# First boat modification/restoring 1986 14 ft Mirrocraft



## esoxkid06 (Feb 28, 2012)

Hey guys new here, love the forum I have found alot of Information for my Winter project here in Northern Wisconsin. I got this boat from my brother and it was in great shape, seems to have sat around and not used much last registration sticker was 1995. My plan was to turn this into my river fishing boat, but i think its big enough for me to use for all bodies of water I fish. I just finished the second coat of paint today. and will start the inside tommorrow. my plan for the interior is to build a very big but lightweight deck. im a scrawny guy and dont need a big bulky deck. I am also going to put in a smaller rear deck from the back of the boat to the start of rear bench seat. in addition i am going to use rubbermaid container rigged up somehow for dry storage underneath the front deck. Im a Musky fisherman and the gear can make the boat seem cluttered especially when you have 40 lures that are 8-16 inches long. if you guys have any ideas for me let me know. Like i said this is my first time doing work on a boat. and Im pretty excited. :mrgreen:


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## Kochy (Feb 28, 2012)

Nice Paint job, Looking good, Keep pictures rolling in.


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## esoxkid06 (Feb 29, 2012)

thanks! will do!


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## bigwave (Feb 29, 2012)

Good to see another 14 Mirrorcraft, which hull is yours? It looks just like mine except more of a shallow v. :WELCOME:


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 4, 2012)

So this is what we got done today, built most of the support for the front deck with all the storage 90% complete, I used 3 rubbermaid containers for dry storage, which turned out awesome!... to the Left of those we have to custom lure storage spots, the one with the 3 threaded rods are for my big cranks, 10" bucktails with double 10 blades and jerkbaits, the smaller one that will be to the left of that, " you can probably see the chamber just to the left of the big baits one, will be for my smaller to midsize bucktails. that one isnt quite complete yet. so far the goal of keeping the weight to a minimum on the front deck has been acheived. we used 1x1 and 2x1 aspen for the frame, and im a scrawny guy at 130 lbs so that shouldn't be a problem its actually really stable. I will post pictures of how the baits will be in the lure compartments and hopefully the finished deck tommorrow or early this week


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 4, 2012)

Lure Compartment


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## Jdholmes (Mar 5, 2012)

Neat idea. Aren't you scared they won't stay put, though?


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 5, 2012)

Jdholmes said:


> Neat idea. Aren't you scared they won't stay put, though?



Yea that thought did cross my mind... i guess if I have problems i can take the threaded rods out and use plano boxes... or something of that nature... I dont intend on keeping lures there at all times, but after a hard day of fishing I got a pile of lures tangled up on my deck, so I may just use it for lures im using for that day... I guess Ill find out when I start using it, the lures dont slide around a whole lot because of the threads, but falling off the rod may be a different story #-o


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## Jdholmes (Mar 5, 2012)

I'll be interested to hear how you make out! It's a cool idea,


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 5, 2012)

Jdholmes said:


> I'll be interested to hear how you make out! It's a cool idea,



thanks! cant take all the credit me and my 2 buddies stare at the boat more then work on it... but in the process we think of some pretty interesting ideas, might be rigging a small LED light strip in there to be able to grab baits for night fishing and avoid getting some 3/0 trebles in the hands!


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## bigwave (Mar 5, 2012)

Looking real good....what kind of hull is yours? My hull has strakes all the way for bow to stern. Yours appears to be smooth. Just curious. Great idea on your lure keeper. I cant wait to see the pictures of the fish you catch.


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 5, 2012)

bigwave said:


> Looking real good....what kind of hull is yours? My hull has strakes all the way for bow to stern. Yours appears to be smooth. Just curious. Great idea on your lure keeper. I cant wait to see the pictures of the fish you catch.



Not sure? mine is smooth all the way across on the bottom, no strakes on mine. I honestly couldnt tell ya.. lol sorry


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 10, 2012)

was planning on finishing today, but we didn't get it quite complete, front deck has been carpeted we still need to carpet the back of the boat and put in the doors and hinges etc. other than some minor paint touch ups it will be done! it turned out 10 times better then I expected, i guess having buddies with years or flooring work and woodworking skills helps


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 11, 2012)

boat is done, here is the finished product!


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## ChitownBasser (Mar 11, 2012)

Looking good. Nice clean look.


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 12, 2012)

ChitownBasser said:


> Looking good. Nice clean look.



thanks! I put quite a few hours into it the last few weeks


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## jimmy fins (Mar 12, 2012)

Awesome job =D> I did something like what you did to store muskie baits and what worked for me was to wrap the rod with pipe foam insulation which you can stick the hook into and it will hold it quit well. You can get the insulation at Home Depot or lowes with a I.D. of 1/2". You may have to go to a wood dowel rod to rap it if your threaded rod dia. is to small.


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## diabetik11 (Mar 12, 2012)

Just wondering if you stained or painted the wood or was it marine grade?


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 13, 2012)

jimmy fins said:


> Awesome job =D> I did something like what you did to store muskie baits and what worked for me was to wrap the rod with pipe foam insulation which you can stick the hook into and it will hold it quit well. You can get the insulation at Home Depot or lowes with a I.D. of 1/2". You may have to go to a wood dowel rod to rap it if your threaded rod dia. is to small.



thanks for the info!... Im planning on changing that, so that the baits won't get tangled up in there, i might just take the rods out and build vertical chambers or something of that nature


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 13, 2012)

diabetik11 said:


> Just wondering if you stained or painted the wood or was it marine grade?



What we did was use a wood sealant on it, we put two really generous coats on all of the wood to help keep it from rotting... its pretty much all aspen, so we made sure to really get it sealed well


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## UtahBassKicker (Mar 13, 2012)

Looks great man! Is that Larry the Cable Guy in the very first photo? :lol:


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## esoxkid06 (Mar 13, 2012)

UtahBassKicker said:


> Looks great man! Is that Larry the Cable Guy in the very first photo? :lol:



HAHA! :lol: i never thought of him as larry the cable guy. But it very well could be...


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