# Love this site! Here is my Lowe 1436



## WhiteMoose

I don't plan on doing a whole lot to my boat, but I've been having a great time cruising this site for ideas. As of now, my plan is to build a small deck on the front that is just big enough to hold the trolling motor, maybe stand on to take a leak, and have a cubby door for life jackets. I'm thinking I can cut a hole in the bench seats and add a plywood lid that hinges up with the seats still attached. Maybe a rod box down the side sometime down the road. 

Still trying to decide what to do about flooring. I'm going to do a lot of muddy river fishing with a big old dog that loves to drag mud and hair in and out, so I'm leaning towards a Tuff coat type of flooring. When you hose off your carpet, doesn't it get mildew?

Here she is!






My first issue was this steel contraption bolted to the front. I couldn't imagine why they needed all that hardware. Each steel plate was 3/16" thick, and along with that steel pipe, it weighed a ton and had to go. 





When I finally got it all off, I realized why it was there. Yuck! There are 3 big rips in the bow. 





My temporary solution was to cut a couple strips of diamond plate that I had laying around that happened to be within an inch of what I needed. I want to bolt them on instead of riveting them so I can remove them easily again if I decide to try and have those rips repaired. If I do, what would be the best way to go about it? 





Speaking of rips, here are a couple others I found after I got it home. The first one is up in the front seam of the hull, above the waterline. Is this something that could also be fixed easily? The 2nd one is more concerning to me as it is back by the transom on the gunwale. 









Lastly, my motor. I didn't get a picture of the motor that came with the boat, but I believe it is a 1973 Johnson 9.5. It is doesn't like to idle low, and I've got some nice blisters on my hands from pulling the cord about 200 times this weekend. It also has a lot of trouble shifting into reverse, as sometimes it decides to just click at me. When I did get it running, it is SLOW. I mean, when its wide open, we are going walking speed. The prop is a little beat up, would a new one make a big difference?Not sure if that is how its supposed to run, but I'd like something that can get me up the river a little faster. 

Thats where this guy comes in.




Its a 1983 Merc 25hp. The tag on the boat says she is rated for a 20hp, but I'm going to give it a try. I bought this motor for $500, but the interesting thing about it is that it may have been ran only once or twice. There was a little bit of gas sitting in the fuel filter, but under the hood it is spotless. An old guy my dad knew got moved into a nursing home, and his son found it in the basement and sold it to me. It's been sitting with a tarp over it for almost 25 years. His son thinks that he may have won it in a raffle or something, but never had a boat to put it on. 
What do I need to do before I try to start this bad boy? I've been told that the water pump will probably need replaced, but how will I know? What else should I look for?
If the 25hp is too much motor for my boat, I figured I can at least get it running and make a nice little profit when I turn around and sell it. 
Thanks for looking. Any input will be greatly appreciated!


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## fishinchef

that motor is in mint shape, even if you don't fix it it would probably still bring a pretty penny. Good luck with the build.


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## Captain Ahab

I love this site as well!

Get that boat welded up - put your big motor and little deck on it

GO USE IT!


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## WhiteMoose

My next step is removing that front step/seat. What is the best way to remove rivets? Just drill through them with a small bit, or a bit the same size as the rivets? 
I suppose I have to get them out before I know what size rivets to use to plug the holes with, huh?


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## WhiteMoose

Heres another question- Do you guys think I would be safe to remove ALL the bench seats in this boat?


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## ober51

Drill them out with a small bit, you can always go larger with the bit, but not smaller, remember that.

Do not remove all the seats - they are there for structural reasons. If you do remove them, I highly suggest you put some bracing back in to compensate for lack of structural support. There are plenty of people who have taken seats out, but it wasn't all, and it wasnt without making mods to compensate.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls

At the front of the boat you might want to have some Alum sheet welded over what's there now. As for the transom have the gunwale crack welded. How does the transom wood look? When I replaced the transom I added a 1"x6"x48" oak board to it so I could run a 25hp Mariner. I also mounted a 12 gal fuel tank up front and built a small casting deck over it to help balance the weight of the motor.


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## WhiteMoose

The transom wood is pretty weathered, but it still seems solid. I'll try to get a picture of it up here.


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## WhiteMoose

What do y'all think of this plan for my little front deck? Keep in mind that I won't be standing on this deck all day, its really just to be used as a step/storage, and to give me a place to mount my trolling motor. It may end up being bigger than 24" too, depending on where it falls with the ribs. 






I designed it to use the least amount of aluminum to save some $ and weight, and also to maximize the storage space. I figure it will only require about 13' of aluminum. The local metal shop quoted me 3/16" aluminum angle @ $1.85/ft. 

I also wanted it to be easily removed so I can hose out the bottom of the boat once a year, and be able to paint my boat sometime down the road. The aluminum tabs will be cut from the same 1" x 1" aluminum angle I'm using for the frame. The plywood deck will be anchored to the frame, but not the boat, so the plywood and frame can lift out as one piece. The deck will just be bolted to a couple of the tabs, and resting on the floor. 

I know there are some curves to the boat that I'm not taking into account in my sketch, but I assume I'll be able to work around them. 

So what are your thoughts? Will this be enough support?
Should I use 1/2" or 5/8" plywood? 
1/8" or 3/16" aluminum?
Thanks!


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## Loggerhead Mike

i wouldnt let that motor go if i were you, its beautifull and new is new nomatter how long its sat


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## WhiteMoose

thought I could bend my 3/16" aluminum angle to account for the angles, but it is just breaking :evil:


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## caveman

Whitemoose
Not sure what your trying to bend 3/16 for or how much bend you need but if you will take to a fab shop thay will do it for you cheep/free if you just start telling them what you are doing and talking to them.Look at my mod JUST MY THINKING it is about on page 3 now as i am working alot and no time .The bending was free after talking to the guy at fab shop wielding was 60$ most of the people that work at these places are just like us at like to fish and will thing what you are doing is cool and will help you out.
mike


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## WhiteMoose

Thanks for the reply caveman. I was trying to bend the aluminum to make brackets, but decided the only thing I can do is use steel brackets. I found some nice thick steel angle brackets for about $1.50 that I should be able to bend in the bench vise. They appear to be stainless, but what if they aren't? Can I paint them to prevent rust & any bad interactions w/ the aluminum?


Sorry to hijack my own reply, but does anyone foresee any possible issues with this modified bench seat design? If I cut the top of the bench seat out but leave the sides, is that enough reinforcement to keep the sides of the boat from caving in or the ribs from cracking?


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## WhiteMoose

Well I made some good progress yesterday as the wife is out of town for work. Its really amazing what some fresh carpet will do. 

Here is my frame for the front deck. I used a lot less material then a lot of the other projects I've seen on here since I'm not putting a seat up there, only the mount for the trolling motor and some storage underneath. 





This is how I anchored the legs to the hull. I had a lot of trouble working with the curves and angles, but I found a pretty easy solution in making a "foot" that pivots on the bolt and putting only one rivet through the hull since all of the force is dead load and there will pretty much be no chance of shearing. 





Here is the finish product (well for the front of the boat anyway). The cubby door was the hardest thing to figure out, but I love how it turned out.





Here is a closeup of the trolling motor mount. It is just 4 pieces of plywood to get up over the top of the boat, glued, screwed, sealed, and carpeted. 





Here it is with the motor on.





... and a close up of how I did the cubby door latch. 





Unfortunately I ran out of carpet and the carpet came from a friend of a friend that he got on clearance so I'm really hoping I don't have any trouble finding more to match. I'm going to quit for the rest of the summer so I can actually get some fishing in and start work again this fall.


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## CarlF

Nice work. Keep it up.
Man, you stole that motor!


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## jsharp

nice job would love to see more did the middle seat compartment work or what i lvoe the front deck how does it hold up looking for something like that on my boat


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## Jim

:beer:

I will add it to the list!

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3156&start=0


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## Waterwings

Nice work! 8)


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## Andy

Nice work!!
Whatever you do DO NOT get rid of the 25!! Use it. If it ends up being too much for the boat, wich I doubt, you could BOL for a bigger better boat to use the 25 on.


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## danmyersmn

WhiteMoose said:


> Thanks for the reply caveman. I was trying to bend the aluminum to make brackets, but decided the only thing I can do is use steel brackets. I found some nice thick steel angle brackets for about $1.50 that I should be able to bend in the bench vise. They appear to be stainless, but what if they aren't? Can I paint them to prevent rust & any bad interactions w/ the aluminum?
> 
> 
> Sorry to hijack my own reply, but does anyone foresee any possible issues with this modified bench seat design? If I cut the top of the bench seat out but leave the sides, is that enough reinforcement to keep the sides of the boat from caving in or the ribs from cracking?




Take a look at this thread. When I saw that mod I knew it was exactly how I was going to do mine. Russ has it right! IMHO.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4493&start=70

Don't take the entire top off, leave a lip around the outside.


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## rick50

I read about the aluminum breaking you were trying to bend. You may know this already ,but if you get a marine type of aluminum,5356, it bends a lot easier without breaking.


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## Arkdave

WhiteMoose said:


> Thanks for the reply caveman. I was trying to bend the aluminum to make brackets, but decided the only thing I can do is use steel brackets. I found some nice thick steel angle brackets for about $1.50 that I should be able to bend in the bench vise. They appear to be stainless, but what if they aren't? Can I paint them to prevent rust & any bad interactions w/ the aluminum?
> 
> 
> Sorry to hijack my own reply, but does anyone foresee any possible issues with this modified bench seat design? If I cut the top of the bench seat out but leave the sides, is that enough reinforcement to keep the sides of the boat from caving in or the ribs from cracking?





I did that to the center seat in my Little 10 foot Tracker years ago, I left about 2 in. of metal on the Sides and about 6in. on the ends of the top, Framed it with angle, Made a cap for it with 3/4 plywood and 2+2 on the long sides, Just set it on there, Put 2 big Batteries in there, Put carpet on the plywood , Ran a wire to the Back(Its all Electric) and went fishing, I have an onboard Charger in there, Just lift the top off once in a while to check the Batteries, Works good, and puts the weight in Middle of the Boat !! :wink:


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## WhiteMoose

Thanks for the replys! I'll post updates (and questions I'm sure) when I start working on it again. 
Russ's thread will come in handy when I get the the bench seat/battery storage phase of work. 8)


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## WhiteMoose

This week I got my middle seat tore out and the new framing up (pictures to come). I have all my plywood cut, sanded, and waterproofed, but I ran out of carpet! I used Lowes marine carpet. The kid at the counter said I have to order a minimum of like 30 feet, but I only need 6 more feet, so I'm trying to decide what to do. 30 feet of that carpet will cost around $160, which is more then I've spent on any part of this boat, other than the boat itself. :x


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## Truckmechanic

DO you have any updates on this?


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## WhiteMoose

Nope  It is currently covered up and sitting behind the garage. 
I'm going to bite the bullet and just order more carpet from Lowes when it warms up enough to start working on it again.


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## dyeguy1212

WhiteMoose said:


> This week I got my middle seat tore out and the new framing up (pictures to come). I have all my plywood cut, sanded, and waterproofed, but I ran out of carpet! I used Lowes marine carpet. The kid at the counter said I have to order a minimum of like 30 feet, but I only need 6 more feet, so I'm trying to decide what to do. 30 feet of that carpet will cost around $160, which is more then I've spent on any part of this boat, other than the boat itself. :x




So by order, do you mean online? Or were they out of stock and they have to order more and bring it in?


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## WhiteMoose

No, ordered as in ordered from the store. They have it in their samples hanging up, but they don't have it in stock. I've found similar carpet online, but all the samples I've received are just not quite the same.


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## WhiteMoose

Well its amazing how much I can get done in a weekend when the wife and friends are all out of town. 
I was able to finish almost all my carpeting after having to buy 30' of the stuff from Lowes. Now I have a ton leftover, so I am considering carpeting up the sides as well, but that can wait as the hot crappie bite around here will be starting soon!

I decided to save money and use up my scrap wood for the back of the boat, rather then buying another whole sheet of plywood. Just had to make it 2 layers thick and use a lot of glue. This piece was really tricky because the seat curves up in the middle, and the 2 back parts are anywhere from 1" to 2" lower then the bench. In order to make it solid and level, I had to add different sized legs under all the corners to support it. I'm not sure how I will attach it yet, but I'll figure that out when I get to it. 






Here is a shot of the switch panel I made out of plexiglass painted black on the back. The lighted rocker switches will be for my nav lights, bilge, and interior or sex lights as I like to call them. :wink: This piece goes on the back of the bench seat so I can reach it from the back, or bend over and reach it from the front if I am running the TM. I know these switches aren't designed to be exposed to weather, so we will see how long they last. I made the middle seat with an overhang of about 4", so they shouldn't take much direct water.


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## WhiteMoose

Steelflex time, baby!!! 
One of the cans came pretty dented. I'm surprised it didn't get punctured, but all is good I guess.
Jerry @ fasco recommended NOT using steelflex on the inside because it would be too hard to spread it around the ribs, etc, so I will be using a rustoleum silver color with a "hammered" finish to hide the dents.


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## Froggy

Looks good, I got a 1237 I cut the middle bench out for storage and battery, I decided against the seat on top, but in front of the forward bench, probably use one of these S type offset seat posts. good job!


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## WhiteMoose

Here is my mixing station, with my homemade paint mixer that I thought worked pretty very well. 




This stuff takes a long time to mix, and I can't even describe how thick it is. Frozen honey, maybe? I did 2 cups at a time (1 cup each) plus 1/2 oz of the color pigment. The epoxies are fairly easy to pour and measure, but the pigment was a bear. It didn't really pour, so you have to scoop it out which makes measuring it impossible. The best I could do was guess. 
The temperature outside only got to about 65, but after running a couple electric heaters in the garage all morning, I was able to get it up to a toasty 80 degrees by noon. 

Here is a picture of how not to do your first drizzling. 




I quickly discovered that this was too much as it was running all over the place. After I spread it all out over the back half and it was still running, I cussed, chugged a quick beer, and decided to use a little trowel to scoop it up and move it around to other areas, then roll over it all again. Then the problem was that it was starting to set up and and becoming really hard to roll. It ended up looking pretty tough, but I wasn't too worried since it was only the first coat. When drizzling, try to avoid spread out puddles like I had. Pour very thin lines of it, spaced about 3" or so.

Rollers! I bought an 8 pack of the 4" foam rollers, and this barely made it through the first coat. As soon as they start to tear, you have to get a new one, otherwise it leaves chunks behind. Between coats, I had to make a 40 mile Walmart run and came home with a dozen more, AND rubber gloves, which I stupidly didn't use the first time. I would also recommend getting some popsicle sticks for scraping the stuff off the side of the containers. And of course measuring cups. I cleaned 3 different dollar stores out of their $1 measuring cups.


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## WhiteMoose

I got much better at drizzling the 2nd time, and was able to get in a pretty good rhythm. Here is a shot of the first coat done (minus the transom which I did later). 





I waited about 3 hours between coats for the steelflex to cure enough that it felt like masking tape. The 2nd coat (not pictured) went on much easier, and you can put it on a lot thicker because the 1st coat holds it in place and keeps it from running. I'll pull it out in the sun later today to help it cure and take another picture. I am very happy with how it turned out.


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## Froggy

It helps reading the directions :lol: you put it on wrong, you gotta take it off, and that is no picnic! did you at least have a mask on [-o<


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## WhiteMoose

i had a mask on at first, but there really aren't any fumes to it. 
At minute 19 after you mix it its fine, but at minute 21, your screwed


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## WhiteMoose

Finished product





After I pulled it out in the sun, I see it didn't do as good of a job hiding the dents and gouges as I thought it did, but I am still really happy with the stuff. She is a leaky little boat no more. 
I have about 1/4 of it left, which I might use to go over the gunwales after I flip it over.


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## WhiteMoose

I pried this unused portion out of the measuring cup. It's only been sitting for about 3 hours and is hard enough to play hockey with, but the coat over my boat is still tacky.


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## ober51

Steel Flex is awesome, but terrible to use. Great job, I know it's not easy, but it will pay off.


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## BassBlaster

Your boat is lookin good. I'm looking forward to your progress, I have the same Lowe 1436 that I'm gonna start on as soon as my trailer project is complete. I'm thinking of only Steelflexing the bottom though so the sides wont be glossy. What did you do about a fuel tank location? I want to put mine in the little cubby hole by the transom but that darn transom support bracket is in the way.


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## dyeguy1212

Have you tried the hammered spray paint yet? I'm curious to see how it holds up. I've had crappy results with that stuff because it seems to create a dry layer on top of whatever you're painting, instead of adhering to the surface. I'd really suggest spraying it on super thin the first time around to make sure you don't have a brittle surface. Hopefully it'll give you better results.


Boat is looking good by the way!


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## Troutman3000

Good job man. That steelflex is great, once your done with it. I dont want to ever have to work with that stuff again. Once its on there its good to go for several years. And you have some touch up. I am not sure I would put in on the gunnels, maybe just wire brush that part shinny and keep it for touch up.


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## WhiteMoose

BassBlaster said:


> What did you do about a fuel tank location? I want to put mine in the little cubby hole by the transom but that darn transom support bracket is in the way.



I don't know why I didn't figure it out sooner, but I was able to squeeze my 6 gallon tank in that space on the port side of the transom bracket. I have to put the handle down under the transom board first, then shove the rest of the tank in.
I'll take a picture when I get the boat flipped back over.


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## WhiteMoose

dyeguy1212 said:


> Have you tried the hammered spray paint yet? I'm curious to see how it holds up. I've had crappy results with that stuff because it seems to create a dry layer on top of whatever you're painting, instead of adhering to the surface. I'd really suggest spraying it on super thin the first time around to make sure you don't have a brittle surface. Hopefully it'll give you better results.



I haven't tried it yet, but now you’ve got me having 2nd thoughts. Is there another type of paint similar to this that will hide blemishes but adheres better?



Troutman3000 said:


> I am not sure I would put in on the gunnels, maybe just wire brush that part shinny and keep it for touch up.



So your saying to just leave the gunwales as bare aluminum? I'm still debating on what to do there, because I know they will be the first to get beat up.


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## dyeguy1212

WhiteMoose said:


> dyeguy1212 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Have you tried the hammered spray paint yet? I'm curious to see how it holds up. I've had crappy results with that stuff because it seems to create a dry layer on top of whatever you're painting, instead of adhering to the surface. I'd really suggest spraying it on super thin the first time around to make sure you don't have a brittle surface. Hopefully it'll give you better results.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I haven't tried it yet, but now you’ve got me having 2nd thoughts. Is there another type of paint similar to this that will hide blemishes but adheres better?
Click to expand...


To tell you the truth, I'd just go with a flat or semiflat rustoleum spray bomb. That's what I used in my 14 foot build, and it worked really well. I don't know what color you're looking for, but a flat grey or something like that would probably look good, and adhere well. Plus it'd easy to touch up, should you ding it up.


Just stay away from anything remotely glossy. When I painted the outside of my 14 foot gloss red, dents and waves in the aluminum showed up that I didn't even know were there... :roll:


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## dyeguy1212

WhiteMoose said:


> So your saying to just leave the gunwales as bare aluminum? I'm still debating on what to do there, because I know they will be the first to get beat up.




That might be a good spot to spray paint the same color as the interior. That way you can very easily touch it up, and it'll flow well with the rest of the boat, as opposed to having raw metal.


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## WhiteMoose

Bassblaster- I can make it level by just putting a block under the front of it. Maybe your brace is in a slightly diff. spot.


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## BassBlaster

Mine looks exactly like yours. I'll have to take some measurements and go shoppin for a tank!! Thanks for the pic!!


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## TC1OZ

Nice job! I hope my job looks half as decent as yours! =D>


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## WhiteMoose

Thought I would put up some new pictures. She is basically done, I just need to clean up the wiring, get seats, cupholders, etc. I'm also still having trouble keeping grease in my wheel bearing, but hopefully I can get that taken care of this weekend.

Fresh paint and decals for the old motor- 
Hope I don't get any crap from someone for putting 1950's decals on a 1973 motor, but I thought they looked cool. 





Lowe decals. I got all my decals for $5 on ebay.


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## WhiteMoose

I put my 25 hp mercury on it and have been running with that the last couple trips out, and WOW that thing is scary fast. Thinking about somehow restricting the throttle so it can't go wide open because I don't always trust myself. At the very least, I need to put in a kill switch. 
I am thinking that it is too much motor for this boat. I also noticed that one of the cracks has opened back up at the transom corner/gunwale. This motor weighs only 17 pounds more than the old 9.5 I was using so I don't think weight is the problem. I thought the transom wood was still good, but maybe this should have been replaced with some solid oak or something. I'm getting the crack welded again next week, so hopefully that will just take care of it. 


I think I'm going to use this setup for a couple years, then start keeping my eyes open for a 16' or a wider 14' to fix up. My wife will kill me if I start looking for a new boat now.


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## jarobi

That 25 HP will warp the crap out of your transom over time, open up existing cracks, and create some new ones. I had a '73 lowe 1636 with a 25 hp Johnson, so I learned this from experience. It _is_ cool to blow by an underpowered Lund or two in a hillbilly rig though. If you keep your boat with that motor I'd recommend a new transom along with some reinforcement. Look at what River Rider did:

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10457

He added an extra brace & a stud of a transom. The very boat I had. Now I have a '93 1648 Landau.


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## Loggerhead Mike

> I'm getting the crack welded again next week, so hopefully that will just take care of it.



may want to also have them weld in some L brackets and maybe a brace or two to take some stress off the transom


rig turned out very nice!!


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