartment over the taper of the port side.






And a close up of tonights mini-project - rain got behind the cover in a few small areas so naturally it made it to the foam I'm looking to glass over so that work couldn't be done today so instead I spent my time adding slots to the useless little front bench so my 3600 trays finally have a secure home. I brazed little pieces of 3/4" angle to a 1/2" flat 1/8" thick aluminum bar & screwed the angle down to the benchtop and the gunwale. I'll have to come up with a piece of trim somehow to hide the ends where I brazed it all as they are a bit rough. I ran out of 1/2" material, I'll have to pick up a 4' piece from Lowes tomorrow to make two more slats for a total storage of 8 3600 trays on the front bench and 8 3700 size trays in the floor between the seat mount and the front storage compartment. I plan on moving the anchor mate to the side of the boat and using a few pullies to route the rope back to it.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 11, 2015)

Spoke with the owner of Precision Propeller Repair out of Newburgh NY https://www.fixmyprop.com as I was looking into a stainless PowerTech cupped prop for my outboard to try and correct the ~36% slip I'm experiencing with the OEM aluminum propeller. Rather than sell me the expensive stainless prop I was looking for he informed me that he can put a cupped edge on my aluminum for a fraction the cost of the replacement. I always thought you needed stainless to have a cupped edge for the extra rigidity to hold the load on the edges, but I wasn't aware that because it's a small hp outboard it doesn't have the shaft torque to distort the aluminum -- so it will perform like the stainless would have. 

I'm bringing the prop to him tomorrow and hopefully will have it back to test out next Friday, but I always appreciate the rare instance when a business actually tries to understand and address your issue rather than just make a quick sale.


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## Kismet (Jun 11, 2015)

*appreciate the rare instance when a business actually tries to understand and address your issue rather than just make a quick sale.*


I've been fortunate enough to run into a few of these guys, and count them as my blessings.

They may be less rare than we think; these days I'm on guard so much I may not give some vendors a chance.

dunno.


Glad you got a deal. Hope it works to your satisfaction.


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## Jake11 (Jun 11, 2015)

Pretty sweet set up. I had a 1436 a couple years ago and found that they're not nearly as tippy as everyone makes them out to be. I wouldn't stand on the gunwhale by any means but I would easily walk front to back and even fish off of that little "deck" that's built into the bow from factory without any hesitation as long as there was a bit of counterweight in the back (9.5 evinrude on the back did the trick). So how do you like your lay out so far? I'd love to see some pics of this machine on the water! Great job on the build!


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## onthewater102 (Jun 11, 2015)

I'm taking it out tomorrow - I'll try and get pics/video as I'm absolutely thrilled with the way it's come out. I haven't tested it at a carry-launch since finishing it, but I haven't added much weight since the last time I tried, and actually I didn't have to remove the trolling motor last time so just by doing that it will more than make up for the weight I've added. 

I've had a few people out on it so far who asked how thick the plywood was that I made the decks out of as there is no flex. I laugh as I get to showing them it's foam with a piece of FRP on top. 

1436's probably get a bad rap from people who aren't familiar with small boats and try one out for their first experience. I've been on small boats since I as a kid, I didn't get out on a bass boat until I bought mine when I was 28, so I'm well accustomed to being mindful of my balance and keeping my weight low and centered. Even my fishing partner last night who was a pretty big dude, 300lbs+/- was fine & the boat was nice & stable so long as he kept to the center-line. I could move around as needed without a problem, though he was pretty well confined to the rear by the effects of age on his knees.

The only thing that I've done wrong was not installing the livewell pump so that the water flow coming out of the pump travels straight up - it catches air in the impeller housing and needs to be bled sometimes to get it started. I found that if I just release the Tsunami pump from the base and let a few drops of water to seep through that's all it takes to get the air out of the way and the pump functions great from then on out until the intake comes above the water line and reintroduces air to the pump. Perhaps I should have mounted the intake through the floor and not used a screen filter on it - but it's functional and having a livewell through the entire rear bench has been very nice saving floor space.


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## Jake11 (Jun 11, 2015)

Awesome. I do agree about people just not being used to smaller boats. Though my current rig is a 14 v hull and I'm not super thrilled with it. It's a bit more tipsy up in the front end but it still gets me to the fish in relative comfort. Thanks for sharing your build. It's cool to see a small boat so decked out


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## onthewater102 (Jun 12, 2015)




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## onthewater102 (Jun 13, 2015)

Made up a culling system using the clips off of my old stringer, some wire leaders courtesy of an end of season super clearance at Kmart (sticker says $0.50 bit I'm pretty sure I got them on an additional 60% off so $0.20 for 3 leaders, needless to say I stocked up for a lifetime) and some practice golf balls numbered with a sharpie.

My stringer stopped seeing use after I found what a wonderful tool it is for feeding crappie to snapping turtles on one vacation to a friend's lakehouse up in the southern Adirondacks...we ended up leaving a stringer full tied to the dock when we ran out to the store and came back to one and three quarters fish spread across 3 of the 7 clips.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 14, 2015)

FINALLY!!!! Figured out how to store the rods horizontally over the front deck - not ideal, but good enough for transportation & to then move them elsewhere once I settle into fishing.


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## HeavyHook (Jun 14, 2015)

I have been storing my rods like that the past few trips and I think Im going to do the same as you when it comes to making it more of a permanent set up. Nicely done


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## onthewater102 (Jun 14, 2015)

Thank you sir - I stumbled upon the layout when I was out Friday and it dawned on me I could suspend them from under the console using what worked out to be 2" sections of PVC pipe and I could keep them above the front bench but below the gunwale if I made a bracket for the berkley horizontal mount to attach to & lifted the rods up a few inches. It's enough I can slide my worm bags under the rods in transit.

I also had my propeller cupped this weekend - though the weather has skunked me out of getting out to test it tonight. I'm hoping it will give me back some of my lost speed - as I was still getting full redline RPMs out of my motor so I'm generating more torque than I'm able to use in the water. Hopefully it isn't a result of too small a prop & the $35 fee for the cup won't be in vain.


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## Gators5220 (Jun 15, 2015)

Good idea on the rod storage, I have something similar but less permanent. When I move spot to spot I have a few rod holders to hold them upright that are permanent but nothing for poles I'm not using that won't get in the way.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 16, 2015)

Getting out on the water the horizontal arrangement for the first time last night some of the rods interfere with the tackle tray storage and hatches, but if I pull the rods out of the tubes and just clip them above the grip to the rod holder the tips are forward out of the way and high enough up that they're not tangled in the anchor on the front...worked very nicely. It is especially nice to not have the rods in the truck above the kids, so I'm happy with the result.

As far as the prop, mixed results. The craftsmanship and turnaround of the shop was excellent, dropped it off Friday afternoon and picked it up the following morning...not even 18 hours later!!! $35 fee for the work was more than reasonable too. The owner's son/nephew (two brothers own the shop) did as kids do and didn't look at the prop or the receipt and originally handed my prop off to a different customer. It took over an hour and a half for the ass-hat yuppie in the brand new truck to mosey on back to the shop and bring me back my prop - I'm actually far more angry with that customer than the shop - my prop is 10" in diameter, his was 19"!!!!!! How did he walk away with a propeller half the size of the one he dropped off and not scratch his empty head wondering why it looked/felt differently for some reason?!?!?!! Were he not one step away from drooling on himself retarded there was no way he would have left with my prop in the first place.

The cupping did exactly what it was supposed to do, give the prop more bite, but I ended up losing speed rather than gaining it (was previously able to hit 20.5, now I'm maxing out at 18.5 with 2 people in the boat). More importantly though, my RPMs which were between 5900 and 6100 (with a 6000 redline - i.e. no good) have dropped to 5800, so the most important goal of protecting the motor from RPM spikes due to the prop slipping/starting to blow-out has been achieved. There is also several inches more bow lift at speed, which is also a positive (though not something I was concerned about when looking to have the work done) so over all I'm 2-3 on the modification -- I'll take it.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 18, 2015)

Some close up pics of the livewell and other rear plumbing i took for someone else's post & figured they'd help on here too. Very busy back corner!!!


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## onthewater102 (Jun 24, 2015)

AHHHRRRRGGGG this never ends...always something going wrong. The cheap plastic shift cable terminations aren't nearly as long as they should be, and as a result I didn't have enough threads attached to the shift cable & I stripped the connector. Picked up a scrap piece of 1/2" aluminum bar stock to make a quality replacement tonight.

In other news, the mount for the trolling motor is exerting too much stress on the aluminum sheet used to make the little front lip bench, and is forming stress cracks which will require some attention. I'm probably just going to add a piece of angle cupping the lip of the bench under the TM mount and attach the TM mount to the angle to prevent additional flexing / cracking...

I got the boat uncovered and noticed the cracks just in time for a storm to form up on the backside of the ridge behind my house and send me running back inside. I'll post pics to night of the stress cracks.



EDIT - This wasn't due entirely to the cheap plastic cable connectors - the bushings that came with the remote components were shot. I was able to finally track some down & when I replaced them this year (2016) everything is in tight working order & shifts perfectly forward & backward.


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## onthewater102 (Nov 13, 2015)

Making the shift & throttle connections from a 1 foot piece 3/8"x1/2" bar aluminum from https://www.onlinemetals.com cost a whopping $1.18 before shipping and has worked beautifully - no more stripped connections. 

I played with the angle of the motor on the transom after the initial test with the cupped prop and now I'm able to get up to 23mph, which is close enough that it isn't worth additional $$$ to gamble & try to best 25mph. Found stress cracking in the aluminum bench to which the trolling motor mount was attached so I had to swap the 80# 24v motor out for the lighter 55# 12v option - still handles the boat just fine, but it also allows me to shed the weight of a size 29 battery, so I'm ~ 90lbs lighter. Not sure if it will run any faster now that it's a bit lighter in the bow & mid-section, I'm hoping it will. If I ever plan on fishing a full day in high-wind I can always throw the 2nd battery back in the boat.

I also installed the side-compartment hatch from fish-on fabrications - beautiful work, nice & strong! Everything is built now as I'd like it, so next year I'll pretty up the cosmetics & get the rest of the tuff-coat down. I may have to first tear out the middle section of floor and reset it with bigger drains & aluminum plate, the side drains are just not enough to be worthwhile & clog way too easily so I'm not getting the water to the bilge in the back when it rains.

Sadly I haven't had much time for fishing this summer/fall. Sunday should be my second time out on the water in the past three months. Oh well, cold water is my favorite time of year, and though we're having the wierdest fall on record here in CT (November 13th and the water is still 55 degrees when normally its 40+/-) I'm itching to get back out & have some fun.


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## onthewater102 (Dec 1, 2015)

Bit of good news, while fishing was slow the last two weekends I'm finding the motor starts & runs beautifully despite the cold temperatures (45 degrees last weekend & 35 degrees the weekend prior). I had so many issues with the 150hp 2stroke on my old 18' that I was terrified this would be a bear to start in the cold but it's been awesome.


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## onthewater102 (Dec 9, 2015)

Where I wish I was right now...


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## onthewater102 (Dec 21, 2015)

Had to replace the throttle & shift cables & correct the sh!tty design for securing them that came factory on these motors. In doing so I had to pull the motor hood and cowling apart to get to the components, so it looked to be as good a time as any to repaint & put the new badges on the motor. The transom bracket will get sprayed once I pull the motor for the winter.

I pulled the hydrofoil off in the process and I don't think it will be coming back. I tested it on the lake Sunday without the foil & I now top out at 27mph & change vs. 22 mph by myself before (both measured on the GPS on my humminbird 798). Hopefully that means I'm hitting 25mph with a guest (used to max at 20mph with the foil). No noticeable difference in bow rise on acceleration, though acceleration response is much better. Shame on me for not testing the boat before drilling holes in my cavitation plate.

Before:






After:






New throttle/shift cables are the proper length, steering cable is functional coiled around as is - though I will replace it in the future with a properly sized cable should it ever fail.


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## Texas Prowler (Dec 21, 2015)

Looking really nice man!

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## onthewater102 (Dec 21, 2015)

Plan is to repaint the boat come spring - between the scrapes all over the gunwales and the new side console it's due. I'm probably going with something other than std. green, though with the tan interior I'm not sure what might end up looking clean.


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## Texas Prowler (Dec 21, 2015)

That's going to be awesome! Wish mine was that far along. Still hoping the scoring isn't to bad in the cylinders...

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## Redthies (Dec 28, 2015)

Nice build! It certainly makes me happy about how much extra weight you can chuck into a 1436! I'd love to see a pic from the side when it's just floating in the water to see how much freeboard you have.


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## onthewater102 (Dec 28, 2015)

Will do - I meant to do that a while back & keep forgetting while I'm launching. From memory the water sits just below the rib stamped into the side of the boat at the transom which is the lowest point.

I started with a 1436LT which is 20lbs lighter than the standard Alumacraft 1436, giving me a little wiggle room. I'm sure I added 20lbs of aluminum bracing alone, ~25 lbs of FRP, ~25 lbs of expanding foam, plus the side console, livewell linings and hatches - so the non-removable additions probably total ~120 lbs. Add to that the outboard (105lbs) the trolling motor (50lbs) the battery (65lbs) that leaves me ~200lbs of capacity per the sticker for me, my gear & guests...oh well - I've added plenty of flotation evenly around the boat in the event something goes wrong.


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## Androsyn (Dec 31, 2015)

Awesome


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## onthewater102 (Jan 2, 2016)

Lighting was terrible, but there is several inches of freeboard below the rib stamped down the length of the side. This was with the livewell in the back seat full.


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## Texas Prowler (Jan 2, 2016)

Nice!

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## onthewater102 (Jan 3, 2016)

Hit 23.5mph with a full livewell and a 2nd person in the boat. Not sure what was happening but the boat would rise up on one side (starboard) at full speed. I'm not sure if the water in the livewell was shifting destabilizing the boat or what. The engine RPMs would surge a bit at the same time, but there was always a strong tilt to the portside. Any thoughts what might cause this? felt like the starboard side was planning higher than the port - almost as if there were a huge airbubble under the starboard side.


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## Texas Prowler (Jan 3, 2016)

Too much weight on that side?

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## Redthies (Jan 4, 2016)

Your Mariner is 15 hp? I'd love to get a speed on my 1436 with the 9.9 Merc. I'm thinking it's got to be close to 20 mph. I only have about 10-15 lbs of extra weight in my floor, so it's a pretty light boat.


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## misunderstood (May 19, 2016)

WOW, what a transformation on this build. Looking forward to seeing it after your painting. Nice work !!


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## onthewater102 (May 19, 2016)

I hadn't wanted to mess around with extending the rear deck back any further, but my son keeps getting his rod tangled in the wires and the plumbing to the livewell, so it's only a matter of time before something gets damaged unless I get something over top.

Alumacraft is really slow responding RE: the paint - I contacted them last week & still haven't heard back from the factory as to whether i need to buy it from them or if they can supply me with a code to get it locally. I'd prefer to just touch up the gunwales & paint the side console if possible & not get into redoing the entire boat at this point this year - but I don't want it mix-matched either.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 17, 2016)




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## Outlander (Jun 19, 2016)

onthewater102 said:


> Alumacraft is really slow responding RE: the paint - I contacted them last week & still haven't heard back from the factory as to whether i need to buy it from them or if they can supply me with a code to get it locally. I'd prefer to just touch up the gunwales & paint the side console if possible & not get into redoing the entire boat at this point this year - but I don't want it mix-matched either.



I went to my dealer Friday to look at a 1436LT and it was scratched. Sales guy told me they ordered paint from the factory to do the touch ups. Now I have to wait 2 more weeks for delivery of the next batch!


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## onthewater102 (Jun 20, 2016)

It finally came in & after sanding, priming & painting everything it came out looking fantastic. I picked up 2 cans which was enough to re-do all the gunwales and the sides from the lateral stamped rib up in addition to the side console & remote control mount I added and the plate I mounted my trolling motor to --> I'll get a pic up of how it looks now - but you can see the gunwales in the picture with my son - they were all scratched & scuffed in earlier pictures & look much better now.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 27, 2016)

My companion showing me up last night...






I wish there was a way to preserve the paint at the back of the boat where I have to run the strap across to trailer it. I'm probably asking too much.

And a pretty good view of the repainted console & steering wheel.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 28, 2016)

Nightlights - worked fantastic! I could still see the shoreline & gauge my casts accordingly.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 11, 2016)

Found this little gadget on Amazon. Now I can entertain my 2yr old with a movie while I fish 8)


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## 14trackergrzzly (Jul 11, 2016)

Yal have me thinking..now I think I'm gonna extend my deck a little and put live wells on either side...where do I even start with live wells as far as what material to use and how and what the livewell needs to keep the fish alive?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## onthewater102 (Jul 12, 2016)

I'm sure there are a number of ways to do it - or you can order them custom made from https://www.customlivewells.com/ which might be the way to go if you've got irregular shapes you're trying to build. I've only read good things about their products but they're pricey.

I wanted to keep it simple for the tooling I have at home (IE no TIG welder...yet...) so I made mine out of PVC board that I ordered from US plastics so I could use PVC cement to join the boards. I lapped all the joints with 1" PVC angle cementing the boards to the angle. This should have been sufficient to keep it water proof but I added a bead of silicone aquarium caulk to the inside corners on the sides and bottom for a belt & suspenders finish. I installed it resting atop the foam that was in the bench originally, and sprayed expanding gap filling foam around the sides and over the top as best I could. Unfortunately this was messy work and I didn't stop to take pictures of it - sorry.

For fittings I glued the scrap PVC several layers thick so that I could make a thick spot in the bottom then drilled through it, tapped it & and mounted a 90 degree PVC threaded elbow with a 3/4" barbed fitting to give me a drain that was flush with the bottom. I have a simple attwood overflow drain fitting and a sprayer that shoots the water into the top corner of the livewell to get as much aeration as possible. I used a TH marine remote drain valve and controls from a Nitro bass boat that I picked up off ebay. The pump timer is from BPS but I had it laying around in the basement for a long time and the timer doesn't work, so it's basically an on-off switch :-(. I really just use the livewell to entertain my kids while they're on the boat, so I haven't bothered getting a functional timer.

I do get water splashing up & out of the top if I'm running around on rough water or I leave the pump on too long, but no leaks from the sides or bottom.

Source for board:
https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23056&catid=733
Source for angle:
https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23195&catid=733


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## onthewater102 (Jul 18, 2016)

Cover support seems to be working - used 9mm tent poles from amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001A74VMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## onthewater102 (May 25, 2017)

Replying to a post about Muffs vs. Tank vs. Water testing I got to thinking about my timing again & I tried calling the local shop to make an appointment to have some fine tuning adjustments made in their tank and they want you to drop it off and they'll get to it within in a few days...am I just too uptight or does anyone else find this unprofessional and unacceptable? The motor is operational, I just don't have the test prop to be able to correctly adjust and synchronize everything.

What's so hard about saying bring it by in two weeks on Monday morning and I'll get to it during the day & you can pick it up later that day when it's done? That's how any auto mechanic would have handled scheduling. Not having someone telling you to leave your personal property outside on their lot where they take no responsibility if anything happens to it and it's exposed to the weather and whenever they get to it they'll get to it & give you a call.


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## LDUBS (May 27, 2017)

onthewater102 said:


> Replying to a post about Muffs vs. Tank vs. Water testing I got to thinking about my timing again & I tried calling the local shop to make an appointment to have some fine tuning adjustments made in their tank and they want you to drop it off and they'll get to it within in a few days...am I just too uptight or does anyone else find this unprofessional and unacceptable? The motor is operational, I just don't have the test prop to be able to correctly adjust and synchronize everything.
> 
> What's so hard about saying bring it by in two weeks on Monday morning and I'll get to it during the day & you can pick it up later that day when it's done? That's how any auto mechanic would have handled scheduling. Not having someone telling you to leave your personal property outside on their lot where they take no responsibility if anything happens to it and it's exposed to the weather and whenever they get to it they'll get to it & give you a call.



The only two places that I have contacted have a similar practice, namely drop it off on Monday and they will have it done between then and the end of the week. I was a little surprised like you. Must be a standard practice for the marine repair places. I suppose it allows for the most efficient use of the mechanics time and hopefully keep costs down. One big difference however is both of the places I contacted had gated/fenced storage lots so there is some security. I would be pretty hesitant to leave my boat setting on a trailer in an open lot.


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## Y_J (May 27, 2017)

A couple years ago I took a small OB into the local marine shop right after my boat had been flipped on the Chattahoochee. I explained to them what happened, as asked them to make it right before the water started rusting up the insides. A month later they still hadn't got to it. so I finally just picked up the motor and told them I'd deal with it myself. With that particular dealer/shop I figured out that if you didn't have about a 150hp or bigger they didn't even want to mess it and they should have told me that to begin with.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 18, 2018)

Little addition in the works - making a transom bracket to raise the motor and (hopefully) add a tilt & trim option as well. Right now I've got the material test fit together, next step is to test the height on the water then pull it all back off and add the Lenco actuator. We'll see then if it has enough torque to adjust the trim angle under power. If nothing else it will have taken the cavitation plate from 2 5/8" below the plane of the bottom of the boat to roughly 3/8" above it with 4.5" of setback.


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## jethro (Jun 19, 2018)

onthewater102 said:


> What's so hard about saying bring it by in two weeks on Monday morning and I'll get to it during the day & you can pick it up later that day when it's done? That's how any auto mechanic would have handled scheduling. Not having someone telling you to leave your personal property outside on their lot where they take no responsibility if anything happens to it and it's exposed to the weather and whenever they get to it they'll get to it & give you a call.



I feel so lucky with my contact. He used to be the head mechanic at a premium shop here in NH and now works for a municipal water department. He has a 4 day on 3 day off schedule and his workshop (to die for- gantry crane, better than most pro shops) doesn't have a lot of room for storage. None basically, he can have one boat at a time. So I make an appointment, drop off on a weekday like on my way to work, and pick it up after work. That is how it should work. He's every bit as expensive as a major shop, but so worth it.


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## akboats (Jun 19, 2018)

liking the build. coming along great.


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## onthewater102 (Sep 10, 2018)

New cart/trailer for the boat. Needs a paint job, but the weather wasn't cooperating for that. After paint it'll get the 4' long bunks from the old cart, the top rails are 32.5" long 10 gauge angled steel I scored off an old lay-z-boy couch, the wheels have ball bearing axles and are 8" solid rubber rated for 500lbs each, so I will not be repeating the issues that plagued the other cart. 

Welded it up on Saturday, ran out of CO2 halfway through, so the later flux-core welds are quite a bit messier...oh well, they're functional, not getting graded on the prettiness of a boat cart anyway. Gives my 14' access to the lakes with public beaches & gated boat launches in the off season without having to remove the motors.


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## onthewater102 (Jun 2, 2019)

Little update, added a spotlight to the front and a cigarette lighter socket to plug it into so I can tuck it away out of the way when it's not needed.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 24, 2019)

Finishing up on the 16' boat and losing the argument with my wife to keep this boat has left me getting ready to sell it. 

I'm using the Terrova on the 16' so this will be listed for sale with a motorguide bow mount, the steering wheel/remote controls/mariner outboard have been removed to get the design back to its original POU and in their place will be a Honda 15hp 4-stroke tiller that I have had in long-term storage in the basement which will be verified to be working before selling. The carb was drained but I don't know whether there are any gremlins in there from having been stored for so long. HDSI thru-hull sensor for humminbird model fish finders will remain with the boat, as will the cart I made to hand launch it from beaches when ramps aren't available and the cover support framing.

I'll have it available for on the water test driving for anyone interested.


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## LDUBS (Jul 24, 2019)

Someone will get a nice boat.


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