# Rebuilding a 1977 Ouachita



## brewfish (Jun 16, 2008)

Here's what I started with:











I decided to totally gut the boat leaving nothing but the hull. Between the rotten wood and the back bench seat having more holes than swiss cheese i decided it all had to go.










A couple of the rivets looked suspect not to mention some gnarly scratches so I put some epoxy putty on them and sanded it smooth.










Since I cut the seats out I had a 4 - 1/4" angle aluminum braces welded up and bolted in. These should keep the hull stiff and provide plenty of support for the front and back decks. I have 1/4" plywood on the sides and 5/8" on the decks and 1/2" on the floor. I plan on carpeting the decks and floor and all vertical pieces will just get a coat of paint. 














I've just about got all of the paint striped off the sides and am torn on which way to go now. I have been planning on just priming the whole boat and shooting it with a couple of coats of Pettit Easypoxy. Then I see where one of the other members here used a 2 part epoxy from Fasco called Steelflex. I am really on the fence as to which way to go. I plan on using the boat in saltwater 95% of the time. I know the hull stands a good chance of taking some abuse but ain't sure if it really warrants the steelflex or if a good paint job would be sufficient. I would think either would do a good job of sealing up any leaky rivets, though it might be worth the extra $$ just to go ahead and use the Steelflex because there is no way anything could possibly leaking with a thick coating of that stuff. 

Anyone with care to chime in on the subject?


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## Waterwings (Jun 16, 2008)

Welcome Aboard! I'm not a paint person, but there are members here who can talk about that. Whats the length/width of your jon? Nice work on your mods! 8)


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## Jim (Jun 16, 2008)

Hi Brewfish! 

Thanks for joining! :beer:

Having no experience with the paint subject at all. The Steel flex really caught my eye from Member Ouachitas jon boat build.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1745


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## brewfish (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks for the welcome everyone! 

I had read through member Ouachitas jon boat build and saw where he used it and was actually persuaded when I was able to see how it looked once applied to the bottom of a boat. I had been thinking about Gluvit but was hesitant since I've never seen it used. Steelflex OTOH has apparently been used for years on aluminum airboat hulls. I can only imagine what type of abuse their hulls take so i would think that this has to be a pretty tough stuff. 

That being said i'm *sure* my 30 year old 14' jon could stand to have a coat of this stuff. I just don't want to get the boat assembled only to find a mystery leak somewhere in the hull. Or say run up on a oyster bar full tilt late at night pushing that almost leaking rivet over the edge......not that i've ever done that or anything. :-


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## Ouachita (Jun 16, 2008)

brewfish said:


> Thanks for the welcome everyone!
> 
> I had read through member Ouachitas jon boat build and saw where he used it and was actually persuaded when I was able to see how it looked once applied to the bottom of a boat. I had been thinking about Gluvit but was hesitant since I've never seen it used. Steelflex OTOH has apparently been used for years on aluminum airboat hulls. I can only imagine what type of abuse their hulls take so i would think that this has to be a pretty tough stuff.
> 
> That being said i'm *sure* my 30 year old 14' jon could stand to have a coat of this stuff. I just don't want to get the boat assembled only to find a mystery leak somewhere in the hull. Or say run up on a oyster bar full tilt late at night pushing that almost leaking rivet over the edge......not that i've ever done that or anything. :-


So far the steelflex has worked great to seal up my 1971 Ouachita jon boat. I actually found the stuff first talked about on a duck hunting forum. A lot of guys running mud motor boats put that or a product called Frog-Spit on the bottom of their boats to protect the hulls from the logs, gravel bars and whatever else they are running across. They use Super Steelflex which is loaded with teflon type stuff that makes it super slick. The kind that I used is the original type that has been used since the 60's. I didn't see the need for my fishing boat to be that slick. I had even read about people having their boats slide off the trailer onto the ramp when they unhooked the winch. :lol:


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## caddyjosh (Jun 16, 2008)

looks good man


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## Zum (Jun 16, 2008)

nice job ...can't wait to see more


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## brewfish (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks for the kind words. :beer: I just made an order today for a gallon of Steelflex and some gray pigment. I didn't go with the super slick Steelflex since it was twice as expensive as the regular and I can't imagine it making a huge difference in speed when i'll only be using a 9.9hp motor anyways. :lol: Hopefully this stuff is relatively easy and to make cure properly.


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## Tompatt (Jun 17, 2008)

Awsome... its gonna look killer.


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## brewfish (Jun 22, 2008)

I had a chance to do some work on the boat today. I bought some steelflex and gray pigment and oh what a fun experience this stuff was. Here's how the day went. I got the boat on saw horses this morning and started the sanding. I hand sanded on and around all of the rivets on the bottom and sides of the boat with some 50 grit sand paper. I didn't bother stripping the paint off the bottom since I was going to be using a grinder with 50 grit as well. This should really help make sure that the epoxy has something to grip on to. 










After quite a few fun filled hours of sanding I was almost done. I gave the whole bottom a good wipe down with acetone able to start painting on the steelfex.










And now the fun begins. To start with the cheap ass one size that does not fit all gloves decided to tear on me as i was wiping the boat down with the acetone, a open cut on my hand was nice enough to bring this fact to my attention. ](*,) I highly recommend that if you need gloves to skip the crap-ola disposables and get the reusable ones that won't actually fall apart at the worst possible moment. I mixed the pigment with the second part of the epoxy, no problems there. Then I decide to mix up a small batch. I had two 8 oz cups that i planned to fill with each part and then mix in a quart size cup. I decided that i would try and pour this thicker than molasseses liquid into a little 8 oz cup. :LMFAO: Oh that was greaaaat idea. I only ended up having a huge blob of the 1st part pour all over the place except where i wanted it. I ended up using two wooden paint stirrers to dip this mess out. A messy proposition but the best way i could think of. I just made sure that i kept wiping my gloves off with paper towels to keep the mess to a minimum. I made sure that I mixed well and started pouring it on the hull. The best thing I did was buy a couple of plastic bondo paddles to help spread this stuff around. After I got it spread out I used a 4" roller with a 1/4" nap to roll the rest of it out. 














It went on pretty well except for a couple of runs in the bow of the boat. No big deal, I am more concerned with it sealing any potential leaks which I have no doubt this stuff has done in spades. I'm going to prime the sides with zinc chromate primer and then top it off with some cheap rustoleum topside paint (only 10$ a qt).


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## Jim (Jun 22, 2008)

Thanks for the morning laugh at your expense.  But it came out great in the end.


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## Waterwings (Jun 22, 2008)

Jim said:


> Thanks for the morning laugh at your expense.  But it came out great in the end.




Ditto, looks great! 8)


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## brewfish (Jun 22, 2008)

Glad I could provide some comic relief. :LOL2:


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## Zum (Jun 22, 2008)

It's funny because we all have been there;acetone in cuts always feels great
Looks like it turned out great,hope it does what you wanted.


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## brewfish (Jun 23, 2008)

The weather finally cut me a break this afternoon so I was able to prime most the boat. I'm only going to prime and paint a few areas inside the boat because most of it is going to be decked over. I have come to the conclusion that rattle can paint sucks! My finger couldn't even push the button down by the time i was done with the 3rd can, not to mention having paint all over me & the cans. If I'd have know how much a pain it was going to be I would have just bought a quart of primer and fired up the HVLP gun and been done with it. For some crazy reason I thought it would be easier just to use the cans over messing with a _real_ spray gun. #-o At last I'm done with the scraping, sanding and acetone wipe downs and can finally lay down some paint and get past the worst part of the build!! \/


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## Waterwings (Jun 23, 2008)

> ...My finger couldn't even push the button down by the time i was done with the 3rd can...



Ain't that the truth, been there done that! That blue painters tape is some good stuff; the paint job looks really good! 8)


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## brewfish (Jun 24, 2008)

I got to say that this painting experience was much nicer than the rattle can experience. Heck dare I say it was even enjoyable.  I used a 4" foam roller and a 2" paint brush for cutting in all the angles and tight areas. I gave the prime coat a quick wipe off with a tack rag and went to it. The paint went on nice, any brush strokes leveled right out. I only had a couple of runs before I figured out what I was doing wrong and from there on it was smooth sailing. I'll put on at least one more coat and maybe even a third. I didn't plan on painting the epoxy on the sides but of course it and battle ship gray are different shades so I painted it as well.


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## Ouachita (Jun 24, 2008)

That looks really nice. You will soon be _haze gray and under way_


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## FishingBuds (Jun 24, 2008)

lookin good :wink: 

I agree the hard part is over :roll:


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## Waterwings (Jun 25, 2008)

Ouachita said:


> That looks really nice. You will soon be _haze gray and under way_



Concur on that, lol! 

Paint job looks really good! 8)


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## kemical (Jun 25, 2008)

wow, really impressive work,, you make it looks soooo easy!!..lol..


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## brewfish (Jun 29, 2008)

I think I can finally put a done stamp on the whole painting phase! I have a couple of spots that i want to touch up but other than that I'm done. I have a can of 3M rubberized undercoating that i'm thinking about using on the floor in the bow where it's going to be decked over. Not sure how well it'll work so i'm going to try a small area first before full tilt with it. I learned my lesson by painting over the flexsteel 9x epoxy. I epoxied the bottom and also ran it up about 6 inches on the side of the boat. Since it's a couple shades lighter than the battleship gray I'm using i thought i would just paint it. Well a few days later it's still tacky and comes off easily with a light rub of mineral spirits, so now I faced with either cleaning it all off or just leaving this tacky mess in place. ](*,) Oh well live and learn.


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## kemical (Jun 29, 2008)

how did u paint your boat, just roll on ?? cuz it looks like sprayed? looks beautiful!!


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## brewfish (Jun 29, 2008)

The whole boat was painted using a 4" foam roller and throw away chip brushes. Not too bad considering me and a buddy we were half in the bag when we decide to start painting the interior around midnight last night. :lol:


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## Waterwings (Jun 30, 2008)

Looks good! 8)


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## russo (Jun 30, 2008)

damn, that looks great
you coulda lied and said you had it powder coated!


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## Zum (Jun 30, 2008)

You should start a new company,Half in the bag boat painting inc.Looks good.


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## brewfish (Jul 8, 2008)

I started to build some hatches but I found some at a local boat surplus depot for cheap so I just couldn't resist. I've got the back squared away and will tackle the bow tomorrow. Once I get all the holes cut for everything I'll get paint back to paint duty (YIPPEEEE :roll: ) and put on a couple three coats of wood sealer before I start with carpeting.


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## Zum (Jul 9, 2008)

nice and clean...looks great


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## Jim (Jul 9, 2008)

Yeah man! Looks good! =D>


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## Waterwings (Jul 9, 2008)

> ...put on a couple three coats of wood sealer before I start with carpeting.



Boat looks great! Be sure and seal the edges of the wood also


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## brewfish (Jul 15, 2008)

Aside from cutting a hole for the switch panel I'm just about done cutting holes, which is good because I may be working on this old boat, but Bob Vila I'm not which became painfully evident when I took a look at the alignment of the very front hatch after cutting the hole out. #-o I'm not sure what happened but I know that I had quite a few lines drawn on the wood. I must have used one of the wrong markings that I had as a center line. I had to measure it a couple of times to get it right but that don't do much good if you still use the wrong line. Next time I'll make sure i scribble through the wrong lines. As long as the fish don't notice I should be in good shape. :lol:


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## Jim (Jul 15, 2008)

Looks good to me! :beer:


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## seaarc (Jul 15, 2008)

Don't sweat it. We aint pro's here. Just get-r-done and go fishin that's what matters.

Dave


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## Tompatt (Jul 16, 2008)

Good Job. :mrgreen:


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## brewfish (Jul 24, 2008)

I finally started carpeting tonight. I was pretty stoked about being able to find boat carpet at Lowes since it's way cheaper there then any where else I've found. This stuff is also pretty plush compared to most of the other outdoor carpets that they had for sale. I still have the floor and the front deck to carpet.


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## SlimeTime (Jul 25, 2008)

Lookin' good Brew! 

ST


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## Nickk (Jul 25, 2008)

that looks great!


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## brewfish (Jul 27, 2008)

I finally have both decks and the center floor part carpeted. I had originally planned on painting the 4 pieces of plywood that are used to box in the center area. I ended up having some extra carpet and threw a piece over the side to see what it would look like and now I'm torn on whether or not to carpet the 2 sides panels. I took a picture with the carpet draped over one side and the other is plain wood (well it's a little darker from Spar Varnish) but if not carpeted they would get painted the same color as the rest of the boat. Anyone have any suggestions or opinions on why I might want to go one way or the other? 

Nothing is bolted down yet but this is the general idea of how its going to look once completed.


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## hatch17 (Jul 28, 2008)

That is really looking great!


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## EagleBaseball (Jul 28, 2008)

Looking Good! :beer:


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## ben2go (Nov 17, 2008)

I dunno how I missed this.Sweet build.


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## Cheeseball (Nov 18, 2008)

Very nice! Great skills.


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## russ010 (Feb 5, 2009)

Did you ever finish this boat??


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## kemical (Feb 5, 2009)

yeah did u ever finish the beast,, thats looks awesome with that battleship grey!!lol


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## old_boat_new_smile (Feb 7, 2009)

Anyone know how much steelflex costs?


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## russ010 (Feb 7, 2009)

I think it's about $100 including shipping -- https://www.fascoepoxies.com/


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## Ouachita (Feb 7, 2009)

russ010 said:


> I think it's about $100 including shipping -- https://www.fascoepoxies.com/


The super slick Steelflex is that price. The one without the teflon additives is $65 shipped. Unless you have an airboat or a mudmotor boat you shouldn't need the super slick.


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## brewfish (Feb 14, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words but I'm really just a hack. Fortunately though I am skilled in the art of making hack jobs look nice, which is sometimes a requirement when your a developer. :lol:

I wish like heck I could post some pictures of it being finished & sitting in the water where it belongs but the only place it has been is sitting in the garage in a state of suspended animation. I guess you could say that the last 6 months or so have equated to the perfect storm as far as finishing the boat is concerned. It's been a constant barrage of events ranging from vehicle repair to dental work absorbing the boat funds as fast as i can save them up.  Then there's the matter of working 60 + hours every week since taking a new position......truthfully I'm just thankful to still have a job at this point.

It's been terrible having to endure looking at it every time I go out to the garage, dying to go fishing but not being able to. It's been a long time coming but the storm appears to finally be subsiding. Hopefully I can wrap this build up in the next couple months and at long last get to the point of this whole exercise and go fishing!!!


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## brewfish (Mar 5, 2009)

Not exactly progress but still a welcome addition none the less. Brand new bought yesterday, I just couldn't pass it up. Between getting it for less since it's a 2008 leftover and the free extra 3 year warranty on top of the standard 3 year warranty it was more temptation than I could stand. I think the sales guy was just about as happy to make a sale as I was to buy it, he even threw in an engine hour meter/tachometer for free. It should be interesting to see how fast it pushes my rig along. I'm just glad my days of pull starting are over! 8)


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## atb (Mar 5, 2009)

Great job!!! Nice finishing touch with the sweet new motor that should push ya.


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## Loggerhead Mike (Mar 6, 2009)

very nice motor how much did you get it for


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## brewfish (Mar 7, 2009)

The motor cost 2976.00 after tax. That was with fuel tank & hose included. I was finally able to take the boat out today and what a difference a motor makes. This is my first 4 stroke and it so quite that my bait aerator made more noise than the motor does. I'm almost done with the build, I just need to run the wiring and switch panel, buy a couple more seats and that's it.  The only other issue I have to resolve is that at top speed the motor makes the boat start to porpoise. Here's a couple pics for today's run.


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## Zum (Mar 7, 2009)

Looks great.
You can try a different tilt pin,that may help your porpoising.
I imagine that you will have to move some weight up front,to really get rid of it.


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## ben2go (Mar 7, 2009)

A different setting on the tilt could help the porposing,but it may be caused by a hooked hull.Make sure the back of the hull is flat all the way to the transom.Also make sure the trailer bunks are supporting the transom fully.That's the number one culprit of a hull hook.


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## brewfish (Mar 8, 2009)

I've adjusted the motor every which way. If I move the pin to the next notch down it doesn't do it but then it plows through the water and is obviously set too low. It only at very top speed that it does this. I don't think more weight is going to solve the problem either. I had a friend of mine siting in the bow and it still did it. The hull hook thing worries me. There could very well be the problem. I know the trailer bunks are a little short for the boat and I think I remember seeing evidence of that on the very back end of the boat. I wasn't bad but you could see a slight indention where the bunks ended I remember right. 

If that is indeed the problem then I guess I'm just screwed because I don't know how I could change it. It's only at WOT that this is happening. A friend of mine has a 16' Ghenneo with a 25hp 4 stroke yammy that does the same thing at WOT and I know his boat is totally flat and straight. I've read about trim tabs and I guess they are supposed to solve just that problem. I've also looked at those fins you put on the motor that are advertised as correcting the porpoising problem. My only fear about the motor fins if it they would void the warranty. :?: If anyone has experience with using either of these products please chime in on how they worked for you.


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## Specknreds (Mar 8, 2009)

I've got a 1448 with a 25hp 4 - stroke Yammy and I've never had any issues trimming it so it wouldn't porpose. On this boat, it comes standard with welded on trim tabs that would be easy to add to any boat. I haven't read all of your post but I have found that 9 times out of ten it's a weight issue. I run different trim settings on my motor when it is just me or 2 people. I have mine set up for optimum performance. This means that I've experimented with weight placement, trim angle with different weight placement, and adjusting the trim tabs. For optimum performance, you want the boat on the "edge" of porposing and not porposing. Sorry I'm taking a long time to say my point, but I wanted you to understand where I'm coming from. It's like there is a line and once you cross it, you can't recover from it. We have jon boat races here and they battle this all the time. You also have a 4-stroke that probably weighs as much as a 30 or 40hp 2-stroke. My point is before you spend a lot of money on trim tabs or etc., try playing around with your weight a little more. If you have to much weight in the rear (you, batteries, gas, 4-stroke), putting a person on the bow will help but you may be crossing that line I'm talking about. I had to put my 120 quart ice chest, battery, and gas in the very front with two people to make mine perfor correctly. I do not have a good pic. to show you. I hate having all of the stuff up front in the way. Hope this helps. 

If you have a hook in the hull, you should be able to see it with a straight edge placed under your boat.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/images/displayimage.php?pos=-1911


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## brewfish (Mar 8, 2009)

I plan on moving the battery to the front but I just don't see how I could move the gas tank to the front. I am greedy with my open cockpit space and don't want to clutter it up with a gas tank and hose. I have it under the back deck currently. I would move it to under the front deck but of course the fuel line is just a little bit too short. I don't know if they sell longer hoses or if that extending the length would cause a problem with the motor being able to draw gas from such a distance. A friend of mine suggested that I could just add some sort of ballast to the bow. I guess I could do something like that but just don't like the idea of adding dead weight.


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## wbd (Apr 2, 2009)

Looks Great, I have 74 ouachita I'm going to rebuild this winter gathering supplies know just ordered steel flex , dont know much about this stuff,will you paint over it or is what I see in the pic. it?


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## baptistpreach (Apr 2, 2009)

I never did see posted, what size is this boat? 1436? 1448? Thanks and it looks awesome! I used more expensive Interlux brightside primer, and didn't find out about Rustoleum until it was too late. I'll use it next time.


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## brewfish (Apr 7, 2009)

Finally at long last I'm done with the build. I still need to create a mounting point for flounder gigging lights in the bow and put in a bilge pump but that's it. The boat doesn't want to porpoise now that I have the trolling motor & battery mounted, thank goodness. 

baptistpreach - It's a 1436 and is pretty dang stable.

wbd - The different colored grey toward the bottom of the boat is where the steel flex starts. I bought gray pigment for the steelflex so what you see is what you get. 

Here's a few pics of the final product. The wood piece in the bow where the switch panel is mounted was measured incorrectly so there is a small gap in the left hand side but it doesn't really bother me so it's getting left how it is.


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## Zum (Apr 8, 2009)

Looks real nice,great job.
I bet she'll fly with that 20hp on her.


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## seaarc (Apr 8, 2009)

=D> Nice clean job bro. Time to wet a line :fishing:


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## RBuffordTJ (Apr 8, 2009)

Very nice and very clean build!

Not sure where your at but I am in Orlando. I only hope my boat is that nice when I'm done.

Bufford


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## brewfish (Apr 8, 2009)

Yeah she runs along at a pretty good clip. I wish I had a GPS so I could get the exact speed but I would guess that it runs about 25 mph or so depending on if I have a passenger or not. 

RBuffordTJ - I live just outside of Flagler, about 15 minutes from the ICW.


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## RBuffordTJ (Apr 8, 2009)

Nice, the coast over there is beautiful. When I was in high school a buddy of mine and I used to take his jon boat over to the Indian River and fish for sea trout.

Bufford


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## wbd (Apr 9, 2009)

Great Job,looks awesome
Was wondering how much steel flex it took to do the bottom?


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## brewfish (Apr 9, 2009)

I bought a gallon and ended up using about 3/4 of it. I could have gotten away with less but I really wanted to make sure any suspect rivets were coated with a thick layer of this stuff.


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## wbd (Apr 10, 2009)

Thanks brewfish just ordered 1/2 gallon on recom. from fasco Im doing 1436 hope that will be enough.
Again boat looks great


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## Rubin56 (Apr 5, 2010)

I asked for a copy of what that color looks like but now I really love it. I just wonder how white looks. I see you are using that same paint of top coat I was thinking white on the inside. But I do love the all grey. Thanks :mrgreen:


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## pajam (Aug 3, 2010)

hate to interupt here but did it have any leaks after the remodel? Thinkin about puttin that steel flex on my71 starcraft 18ft.


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## sgtfletcher (Aug 3, 2010)

great looking boat


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## zuknuk (Aug 30, 2010)

I liked the LED lights. That is a very nice build and I may have to incorporate some into my future build.


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## Express (Jun 8, 2011)

I need to find out where this guy got his hatches!


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