# BigTerp's Tracker Sportsman 16' O/B Jet build



## BigTerp (Jul 17, 2012)

First off this is an awesome site. Tons of awesome ideas and a bunch of people willing to give advice.

Was finally able to find a decent deal on a 16 footer over the weekend so I pulled the trigger and brought her home. I recently moved to a subdivision that has river access with a boat ramp about 300 yards from my front door. I sold my old 12 footer before we moved, so a new (to me) boat was in the near future. Got myself a '95 Tracker Sportsman 1648 with a like new '06 Valu-Line trailer. Couldn't be more excited!! Going to be a long and expensive project, but I hope to have her finished by the spring, which helps give me time to gather funds as the project progresses. Will be used for fishing (mostly catfish with occasional musky and smallmouth chasing) and duck/goose hunting the potomac river. I'm hoping to make this boat last a LONG time, so I plan to try and do things right from the start. My plans include:

-Steelflex for the bottom of the hull and fresh paint everywhere else.
-Small aluminum bow deck, riveted to and braced with aluminum angle from the existing bow deck back to the first rib in front of the middle bench.
-Dry storage and storage for batteries under deck. 
-Removal of the middle bench seat for a more open floor.
-Aluminum sheet for flooring. (Foam beneath)
-Aluminum sheet to cover gunwalls similar to what caveman and dixie_boysles did in their builds. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7695&hilit=just+thinking
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12178&start=105
-Hydroturf for the deck/floor/back bench. 
-Hydroturf (or possibly something like grizzly grip) for the aluminum sheet up the gunnels.
-Transom replacement. Transom isn't in horrible shape, but I'd rather knock this out now than have to fool with it down the road.
-3 pin mounted seats. 1 captains seat, 1 in middle of open floor and 1 on the deck.
-Radio
-LED lighting mounted to the aluminum sheet on the gunwalls for night fishing.
-Hard wired nav/anchor lights
-Switch panel and 12V socket for spotlight
-Rod holders
-Fish finder/sonar
-25hp tiller and either bow or transom mounted trolling motor.

A few questions.
-What is the best way to reinforce the gunwalls after removing the middle bench? Is the decking/flooring and aluminum sheet up the gunwalls enough? I plan to bring the deck back to the first rib that's right in front of the existing bench, and floor the rest of the way back to the back bench with aluminum sheet attached to the ribs with stainless steel screws. I'll also be attaching the aluminum sheet on the gunwall to the ribs with stainless stell screws. 

-When installing a pin mounted seat to an aluminum deck what do you attach it to? I'm thinking you would pattern your aluminum angle bracing so that the seat base is screwed through the aluminum sheet and the aluminum angle? How about attaching a pin mounted seat to an aluminum sheet floor?

-The boats in good shape, but has some typical dents from running a rocky river. Whats the best way to deal with these? Leave them as is, or go to town with a rubber mallet?

I'm sure I'll have many questions along the way, and I already appreciate the help/advice I've gotten so far.

On to the pictures.


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## BigTerp (Jul 17, 2012)

The day I brought her home:






















Was told this issue can be fixed by adjusting the bow roller down since it looks like the boat is sitting a little stern heavy on the trailer. Theres also a stern roller on the trailer, but the boat sits to far forward to touch it. Should I also adjust the bow roller back to get use out of the stern roller? 










What do you guys think about the transom? It seems to be in decent shape, but is obviously the original and is about 17 years old. Seems like it would be fairly easy to replace without having to remove any rivets. I'd rather do this now if it's only going to last a few more years.










Halfway through a pressure washing. Didn't get any after pictures since it started to rain. But she really cleaned up surprisingly well.


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## BigTerp (Jul 17, 2012)

I'll keep this thread updated throughout my build. I got so many good ideas from others threads, and maybe someone will get some ideas from mine. It will be slow going, and I'm sure I'll have alot of questions, so thanks in advance!!

First up will be dealing with the cosmetic dents, transom replacement and giving her a good leak test. Hopefully get some of that accomplished over the coming weekend.


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2012)

A few pics to show how well she cleaned up. Just a thorough pressure washing did wonders!!


















Here is a pic of the stern trailer roller I was mentioning thats not doing a thing. I need to adjust the bow roller down and back so I can get the stern of the boat over this roller. The more I looked over things I realized the bottom and side bunks are somewhat out of whack and need adjusting so the boat is sitting centered on the trailer and not resting on the ribs. You can see how off center she sits on trailer, and to get her centered the bottom bunks would be resting on the ribs, which I don't think is the best way to go. Where should the bottom bunks be resting? More towards the center or outer part of the boat?





Still not sure what I should do with the few dents in the hull. Hammer 'em out, or leave them alone? Any suggestions? I'll try and get some pictures of the dents I'm reffering to.


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## donmac (Jul 18, 2012)

Just in case you haven't stumbled upon this similar build: https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11485


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## Zum (Jul 18, 2012)

Cleaned up real nice,good size,looks ready to go as is.
If those little pieces added to your boat(bow and stern) are steel...I'd get them off first.
I find a bow mount trolling motor easier to fish with but depends on your style fishing.
Looks like you already have a little bow deck,are you thinking raising it?
Are you planing to do all these mods right away,seems it might add up in a hurry.
Might off been cheaper to buy a loaded boat to start with but I guess you will get what you want this way.
Have fun.


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## novaman (Jul 18, 2012)

Nice cleanup job =D> . I think You've 2 pcs. to remove though, the TM mount on the bow, and the FF transducer mount on the rear. The rear is showing corrosion now, so get it off asap, then clean good ,down to bare metal and put some self etching primer on to seal up the surface for now. As far as the dents go, IF THEY'RE NOT LEAKING, I'd leave them alone since they're out of sight, rather than maybe make a crack from pushing the aluminum back past center point of where it's already been strecthed. Look at them as river character, and move on to the part You really want to change. You've got a great start, carryon with it!! =D> MHO


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2012)

donmac said:


> Just in case you haven't stumbled upon this similar build: https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11485


Thanks. A little disappointing when I got to page 4 and saw the op never finished posting his build. Some good ideas on how he did his framing though. Kind of how I'm envisioning mine.


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2012)

Zum said:


> Cleaned up real nice,good size,looks ready to go as is.
> If those little pieces added to your boat(bow and stern) are steel...I'd get them off first.
> I find a bow mount trolling motor easier to fish with but depends on your style fishing.
> Looks like you already have a little bow deck,are you thinking raising it?
> ...


Yes she did clean up surprisingly well. Actually a good thing the previous owner did very little to the boat. She obviously sat outside uncovered for quite a few years, but without any wooden decks, carpet, etc. nothing really to rot or rust. I removed the steel bracket on the stern yesterday. Just a bit of corrosion from the screws, but alot better shape then what I was expecting. What looks like corrosion around the transducer on the stern is actually some sort of crap goop the previous owner used to seal it up. The transducer is the typical plastic. There is 2 rusty screws holding the transducer to the stern I need to remove and seal up with some solid rivets. I'm going to do a leak test first though. I know I have big plans, but I'm hoping to have this done by march/april. I do pitching lessons in the fall/winter for a local baseball complex they earns be some extra money. That will provide most of the funding for this project. No way I could afford to tackle this all at once. Plus i'd still like to be married when I'm finished my build!!! I plan to extend the bow deck back to in front of the existing middle bench at the same height. I'm 6'8" and plan to duck hunt out of this boat as well so I don't want a huge high deck.


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2012)

novaman said:


> Nice cleanup job =D> . I think You've 2 pcs. to remove though, the TM mount on the bow, and the FF transducer mount on the rear. The rear is showing corrosion now, so get it off asap, then clean good ,down to bare metal and put some self etching primer on to seal up the surface for now. As far as the dents go, IF THEY'RE NOT LEAKING, I'd leave them alone since they're out of sight, rather than maybe make a crack from pushing the aluminum back past center point of where it's already been strecthed. Look at them as river character, and move on to the part You really want to change. You've got a great start, carryon with it!! =D> MHO



I mentioned in my last post about the transducer and trolling motor mount. What looks like corrosion around the transducer is some sort of sealant the previous owner had used to seal up around the transducer. I'm still anxious to see what I'm going to be dealing with under the transducer once I remove it. Hopefullly it don't be to bad!!! Thanks for the advice on the dents. I really doubt they leak, but I'll find out this weekend when I do a leak test. I was really stumped on what to do. Never thought about causing a crack while trying to beat them out. Thanks!!! Should I sand down the corroded area around the screw holes from the TM mount and throw on some primer like you suggested for the transducer? Only place I've found any corrosion/rust so far. Hopefullly it stays that way.


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## panFried (Jul 18, 2012)

Cleans up nice! Are you still planning a transom replacement? I am looking forward to see how you plan to tackle it. For the posts Ive seen on this forum, theres everything from installing transom with rivets, to pop-rivets, to nuts-n-bolts with marine sealant on them. Just curious which approach you will be taking.


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## BigTerp (Jul 19, 2012)

panFried said:


> Cleans up nice! Are you still planning a transom replacement? I am looking forward to see how you plan to tackle it. For the posts Ive seen on this forum, theres everything from installing transom with rivets, to pop-rivets, to nuts-n-bolts with marine sealant on them. Just curious which approach you will be taking.



Yeah, I think I'm going to go ahead and tackle the transom. Like I said, it doesn't seem to be in that bad of shape, but the nuts on the inside of the hull are pushing through the transom wood. So I"m thinking it's definitely starting to soften a bit. I'm not sure how I'll tackle it, but I'm thinking that solid rivets would be the best. I'm going to have to remove a few solid rivets below the waterline during my mod, so if I'm going to be replacing them with solid rivets as well as the holes from the previous transducer I might as well use them on the transom also. I plan to use plywood coated with epoxy resin for the transom as well.


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## BigTerp (Jul 19, 2012)

While trying to wrap my head around the design of my deck and floor I've come up with a few questions. I'll be using .125" aluminum sheet for the deck/floor and .063" sheet for the gunwalls. Planning on angle for all my bracing below deck and under the floor, but the more I check out other builds I'm thinking I'll need some square tubing as well. Obviously tube is stronger than angle, but where exaclty should I be using the tube within my bracing? Support from the floor up? Under seat bases? Around hatches? Or just angle and no square?
-What size angle should I be using? I can get my hands on 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 3/16" and 1" x 1" x 1/4". I'll be using 6063.
-What size square should I be using?
-Should I plan my bracing around my accessories (radio, speakers, LED lights, switch panel) so I can secure them through the aluminum sheet and into my bracing? Or can I just screw that stuff directly into the aluminum sheet?

Also tyring to figure out how to mount my seat bases. I plan to install three of these:
https://www.basspro.com/LockNPin-Seat-Base-Plate/product/74640/62545

One I'll screw directly to a 1/2" piece of plywood I plan to install on top of the rear bench. Will be the only wood on my build but seems to be the most secure way to install a seat base to the bench, unless someone has a better suggestion.

I'm stumped on figuring out how to install the remaining 2 seat bases though. One will be going on the deck and the other on the open floor. Can I screw them directly through the aluminum sheet and into my bracing, either angle or square, and it be secure enough for a 6'8" 255lb guy? Also concerned about under floor clearance for a pin type seat post. I want to keep my floor as low as possible, but also like the idea of a removeable seat post to keep the floor open as needed. Any idea how far below deck these seat bases and corresponding posts would go? 

Any and all suggestions, tips and criticisms welcome!!!!!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 20, 2012)

Here is s agood pic of what the metal (galvinized steel??) trolling motor bracket that the previous owner had installed on the bow did to the aluminum. Going to pick up some self etching primer this evening and take a wire brush to debur the old screw holes. Then I'll sand it down to bare meteal and throw on some of the primer.





Here is whats left of the transducer bracket. I'm going to do a thorough leak test before I remove this mess. I'm anxious to see what I'm going to find underneath :shock: 





Plans for the weekend:
-Thorough leak test
-Remove old transducer bracket and clean up all the sealent that was used around it
-Sand and prime any spots that show corrosion
-Remove boat from trailer and adjust bunks and rollers to get her sitting level and even
-Beer drinking :beer:


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## BigTerp (Jul 22, 2012)

Got a little bit of work done yesterday. Once it finally stopped raining I was able to clean up the corroded areas around the old TM bracket and stern transducer. Did a good leak test and only found 1 leak!! She's leaking from the drain plug. The aluminum opening was a bit smashed when I got the boat. I simply rounded it back out with a screwdriver so the plug would fit. Obviously the plug doesn't fit as well as it should, although it seems like I have to really smash it in to get it in the hole. Maybe the plug is bad?? Whats the best remedy for this?? Also pulled her off the trailer, gave the trailer a good pressure washing and got all the bunks and rollers adjusted. She sits alot better on the trailer now. Some pics....

Here is where the old transducer was mounted. There wasn't any corrosion, just some sort of sealant that I removed with a razor blade. I went ahead and sanded it down regardless and apllied a few coats of self-etching primer. Whats the best way to go about sealing these holes back up? I plan to use solid rivets, so I guess I'll have to drill these 4 holes to size??





The bow being prepped for primer. Also need to deal with these holes at some point. Since there above the water line I'm assumming I can use something like jb weld to seal them up, sand them down and paint. I want to close them up mearly for cosmetic reasons.





After 3 coats of primer. Looks much better than the mess that was under the old TM bracket.





There are a few, I guess rust, spots inside the hull. Should I sand these down as well and apply some primer? I don't plan to paint anything that will be hidden under the deck or floor, but if this is rust/corrosion I should sand it down and at least get some primer over it, right?









Something just doesn't seem right about filling a boat up with water. I was extremely pleased to not find a single leaky rivet, just a small leak at the drain plug.





I may have went a bit overboard with the amount of water I put in her, but I wanted to get as much as I could so I could test some of the rivets that were on the side of the hull. Tires were screaming for help during the leak test :shock: 





Empty trailer. Was pretty easy to adjust the bunks and rollers. She fits a bit more snug and square on the trailer now. Should make for a safer tow. The trailer is in excellent shape. Was told by the previous owner it was bought, towed home and then sat until I bought it. You can tell the tires are pretty much brand new.


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## BigTerp (Jul 22, 2012)

Once the battery for my drill gets charged I'm going to tackle removing the transom. Hopefully I can do it without having to remove any rivets. If I do have to remove any rivets do I center drill them from the head side or the shank side? What size drill bit? I can get my hands on a dremmel if grinding off the heads is a better way to remove them.


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## BigTerp (Jul 22, 2012)

Got all nuts as bolts removed from the transom, definitely going to have to remove about 20 solid rivets or so. Not really excited about doing this. I'm sure it won't be to hard, but she doesn't leak now and I hate the idea of putting holes in the hull!! I guess I'll become an expert at installing solid rivets before to long. The transom wood is in worse shape than I thought. Good thing it is being replaced.


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## BigTerp (Jul 22, 2012)

Got a few questions for you guys:

Here is the nut and bolt that was holding the transom in place. I'm thinking that solid rivets would be stronger for replacement, but I'm not sure you can get rivets this long. Should I stick with the facotry size nuts and bolts, or would solid rivets be a better choice?





Noticed some rusty rivets near the bow. It looks like a few inches of water sat in this boat for quite some time. Also some rust?? corrosion?? around the bottom of the bench seats. What should I do about the rivets? The bench seats?


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## DaveInGA (Jul 22, 2012)

Terp,

Some answers and comments in red in the quote below.



BigTerp said:


> My plans include:
> 
> -Steelflex for the bottom of the hull and fresh paint everywhere else.
> I wouldn't spend money on steelflex unless a leak test shows a leak that you can't repair. From your post, you have a budget, so you'll be spending plenty with things you need. Steelflex is good stuff, but there are other things (like gluv-it and coat-it) that can seal a concern area and then you can use regular paint, such as Rustoleum Industrial paint at $28.00 a gallon from Home Depot. Much more affordable, when you are going to be buying boat stuff.
> ...


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## DaveInGA (Jul 22, 2012)

BigTerp said:


> Got a few questions for you guys:
> 
> Here is the nut and bolt that was holding the transom in place. I'm thinking that solid rivets would be stronger for replacement, but I'm not sure you can get rivets this long. Should I stick with the facotry size nuts and bolts, or would solid rivets be a better choice?
> For the transom, use stainless steel bolts the same size as the ones you removed. Use a good sealer like 4200 or 5200 or other good sealers when you install them.
> ...


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## BigTerp (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the responses!!

I got all the bolts removed from the transom yesterday. I'll plan to replace with stainless steel nuts and bolts. I'm assuming I should use nuts with nylon type "lockers"? The facotry bolt heads had some sort of rubber washer on them. Should I be replacing those as well?

I'm going to order a harbor freight air hammer today for replacement of the facotry rivets that I'll have to remove to get the transom out. Any idea what size rivets I need? I haven't removed any yet, so maybe it would be best to remove them first so I can measure and know what size solid rivets I need? Also trying to get an idea of what size blind rivets I'll need for my framing? Seems alot of guys on here use 3/16" x 1/2"??

I'm still a little stumped on how to mount a seat base to the floor. Not sure I'll have room or even be able to access underneath the floor to use stainless steel bolts. Shouldn't be an issue with the deck, but mounting one to the floor is where I forsee issues.


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## Vermonster (Jul 23, 2012)

Hi BigTerp, 
For the base mounting to the floor: I would think about riveting 2 pieces of aluminum angle to your ribs of the boat, and then mount 3/4 " plywood laid into the "channel" that you created with the 2 peices of aluminum angle. The plywood should be sturdy enough to step on. The other thing I would do is make a base using 3 pieces of 3/4" plywood so the pin from your seat has no chance of hitting your hull.

Kind of like this:


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## BigTerp (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks Vermonster!!

I was trying to figure out a way to get a pin mount flush with the floor, but I don't think it is possible. I can picture my fat butt flopping down on the seat for the first time and the pin puncturing the hull :shock: . Your suggestion might be the best way to go. I'm just trying to keep my floor as open and clear as possible for when I'm chasing ducks/geese and not fishing.

Is that your seat in the picture? If so, how do you have the base mounted to the wood? Looks like with some threaded bolts?


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## Vermonster (Jul 23, 2012)

Yep - that's my seat.

I cut 3 squares of the 3/4" ply that I had left over from my deck (I think I left 1.5 inches on all sides of the pedestal). 
Cut holes for pedestal base to go through. I used a jigsaw on one of them to taper the hole so the base would be flush.
Glue squares together matching the holes. 
Coated with spar-urethane (3 coats).
Laid the piece where I wanted it on the bench seat plywood (which would be your small deck) with the pedestal in place and drilled holes through the squares and bench.

I then spun the seat bench around and used a spade-bit to countersink the washer and nut.

The square is bolted through the seat with the nuts countersunk in the plywood bench. The bench is fastened to the stock aluminum seat.

If you're chasing birds you may want to add a raised floor (that has enough space for the pin). Not a deck, but a floor. That would give you the flat/flush surface for bird hunting and you can just drop the seat in when you go fishing. Attach that floor to the ribs and existing seats. Raising it 3 inches off the ribs would likely be sufficient space for the base and the pin.


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## novaman (Jul 23, 2012)

You're doing a great job Terp, keep it up and You'll make a lot of people proud besides Yourself. Everybody here likes to see the other guys succeed, (1) because if You use an idea we gave You it makes us proud, (2) You'll come up with ideas of Your own, that the rest of us may copy and You'll be proud. So it's like a family affair without the rantin' & ravin',( most of the time) and we all come away winners. Not to mention some awesome boats when guys get done. 

You did what I was talking about on the bow, to cleanup the spot left from the TM mount, and it looks great even with the holes it looks 100x better . You've got the ideas, so run with them, and we'll be here to watch and marvel, and maybe learn a new trick.


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## DaveInGA (Jul 23, 2012)

Answers in red in quote below:



BigTerp said:


> I got all the bolts removed from the transom yesterday. I'll plan to replace with stainless steel nuts and bolts.
> If the bolts themselves are not rusted, but just corroded a little, you may be able to hit them with a steel brush and clean them up an re-use them. That'll save you a little money.
> 
> I'm assuming I should use nuts with nylon type "lockers"?
> ...



Hope this helps.


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2012)

Vermonster said:


> Yep - that's my seat.
> 
> If you're chasing birds you may want to add a raised floor (that has enough space for the pin). Not a deck, but a floor. That would give you the flat/flush surface for bird hunting and you can just drop the seat in when you go fishing. Attach that floor to the ribs and existing seats. Raising it 3 inches off the ribs would likely be sufficient space for the base and the pin.



Thanks man!! This sounds like a good alternative. I plan to make a small bow deck back to the rib in front of the existing middle bench seat. I'll be removing the bench seat and then attaching a floor from the deck back to the aft bench seat. I want to keep it low, but bumping it up a few inches to allow for a pin mount sounds like a great idea!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2012)

novaman said:


> You're doing a great job Terp, keep it up and You'll make a lot of people proud besides Yourself. Everybody here likes to see the other guys succeed, (1) because if You use an idea we gave You it makes us proud, (2) You'll come up with ideas of Your own, that the rest of us may copy and You'll be proud. So it's like a family affair without the rantin' & ravin',( most of the time) and we all come away winners. Not to mention some awesome boats when guys get done.
> 
> You did what I was talking about on the bow, to cleanup the spot left from the TM mount, and it looks great even with the holes it looks 100x better . You've got the ideas, so run with them, and we'll be here to watch and marvel, and maybe learn a new trick.



Thanks for the encourgament novaman!! I'm liking the flush mounted seat base in your last pic. My good buddy, who will be helping me with this build, is a mechanical enginner, has alot of experience working with aluminum and can apparently even weld aluminum. With his help, I might be able to pull something like that off. Thanks for the picture.


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2012)

DaveInGA said:


> Answers in red in quote below:
> 
> Hope this helps.



Definitely, I appreciate the responses!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2012)

So this evening is going to be "drill some holes in my boat day" :shock: . Going to drill out all the rivets that need removed so I can get the old transom wood out. A bit nervous about doing this, but I'm sure after the first few it will go smoothly [-o< .

DaveinGa had a good idea bout saving the old transom nuts and bolts, but they don't seem to be in the best shape. Some of the heads got a bit stripped when I remeoved them as well, so I plan to replace them all. I THINK I found what I need from Fastenal, but not 100% sure. Also should I be using the 8-18 or 316 grade stainless for the nuts, bolts washers??

Bolts
https://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=72581

Nuts
https://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=70860

Is the above what I should be using??


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## Vermonster (Jul 24, 2012)

Those should work fine. I actually opted for Hex-head bolts because I have a tendency to strip the heads of screws. It's personal preference there, but if you do your transom slow and correctly (which I can tell by your work that you will), you won't have to worry about taking them out again. 

Drilling holes in your boat gets easier each time you do it! It's really hard the first time you do it below the water line!


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2012)

Got the transom removed this evening. What a chore!! It was obvious I've never worked with rivets before. I center drilled the rivet heads and then popped them off with a flat head screwdriver and hammer. I then popped out the shank end of the rivet with a hammer and punch. The first few gave me quite the headache, but once I got going it wasn't all that bad. I'd give myself a 7 out of 10. I "over drilled" a few of the rivet holes which I don't think will be a problem. The worst one, I'll post a pic, is right at 1/4". So I should be able to just drill it out with a 1/4" bit and replace with a 1/4" rivet. Simple as that, right??? I'm more concerned about some of the holes I marred up while using the screwdriver to pop off the rivet heads. I made a few gouges around some of the rivet holes doing this. I'm guessing I can sand this smooth and it shouldn't be a problem?? I also managed to get my left middle finger in between the boat hull and hammer. #-o How does that happen?? Hurt like hell, but all part of the game I guess.

After removal






Fore side of the transom wood





Aft side of the transom wood





This was my worst drill hole. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it to measure over 1/4". Drill it out to 1/4" and replace with a 1/4" rivet??





Now I have a Sunday boat to match my Sunday underwear......nice and holy!!! :roflmao:


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## Vermonster (Jul 25, 2012)

You can always use a SS Bolt and Nut coated with 3M 5200 for those larger holes. Keep your old transom pieces and use them for templates to cut your new ones! Try to clean all that corrosion and white off as well before you install.


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## BigTerp (Jul 25, 2012)

Vermonster said:


> You can always use a SS Bolt and Nut coated with 3M 5200 for those larger holes. Keep your old transom pieces and use them for templates to cut your new ones! Try to clean all that corrosion and white off as well before you install.



Thanks Vermonster!! The hole in the picture is from the bottom of the hull. It is from one of the rivets that held in the transom brace. Wouldn't a solid rivet sized to the hole be better than a SS nut and bolt??


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## BigTerp (Jul 25, 2012)

Here is a few examples of how I marred up some of the holes while using a flathead screwdriver to pop the rivet heads off. Maybe this wasn't the best way to remove them?? These two are the worst and were some of the first ones I did. Once I got the hang of it, the rivets came off much cleaner and easier. Whats the best way to deal with thse holes? Should I just sand/de-bur the holes and be good to go?


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## TNtroller (Jul 25, 2012)

looks like a good deal, on the transom plug, I would just buy a new one for a couple bucks, and test it to see if it will seal up good before you do anything to the actual drain hole in the hull. There is a reason for the drain plug to have rubber on it, change its shape to fit the imperfections of the metal hole.


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## BigTerp (Jul 26, 2012)

TNtroller said:


> looks like a good deal, on the transom plug, I would just buy a new one for a couple bucks, and test it to see if it will seal up good before you do anything to the actual drain hole in the hull. There is a reason for the drain plug to have rubber on it, change its shape to fit the imperfections of the metal hole.



Thanks man. Any links to were I can find a replacement??


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## Vermonster (Jul 26, 2012)

BigTerp said:


> Thanks man. Any links to were I can find a replacement??



Walmart should carry plugs in the boating section. They usually have 2 sizes, and they have an adjustable wingnut type that you can tighten to make the plug a bit larger when you engage it.

As for the SS Bolt versus the Rivet below the waterline, if the hole is too large for the rivet it's fine to use the SS Bolt and seal it up with 3m 5200. The plan would be you're not going to be removing it anytime soon. If you can get a rivet to fit flush go with that (remember to seal them though). 

Sand the dings up a bit and clean the aluminum really well before you apply the 5200 and the rivets - you'll get much better adhesion.


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## BigTerp (Jul 26, 2012)

Vermonster said:


> Walmart should carry plugs in the boating section. They usually have 2 sizes, and they have an *adjustable wingnut type *that you can tighten to make the plug a bit larger when you engage it.
> 
> As for the SS Bolt versus the Rivet below the waterline, if the hole is too large for the rivet it's fine to use the SS Bolt and seal it up with 3m 5200. The plan would be you're not going to be removing it anytime soon. If you can get a rivet to fit flush go with that (remember to seal them though).
> 
> Sand the dings up a bit and clean the aluminum really well before you apply the 5200 and the rivets - you'll get much better adhesion.



Thanks for the tips. I'm going to try and drill out the larger holes to 1/4" and see if I can get a 1/4" rivet to fit. I have a few more rivets to remove this evening then I'll drill out the holes that need it and sand the ones that are dinged up. I'll try to get everything pressure washed and cleaned up good. Any need to primer the bare aluminum around the old rivet holes that I'll be sanding, or the transom portion that was under the old wood?

Need to start getting materials together to replace the transom wood. I plan to use exopy resin to seal the new wood. Depending on the width of wood I'll need, I'll most likley glue 2 pieces of exterior grade plywood together and coat with the resin. I've read were other guys drill the transom holes bigger than needed, then fill the holes with the epoxy resin and redrill the holes to approriate size. Is this the right way to do it, or am I way off base here?


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## Vermonster (Jul 26, 2012)

BigTerp said:


> Thanks for the tips. I'm going to try and drill out the larger holes to 1/4" and see if I can get a 1/4" rivet to fit. I have a few more rivets to remove this evening then I'll drill out the holes that need it and sand the ones that are dinged up. I'll try to get everything pressure washed and cleaned up good. Any need to primer the bare aluminum around the old rivet holes that I'll be sanding, or the transom portion that was under the old wood?
> 
> Need to start getting materials together to replace the transom wood. I plan to use exopy resin to seal the new wood. Depending on the width of wood I'll need, I'll most likley glue 2 pieces of exterior grade plywood together and coat with the resin. I've read were other guys drill the transom holes bigger than needed, then fill the holes with the epoxy resin and redrill the holes to approriate size. Is this the right way to do it, or am I way off base here?



Prime the holes after they're plugged with the rivets. The resin will be fine for in-between the wood and the hull but a coat of primer would be fine. I think the resin provides water protection, but not UV, so you may want to throw a coat of paint on the resin afterwards (somebody should be able to confirm that). I think over-drilling the holes and filling with resin will be overkill to be honest - using the 5200 on your hardware should be sufficient. A transom with resin should last forever.

Drill the holes
Clean/sand them
Seal your hardware with 5200 (bolts and rivets) - this should be fine for water-proofing the holes in the transom.
prime bare aluminum with self etching primer
paint (if you're going to)


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## BigTerp (Jul 27, 2012)

Thanks Vermonster, sounds like a plan. 

Going to get some work done on her this weekend finishing up some rivet removal, some cleaning and sanding/priming were needed. Then it will be time to gather everything I need to put her back together and get the new transom in place.


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## BigTerp (Jul 30, 2012)

Got a little bit done this past weekend. Removed the rest of the rivets from the transom, sanded each rivet hole on the outside of the hull, drilled out any "whallowed" out holes to 1/4", wire brushed then sanded entire transom area to remove oxidation/corrosion, primed the entire transom area, shop vac'd and pressure washed (again) the inside of the hull. Seems like I finllay got all the gunk out of her.

Obviously the old transom board was a bit leaky. After removing all the oxidation/corrosion with a wire brush and sanding, you could see how pitted the aluminum behind the old transom board was. I sanded it down from 60 grit to 220 grit then pressure washed it, cleaned with acetone and applied 3 coats of self-etching primer.






A closer look at the pitting





After sanding, cleaning and primer. I'll probably eventually hit the floor of the hull with some sand paper and primer as well.





This is one of the holes that I marred up pretty good with the screwdriver while removing rivets and whallowed out the hole a bit. I drilled it out to 1/4". I then sanded it down until it was deburred and smooth to the touch. Ended up doing this to about 7 or so holes. I think it turned out pretty good, expecially when you compare it to the before picture.





Before





Transom holes deburred, drilled out, sanded and cleaned. Ready for some fresh new rivets and stainless hardware.





It seems like I have done a good bit of work already, but not getting very far along. I know this part is some of the more tedious work I'll be doing, so slow progress should be expected. Once I get the new transom back in place I can start planning out and working on the rest of the boat.

Upcoming plans include:
-Ordering rivets, air hammer and stainless hardware for transom replacement
-Ordering epoxy resin
-Pick up wood for transom and getting it cut, glued and drilled out
-Cleaning up, sanding and primer for all peices of the transom bracing
-Cleaning up , snading and primer for hull floor from back bench seat to transom
-Reassemble transom

NEVER ENDING............


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## panFried (Aug 6, 2012)

Looking good Big Terp. I'm about 2 steps behind you. I bought all my supplies this weekend, except wood and I'm gonna start on the steps you just completed. What type of wood are you using?


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## BigTerp (Aug 6, 2012)

panFried said:


> Looking good Big Terp. I'm about 2 steps behind you. I bought all my supplies this weekend, except wood and I'm gonna start on the steps you just completed. What type of wood are you using?



I've been keeping my eye on your build. Looking good!!

I've been getting alittle behind. I was sick all last week, and our AC/Heat Pump took a crap last weekend. So I've been holding off on ordering anything for the boat until we get the AC situation squared away. Ended up being a bad control board on the inside unit. Hopefully that will be getting fixed this week, and I can then get back to the boat.

I did do a little work yesterday. I cleaned up the bilge area and sanded out all the corrosion. Hit it with a few coats of self-ethcing primer. Also worked on cleaning up all the transom bracing. Need to finish getting those sanded up and rivet ends popped out. They seem to be stuck in the bracing worse than they were the hull.

So I haven't ordered any of what I need to finish the transom. But I plan to use exterior grade, or I guess the ABX plywood that either Home Depot or Lowes carries. My transom is 1-1/4" wide. Kind of an odd number it seems. I haven't been out to either place to see what brand of plywood or what thickness they carry. But I'm hoping to find some that has the right thickness so I can glue 2 pieces together to make the 1-1/4" I need.


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## DaveInGA (Aug 6, 2012)

If you go to a builder's supply or Ace Hardware that has lumber, you should be able to get plywood made in USA with USA sizes. A single sheet of 5/8" cut up and doubled will make that transom thickness you need nicely and will likely only cost around $20.00 or so. A few phone calls around your area to various suppliers (Not Home Depot or Lowe's) will likely locate the needed plywood.

You might want to consider applying Goop Coat-it on the corrosion on your hull where the transom was. It's only $20.00 for a quart of Coat-it at Academy Sports, a very good value. Looking at what the product contains, it is an epoxy and appears to be ideal to use not only to prevent leaks, but as transom coating as well. A quart should coat your transom wood with enough left over to cover the pitted areas. Here's a link:

https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_500045_-1?Ntt=Coat-It&Ntk=All


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## BigTerp (Aug 7, 2012)

DaveInGA said:


> If you go to a builder's supply or Ace Hardware that has lumber, you should be able to get plywood made in USA with USA sizes. A single sheet of 5/8" cut up and doubled will make that transom thickness you need nicely and will likely only cost around $20.00 or so. A few phone calls around your area to various suppliers (Not Home Depot or Lowe's) will likely locate the needed plywood.
> 
> You might want to consider applying Goop Coat-it on the corrosion on your hull where the transom was. It's only $20.00 for a quart of Coat-it at Academy Sports, a very good value. Looking at what the product contains, it is an epoxy and appears to be ideal to use not only to prevent leaks, but as transom coating as well. A quart should coat your transom wood with enough left over to cover the pitted areas. Here's a link:
> 
> https://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_500045_-1?Ntt=Coat-It&Ntk=All



Thanks Dave!! I called a local lumber company this morning and located some exterior grade, non-pressure treated plywood. They only have 1/2" and 3/4" though. They are checking on ordering me a sheet of 5/8", waiting to hear back on a price. Worst case I can use the 1/2" and 3/4" to make the thickness I need. I just don't think it would be very economical to buy 2 sheets of different sizes, so hopefully they can get in some 5/8" for me at a decent price. We have a local Fastenal and I plan to stop buy later this week and pick up the stainless hardware I need for the transom.

Thanks for the link, although I'm pretty set on using the US Composites epoxy resin on the transom. Do you think the sanding, cleaning and primering of the transom was enough to prevent further pitting? If not, could I throw some of the US Composites expoy resin on there before I install the transom wood?


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## DaveInGA (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks for the link, although I'm pretty set on using the US Composites epoxy resin on the transom. Do you think the sanding, cleaning and primering of the transom was enough to prevent further pitting? If not, could I throw some of the US Composites expoy resin on there before I install the transom wood?

I don't know, but after reading the container and reviews on the net, if I had to do it over I'd use Coat-it. It has epoxy in it along with very good reinforcing ingredients. You might want to research it further.


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## BigTerp (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks again Dave. I'll be sure to check out the Coat-It before I make a decision.

So my local lumber yard has Marine grade plywood bot only in 1/2" and 3/4". Pretty pricey as well, $67 and $85. So I asked if they had any non-pressure treated exterior grade and they do have 5/8" A-C Fur for $35 for a 4x8 sheet. I'll be going with this. Not quite as nice as the marine grade, but I'd have to buy 2 sheets of the marine grade for about $150, doesn't make sense. Plan on picking up the plywood tomorrow morning and getting it cut and glued later this week/weekend.

So when glueing my 2 pieces together do I want to glue the "C" sides together or glue an "A" side to a "C" side?


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## DaveInGA (Aug 7, 2012)

In red per usual:



BigTerp said:


> Thanks again Dave. I'll be sure to check out the Coat-It before I make a decision.
> Cool
> So my local lumber yard has Marine grade plywood bot only in 1/2" and 3/4". Pretty pricey as well, $67 and $85. So I asked if they had any non-pressure treated exterior grade and they do have 5/8" A-C Fur for $35 for a 4x8 sheet. I'll be going with this. Not quite as nice as the marine grade, but I'd have to buy 2 sheets of the marine grade for about $150, doesn't make sense. Plan on picking up the plywood tomorrow morning and getting it cut and glued later this week/weekend.
> I think you made a good purchase decision.
> ...


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## BigTerp (Aug 13, 2012)

Was able to squeeze in about a half days worth of work on Saturday. Being sick, busy, rain and AC problems has really slowed me down. AC gets fixed today and I'm just about over my nasty cold. Getting back on track now 8) 

Got the plywood measured and cut. Cut oversized rectangles to allow for errors in measuring and room for a final cut after glueing. Waiting on my epoxy resin to come in so I can fill the plywood voids. Then I can get this thing glued and cut to size. Went with 5/8" A-C exterior grade fir.











Dealt with the holes above the water line from the previous owners screws holding in TM bracket, seats and fish finder. Used JB weld in 2 coats. Will be getting those sanded and primed later this week. Purely a cosmetic thing.

Here is the first coat on the bow were the old TM bracket was.





Also sanded all the corrosion and oxidation on all the pieces for the transom bracing, then hit 'em with some primer. Did the same to the gas tank holder.





Still need to get my rivets and air hammer ordered, planning on doing that today. I've got everything else I need to finish the transom once my epoxy resin is delivered. Got a 50 piece bag of stainless steel bolts, 50 piece bag of nyloc nuts and a 100 piece bag of stainless steel washers from Fastenal. Was planning on spending about $30 on all of that. Walked in and found a guy I played baseball with in college is the manager. Gave me his discount and ended up getting all of that for $6!! NowI just need to see what else I can source from Fastenal.


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## BigTerp (Aug 13, 2012)

So next up is to get this damn transom finished and installed!!!

Then I'll be removing the middle bench and probably doing some painting. The original paint isn't in horrible shape, but is obviously aged and beat up in the common places (outside hull, rail, etc.), so I figured while I'm at it I might as well give her a brand new paint job. Since I'll have to be sanding and priming these problem areas should I go ahead and just strip the entire boat and start from scratch? Not trying to make it perfect, but do want it to last.

As far as paint goes, I'll be going with RustOleum high performance protective enamel. I'm thinking of doing the outside hull halfway up the sides in hunter green and the rest of the outside hull and interior in smoke gray. Let me know what you guys think. https://rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=130

After removing the middle bench, which houses a small livewell, I'll need to plug the livewell drain which comes out the side of the hull right at the junction of the bottom and side. Whats the best way to do this? I'm assumming have it welded over with a small piece of aluminum sheet.


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## mcateercustom (Aug 14, 2012)

Lookin good man!


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## Ranchero50 (Aug 14, 2012)

Give me a yell sometime, we'll go wet a line and I'll ruin you towards outboards. River's up a bit but the fish don't mind. Lots of green trash floating. I work through Sunday, should hit it Monday or Tuesday weather willing.

For your boat, eBay your stainless as Fastenal's prices have gotten outrageous. 

Paint or epoxy your wood before installing it. You can cheat and use carriage bolts through the transom, just seal them well as you push the bolt through the hull and wood. Stringers can get welded to the floor, Center seat livewell makes great dry storage if you just get a spare hull plug. Spring Mills WalMart has a decent boat parts stock.


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## BigTerp (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks Jamie. And that's all I need is for you to steer me towards a jet!! My wife would be thrilled :roll: I'll give you a shout here before to long about welding up my drain hole and hitting up the river. Haven't done much fishing this summer. Just a bit of catfishing on the upriver side of the old railroad bridge. Been pretty good bites though.

I already got my stainless hardware from Fastenal. An old college buddy of mine manages the one in Hagerstown and he gave me his discount. Ended up getting all my nuts, bolts and washers for $6!! I'll be using epoxy resin on the transom wood and some 3M 5200 to seal up the stainless hardware and rivets. 

Everything is scheduled to be delivered by the end of the week (air hammer, rivets and epoxy resin). So hopefully I can spend the better part of the weekend getting the transom knocked out.


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## BigTerp (Aug 17, 2012)

Was able to get a little work done last night. Finished patching all the screw holes and primering. Man that JB Weld is a PITA to sand!! Got my expoxy resin in yesterday so I went ahead and mixed up a batch with the fairng compound and filled the voids in my plywood. So far the stuff seems pretty easy to work with. Will be sanding that down to level this evening and getting my boards glued together. I'll throw up some pictures after the weekend. Hopefully I can at least have the transom wood ready to be mounted. Harbor Freight won't have my air hammer delivered until later next week. So I'll have to wait to install the transom wood until then.


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## DaveInGA (Aug 17, 2012)

BigTerp said:


> So next up is to get this damn transom finished and installed!!!
> You'll be glad when that's done. I was for sure.
> 
> Since I'll have to be sanding and priming these problem areas should I go ahead and just strip the entire boat and start from scratch? Depends on how much work you want to do. If you're going to remove the old paint completely, I would suggest using some Bix Stripper. Works as well as aluminum stripper on the paint and costs less. Less labor for you. Be sure and use lots of water, high pressure if you have it, to rinse all the acid of the stripper off.
> ...



Hope this helps.


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## BigTerp (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks Dave!! Yeah, the transom work has been SLOW and tedious. I'm looking forward to getting it done and being able to move forward with the boat.

I think I'm just going to sand down the problem areas on the boat and give the rest of it a nice scuff and then paint. The original paint isn't horrible, just rather faded and dull looking. So instead of having to deal with all the extra work of stripping I'll just do the best prep I can without fussing with stripping.

Thanks for the heads up on Home Depot being able to color match the RustOleum professional. Thats awesome!! Makes my color choices almost limitless.

For the drain plug I already talked to Jaime (Ranchero50) about welding a piece of plate on for me. He only lives a few minutes away, plus I'll get to check out that sweet jet ski tin he built!! Good idea on using a plug though. I may just pick up a drain plug from wally world and run the boat a bit without the seat before I get it welded shut, just incase I decide to put it back in.

I ended up going with the US composites epoxy resin instead of the Coat It you suggested. So far it has worked well, but I've only mixed up one batch with the fairing compound to fill a few voids. I'll find out this weekend how good it works once I start coating the transom wood.


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## BigTerp (Aug 20, 2012)

Was able to get a bit done over the weekend. It was rainy, but Saturday ended up being a decent day to get some stuff done outside. The rest of the weekend I spent sanding and applying epoxy in our rec room. Even cleaned up the mess before my wife saw it!!

Got the bow and bench seat holes plugged, sanded and primed. Here is how the bow turned out. The rest turned out just as good.





Before





Got a good bit of the transom work knocked out as well. Here is the voids on the C side of the plywood that had to be filled.





Epoxy. Went with US Composites thin epoxy with medium hardener.





Voids filled and sanded. Had about 5 of these to do.





Used Titebond III for my wood glue. Pretty good stuff.





Glued, screwed and weighed down.





Wood cut to size. Isn't quite perfect, but should work just fine. It's just a hair short on one of the corners which may make getting a bolt through the transom wood a bit difficult. It is one of the top bolts above the waterline, so hopefully it won't be a problem.





First coat of epoxy resin. Stuff is pretty easy to work with. Was only able to get one coat on since I can only do one side at a time. The cooler weather over the weekend and having to let it cure inside at about 70 degrees really slowed down the cure time.


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## BigTerp (Aug 20, 2012)

I'll be sanding and finishing the final 2 coats of epoxy resin on the transom board over the next few days. Hopefully I can get that done before I leave for the beach on Thursday. My Harbor Freight air hammer is due to be delivered on Wednesday, so I'll have to wait until I get back from the beach to FINALLY be able to install the transom wood. Then I'll be able to get her on the water and she how she fishes. Should help me decide on my final plans.


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## mcateercustom (Aug 20, 2012)

Man it's looking great! Covered those holes nicely =D>


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## BigTerp (Aug 21, 2012)

mcateercustom said:


> Man it's looking great! Covered those holes nicely =D>



Thanks man!! It's slow going right now for sure. I just want to get this transom done and re-installed so I can fish her a few times and decide on my final plans for the winter.


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## mcateercustom (Aug 21, 2012)

Man I did the first coat on mine last night. I went to check it this evening and it's STILL tacky! What's your curing time?


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2012)

My curing time seems to at least 12 hours or so. Thats in my rec room at about 72 degrees. I put the second coat on one of the sides last night about 9:00. At 7:00 this morning it was cured. Still seems to have a sort of "film" on it, but I wouldn't call it tacky. What kind of epoxy are you using? Are you sanding in between coats? Giving the bottle of hardenenr a good shake before using?


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## mcateercustom (Aug 22, 2012)

Well maybe that's what it is, just a film. I am using US composites too and shaking real well it just felt kinda wierd. I had the feeling that if I put the sand paper to it it would gum up. I was thinking about not sanding any of because it won't be seen. Unless I need to sand it for adhesion purposes.


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2012)

Yep, it's almost like there is a bit of moisture hanging around on the top of the cured epoxy. I didn't really notice it until after my second coat. The epoxy is definitely hard and seems cured though. Yes, it will gum up your sand paper if you hit it to early. My one side wasn't quite there yet and I tried to sand and it gummed up the paper. I waited until the following evening and it was fine. I would suggest hitting it lightly with some 120 to help with adhesion, but I know some guys don't and it turns out fine. I have 2 coats, front and back, unsanded on mine currently. I'm heading away for the weekend tomorrow so we'll see what 5 days of cure time does. Keep in mind the dry and cure times are for 80 degrees. I have mine in my rec room at about 72. So I was expecting a bit longer cure time.

I plan to drill my mounting holes then applying one more coat of epoxy. Then it will be 2 coats of spar urethane on top of that for UV protection.


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## mcateercustom (Aug 22, 2012)

Sounds good man. I will probably sand a little like you said, sure wont hurt it none. Have a nice vacation man!


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## panFried (Aug 22, 2012)

Looks good Terp! Hopefully when you get back we can see how the new air hammer does! Starting my transom hell, I mean good times now.


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2012)

mcateercustom said:


> Sounds good man. I will probably sand a little like you said, sure wont hurt it none. Have a nice vacation man!



Thanks man. Just a quick trip to the beach with the inlaws. Will be looking forward to getting back so I can finish my transom. Good luck on getting yours finished up!!


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2012)

panFried said:


> Looks good Terp! Hopefully when you get back we can see how the new air hammer does! Starting my transom hell, I mean good times now.



Yeah man, my air hammer just came in today. Looking forward to giving it a test run on some non transom rivets I need to replace. Good luck with the transom work. It is a rather pain in the butt, but the way I figure it none of us will ever have to touch it again!!! I'm convinced the transom work is one of the more tedious and time consuming parts of alot of our projects.


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## mcateercustom (Aug 22, 2012)

I couldnt agree more!


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## mcateercustom (Aug 25, 2012)

Hey man is there a certain wire brush I need to use like how stiff/coarse or wil just any old wire brush on a grinder work?


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## Talons (Aug 25, 2012)

I like what I have seen you doing...

How has the 1/8 aluminum and 1/16 worked out for you?

On my build I want to use 1/16 for the flooring. I am leaning towards a diamond plate type. I found a 4'x8' sheet for $132 locally and they will cut it.

Did you ever figure out the center seat position and mounting system? I have that same problem.

Talons


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## BigTerp (Aug 26, 2012)

mcateercustom said:


> Hey man is there a certain wire brush I need to use like how stiff/coarse or wil just any old wire brush on a grinder work?



Not sure what your using it for, but I used a regular old wire brush to remove some of the corrosion I encountered. I found that regular 60 grit sandpaper worked better though. This was the only thing I used a wire brush for so far.


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## BigTerp (Aug 26, 2012)

Talons said:


> I like what I have seen you doing...
> 
> How has the 1/8 aluminum and 1/16 worked out for you?
> 
> ...



Thanks man. 

I haven't gotten far enough into my build yet to start purchasing my aluminum stock. That will probably be at least another month or so away. Do a search on aluminum flooring. I read a few were there seemed to be a minimum thickness before you started getting some flex. I don't remember exactly what that thickness was, but thats why I'm going with .125" for my deck and floor.

What I plan to do with my middle seat is to raise the floor up an inch or two with some angle or square across the ribs, if I even need to. I'll let you know how it works out once I get to that point.


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## BigTerp (Aug 29, 2012)

Got back from the beach on Sunday and was able to get the holes drilled in the transom wood and my 3rd and final coat of epoxy resin applied. Also started applying spar urethane which I plan to do 2-3 coats of. It feels like this damn transom has turned into my child. Have gone from watching it born, grow up and now I just want it out of my house!!!! Last night I got to play with my shiny new impact hammer and set a few rivets. Was alot easier than I thought it was going to be.

First coat of spar urethane. I'm planning on 2 maybe 3 coats for UV protection.






Tools of the trade. I didn't realize, until after I opened it, that you needed to use up the 5200 within 48 hours of opening or it will cure in the tube. Guess I'll have to pick up another tube since I won't be getting the transom put in until probably Monday.





Here is the first few rivets I set. This is sealing the holes that the PO used to mount his transducer. Man is that 5200 messy!!





Here is the inside of the transom with the same rivets. Seemed to be set pretty good. Not bad for a first timer.





A few more rivets I set. These are holding the gas tank holder in place.





Gas tank holder re-installed. Solid rivets are actually easier to work with than pop rivets IMO.





I've got a busy weekend ahead, so nothing exicting with the boat will be happening. I've had seaseon tickets to Maryland football ever since I gratuated ('04) and the season opener is Saturday. Then we are having a cookout on Sunday and will be closing the pool on Monday. Need to help my wife get the house cleaned and ready for the cookout. I'm in charge of the rec room which is a MESS since I've been epoxing and sanding in there for the last week :shock: Hopefully I can get my urethane coats done by tomorrow evening so I can have it ready to install on Monday. Then I'll give the 5200 a good week to cure and get this bad girl on the water for the first time!!!


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## BigTerp (Sep 4, 2012)

FINALLY finished up the transom work yesterday. I'm sure those of you who have done this type of work will agree that it is a long and tedious process. So I couldn't be happier than to be done with it!! Was a bit more expensive and time consuming than I had planned but I'm glad I went the route I did and shouldn't have to ever replace it again. Ended up with 3 coats of epoxy resin (6 on the cut edges) and 3 coats of spar urethane. Held in with stainless bolts, washers and nyloc nuts and solid rivets. All dabed with a bit of 3M 5200. A few tips for those about to tackle the same job.

-Local lumber yards have a much wider variety of wood than the big box stores. You'll likely find your marine or exterior grade plywood in the size you need much easier this way.
-Rough cut your wood, glue and THEN cut to size. Much easier to cut the final piece to size than trying to cut 2 seperate pieces exactly the same size. This also allows you to screw around the perimeter to "clamp" the wood while drying without putting holes in your final piece. It doesn't have to be perfect (mine certainly wasn't) but you want to try and get it as close to the original as possible.
-Epoxy resin is amazing stuff and easy to work with. I'm really glad I decided to epoxy my transom.
-Solid rivets are also really easy to work with. As long as you have an air compresser the tools needed are pretty inexpensive. I have about $30 in an air hammer and 2 different size rivet setting tools.
-A helper is indispensible when setting solid rivets. It's tough to try and use both the bucking bar and air hammer at the same time. It works, but having a partner makes it easier and quicker.
-3M 5200 is messy!!
-Do not drill your new transom holes from the old wood, use the actually transom as a template. What I did was had my wife hold the new wood up to the transom while I drilled the top 2 mounting holes. I then bolted them into place and then, using the existing holes in the hull itself, I drilled out the remainder of the holes. Everything then lined up really well. I did this after my second coat of epoxy. This allowed for the last coat of epoxy and the coats of urethane to seal up the holes a bit.
-Don't be afraid to drill holes in your boat. I had several rivet holes that were wobbled out from my less than perfect removal methods. I drilled them out to the next size and used the approiate rivet for that size hole. Worked great.
-Take a few pictures of the original transom and bracing before you remove it. I couldn't remember how a few pieces lined up but luckly I had taken pictures of the boat when I first brought her home. Was nice having that reference.

On to the pictures!!!


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## BigTerp (Sep 4, 2012)

Original transom after I brought the boat home and cleaned her up.





New transom. I'm actually rather impressed with how it turned out. Need to do a good leak test since I replaced about 30 or so rivets below the water line. I'll feel much better once I get that done.





Here is where I ran into a few problems. The bracing didn't quite line up with the original hull holes. No matter how hard I tried they just wouldn't line up. So I drilled new holes in the bracing by going through the original hull holes. This is were solid rivets really worked well!! I was concerned it wouldn't hold well and possibly leak, but the rivets filled in everything really nicely and it was super strong. I forgot to get a pic after I bucked the rivets, but will try and remember to get one this evening to show what I mean.





I'll say it again, man am I glad to be done with this!! Need to give the 5200 a good week to cure then I'll give her a leak test and try to get her on the water. Been having a few issues getting the trailer registered but the PO is helping me get that squared away. So hopefully that will get resolved sooner than later.

Won't be doing to much more work to her right now. I plan to fish and hunt her for a bit to get a better idea of EXACTLY what I want to do. This also gives me a chance to start gathering my materials for the rest of the build. Will probably end up being a mostly winter project with plans to be finished up by spring.


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## panFried (Sep 4, 2012)

Freakin awesome job! Looks really good.


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## BigTerp (Sep 4, 2012)

panFried said:


> Freakin awesome job! Looks really good.



Thanks man!! It was fun messing with epoxy resin for the first time and learning to install solid rivets, but I'm SO glad to be done with the transom. Honestly, I still can't believe I successfully pulled it off. The leak test will be the real test though. Hopefully everything stays dry!!

How is your transom work coming along??


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## Talons (Sep 4, 2012)

Great job! Looks fricking FANTASTIC!

Want to do mine? HA HA HA!

Talons


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## BigTerp (Sep 5, 2012)

Talons said:


> Great job! Looks fricking FANTASTIC!
> Talons



Thanks man!



Talons said:


> Want to do mine? HA HA HA!
> Talons



Not a chance!! [-X


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## cyberflexx (Sep 14, 2012)

Lookin Good! Check my build on how I did my decking with aluminum angle from Lowes. It was really solid and if it will hold me, it will hold you for sure...There is a link to it in my signature.


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## BigTerp (Oct 24, 2012)

cyberflexx said:


> Lookin Good! Check my build on how I did my decking with aluminum angle from Lowes. It was really solid and if it will hold me, it will hold you for sure...There is a link to it in my signature.



Thanks for the link. Haven't done anymore work since the transom. STILL having issues getting the boat and trailer registered. Hopefully everything will be squared away this week. Would like to get it out for duck/goose season next month. Probably will run her as is until the end of January when duck season closes. Then I can tear into her and get ready for some fishing. 

Actually took her out for a quick spin a few weeks ago to check my rivet work, no leaks!!, and to test the rinky dink 5hp motor I have. Everything went well and the motor actually pushed me and my buddy along much better than I thought. Will work until I can get the funds together for more hp. As we were loading my unregistered boat onto my untagged trailer a Maryland State Police Officer walked down the boat ramp and started to chat with me. Proceeded to ask if my boat was registered and I politely said "No, was just testing out the new motor". He said ok and walked away [-o< . Got lucky on that one. So obviously haven't had her out since.


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## Talons (Oct 24, 2012)

Yes you did get lucky on that one. In FL they are not as nice due to budgetary issues.

Talons


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## louisvillefisherman (Oct 26, 2012)

First post on this site but have been reading for a few months. I really enjoy watching all of your projects and have learned SO MUCH. Thank you to all. I will be starting my mods on my 1992 14' Grumman Aluminum this winter and plan to document it here. Looking forward to sharing it.

Now with my reason for posting to this particular thread:

BigTerp,

I am curious as to why you chose to rivet fill the holes from the transducer versus the JB Weld like you did on the bow? The JB looked perfect and I imagine it would be just as water tight if not more. I will need to fill a few holes in my boat myself and was just wondering if there is a specific reason for using rivets to hole fill versus the epoxy weld? 

Thanks for sharing!


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## BigTerp (Oct 26, 2012)

louisvillefisherman said:


> First post on this site but have been reading for a few months. I really enjoy watching all of your projects and have learned SO MUCH. Thank you to all. I will be starting my mods on my 1992 14' Grumman Aluminum this winter and plan to document it here. Looking forward to sharing it.
> 
> Now with my reason for posting to this particular thread:
> 
> ...



Good luck with your build!! Be sure to post pictures, helps us all come up with ideas.

JB Weld was used for old screw holes above the water line. Purely a cosmetic thing. The solid rivets with a bit of 3M 5200 was for holes below the water line. Solid rivets are probably the most water tight thing to do, besides welding. JB Weld would evenutally crack and leak do to the flex of the hull. Alot of guys on here use stainless nuts and bolts with 3M 5200 for holes below the water line with great results. I'm glad I used solid rivets though, piece of mind I guess and it looks factory. Solid rivets are actually MUCH easier to work with than you think. I installed all of them by myself, except for the 8 on the bottom of the hull. My arms aren't quite that long.


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## louisvillefisherman (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks BIgTerp for explaining that to me. I guess especially on the aft and transom there would be potential for flexing. I know when I ratchet my tie-down straps tight I see the aluminum flex a bit.

I will certainly be threading my progress on here.

Thanks again!


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## DaveInGA (Oct 26, 2012)

Looking good Terp. =D>


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## BigTerp (Oct 29, 2012)

louisvillefisherman said:


> Thanks BIgTerp for explaining that to me. I guess especially on the aft and transom there would be potential for flexing. I know when I ratchet my tie-down straps tight I see the aluminum flex a bit.
> 
> I will certainly be threading my progress on here.
> 
> Thanks again!



No problem. You'll have to do a search but I'm pretty sure I remember a few posts where guys were having issues with JB Weld cracking just from being constantly submerged. Add the flexing issue and you'll eventually have problems. Either way, not the best idea for holes below the water line. Like I said, a BUNCH of guys on here have used stainless nuts, bolts and washers with 3M 5200 with great success for holes below the water line. I'd go with that or solid rivets for a solid, worry free seal.


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## BigTerp (Oct 29, 2012)

DaveInGA said:


> Looking good Terp. =D>



Thanks man. Your guys help was indispensible during my transom replacement!!! I still can't believe how nicely it turned out, or that she actually holds water after all the holes I put in the hull :LOL2:


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## NextTopBassFisherman (Dec 23, 2012)

Have you gotten anymore done?


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## BigTerp (Jan 3, 2013)

NextTopBassFisherman said:


> Have you gotten anymore done?



I haven't done a thing since I replaced the transom. Been taking her out as is just about every weekend to waterfowl hunt. Already have some new/different ideas of how I want the boat to end up. Glad I didn't jump the gun and got the chance to use it a decent amount before I made any final decisions. Being on the water gives a much better perspective than staring at her in the driveway trying to figure out what you want to do.


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## panFried (Jan 3, 2013)

BigTerp said:


> I haven't done a thing since I replaced the transom. Been taking her out as is just about every weekend to waterfowl hunt. Already have some new/different ideas of how I want the boat to end up. Glad I didn't jump the gun and got the chance to use it a decent amount before I made any final decisions. Being on the water gives a much better perspective than staring at her in the driveway trying to figure out what you want to do.



Hmmm that's probably some of the best advice I've seen yet. Now that bow season is just about done for me, I'm itching to get going again. Happy New Year Terp! Looking forward to seein the plans. Do you think you'll have more of an open floor to accommodate the decoys?


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## BigTerp (Jan 7, 2013)

panFried said:


> BigTerp said:
> 
> 
> > I haven't done a thing since I replaced the transom. Been taking her out as is just about every weekend to waterfowl hunt. Already have some new/different ideas of how I want the boat to end up. Glad I didn't jump the gun and got the chance to use it a decent amount before I made any final decisions. Being on the water gives a much better perspective than staring at her in the driveway trying to figure out what you want to do.
> ...



Hey man, hows your build going? I haven't been on here much lately, so haven't had the chance to check yours out.

Yeah, I'm glad I have been able to get her out and get a better feel for the boat while on the water. My plans haven't really drastically changed other than I realized I don't need a bow mounted trolling motor (already have a transom mount style), while nice it would be more of a luxury item for me at this point, and with the water I run I'm not concerned about getting a bilge pump. Been kicking around the idea of a rod/gun locker, but I don't want to encroach on the existing floor space. It did help to confirm some of the ideas I had like removing the middle bench and getting some flooring put in with a nice anti-skid (grizzly grip) applied (wet/frozen aluminum at 4:30 a.m. is pretty darn slippery!!), I have the bruise and knot on my right shin from this past Saturday to prove it.

Yes, I'm definitely taking out the middle bench in favor of a pin mounted seat. Should open up the floor nicely for gear during hunting season and easier travel from stern to bow during fishing time. Still planning on slightly extending the front deck to allow for some under deck storage and another pin mounted seat. Plan to add yet another pin mounted seat on the rear bench and deck from there back to the transom. Also planning on creating storage on both sides of the seat in the rear bench. Other than aluminum flooring, interior lights, radio, switch panel, sonar (that my lovely wife got me for christmas) and a new paint job that's about all I see myself doing. 

At this point I'm not really in to much of a rush to get all of this done. I still believe the hard part (transom replacement) is behind me. But I'd like to have it all done by early to mid summer.


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## BigTerp (Jan 7, 2013)

One thing I forget to add is that I'm thinking of a bigger motor. I think I mentioned in this thread before that I got ahold of my grandfathers 1965 Johnson 5hp. Thing was mint under the hood and runs like a champ. It pushes the boat full of hunting gear with 3 guys (260, 250 and 210) up river, albeit rather slowly. The nice thing about the little 5hp is that I can go full throtle through the really skinny parts of the river and just let the motor bounce off the rocks. Everyone else I see up my way is running a jet. A jet is not in the budget and I'm thinking a larger hp motor would be much easier to mess up running in shallow water like we have. I might take the plunge on one if I can find something for really cheap that needs some work. Thinking of 15-25hp.


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## panFried (Jan 7, 2013)

Yeah, I haven't done anything since September. I built a barn, 3 food plots and I did a lot of hunting this year. Once I close up the cabin this month, Ill be back on the rebuild. I want to be on the water for Spring '13.


BigTerp said:


> ...Been kicking around the idea of a rod/gun locker, but I don't want to encroach on the existing floor space. It did help to confirm some of the ideas I had like removing the middle bench and getting some flooring put in with a nice anti-skid (grizzly grip) applied (wet/frozen aluminum at 4:30 a.m. is pretty darn slippery!!), I have the bruise and knot on my right shin from this past Saturday to prove it...


I am thinking about having an open floor plan and lockers as well. I ran across another post from Bigwave and hes building some now. You might find it helpful, so check his post out and let me know if this helps. [Bigwave's Rod Lockers]
Let me know or keep us posted about the anti skid solution you come up with, I'm interested. I was thinking about just adding sand to my paint mix, but I'm all about easier solutions.


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## BigTerp (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks for the link. I like what Bigwave did with those lockers. But I don't like how they intrude into the floor space, which seems inevitiable. I may revisit this idea once I get back into my build, but for now I'm going to pass on the rod/gun locker idea.

For the anti-skid I'm going with grizzly grip. https://www.grizzlygrip.com/

Probably a bit more involved and more expensive than just paint with sand since they reccommend you use their primer. But since I'm using aluminum I'd have to primer either way. I emailed them awhile back asking for samples. They sent me several tiles of different colors with the different options they had (fine, course, etc.). I was rather impressed with it which is what convinced me to go with it. I also had some samples of Hydroturf sent to me. It was nice and seemed like it would be comfortable for bare feet in the summer, but didn't seem very durable. Plus for my boat, I'm planning on doing some sort of camo pattern by painting the grizzly grip with some sort of camo stencil.


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## panFried (Jan 9, 2013)

Nice! Ill have to check grizzly grip out.


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## BigTerp (Jan 10, 2013)

Since this thread is somewhat alive again, I wanted to see if any of you had some ideas for me. Starting to get back into the planning stages now that I have a solid idea of what I want to do.

1. Looking for some kind of interior led lighting. Don't need anything super bright, but something to nicely light the floor of the boat and to keep me from using a headlamp when night fishing or putting out decoys at 4 in the morning. I'm planning on running aluminum sheet up to the gunwale. So I'll have a nice mounting surface for some lights. Just not sure what kind to get. Anyone have some installed they are happy with?

2. I'm planning on having storage area under the rear bench (on both sides of the pin mounted seat) and under the front deck. Trying to figure out what I'm going to do for hatches. I orginally was going to use the spare aluminum from my floor/deck, but not sure how to go about making a decent hatch out of it. Looked into the tempress hatches, which are nice, but a bit expensive. I'm thinking I can make hatches for a fraction of the cost, just need some instruction/guidance.

3. I ran across this mp3 player on Amazon. I originally planned on installing a stereo head unit, but this thing would save some space by not having to mount a head unit. Mp3 is all I need anyway. Anyone have experience with something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLMRKT2A-2-Channel-Waterproof-Amplified/dp/B003GSLDUO/ref=sr_1_15?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1357833038&sr=1-15&keywords=waterproof+radio+for+boat

4. Still having trouble locating some aluminum angle. Everyone has the 6061 which I've seen cause problems with making things square. I'm looking for the 6063. My local metal shop can order some in, but that will probably get a bit expensive. I've seen some builds on here were guys used angle from Lowes. They carry the 6063? Good idea?

Thanks for all the help so far!! Can't wait to really tear into this thing and get it the way I want.


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## BigTerp (Jan 23, 2013)

So after waterfowl hunting out of this boat around 10 times or so this year, I've got a pretty good handle on what I want to get accomplished with it this spring. Apparently so does my buddy. He picked up a 1994 50/35 Johnson jet drive over the weekend for next to nothing. It needs a minor rebuild, but other than that is in great shape. I guess he got tired of the old '65 5hp Johnson we were using all winter. Great motor by the way, just a tad under powered at 5hp :? I haven't got the chance to check it out yet, but plan to stop over at my buddies tomorrow to get a look. I'll try to remember to grab some pics.

Even though this will involve more $ and more work, it's got me excited again to get back to working on my boat. Plan on making it a stick steer and keeping all my other most recent plans for the boat. Looks like I'll be needing to make a jack plate for the motor. But other than that, shouldn't be to terribly much extra work..............I hope!!


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## BigTerp (Jan 25, 2013)

Got the chance to check out the jet last night. It seems to be in good overall shape. Needs new pistons, bearings etc. which was expected. Need to get into the lower unit and hope for no surprises. If the lower unit is in good shape, I'd say we got a steal for $300. My buddy is a mechanical engineer, so he'll be tackling this rebuild with my help (mostly just to keep the beer cold and ready). Forgot to get a few pictures, but I'll grab some as we tackle the rebuild.

Question......I'm going to have to raise this motor 5-6" on the transom to get the jet foot where it needs to be. Whats the best way to do this? I'm trying to decide between a manual (homemade) jack plate, or just raising the transom. I like the idea of being able to fine tune the motor height with a jack plate but am concerned about the stress it will put on my transom. Motor weighs roughly 200#, but I did just redo my transom, so I know it's solid.


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## T Man (Jan 25, 2013)

Terp, get goin on this thing already! 

Personally I think you should go the jack plate route. This will not only let you fine tune the motor height, but give you the option to easily re-power in the future.


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## JMichael (Jan 25, 2013)

Boat is looking good. I read what you said about the 5200 not lasting 48 hours and just wanted to say you must not have gotten it sealed right when you put it away. I've got some that I opened last spring and only used about half of and the tube is just as soft right now as the day I bought it. A trick I like to use on tubes like that is to only cut a little off the plastic applicator tip so the hole is small. When I get done, I get a smooth shank nail that has a larger diameter than the hole. Then I squeeze the tube until all the air is out and glue starts coming out. Then force the nail in the tip. As long as there is no air in the tube when you seal it up and your seal is tight, it should keep.


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## BigTerp (Jan 26, 2013)

T Man said:


> Terp, get goin on this thing already!
> 
> Personally I think you should go the jack plate route. This will not only let you fine tune the motor height, but give you the option to easily re-power in the future.



HA!! I'd like to, but it hasn't touched 30 degrees in the last 2 weeks here and we just got another few inches on snow today. Great for the ducks, but not so much for boat work. Plus, as soon as I cut out my middle bench my boat will be land bound until I get the livewell drain welded. Can't have that during duck season. My buddy has enough room in his garage to work on the motor in the time being though.

How is yours coming along? Haven't been over to check it out lately. I was wondering what you were going to do for hatches and lids. But I think I'm going to just bite the bullet and get some Tempress hatches. 

I'm leaning towards the jack plate. Good point on re-powering down the road!!


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## BigTerp (Jan 26, 2013)

JMichael said:


> Boat is looking good. I read what you said about the 5200 not lasting 48 hours and just wanted to say you must not have gotten it sealed right when you put it away. I've got some that I opened last spring and only used about half of and the tube is just as soft right now as the day I bought it. A trick I like to use on tubes like that is to only cut a little off the plastic applicator tip so the hole is small. When I get done, I get a smooth shank nail that has a larger diameter than the hole. Then I squeeze the tube until all the air is out and glue starts coming out. Then force the nail in the tip. As long as there is no air in the tube when you seal it up and your seal is tight, it should keep.



Yeah, I think I just got lazy and carelessly sealed it up after I read on the tube it doesn't last more than 48 hours after opening.


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## JoshKeller (Jan 26, 2013)

SON OF A! your buddy was the guy who bought that jet off craigslist. I was next in line if he didnt take it. 

Also, not too sure what grade aluminum i used, but I just made an entire frame for the front of my new 1648 with about $40 of aluminum angle from tractor supply.


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## T Man (Jan 26, 2013)

BigTerp said:


> T Man said:
> 
> 
> > Terp, get goin on this thing already!
> ...




Mine is still in progress. I havent put up any pictures since I finished the front and rear decks. I need to get a floor in, and cut my rear hatches out for my rear storage. I would recommend going the store bought hatch route. I tried to make my own and was unhappy This spring sometime I am going to re-do my front deck to get my hatch openings the way I would like them. 


I took my girlfriend out and fished for the first time this year and found an 8" long crack where the transom meets the floor of my boat. I am thinking this is from when I was breaking ice with it a few weeks ago. Cleaned it, scuffed it and am hoping 5200 will do the trick. If not I have to pull the motor and gut the boat so my welder can flip it and weld it. Its always something when you buy a hole in the water.


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## panFried (Jan 26, 2013)

Tman that doesn't sound good and I think putting 5200 on an 8 in crack is like sealing the Hoover damn with bubble gum! Well maybe not that bad but I think that has welding skills written all over it.


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## BigTerp (Jan 28, 2013)

JoshKeller said:


> SON OF A! your buddy was the guy who bought that jet off craigslist. I was next in line if he didnt take it.
> 
> Also, not too sure what grade aluminum i used, but I just made an entire frame for the front of my new 1648 with about $40 of aluminum angle from tractor supply.



Thanks!! I haven't checked out any of the local big box stores, but I'll have to take a look. Here is the difference between 6063 and 6061. You can see why i want to use 6063.

https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=61&step=2


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## BigTerp (Jan 28, 2013)

That sucks about the crack Tman!! Let me know how it works out.

I'm thinking the same thing with the hatches. I can also get store bought with a nice matching liner if I want. Just seems like less of a headache and will probably turn out much nicer than if I tried to make my own.


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## Ranchero50 (Jan 28, 2013)

BigTerp said:


> Hi Jamie,
> 
> With duck season out and goose season winding down I'm getting closer to tearing into my boat. I'm still planning on removing my bench seat and will need the livewell hole welded, but I now have another sort of problem. My buddy picked up a 1994 50/35 Johnson jet that we are going to rebuild. I know, it's not a sweet inboard like yours, but it'll be MUCH better than my current 1965 5hp Johnson!! My problem is I have a 15" transom and need to raise it a good 5-6" to accomodate the new motor. I'm thinking some sort of transom riser would be better/safer than a jackplate. What's your opinion? Have you ever dealt with raising a transom? I would think some combination of aluminum and plywood would suffice, but I've never done anything like this. Would this be something you can/would be willing to help me do? I'm sure portions of the aluminum would need to be welded. If this is something that seems feasible to you, once I get a plan in place you could let me know how much your welding/fabrication would cost. Just trying to get it figured out how to get this motor on my boat.
> 
> ...



I've raised one, it's not a terrible job and since you've already been into the transom once it should go faster. To prep it just use a shallow set skill saw to rip cut the weld where the corner caps meet the gunnel extrusions and cut across the transom cap just below the cap bend. It'll be very loud so wear ear plugs and safety glasses. Remove your wood and make a new taller transom support with a 18-24" wide flat cap 5" higher than the old and angles to the gunnel height and bolt it in place. Next, use an engine crane to set the motor on the transom and verify that your intake front lip is flush to .5" above the bottom of the hull. Use a broom handle or something similar against the hull as an extension. If everything looks good and your controls clear the new transom just transfer the transom wood or draw it out on a sheet of 12ga aluminum. Add an inch or two to the bottom for an overlap and have a local sheet metal shop bend a new top cap and have them do the same for some longer corner caps (usually half way up the incline works well). I'll be on days again in a week or two and can stop by some evening on the way home if you want some help or ideas. 

Jamie


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## BigTerp (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks Jamie. I'll let you know what I get worked out.


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## jph84 (Feb 3, 2013)

im in the same place you where with your transom..... you did a fine job. mine is to the first i have done. i have every thing out and clean! 

im not to sure on what rivets and rivet gun to go with....i will also be using a few on the hull to replace some that are old and shot.

what size rivet and what type rivet gun did you use. i didn't see it listed in your transom work.

many thanks in advance.

cheers. 

JPH


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## BigTerp (Feb 4, 2013)

I used this air hammer from harbor freight.

https://www.harborfreight.com/super-duty-air-hammer-with-chisels-47868.html

And this rivet setting tool. This is for brazier head rivets, yours may be different.

https://www.handsontools.com/Ajax-1611-14-Mod-Brazier-Head-Rivet-Set_p_8794.html

I don't remember the size rivets I used. For you it will depend on the size of your current rivets. Measure the river holes and the length rivet you need and you have your size. Be sure to get some that are a size bigger to. These will be for holes that are a bit walloed out. You can drill those holes to size and use the larger rivets.


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## BigTerp (Mar 27, 2013)

Just a quick update. I've STILL gotten nothing done with the boat. Truth be told I've been waiting since September to get the boat and trailer registered. Long story short is that the paperwork from the PO was severly out of whack. The PO has done ALOT of work to get things squared away and I finally got confirmation from her that she has new titles in hand and will be mailing them to me this week. I can't believe how helpfull she has been, especially since it was no longer her problem. Hopefully I can get to the DMV on Saturday and *FINALLY* get everything transferred to my name and legal. Yes, I used the boat quite a bit during waterfowl season while it was unregistered. Pretty dumb move, but I have private river access in a secluded part of the river so I just stayed close to home and somehow got lucky and avoided a ticket from Mr. Green Jeans [-X . It would have been way to hard to let her sit in the driveway for 6 months :lol: This was part of the reason I haven't torn into her yet. I was afraid the registration issues wouldn't get resolved and I'd have to sell her  . The weather hasn't been very helpfull either. We just got 6" of snow the first part of the week.

I'm hoping to get things registered and legal this Saturday. If I can get that squared away I will immediately be removing my middle bench seat and getting some solid measurements for the amount of aluminum stock I'll be needing. Will also go ahead and get the outside hull cleaned, prepped and painted with my base coat once the weather cooperates. 

My buddy and I had the chance to tear apart the jet the other week. It's in pretty good shape minus the powerhead, which was expected. It is heading to the shop, hopefully this week, to have the cylinders bored out to .30 over and getting new piston sets. Other than a few minor things that need replaced the only other thing that needs attention is the water pump assembly. That will be replaced during the rebuild.

Things should start moving fairly rapidly from here on out. Would like to have her ready to chase some smallmouths, catfish and muskies by late spring/early summer. Hope to have some updated pictures to share shortly!!


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## BigTerp (Mar 27, 2013)

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be doing for the captains seat. I have a thread in the boat house that maybe one of you guys could help me with some answers.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29825


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## BigTerp (Apr 29, 2013)

Was FINALLY able to get the boat title transferred in my name last week after being at the DMV for over 2 hours. Such a relief!! This weekend my wife and I took the boat out to gather some river rocks for a little garden project we have going on and take one last ride before I really start tearing into her. Managed to shear 2 pins in the 5hp Johnson and broke the pin on my trailer jack as well. It was an interesting day.

Anyway, yesterday I took the step of no return by removing my middle bench seat. Was a pretty straight forward and simple job. It really opened the boat up like I was hoping it would. Now I'm just waiting to get the livewell drain hole welded closed before I paint the hull. My plan is to take the boat off the trailer and flip her so I can prep and paint the bottom hull up to the gunwales. This way everything else should be able to be done with the boat on the trailer. Getting lights and seat mounts ordered today. Once my buddy can help me confirm some measurements I'll be getting my aluminum stock ordered as well. Stay tuned..........


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## BigTerp (May 6, 2013)

With help from Jamie (Ranchero50) I got my livewell hole and rivet holes from my bench removal welded closed over the weekend. Thanks again Jamie!!! He did an awesome job. I have pictures of his work, but Photobucket is now blocked on my work computer :x I'll try and get them up from home.

Next step is to get the boat off the trailer and flipped so I can prep and paint the outside of the hull. Also got my measurements for the amount of aluminum angle and sheet I'll need. Will be getting all that ordered soon. I have a busy month, but hopefully I can make some major progress in the next few weeks. Been a long time coming!!!


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## BigTerp (Jun 4, 2013)

A few shots of the work Ranchero50 did. I had originally planned on him only to weld the livewell drain hole shut, but he went ahead and welded up all the rivet holes for me as well. Much easier than me having to replace 22 solid rivets. And he did an awesome job!!!

The bottom weld second from the left was where the livewell drain hole was. Ranchero50 left it nice and thick since the hole was rather large. This is looking at the starboard side from inside the boat.






Outside starborad view. I've since added a bit of 5200 to each side of the welds. Just for a bit of insurance.





Outside starboard view after removing the bench and before Ranchero50 worked his magic.





A little better view of how nicely removing the middle bench opened up the boat.





Another view. I'll be extending the bow deck back about 18" or so.





Removing the middle bench definitely allows a bit of flex at the gunwales, but nothing bad at all. Once I tie in my floor and deck it should solid things back up. I'd suggest anyone else considering this mode that they make sure there ribs are spaced out evenly like mine are. If there was a rib missing due to the middle bench, my bench would more than likely be going back in.


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## panFried (Jun 4, 2013)

Nice! I'd love to do same thing except my LW is in middle floor. I just need to get thing in water first. Awesome job! That will get you atleast 10 more decoys in there


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## BigTerp (Jun 4, 2013)

I know I've been leading you all on like a prom date, but things are starting to come along. I had my paint delivered last week. I'm going with Parker duck boat paint in sand tan as the base for my camo stencil work. Once I can get enough man power to help me get the boat off the trailer and flipped on to some sawhorses I can begin getting the hull prepped for paint. Hopefully I can get that accomplished this week. I also have the following clogging up my rec room and shed. And if I don't get this project underway and get all this junk out of the way, my wife isn't going to be a happy camper [-X 

- 72' of 1" x 1" Aluminum Angle
- 2 Sheets of 5' x 10' .125" Aluminum Sheet (deck and floor)
- Noco Gen 2 Charger (this thing looks pretty nice)
- 1 gallon + 1 quart of Parker Duck Boat Patin
- LED NAV Lights and Interior Lights From Oznium.com
- Tracker pro series foot controlled trolling motor
- Lowrance X-4

The powerhead for the 50/35 Johnson jet finally made it's way to the motor guy who is boring out the cylinders and ordering new pistons. Hopefully my buddy and I can get this thing back together and running soon.

Still need to order the following:

- Pedestal and base x 2 (pin type)
- Pedestal and base (captains seat)
- Seats x 3
- Tempress hatches x 3
- Dual purpose marine battery (starter and accessories)
- Deep cycle battery (trolling motor)
- MP3 Stereo
- Marine switch panel
- LED anchor light
- Closed cell foam (for under floor)

I'm sure they will be a few more odds and ends that I'll need but this is the bulk of stuff I still need to get. Hopefully I'll be able to update this thread more frequently as things progress. Wish me luck!!!!


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## BigTerp (Jun 4, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=317311#p317311 said:


> panFried » 9 minutes ago[/url]"]Nice! I'd love to do same thing except my LW is in middle floor. I just need to get thing in water first. Awesome job! That will get you atleast 10 more decoys in there



I hear ya. My livewell was built into the middle bench. It would be more of a bait well though because it is pretty small. I don't really have a need for a livewell, and if I find I do I'll probably just do a cooler mod to take along as needed. I'll be slapping a solid, fixed height pedestal somewhere around where the middle bench was. Should still allow for room on each side for decoy bags, guns, gear, etc. I'm excited to get moving with this thing!!


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## panFried (Jun 4, 2013)

Ru planning on a gun box? Why did you decide on Parker paints?


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## BigTerp (Jun 4, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=317352#p317352 said:


> panFried » Today, 2:37 pm[/url]"]Ru planning on a gun box? Why did you decide on Parker paints?



No gun box. We use soft floating gun cases, and I think a gun box would just intrude into the floor space to much. I ended up ordering a gallon and a quart of the sand tan Parker duck boat paint. Might not be quite enough, but should get most of the job done. May have to order another quart down the road. I was looking around forever at the local big box stores but no one would tint oil based enamel. And I couldn't find anything even close to the color I wanted, so I went with the Parker. The sand tan was exactly what I was looking for. I've heard good things about the Parker duck boat paint and it is pretty reasonably priced.


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## hercdrvrwo (Jun 6, 2013)

On Parkers....bottom line -- if you cammo your boat -- its the way to go. The only one out there with the truly flat colors needed to blend in during duck season! Its a great product. My boat is a testament to that! The only pain that has maintained is the Parkers!

Cheers
Herc


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## BigTerp (Jun 6, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=317663#p317663 said:


> hercdrvrwo » Today, 2:19 pm[/url]"]On Parkers....bottom line -- if you cammo your boat -- its the way to go. The only one out there with the truly flat colors needed to blend in during duck season! Its a great product. My boat is a testament to that! The only pain that has maintained is the Parkers!
> 
> Cheers
> Herc



Good to hear. What do you reccommend for the stencil work? I know Parkers makes rattle cans in camo colors. Was originally going to just pick up some Rustoleum or Krylon spray cans for my stencil work. Maybe I should stick with the Parkers for the stencil work as well?


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## hercdrvrwo (Jun 6, 2013)

What I do is this -- just like you, I used Gallon cans of Paint and hand paint it on after I put on a primer. Remember to get a flat primer (seems weird but some that say flat actually have some shine to it). Then I use Rattle Cans, PVC Pipe & Leaves/branches from the yard....I start with my lightest colors first tans, then move onto hunter greens (even if my boat is green -- it adds depth) then browns (same thing) and blacks. I typically use a big oak leaf or fern for my blacks and am very conservative with black-- too much and it turns into a dark hole, creates too much contrast. Finally I do one more light round with pine needles for a tan again -- depth!

This also happens to be the technique taught at survival school and most other schools. Next time you have a few extra bucks, pick up a rattle can of Walmart special flat black and the check it out against Parker's black...when you hold it up to the light -- you'll see a shine on the Walmart flat black and nothing on Parkers! BL: Its good Stuff!

Cheers
Herc


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## wwcenturion (Jun 7, 2013)

I used a ratcheting strap to lift the bow up from the trailer and then lifted the stern by the grab handles to flip her over back onto the trailer for painting. Good luck.


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## panFried (Jun 7, 2013)

I used my wife! Lots of whining but she gets the job done.


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## bigwave (Jun 7, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=317768#p317768 said:


> panFried » 33 minutes ago[/url]"]I used my wife! Lots of whining but she gets the job done.


Now thats funny Panfried....... :lol:


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## BigTerp (Jun 7, 2013)

Thanks for the tips.

We are doing a float trip down the river tomorrow, so I should have a couple guys willing to help me get her flipped.


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## JoshKeller (Jun 8, 2013)

did you figure out the cause as to why the motor blew? Dont rebuild it until you do, otherwise, itll happen again.


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## BigTerp (Jun 10, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=317918#p317918 said:


> JoshKeller » June 8th, 2013, 8:59 am[/url]"]did you figure out the cause as to why the motor blew? Dont rebuild it until you do, otherwise, itll happen again.



The best guess we have, (my buddy is a mechanical engineer and he and a few of his colleagues agree), is that there was a gasket fail and water got into the cylinder causing a piston to hydrolock. The piston actually has a crack the entire width of the head. It was also rebuilt at some point in time, because one of the pistons was marked as .030, meaning that cylinder had already been bored out. But they only did one of the cylinders. So whoever attempted the last rebuild did a [email protected]#$ job of it. Most likely why it failed again. It also looks like the PO ran the living crap out of it. Maybe after it blew and he was just trying to get back to the dock. Either way, it's getting a full proper rebuild. Since it's already been done once though, this will be our first and last attempt. If it ever blows again it will be time for a new powerhead.


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## JoshKeller (Jun 14, 2013)

check the carbs, thermostats, water passages and timing and you should be good to go.


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## BigTerp (Jun 17, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=318824#p318824 said:


> JoshKeller » June 14th, 2013, 11:22 pm[/url]"]check the carbs, thermostats, water passages and timing and you should be good to go.



Carbs and exhaust/water passages look good, as well as most everything else. We'll clean up the carbs before putting everything back together. Will need a new water pump, gasket kit and plugs. Hopefully that'll be the extent of what needs replaced. Time will only tell though.


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## BigTerp (Jun 17, 2013)

Got her flipped over and on sawhorses last weekend. Was pretty easy with three guys.






Was able to get some prep work done this past saturday. Sanded all the flaking paint and bare spots with 200 grit paper and a palm sander. Also sanded the entire hull with the same 200 grit paper. Got most of the old adhesive gunk off from the PO's old numbers and registration stickers. Gave everything a good pressure washing. Going to hit everything again lightly with some lighter grit paper this week then get all the bare spots covered with some self etching primer. Calling for good weather this weekend, so hopefully I can get my paint laid and have her back on the trailer by this time next week. 

Also had the chance to get the motor cowl cleaned up and ready for paint. It was quite the pain in the butt getting the old adhesive off. Got most of it, which is good enough works for me. Still need to do the other side though. I'm only painting the cowl and leaving the rest of the motor as is black.





Before she goes back on the trailer I'm going to remove my fenders and drop the bunks and rollers as low as they will go. Once it's back on the trailer I can assess how much, if any, of a spacer I need to get the fenders back on. 

Been SLOW going, but we are starting to get there.


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## bigwave (Jun 17, 2013)

Looking good, the next time I do a tinboat, I will skip the paint removal......rough sand like you did, acetone wash and then prime for new paint. I really dont feel it is necessary to go all the way back to bare aluminum. I am assuming that your doing a camo job right?


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## BigTerp (Jun 17, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319064#p319064 said:


> bigwave » Today, 8:59 am[/url]"]Looking good, the next time I do a tinboat, I will skip the paint removal......rough sand like you did, acetone wash and then prime for new paint. I really dont feel it is necessary to go all the way back to bare aluminum. I am assuming that your doing a camo job right?



Yeah, I never wanted the headache of scraping, sanding and using paint stripper to remove all the old paint. My boat is 17 years old, and I'm sure never stored under cover, and the old paint is still holding strong. Just rather faded. The only places it is worn away is where there was obvious rock strikes, which is mostly on the bottom of the hull and the keel.

Yes, I'm doing a camo job. Base coat of a sand/tan color and then stencil work with this pattern. 

https://www.camostencil.com/Ambush-GroundCover.html

I just got the stencils in the mail last week. I'm going for something similar to the cooler you see on the page I linked.


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## bigwave (Jun 17, 2013)

I like the look of that camo......I wanted to do my boat in camo in the beginning. There is no reason to have camo here where I live since there are very few ducks to shoot at....however I would love to go for the bluewater pattern just because I like it.


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## BigTerp (Jun 17, 2013)

The different open water patterns I have seen looked REAL sharp. I rarely hunt out of a boat though. Mostly hunting off of islands in the river. Am trying to go with something that will hide the boat well when it's beached on the bank. But not be scorching hot while fishing in the middle of summer.


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## panFried (Jun 20, 2013)

Terp, when you installed the rivets, did you place 5200 on the heads or as is?


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## BigTerp (Jun 20, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319490#p319490 said:


> panFried » 21 minutes ago[/url]"]Terp, when you installed the rivets, did you place 5200 on the heads or as is?



I put a bit around the "shaft" of my solid rivets. Once you push them through the hole the 5200 creates a nice seal in the hole and around the heads. A little goes a long way though. The first few rivets I set I put a bit to much 5200 on them and as I was setting them alot of the 5200 came out around the head. So much that some of it even ran a bit before it cured. I used the non cotton end of some small cotton applicators to apply my 5200 around the rivet shafts. A tongue depresser or something similar would work well also. All turned out very good.


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## BigTerp (Jun 24, 2013)

Was able to get a bit accomplished over the weekend. My buddy brought over his HVLP gun and we got the outisde hull painted with the base coat. Spraying it was definitly the way to go. Turned out as well as I was hoping it would. We thinned the Parkers duck boat paint with about 15% paint thinner. Ended up using about 1/2 gallon of paint. I have an extra quart, so hopefully that plus the 1/2 gallon will be enough to do the rest.

Sanded and ready for primer. Used a palm sander and 220 grit paper to rough up the existing paint and smooth out all the bare aluminum spots.






Primed and ready for paint. Had 3 cans of self etching primer which wasn't quite enough. There were a few spots on the middle bottom of the hull that could have used some primer. I figure those spots won't be seen and are going to get dinged up rather quickly anyway.





Painted!! I'm extremely happy with how well it turned out. A new paint job REALLY makes a difference.










Got her back on the trailer last night after I lowered my bunks all the way down. Need to adjust my bow and stern rollers as well as the side bunks. Sits nicely lower on the trailer now. Didn't realize how high it was before. Should make loading/unloading a bit easier now.

FINALLY feel like I"m making some progress. Now I just need to find the time to get my aluminum cut and sized for my floor and deck. Hopefully can get moving and get her done sooner than later!!


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## panFried (Jun 24, 2013)

Are you putting 2 coats on? I was planning to roll exterior and spray interior. But... it sounds like 1 gallon might not be enough? I have 1636... Hmmm.


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## BigTerp (Jun 24, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319962#p319962 said:


> panFried » 14 minutes ago[/url]"]Are you putting 2 coats on? I was planning to roll exterior and spray interior. But... it sounds like 1 gallon might not be enough? I have 1636... Hmmm.



It got 2 coats already. I'm not sure if rolling uses more or less paint than spraying. There is alot of overspray when spraying with the HVLP gun, but we also thinned the paint so it would spray better which makes the paint go further as well. I would guess 1 gallon is going to be enough to do yours. If not, it should be pretty darn close.


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## panFried (Jun 24, 2013)

Thanks BT! I may put in order for a quart just for security. There's always touch ups. Boat looks really good. How did it dry out. Flat like you expected? I wasn't sure if thinner caused it to glossy as paper work suggested.


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## BigTerp (Jun 24, 2013)

Yeah, it is nice and flat. Parkers actually reccomends thinning with paint thinner or turpentine to keep it flat. Can says to NOT thin with linseed oil as it will produce a glossy finish.


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## bigwave (Jun 24, 2013)

Looking good Big terp...... =D>


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## BigTerp (Jun 24, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=320011#p320011 said:


> bigwave » 48 minutes ago[/url]"]Looking good Big terp...... =D>



Thanks!! After looking at the faded and spot primered old paint for almost a year now, the new paint job makes her look like a new boat. I'm more than happy with how it turned out.

Still have a few things to pick up to get things finished. Need to get batteries, seat bases, wire and foam for under the floor. Have everything pretty well planned out and ready to go. The only thing I still need to get figured out is how I'm going to raise my transom to accomodate my 50/35 Johnson Jet. Needs to be raised about 6" or so. Thinking of making some sort of bolt on riser.


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## BigTerp (Jun 25, 2013)

Adjusted my bunks, stern roller, bow roller and winch assembly last night. She sits so much better on the trailer now. The PO had all the bunks, rollers etc. set on the highest bolt holes. I lowered everything down as far as I was able to. Boat should ride better and load/unload easier. Need to reinstall and adjust my fenders and side bunks. Going to wait until after the camo stenciling is done though.











Ordering my captains seat and pin mount seat bases today. Next up is to get the floor cutout and framing installed for the floor and deck. Heading on a camping trip over the holiday, so might not get much done until after that. Planning on using large pieces of carboard to make a template for my floor/deck. What have you guys done that's worked well for templating the floor/deck?


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## panFried (Jun 25, 2013)

Looking good! Looks brand new


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## catmansteve (Jun 30, 2013)

Looking sharp man! How much paint did you end up using on the outside for two coats, half a gallon? I'm going to roll and tip the outside of mine so I'll probably use a little more paint, but I think a gallon will be plenty then.


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## BigTerp (Jul 1, 2013)

Thanks guys!! The pictures actually don't do it justice. The lens on my phones camera is pretty scratched up, making pictures look hazy. I ordered and put a new one on over the weekend. Takes MUCH better pictures now. I'll have to get some better ones up when I get the chance.

Catmansteve - I used right about 1/2 gallon, maybe a hair more. It was thinned with about 15% paint thinner so it would come out of the gun better. Did 2 good coats, and some touch ups on heavy use areas (rails, transom bottom, etc.) I would say 1 gallon should be plenty for you to do 2 coats with a roller. What paint are you using?


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## BigTerp (Jul 1, 2013)

Picked up 2 batteries for my project. An Exide group 27 dual purpose for my cranking and accessories battery, and an Everstart group 27 deep cycle for my trolling motor. Waiting on my captains seat and pin seat mounts to come in. Only a few things left I need to get, switch panel, radio, anti-skid for my floor paint and all my electric stuff. Hopefully I can get my buddy to help me get the deck framed out and floor cut within the next few weeks. Anxious to get this done!!


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## catmansteve (Jul 1, 2013)

I'm considering going with Rustoleum Topside. Navy gloss on the outside and light grey non skid inside. What are you doing for your floor?


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## BigTerp (Jul 2, 2013)

I've heard good things about the Topside paint. Never used it myself though. Those colors should look good together as well. The grey will be nice and cool during the summer. As long as you don't go with navy and yellow/gold (WVU) I won't complain. :lol: 

I'm using the same Parkers duck boat paint for my entire boat. I'll be laying .125" thick aluminum sheet for my floor and front deck. Everything that will be a walking surface (floor, front deck, tiny elevated bow deck, rear bench and rear deck) will be getting a coat of the Parkers then sprinkled with SoftSand and then topcoated with the Parkers.

https://www.softsandrubber.com/

Not sure if I'm going to go with the softsand or their asper grit. I need something that will provide decent grip during sub freezing hunting conditions, but also something that will be soft enough to not tear up hunting waders or bare skin during fishing season.


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## catmansteve (Jul 2, 2013)

Man, that kinda talk is considered high treason on this side of the river :LOL2: Maryland might technically own the Potomac, but I think it's safe to say that the Mountaineers own Byrd Stadium :mrgreen: 

I've never heard of the soft sand, I might look into that for mine. I work at US Silica, so I've got the hookup for any type of silica sand you can imagine, but I used it on the paint for a previous boat and it's not the most comfortable thing for going barefoot.


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## BigTerp (Jul 3, 2013)

HA!! I must admit, I have a deep hatred for WVU. I played baseball at Maryland graduating in '04. Although I should hate Duke (which I do) there is just something about WVU that puts them on the bottom of my list. Not sure if it's from growing up in Hancock, playing baseball at Maryland or what, but WVU is like a four letter word to me. 

That's funny, my cousin works at the sand mine as well. Been there for a number of years now. You guys have turned him into a WVU hater as well :mrgreen: 

I've never used sand with paint, but I've heard that sand will wear down over time. Especially on high traffic areas. If you shoot an email to softsand they will send you samples of their product. If for some reason they don't and you want to check it out, let me know and I'll mail you the samples they sent me. I need to dig my samples back out and decide which one I want to go with.


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## BigTerp (Jul 3, 2013)

Finally got my wife on board with wanting to get my boat done ASAP. Mostly because I've turned our rec room into a boat supply depo. Not to mention our shed which has 2 5'x10' sheets of .125" aluminum, motor cowl, anchors, life jackets, etc. and tools laying everywhere. She gave me a hard time last night. [-X 

There is a pool table somewhere under all this stuff.





Got my seat mounts in the other day. I highly reccommend checking out Springfields scratch and dent site. https://www.springfieldmarinescratchanddent.com/servlet/StoreFront
I got a $200 pedestal with seat base that swivels and locks for $75!! Also picked up 2 stainless steel pin mount bases for $13 each. Was only $26 shipping, so the savings was significant. Was going to add an 11" pin mount pedestal for $9, but that shot the shipping up to $48. I'm sure they calcualte shipping costs by weight.

Here is the manual adjustable (11-1/4" - 15-1/2") pedestal I'll be using for the captains seat.





Here is what made it "scratch and dent". I probably would have done just as much damage installing a new one.





Only other damage I could find on it.





Here is the pin mount bases. They look in perfect condition to me. Can't find anything on them that makes them "scratch and dent". They'll be getting painted to match the boat regardless. I'm using the standard base for the rear bench/deck and the offset base for the bow deck. Figuring the offset base will alow more leg room when fishing from the front deck.





Shot of my NOCO Gen2 on board charger, Exide group 27 dual purpose battery and Everstart group 27 deep cycle.





Going to try and get my radio, switch panel and battery trays ordered today. Only a few remaining odds and ends to pick up. Then the challenging part of trying to find the time to get everything put together!!


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## panFried (Jul 3, 2013)

I just wanna thank the Mountaineers for the fine receivers they have groomed for the St Louis Rams! 

Hopefully I be celebrating Austin's first NFL TD during the home opener.


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## panFried (Jul 3, 2013)

Ill have to checkout the depot, as I am moving on with deck/seat plans while I wait and wait for products to dry/cure. Thanks for the tip.


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## catmansteve (Jul 5, 2013)

Small world, ain't it? 

I used sand in the paint on the last boat I put a floor in. Some of it wears off in time, but I think that happens with anything. I put three coats of paint on, first no sand and let cure for a few days. I then scuffed the first coat with a scotch brite and put two more light coats on, sprinkling sand on the wet paint as I went. The third coat was more or less to add a little more texture to spots that didn't look like they got enough sand the first time. 

The nice thing about something like SoftSand is you can mix it with the paint. Regular sand just sinks to the bottom when mixed in. I've also heard of people sprinkling rock salt onto the wet paint, then when you hose it down after it dries the salt dissolves leaving the texture behind.


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 5, 2013)

Boat looks really good, when you going to get it wet? Hoping to be out this evening, probably fish from the quarry down but might go up to the islands to swim on the MD side beach at the bottom.


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## BigTerp (Jul 8, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321281#p321281 said:


> catmansteve » July 5th, 2013, 2:13 pm[/url]"]Small world, ain't it?
> 
> I used sand in the paint on the last boat I put a floor in. Some of it wears off in time, but I think that happens with anything. I put three coats of paint on, first no sand and let cure for a few days. I then scuffed the first coat with a scotch brite and put two more light coats on, sprinkling sand on the wet paint as I went. The third coat was more or less to add a little more texture to spots that didn't look like they got enough sand the first time.
> 
> The nice thing about something like SoftSand is you can mix it with the paint. Regular sand just sinks to the bottom when mixed in. I've also heard of people sprinkling rock salt onto the wet paint, then when you hose it down after it dries the salt dissolves leaving the texture behind.



Sounds good. The rock salt thing sounds pretty interesting. Let me know what you end up doing and how it works out.


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## BigTerp (Jul 8, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321065#p321065 said:


> panFried » July 3rd, 2013, 9:58 am[/url]"]Ill have to checkout the depot, as I am moving on with deck/seat plans while I wait and wait for products to dry/cure. Thanks for the tip.



Yeah, the Springfield scratch and dent site has some nice stuff for really good prices. They updated it pretty frequently, so if they don't have what your looking for today, check back tomorrow.


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## BigTerp (Jul 8, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321283#p321283 said:


> Ranchero50 » July 5th, 2013, 2:26 pm[/url]"]Boat looks really good, when you going to get it wet? Hoping to be out this evening, probably fish from the quarry down but might go up to the islands to swim on the MD side beach at the bottom.



Did you get out over the weekend?

I'm hoping to be on the water by August 1st. Might be a long shot though. Need to find the time for my buddy and I to get together to frame the deck and get my aluminum cut for the floor and deck. Once that is done things should move along a little quicker. Just been tough to find the time lately to get some work done. Resident goose season comes in Sept. 2nd, so it HAS to be ready by then!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 8, 2013)

The Johnson 50/35 jet is starting to come along. My buddy FINALLY got pistons in last week so he can get the cylinders bored out (he is in charge of the rebuild). The powerhead is still at the machinist but will hopefully be ready sometime this week.

They make pistons look all fancy nowadays. As slick as they look, I hope to never see them again though.







Should have my radio and switch panel waiting for me when I get home. Just need to get some free time to get everything finished up.


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## BigTerp (Jul 9, 2013)

Got my stereo in last night. It's basically an amplifier with 2 6.5" speakers that plug into an mp3 player, cell phone, Ipod, etc. I didn't want anything that required installing a headunit anywhere. This should work perfect for me!!





Also got my switch panel in, but didn't grab a picture of it. Picked up an extra 12v socket as well to install somewhere opposite my switch panel. I went with these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E24MKA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U4ZZPK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## BigTerp (Jul 12, 2013)

Going to be templating out my floor this weekend with cardboard I've been hoarding from work. HOPEFULLY I'll also have the time to get my floor cut to size as well. Wish me luck!!!! [-o<


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## BigTerp (Jul 15, 2013)

Got my floor cutout over the weekend, FINALLY!!! Turned out really good. Just need to fine tune some of my cuts and it should fit darn near perfect. I intentionally made my cuts a bit short, especially on the notches for the ribs. This way I can go back with a grinder and/or hand file and make everything fit nicely. I used cardboard from work to make a template. I used small pieces to cut the notches out around the ribs. I then hot glued larger pieces on top to connect everything together. I got ALOT of help and confidence from a few guys in another thread, especially chevyrulz. I was pretty nervous about using an agle grinder (have heard horror stories of blades imploding) and also of screwing up my cuts and ruining a $150 piece of aluminum. After my first few white knuckle cuts, things went pretty smoothly.

Starting the template





Template progressing





Finished template





Work station. I had crap everywhere. The anchor on the bow worked as my third hand to hold down a piece of angle I had to cut . I'd reccommend usning an actual real live person to hold down your angle when cutting :shock: 





Tracing my template. I used a sharpie for this which gave me a nice thick line. I cut on the "inside" of each line which allowed some room for error. I'll need to go back and take a bit more material off of some of my cuts. But it's easier to do this instead of making your cuts to large.





Template traced out and ready to cut.





Floor cut out and ready for a test fit.





My wife helped me get the floor in the boat to see how bably I screwed it up. To my surprise everything lined up great. A few of my notch cuts need opened up a bit more, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

I used a 4-1/2" grinder for all my cuts. I tried, for about 5 seconds, to use a jigsaw. Didn't work well at all. I used Diablo metal cutting blades from HomeDepot on the reccommendation from chevyrulz. They worked great. Went through 4 of them though. The aluminum really eats up the blades fast. This is a blade after cutting about 3/4 of the way through my longest cut.





Hoping to get my floor finished up this week as well as getting the front deck framed out. It's suppose to be in the mid to upper 90's all week. So working in the evenings may work out well.


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## BigTerp (Jul 15, 2013)

At the bow end of my floor, I have a slight issue. I'm going to be using a piece of angle for my floor end to rest on. In order to get my angle to go from starboard to port and provide support for the entire width of my floor, it will end up sitting higher than the rest of my floor. If that makes sense.

Here is how I'll need to support the end of my floor.





You can see how my angle will be bottomong out on the hull floor. This is where the mod v of the hull starts to effect the levelness of the hull.

This is how off level the end of my floor will be. I don't think it will be a problem as long as I get some foam underneath it between those two ribs to provide some support.


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## BigTerp (Jul 15, 2013)

Just a few shots since I got a new lenses for my phones camera. I didn't think the last pictures I took did the paint job justice. The scratched lense made everything look hazy.


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## smackdaddy53 (Jul 15, 2013)

Looks great man! It is scary cutting into a big ol sheet of aluminum but great when it fits with a little trim here and there.
I found that cutting aluminum with a jigsaw can be done but you have to go super slow, have it set to reciprocate at the highest speed and use blades with less tooth count per inch. The aluminum will just stick to the teeth of finer blades especially if you push hard to try to go faster.


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## panFried (Jul 15, 2013)

Nice job on the cuts. Can't wait to see it the boat.


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## BigTerp (Jul 15, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322388#p322388 said:


> smackdaddy53 » Today, 10:23 am[/url]"]Looks great man! It is scary cutting into a big ol sheet of aluminum but great when it fits with a little trim here and there.
> I found that cutting aluminum with a jigsaw can be done but you have to go super slow, have it set to reciprocate at the highest speed and use blades with less tooth count per inch. The aluminum will just stick to the teeth of finer blades especially if you push hard to try to go faster.



Thanks!! Yeah, it was a bit nerve racking the first few cuts. But once I got comfortable with the grinder, everything went smoothly. I tried the jigsaw for about 10 seconds. It kept wanting to jump on me so I went back to the grinder.


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## BigTerp (Jul 15, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322399#p322399 said:


> panFried » 40 minutes ago[/url]"]Nice job on the cuts. Can't wait to see it the boat.



Thanks!! Hopefully I'll have it trimed up and fitting perfectly by the end of the week. Would like to be able to post some pictures of my bow deck frame as well. Depends how the week goes.


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 15, 2013)

Looks good. Sadly since I finished painting my hull tan the fish seemed turned off when we were out Saturday evening... Thinking flat black horizontal lines to break up the coloring.


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## BigTerp (Jul 16, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322443#p322443 said:


> Ranchero50 » Yesterday, 4:51 pm[/url]"]Looks good. Sadly since I finished painting my hull tan the fish seemed turned off when we were out Saturday evening... Thinking flat black horizontal lines to break up the coloring.



Thanks.

Not a bad idea. Should be nice and easy to do as well. How'd the boat run? How far up river did you come? It was at 3.1 this morning. Not super low, but low enough!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2013)

Still have a bit of fine tunning to do to get my floor fitting well. Down to the filing stage at this point. Hoping to have it finished up tonight and then I can start on framing out my bow deck extension. Would like to have all of that done by the end of the weekend. 

Having a bit of trouble figuring out how to frame out my bow extension. The curve of my hull is making it a challenge. My buddy stopped by last night to help me brainstorm and I THINK I have it figured out.


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## panFried (Jul 18, 2013)

BigTerp said:


> ...Having a bit of trouble figuring out how to frame out my bow extension. The curve of my hull is making it a challenge. My buddy stopped by last night to help me brainstorm and I THINK I have it figured out.


A lawn chair and beer usually helps me brainstorm some of my best work.


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 18, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322799#p322799 said:


> BigTerp » Today, 09:01[/url]"]Still have a bit of fine tunning to do to get my floor fitting well. Down to the filing stage at this point. Hoping to have it finished up tonight and then I can start on framing out my bow deck extension. Would like to have all of that done by the end of the weekend.
> 
> Having a bit of trouble figuring out how to frame out my bow extension. The curve of my hull is making it a challenge. My buddy stopped by last night to help me brainstorm and I THINK I have it figured out.



Be sure to allow your self enough room at the ribs to cover your decking and still be able to get it out.

For the front deck, follow the straight line rule and just add wings to the sides.


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2013)

Thanks Jaime.

Not sure what you mean by wings. What I plan to do is basically make 3 rectangular boxes. 2 for battery storage and one larger one in the middle for regular storage. I am also planning on riveting a piece of angle to the hull to support the top of my deck on the ends. Is this what you mean by wings?


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## panFried (Jul 18, 2013)

Hey Terp what brand if hvlp sprayer did you use? I have so much over spray with my cheap kolbalt sprayer... Maybe I need to turn pressure down on compressor? Any thoughts.


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322852#p322852 said:


> panFried » 6 minutes ago[/url]"]Hey Terp what brand if hvlp sprayer did you use? I have so much over spray with my cheap kolbalt sprayer... Maybe I need to turn pressure down on compressor? Any thoughts.



I used my buddies sprayer, which is this one.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-professional-automotive-hvlp-spray-gun-kit-60239.html

I THINK we used around 40 psi, IIRC. We had a decent amount of overspray, but nothing to bad. You'll always get some overspray with a hvlp gun, but it sounds like you are having alot. We also used a 1.8mm tip. What are you running your compressor at now? If it's anything over 40 I'd try and dial it down to 40 and maybe even 35psi.


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## panFried (Jul 18, 2013)

Lol... Um I'm embarrassed to say... 125psi  I have sprayer but not sure on tip size. That's what I get for being novice. Let me dial down to 15-25 psi and see what happens. I do like the coverage with 15% thinner.


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## BigTerp (Jul 18, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322857#p322857 said:


> panFried » Today, 2:58 pm[/url]"]Lol... Um I'm embarrassed to say... 125psi  I have sprayer but not sure on tip size. That's what I get for being novice. Let me dial down to 15-25 psi and see what happens. I do like the coverage with 15% thinner.



HA!! It happens. I'm a novice with this stuff as well. My buddy knew what he was doing though, so I just followed his lead. Your gun should have a max psi number on it somewhere. Try 5 or so psi below that and see how it goes.

Speaking of being a novice, when I cut my first piece of angle the other day I proceeded to pick up the small piece I had just cut off. THAT CRAP WAS HOT!! Good thing I had gloves on, even though the thumb and second fingers are a bit melted now. I also ran my screw gun thru my finger when I was redoing my transom last September. That was fun!!

I'll be keeping an eye on your thread to see how it turns out.


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## BigTerp (Jul 22, 2013)

Got my floor finished up yesterday. Still have a few cosmetic things to do to get it nice and clean looking, but it fits and I'm happy!! I'll tell you though, it was quite the tedious project. I worked on it from 9:30 till about 4:00 yesterday. Took a long lunch break and a few beer breaks as well. I'd say I have a total of about 10 man hours in just the floor. My wife was awesome and helped me test fit the floor about 10 times yesterday. That was the tedious part. Each time I test fit the floor I would mark with a sharpie what needed cut, grinded or filed. As the floor inched closer to fitting, it got even more tedious. The curves of the hull, especially towards the bow, made fitting a pain. I think it turned out nicely though.












Here is how the front of my floor is supported. This is where my front deck extension will meet the floor. I riveted a small piece of angle to the goofy front rib to support it in the middle.






I started to work on framing out my deck extension, but didn't get very far. I was beat!! Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but the bow portion of my framing sits higher than the floor support. Need to figure out a way to frame this up and tie it into my angle that supports the floor. I'm planning on 3 compartments under my deck extension. Two small ones on either side for battery storage, and one large in the middle for additional storage. Getting this framed out and aluminum sheet cut is my project for the week.


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## panFried (Jul 22, 2013)

Looks really good! Is that red sharpie or blood? 

If you want to add more strength to the deck extension, I saw some nice square alum tubing at Lowe's this weekend. Costs a little more than angle but provides added benefit and piece o mind. Are you going to rivet or try to weld?


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## BigTerp (Jul 22, 2013)

Red sharpie (although I am sitting at work today with some band-aids on a few of my fingers, no joke). I used black, purple and red because I had to make so many "notes" that I couldn't remember what needed cut, filed or grinded or if that was from the 3 times before test fit.

I'm using 1" x 1" angle. I'm not concerned about the extenison being stout enough, it's only going to be 18" long. Just need to figure out how I'm going to tie everything together. The mod v of my hull presents quite the challenge.

I'll be riveting my angle together for the frame, riveting my sheet to the angle and finally riveting my hatches to the sheet. The only thing I can think of that may need some welding is my transom riser. Still need to figure out how I'm going to tackle that project as well. Goose season opens up Sept. 2nd. So I need to get on the ball!!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2013)

Itching to get this deck extension framed out!!! Rain messed up my plans Monday evening, and I had a softball game yesterday evening. My grass needs mowed this evening, but my buddy has time to stop by and help me work on the framing. So the grass will have to wait. Will probably be able to make some hay by the time I get to it :shock: 

Some good news is the engine block is finally done. I guess the machine shop was pretty backed up, but they finally were able to get to boring out the cylinders for new pistons. We have all the replacement parts for the motor (gasket sets, water pump kit, etc.). So reassembling the motor is just another thing I NEED to find time to get done.

Fingers crossed that I'll have some pictures for you guys of a completed front deck extension frame tomorrow morning [-o<


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 24, 2013)

Trade you, I'm replacing the roof on my 20x40' shed this week.

Go to MD metals up in the North end for aluminum. Quite the experience walking through the old foundry but they are the cheapest in the area.


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## marshman (Jul 24, 2013)

i like how you got the floor to fit real tight around the ribs...my stepdad cut his out square cuts with a circular saw and left big huge gaps.... and of course when fishing, no matter what you drop, it will find them holes...im using plywood but they will fit tight... i went and bought 10 pieces of poster board to make a template...

i have that funny v rib in the front of my boat too, but my floor wont go that far....i dont see a point in putting a floor under my deck...im just gonna build a tray to strap my trolling motor battery there, and stash life vests and a soft day bag or whatever under the deck...

my boat layout is arranged a little different than yours....

looking great...

how much would you say that aluminum floor weighs?? im a fabricator for a living and when i worked in an aluminum shop them stupid sheets were very misleading-ly heavy!! but we usually were toting sheets that were 5x10 or 5x12 and mostly 3/16...


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323448#p323448 said:


> Ranchero50 » Today, 11:10 am[/url]"]Trade you, I'm replacing the roof on my 20x40' shed this week.
> 
> Go to MD metals up in the North end for aluminum. Quite the experience walking through the old foundry but they are the cheapest in the area.



HA, no chance!!

I was originally going to get my materials from MD Metals, but my buddies friend got everything for me at his cost. Saved me some $ that's for sure.


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## BigTerp (Jul 24, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323451#p323451 said:


> marshman » 50 minutes ago[/url]"]i like how you got the floor to fit real tight around the ribs...my stepdad cut his out square cuts with a circular saw and left big huge gaps.... and of course when fishing, no matter what you drop, it will find them holes...im using plywood but they will fit tight... i went and bought 10 pieces of poster board to make a template...
> 
> i have that funny v rib in the front of my boat too, but my floor wont go that far....i dont see a point in putting a floor under my deck...im just gonna build a tray to strap my trolling motor battery there, and stash life vests and a soft day bag or whatever under the deck...
> 
> ...



Thanks man. My goal was to make things fight as tighlty and neatly as possible. It certainly isn't perfect, but it turned out pretty nice. The extra time and effort I put into was worth it.

Yeah, that rib is a PITA. I'm making 3 seperate storage compartments from there forward. I'm putting a floor in mine because I want the large middle compartment to be dry storage.

My best guess on the weight of the floor would be no more than 35 lbs. I can pick it up and move it around easily, so it can't weigh much more than that. The sheet it was cut from was a 5 x 10 sheet. Took two people to move it, mostly because of the size and not so much the weight. This is only 1/8" aluminum.


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## BigTerp (Jul 25, 2013)

As promised, I got some pictures of an ALMOST completed front deck extension. I'm waiting to hear back from bassboy1 (fish on fabrications) as to some questions I have regarding the hatches he is making me. Once I hear back I only have a few pieces of angle left to install to complete my framing.

My buddy came over last night and we worked until 11:30. Hurting a bit this morning, but we got a decent amount done. I didn't get any pictures as we progressed because we were working by spotlight.

Now this is dedication!!!






Had to install the face plate for the deck extension because the support angle for the hatch bottoms is higher than my floor. Needed to rivet that piece of angle into the face plate.





Had to drill and install a few solid rivets for my angle supports along the gunwale. Messed up my shiny new paint job  Not sure if you can see in this picture or not, but I sanded a bit of the first hole we drilled to de-bur it before we installed the rivet. The Parkers paint was barely phased by the sand paper. I'm really happy with this paint.





I removed and re-installed my original piece of angle that was to support the hatch floors. I cut it shorter so we could drop down the floor leaving more space for my batteries to fit. Also decided to only floor out the middle compartment. I have battery trays with straps that I'll screw into the pieces of angle you see in this picture. The middle compartment will be partitioned off from the battery compartments by a piece of sheet on each side.





Just a few more pics of the work we got done last night.















I'm SUPER happy with how things are turning out so far. Have the rest of this week and the weekend to get things finished up. Need to tidy up the floor a bit, finish the frame for my deck extension, cut my sheet for the compartment floor and top and cut my foam for under the floor. Then I can go ahead and start prepping the inside of the hull for paint. Was originally planning on painting my floor before it was installed, but taking that piece of sheet in and out is only going to ding the crap out of my paint. So everything will get painted once installed.


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## panFried (Jul 25, 2013)

Looking good. I see a bunch of dead new belgiums laying around. No wonder you hurting


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## BigTerp (Jul 25, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323563#p323563 said:


> panFried » 22 minutes ago[/url]"]Looking good. I see a bunch of dead new belgiums laying around. No wonder you hurting



Oh, those were all my buddies :roll:


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## marshman (Jul 25, 2013)

fwiw...its been my experience--a sealed up aluminum box(dry storage) will have serious condensation(sweating) problems... i had a little 14x14x12 box built on to the front of my console in a boat i had built several years ago and it ended being a sweatbox... i couldnt keep any tools in there, they would rust...i ended up popping some 1 inch holes from under the console to ventilate it....worked much better, but still weatherproof...

im not sure of your plans for your storage boxes, just passing along my experience...need some sort of ventilation..


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## BigTerp (Jul 25, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323576#p323576 said:


> marshman » 28 minutes ago[/url]"]fwiw...its been my experience--a sealed up aluminum box(dry storage) will have serious condensation(sweating) problems... i had a little 14x14x12 box built on to the front of my console in a boat i had built several years ago and it ended being a sweatbox... i couldnt keep any tools in there, they would rust...i ended up popping some 1 inch holes from under the console to ventilate it....worked much better, but still weatherproof...
> 
> im not sure of your plans for your storage boxes, just passing along my experience...need some sort of ventilation..



Thanks for the heads up. I actually took your advice and ended up making 2 trays out of angle for my batteries instead of flooring out those compartments. I had to make them as low as possible so my batteries would fit. Helped make my middle stoarge compartment a bit deeper as well.

I'm only sealing the middle compartment from the side batterry compartments with aluminum sheet. The existing hole you see in the existing deck will remain there for additional "wet" storage. Never thought about ventilation, but hopefully that'll be enough. For the batterry compartments they will be open to the floor and the rib running along the gunwale of the boat leaves a gap in my face plate on each side. Hopefully that'll be enough ventilation for the side compartments.


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## hercdrvrwo (Jul 25, 2013)

Looking good brother! Keep it up! Can't wait to see it ready for duck season!

Cheers
Herc


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## marshman (Jul 25, 2013)

angle iron trays are great for batteries...i cant having my battery just sliding or bouncing around...i decided to work some storage in to my deck...i wanted simple but my deck just wasnt big enough, and i ran into trouble when i tried to fit my floor with that stupid v rib...id have to cut my floor in to several pieces that would look like crap, so im just gonna box it all in and have a bigger deck...


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## BigTerp (Jul 26, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323657#p323657 said:


> hercdrvrwo » Yesterday, 10:28 pm[/url]"]Looking good brother! Keep it up! Can't wait to see it ready for duck season!
> 
> Cheers
> Herc



Thanks man!! I was browsing through yours this morning. Coming along nicely!! Early goose comes in September 2nd for us. Hoping to have things ready to go by then.


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## BigTerp (Jul 26, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323663#p323663 said:


> marshman » Yesterday, 11:23 pm[/url]"]angle iron trays are great for batteries...i cant having my battery just sliding or bouncing around...i decided to work some storage in to my deck...i wanted simple but my deck just wasnt big enough, and i ran into trouble when i tried to fit my floor with that stupid v rib...id have to cut my floor in to several pieces that would look like crap, so im just gonna box it all in and have a bigger deck...



I agree. I have plastic trays that will screw into those pieces of angle. My batteries will be straped into those trays. Should be nice and solid.

Yeah, those goofy ribs are a PITA. My floor ends up coming up slightly to meet mine, maybe a 1/2" or so. Which shouldn't be a problem and will actually help get water back to my floor drains. If it raised it any higher than that I would have ended up doing the same thing your doing. The bigger deck will be nice, plus the additional storage you'll get underneath.


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## BigTerp (Jul 27, 2013)

Got a bit done today. It kept trying to rain on and off, so I didn't get as much accomplished as I was hoping. Was able to completely finish up my floor. It was rather tedious getting things to fit just right, especially after installing the face plate on my deck extension. Also got all my foam cut and fit for under my floor. 

Had to use 2 pieces of foam stacked on top of each other. One 1" piece and one 1/4" piece to equal the distance from top of rib to bottom of hull.











Laid out my captains seat to see exactly where I wanted it to sit. Threw on the rear passenger seat just for fun. It sure was nice seeing how things are going to look hopefully sooner than later. Also sat on the captains seat making motor noises (thanks Ranchero50) invisioning where I'd like my controls and stick steer to be. I don't think any of my neighbors say me though  










Wanted to start prepping the inside hull for paint, but the rain put a damper on that. Calling for rain again tomorrow hoping it'll stay dry for me.

Still need to drill my floor out for my captains seat, prep the hull for paint, prep my seat mounts for paint and then ACTUALLY paint. Then I can start installing all my accessories. Still need to order all my wire, connections, etc. as well.

We got the motor back from the machinist last week. My buddy has all the necessary components for the rebuild. Need to get that finished up and get the transom raised and we'll be in business!!


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## BigTerp (Jul 27, 2013)

Looking for some opinions on how I'm going to mount my captains seat. I only have 1-1/4" of space from the top of my ribs to the hull. What I'm planning on doing is using stainless bolts, large washers and nyloc nuts to secure my pedestal base to the floor. I also cut out a piece of aluminum to go under my floor to add some support to the seat mount. So the base will be installed with bolts through the floor and through another piece of 1/16" aluminum sheet. I'll have to install my seat base BEFORE I install my floor. Only other way to do it would be to use screws thru the floor. And bolts, I'm thinking, would hold MUCH better than screws. Sound like a plan?

Here is my captains seat along with the piece of aluminum sheet I'm planning to use for extra support


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 27, 2013)

On the seat I'd suggest getting a chunk of 1/4" plate and going rib to rib. Mount a 1" piece of angle on each rib so they top of the plate matches the top of the rib. You can tap the plate and thread your bolts from the bottom and nylok from the top. You can substitute a 1/4" chunk of angle from each set of seat bolts instead of a plate. The angle would probably flew less but it's more of a PITA to install. Countersunk Allen bolts are wonderful for hidden fasteners.

I used 1" x .125" angles on my front seat but I have less distance between supports so it was rigid enough.

Even sandwiching the .100" floor sheet I'm sure you'll have more movement than you want (when things get exciting) and it'll stress the screws you use to hold the deck on.


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## catmansteve (Jul 27, 2013)

Your layout is real similar to what I've got planned. I think you're going to want your seat as far forward as you can comfortably get and still have legroom in front of you, I know you haven't run it with the jet yet but my boat is rear-heavy, especially with a passenger in back, and since our hulls are almost identical and motors are similar size I think you'll have the same problem.

I agree with Ranchero about the seat mounts. Use angle or plate to span between the ribs, drill and tap threads for the mounting bolts and thread them up from underneath before you put the floor down, that way you have studs sticking up and can put your nuts on from above.


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## BigTerp (Jul 28, 2013)

Thanks for the advice!!

I'll have to play with my seat positioning, not sure how much further forward I can go comfortably. I'm a pretty big guy, 6'8" 250lbs. So leg room is key.

I get what you guys are saying about bolting my seat down from the top. I have plenty of sheet and angle left to add between one of the forward ribs. But how exactly would I create "studs" with my mounting bolts? I've never attempted anything like this. Not sure how I would keep my bolts from spinning as I tried to tighten down the nuts? Any suggestions on what type of bolts I should be using?


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 28, 2013)

The old standard on stick steer boats is you want the seat as far forward where your legs can still stick out straight. That way when you hit something solid you'll pole vault out over the front of the boat and not get rolled into a ball on the bow.

Actually the further forward you are the easier it is to see down into the water and avoid the nasties.


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## BigTerp (Jul 28, 2013)

Don't you mean IF and not WHEN?!?! :shock: 

Makes sense on the distance from the front deck.

Still trying to figure out how to mount my seat in the fashion you and catmansteve described. Any tips??


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## catmansteve (Jul 28, 2013)

The "seat mount framing" pieces you put in to run your bolts thru should be 1/4" or thicker aluminum, that way you can drill holes and use a tap to thread the holes to match the bolt threads. The bolt gets threaded in from underneath, and because it's threaded you won't have to worry about it turning when you go to mount the seat


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## BigTerp (Jul 29, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323971#p323971 said:


> catmansteve » Yesterday, 7:13 pm[/url]"]The "seat mount framing" pieces you put in to run your bolts thru should be 1/4" or thicker aluminum, that way you can drill holes and use a tap to thread the holes to match the bolt threads. The bolt gets threaded in from underneath, and because it's threaded you won't have to worry about it turning when you go to mount the seat



Thanks. That makes sense.

The budget is starting to get tight, so I"d prefer not to have to buy anymore aluminum. PLus I have plenty of .125" sheet and 1" x 1" angle left over. Any suggestions on how I can mount this seat with the available materials I have on hand? 

I'm planning on running out after work today to pick up my stainless hardware to install my bases. Any suggestions on what bolts I should get?

I definitely want this base to be solid, so if using what I have available isn't going to work, I'm not opposed to buying some more aluminum. I'd just REALLY prefer not to.


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## panFried (Jul 29, 2013)

BigTerp said:


> Don't you mean IF and not WHEN?!?! :shock:
> 
> Makes sense on the distance from the front deck.
> 
> Still trying to figure out how to mount my seat in the fashion you and catmansteve described. Any tips??


LMAO! Thanks guys I needed a laugh this Monday morning.


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## Ranchero50 (Jul 29, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323948#p323948 said:


> BigTerp » Yesterday, 15:00[/url]"]Don't you mean IF and not WHEN?!?! :shock:



You're not running skinny until you're reaching for the seat belts...


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## catmansteve (Jul 29, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=324141#p324141 said:


> Ranchero50 » Today, 17:16[/url]"]
> 
> 
> [url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323948#p323948 said:
> ...


Haha, best line I've heard for awhile

In all seriousness, I know a guy that bought a brand new boat, 17 or 18', had a center console put in, all aluminum decks, floors, high end bedliner, and a brand new 90/65 jet on the back, probably a $12-$15k rig. He's afraid to take it in less than 18" of water. Don't be that guy


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## catmansteve (Jul 29, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=324042#p324042 said:


> BigTerp » Today, 09:08[/url]"]
> 
> 
> [url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323971#p323971 said:
> ...


The angle you have is probably strong enough, but you need something thicker to be able to tap threads through. Maybe find some scraps of 1/4" flat aluminum, 1"x1" squares, and glue, rivet, or weld them at the bolt locations. Gluing them on with 5200 would probably be easier, and since the edge of the block would be against the inside corner of the angle they couldn't twist


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## BigTerp (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks catmansteve!!

What I'm thinking of doing is installing 2 pieces of angle going from fore to aft between the ribs of where my captains seat will be installed. I'll cut a piece of .125" sheet to span this distance. I'll install my seat base with stainless nuts, bolts and washers thru the floor and thru the extra piece of sheet before I install my floor. I'll install my floor and in addition to riveting my floor down to the ribs I'll rivet my floor and the extra piece of sheet to the extra angle I installed. I envision those extra rivets only being a few inches off each side of the base. I'm thinking the extra sheet will help support my nuts and bolts better and by riveting all of this to the angle I'll install, it will help keep the floor from flexing from the stress from the seat???


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## hercdrvrwo (Aug 2, 2013)

How did you figure on your seat height? I Can't quite decide on the height for mime. I hate Sitting in friend's boats with Waders on at short heights, it bunches up and cuts off the blood flow. l have been thinking about 14" except it s the one with the curve in it.

Your boat js really coming along, I can't wait to see more pictures!


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## BigTerp (Aug 5, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=324636#p324636 said:


> hercdrvrwo » August 2nd, 2013, 10:25 pm[/url]"]How did you figure on your seat height? I Can't quite decide on the height for mime. I hate Sitting in friend's boats with Waders on at short heights, it bunches up and cuts off the blood flow. l have been thinking about 14" except it s the one with the curve in it.
> 
> Your boat js really coming along, I can't wait to see more pictures!



Thanks man.

I based my captains seat height off of the existing rear benches height from the floor. I figured I should keep it somewhat close to that. My rear bench is 12" from my floor. And honestly was fairly comfortable sitting on last year. A few inches would probably be nice, which is what a seat and seat mount should provide. Now I'm a tall guy (6'8") and I went with a manual adjustable pedestal that goes from 12" - 15.5" for my captains seat. I've yet to sit in it since my captains seat isn't installed yet, but it should be fairly comfortable. The 12" height will be nice for when running full throttle up river at 4 a.m., I'm sure I'll feel a little more secure. When/if the legs get tired or cramped I can pop the seat up a few inches for comfort.


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## BigTerp (Aug 5, 2013)

Starting to round third and head for home with this project..........FINALLY!! Got a few things done over the weekend, but nothing major. Didn't grab any pictures either. Got pilot holes drilled for my captains seat and made a support for it that will fit under my floor. Got holes drilled for my seat mounts and stern light. And tested a few different colors for my camouflage stencils. I'll have to post some pictures to get your guys' opinion on that.

I have my front deck hatches and rear bench hatch being made my bassboy1 at Fish On Fabrications. Expecting to have those in hand sometime this week. Am planning to cut up my middle bench that I removed to make mounts for my controls and stick steer one evening this week. My control panel will go on the motor control mount and the sonar will go on the stick steer mount. Am picking up my hardware for my seats bases this evening, so I can also get my floor and seats installed this week. Once that is done and I get my hatches installed it'll be ready for the last round of paint (hopefully this Sunday). Then I can start installing my accessories and running my electric. Am planning on re-assembling the 50/35 Johnson jet, with rebuilt powerhead on Saturday.

Still alot of work yet to do, but she's getting there!! Hopefully I'll have some decent pictures to post soon.


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## BigTerp (Aug 6, 2013)

Here are a few shots of the camo stencling test colors I did over the weekend. I know there are a few waterfowl hunters on here, so opinions are welcome!!

I think these have too much grey. Both are grey "bases" with one black and one dark brown top stencil. I'm pretty sure thes are out of the running.






This one creates some nice shawoding effects, I think. But it seems like the black makes it to dark. This one is a dark brown base with black top stencil.





This is the same as above but I hit a few of the top stencil patterns with some grey. It might be my favorite. I would probably do more black and less grey if I went with this color combination.


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## BigTerp (Aug 9, 2013)

Got a bit done the last two evenings. What should have only taken an evening to do ended up taking two because of rain. Was able to get my floor installed and captaines seat installed. Also cut the ends off my former middle bench seat to make control mounts. Got them installed as well. This should be the last solid rivets I need to install through the hull of the boat. So once the 5200 cures and I get my hatches installed I can finish up my painting.

Control mounts cut.





Control mounts installed. Still need to throw 3 pieces of angle on the inside of the mounts so I can install a piece of aluminum sheet as a face plate. Going to house my control panel on the starboard mount along with my throttle control. the port mount will hold my stick steer and possibly my sonar. May mount my sonar further towards the bow though.





Need to get a decent tarp for a cover. These are getting pretty ratty!! Since I have my floor installed with foam underneath I'm trying to keep any debris for getting under my floor and clogging up the hull channels. Once I get my hatches installed it will be less of a concern, but I'd still like to keep it covered.










Tomorrow my buddy and I plan on spending all day getting the 50/35 Johnson jet put back together and running. Hopefully a full days worth of work will be enough!! [-o<


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## BigTerp (Aug 12, 2013)

Got a few things done over the weekend. Ordered all my electric supplies including bus bar, fuse holders, fuses, wires, etc. Spent a solid 8 hours on Saturday at my buddies getting the motor put back together. We got ALOT done, and hoping to have it running by the end of the week [-o< I also did a little work on the boat itself.

Jet pump housing installed. We replaced the water pump and seals and I had already sharpened the impeller. Everything else looks real good regarding the jet pump.





Powerhead. We had the cylinders bored out to .030 over and ordered new pistions. The machine shop did a really good job on the block, as you can tell from the pictures. Obvioulsy we installed all new gaskets and cleaned an lubed everything really well when reassembling the powerhead.










These aren't the best pictures, but you can see the powerhead installed along with the carburetors. Carburetors were a bit gunky, but much better than anticipated. They were cleaned and got new gaskets.










That was about our stopping point for the day. We started installing a few of the hoses, starter, wiring etc. But we were beat so we called it quits. I don't know much about engines, but my buddy is a mechanical engineer and has rebuilt over 20 dirt bike engines. He was happy with how things turned out and said the motor was in pretty darn good shape. He said it was obvious that someone had rebuilt the engine before, but did a half$## job of it. We may have went a little above and beyond, but I guess that's better than rushing through it.

Yesterday I dry fitted my face plates for my control mounts and also dry fit my control panel to the starboard mount. Should work out nicely. Just need to figure out some sort of access panel so I can get behind the face plate if I ever need access to my contorl panel wiring/fuses.





Things are starting to come along nicely. I'm hoping to have my hatches in today or tomorrow. Once I get those in I can get them installed. Still need to install my pin mount seat bases. Once I get those things knocked it she'll be ready for primer and paint. Which I'm hoping to do late this weekend or over the weekend. After paint I can run all my wiring and install my accessories. Other than getting the motor finished up and installed, she'll be ready to go at that point!!!!


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## hercdrvrwo (Aug 12, 2013)

Looking good man! 

I'm not going to sugarcoat this though, I am not a fan of the camo patern. It is too defined
And the contrast of Colors too great. I would advocate for a dark base color, add your.. lighter colors -then overspray a black or dark color to provide depth. Those stencils are great if used Correctly ' but are never meant to be the final solution, Here is my advise' do half the boat in the stencil and the aft half in any pattern you wAnt- use Sticks, leaves and pine needles as your Stencils Them step back 50 Yards and see if you can tell the difference! I'm no expert thats for sure and I'm not ragging on your paintjob just passing on Unsolicited advise! 

I wish I was there to lend a hand and show you What I mean on a peice of Cardboard or something. There are a lot of Great YouTube videos out there that show what I am talking about!

Good look brother! You've boat is coming along nice-it gives me great motivation to keep working on mine!

Cheers
Herc


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## BigTerp (Aug 13, 2013)

Thanks for the advice. I'm horrible with visualizing things like this, so any help/opinions are appreciated. I can say I'm not 100% satisfied with the camo patterns. The tough thing is finding different colors in flat spray cans. I'll probably end up going with the black over brown. Here is a few shots of some other colors I tried together. Maybe one of them look better?

The painters tape seperates the different patterns. The far left and right of the transom has a khaki color over the bottom pattern. It's almost identical to my base coat, so I dismissed that color.





Here they are a little closer up.


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## BigTerp (Aug 13, 2013)

Got my hatches in last night and I was like a kid at Christmas. Got them from Dawson at Fish On Fabrications. He did a top notch job!! Didn't get them installed yesterday, but am hoping to get that done this evening.

Bow deck hatch.





Just enough room for my batteries. Might end up sliding them a bit aft to add some clearance for the posts. Don't want them arcing out on me while on the water.





Rear bench seat hatch.


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## Zum (Aug 13, 2013)

Nice job...wonder if you could glue/tape some type of thin hard plastic to the inside of the lid,just incase a battery does jump and hit the lid.
Probably something at a craft store or even lying around that would do the job.


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## BigTerp (Aug 13, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=325920#p325920 said:


> Zum » Today, 2:54 pm[/url]"]Nice job...wonder if you could glue/tape some type of thin hard plastic to the inside of the lid,just incase a battery does jump and hit the lid.
> Probably something at a craft store or even lying around that would do the job.



Thanks man. Great idea!! I'd like to keep my batteries as far towards the bow as possible. Leaves more room for my speakers, battery charger, etc. I think your idea would be the perfect solution.


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## BigTerp (Aug 14, 2013)

Got my bow hatch installed and tidied up last night. Turned out pretty nice, IMO. I'm running short on time though. Goose season opens up Sept. 2nd. Still on target to finish up painting this Sunday. Then I can get my accessories installed and electric run. Nothing like making a big push at the finish line!!










Also got the hole cut in my rear bench for that hatch. Didn't have enough daylight to get that installed though. 





Plan on getting my bench hatch installed and my 2 pin seat bases installed on Thursday. Then I can start prepping for paint. Life is busy for me right now though. Softball game tonight, work function Friday evening and an all day softball tournament on Saturday. Might not get to my paint prep until Sunday morning. But if I can get the paint finished up by Sunday night, I'll be a happy guy!!


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## BigTerp (Aug 16, 2013)

Was at it again last night. Got my pin mount bases installed and my rear bench hatch installed. Getting the foam out of the rear bench to make room for my hatch liner was a PAIN. It was pretty waterlogged as well. It was also a challenge getting unerneath my rear bench seat mount to bolt it in. But it's done!! Now she's ready to be prepped for paint.

Bow deck seat base installed.





Rear bench.





Cleaned up and ready for paint prep.


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## BigTerp (Aug 16, 2013)

After I finished up a few hours worth of work on the boat I headed over to my buddies to work on the motor. We got it to the point were shes ready to start, but we need new fuel lines and one of the plug boots was cracked so he's picking up new plug boots and wires as well. We still turned her over a few times to check the function of the starter and all seems to work well. Just a few cranks and the compression sounds AWESOME. It was really nice to see all the work we put into it start to pay off. Hopefully we can get her started and running on Sunday [-o<


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## BigTerp (Aug 16, 2013)

Looking at my pictures I realized I still need to install my floor drains  The floor drains OK now just from the spaces between my floor and hull/ribs. But I'm sure that would quickly get clogged up, especially during hunting season with muddy boots getting in and out of the boat.


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## BigTerp (Aug 19, 2013)

The rain yesterday kept me from prepping and painting the rest of my boat. Still got a good bit done though. I replaced the plastic wheel on my trailer jack with a 10" pneumatic wheel. My river access in my sub division has a boat ramp. It's rather steep and made of about 2 feet deep of shale. When it's dry out and the river is down, I can back the boat in no problem. But if it's a little wet or the river has been up it slicks up the boat ramp bad enough that I'll get stuck. So my buddy had a new winch laying around his shed. We welded it to a 2" receiver. That connects to my hitch and my trailer receiver with ball connects to the 2" receiver with winch mounted to it. We have to lower the boat and trailer down the ramp with the winch and bring it back out the same way. The trailer jack is obviously down during this process. The old plastic wheel does not work well for this at all. So that's why I replaced it with a pneumatic one. I"ll have to get some pictures of my winch setup so you all can see what I'm talking about. But hopefully my explanation made some sense.

We also got the motor running!! It's pretty much ready to go at this point. Just need to figure out how we are mounting it to my boat. Was pretty exciting seeing it run for the first time after the extenisve rebuild we did.

Old trailer jack with crappy plastic wheel cut off.





New 10" pneumatic wheel.





Trailer jack ready to be installed. We welded a steel plate to the shaft of the jack and then bolted the new wheel to the plate. Should work well for the way we put the boat in and out.





Video of the motor running. We ran it for a good 30 minutes total. Need to adjust a few things to get it fine tuned, but it ran GREAT!!!
[youtube]RCLBgYI8zEQ[/youtube]


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## dawgfish66 (Aug 19, 2013)

I have been following your build.... Boat is looking great!! Did cutting the rear bench for the storage and adding the seat base weaken it much? I'm about to do the same with mine and was wondering if ill need to brace it more in some way.


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## BigTerp (Aug 19, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326605#p326605 said:


> dawgfish66 » 23 minutes ago[/url]"]I have been following your build.... Boat is looking great!! Did cutting the rear bench for the storage and adding the seat base weaken it much? I'm about to do the same with mine and was wondering if ill need to brace it more in some way.



Thanks.

Not that I noticed at all. I took the entire hunk of foam out where I installed the hatch as well. I orginally tried to cut just enough out to fit my hatch, but it was to much of a PITA. Even with doing that it seems perfectly fine. Once I riveted the hatch down, it seemed to actually reinforce the bench and make it a bit stronger than before. I plan to eventually get a matching hatch for the other side of my bench. Trying to stay on budget for now though.


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## hercdrvrwo (Aug 19, 2013)

Big Terp -- I still owe you a youtube video of the cammo I am talking about -- when I get to the paint on my boat I will break out my camera and take some video of what I am talking about. Thanks and your boat is kickin some serious ass!!!

Cheers
Herc


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## BigTerp (Aug 20, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326654#p326654 said:


> hercdrvrwo » Yesterday, 8:44 pm[/url]"]Big Terp -- I still owe you a youtube video of the cammo I am talking about -- when I get to the paint on my boat I will break out my camera and take some video of what I am talking about. Thanks and your boat is kickin some serious ass!!!
> 
> Cheers
> Herc



Thanks man!! I'm liking your progress as well.

Tonight is prep and paint night. I"ll probably give my base coat at least 5 days to cure, then I'll tackle my camo stenciling. I'm not looking to do anything extravegent. I don't hunt out of my boat, but it's usually beached somewhere nearby for easy access to chase down any birds that are floating down river. Unless I get my hands on something different, I'm probably going to go with my stencils I already have and do a black over brown. I'm going to try and space out the stencils a bit to keep it from being a giant blob. Thanks for the tips!!


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## JoshKeller (Aug 21, 2013)

how much did those hatches run you?


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## BigTerp (Aug 21, 2013)

Got my floor drains installed last night and the rest of the boat painted. Applied Asper Grit to the entire floor, bow deck and bow deck hatch lids.

https://www.softsandrubber.com/aspergrit.html

Should keep walking surfaces non-slippery. Didn't get any pictures because we finished up late last night. Had to throw 2 easy ups over the boat to keep dew off of it over night. Seemed to dry well and the Asper Grit seemed to adhere nicely when I checked things this morning. I'll find out for sure when I get home this evening after the boat sits in the 90 degree sunny weather we are suppose to have today. I'll grab some pics tonight.


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## Ranchero50 (Aug 21, 2013)

When are you going to splash it?


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## BigTerp (Aug 21, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326814#p326814 said:


> Ranchero50 » 29 minutes ago[/url]"]When are you going to splash it?



Next week/weekend is the plan. The only question will be weither it's running with my 1965 Johnson 5hp or the 50/35 jet. Plan to take the boat over to my buddies this weekend so we can dry fit the motor and try to figure out how big of a transom riser we need. He has a buddy that's works with aluminum and is going to make us a riser. Waiting on the riser is the only thing that will hold us up getting the jet mounted. I got my controls yesterday and am ordering my stick steering kit this week. Will spend the rest of this week/weekend camo stenciling, installing accessories and running electric. Other than that, she's pretty much ready to go!!!


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## NH-PLAY (Aug 21, 2013)

Hey dude, 
How u like the soft and rubber that u did? How much did u use ? And does it hold up well?


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## BigTerp (Aug 21, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326822#p326822 said:


> NH-PLAY » 36 minutes ago[/url]"]Hey dude,
> How u like the soft and rubber that u did? How much did u use ? And does it hold up well?



I'll put some pictures up of it this evening. Can't say much for durability, I just did it last night. It goes on pretty easily. Lay a coat of paint and sprinkle on top. Then you lay your second coat overtop. I used about half of the quart sifter bottle they sell. I did my entire floor and bow deck. I'll give you a better review after I see how well it set into the paint tonight.


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## hercdrvrwo (Aug 21, 2013)

Terp -- I too am interested in this -- I actually won't have too much surface area to use it on because I am using hydro turf for a lot of the floor covering, but where I won't have it I think I will want a nonslip additive. I look forward to the video/photos if you have em!

Cheers
Herc


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## BigTerp (Aug 21, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326847#p326847 said:


> hercdrvrwo » 49 minutes ago[/url]"]Terp -- I too am interested in this -- I actually won't have too much surface area to use it on because I am using hydro turf for a lot of the floor covering, but where I won't have it I think I will want a nonslip additive. I look forward to the video/photos if you have em!
> 
> Cheers
> Herc



I'll snap some pictures this evening.


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## BigTerp (Aug 21, 2013)

As promised I snapped a few pictures of the Asper Grit. Now, we didn't paint in the best conditions. We started applying the first coat at around 6:30 and finished the second coat right before dark. We threw up 2 easy ups to keep dew off the paint job overnight, but it was still dewy this morning. Might have not been the best idea. The paint is nice and dry and the Asper Grit has adhered VERY well. BUT, the paint is alot brighter/lighter than the first paint job when we painted the outside hull. It dried with blotchy waterspots as well. I'm thinking the dew screwed it up. It most likely will be getting another coat or two on Saturday to even out the color. I'm not so worried about it being pretty, but it's just to bright and I'm afraid it will really stand out and possibly flair ducks/geese. That's what I get for rushing, won't make that mistake again.

Here you can see the difference. The lighter spots is where we had to paint some rivets from installing the control mounts.






The full inside. You can see the texture the Asper Grit adds. It is nice and grippy for sure. It's a bit tricky to use. Hard to get a nice even coat. 





Asper Grit on the bow. We enter and exit the boat a lot from the bow during hunting season. Non-skid was definitely needed there.





Close up of the Asper Grit. I'm happy with how the Asper Grit turned out.





Floor drains.










Was planning on starting my stenciling work this week as well. That will now have to wait until I re-coat what we painted last night. Actually might be a good thing to add another coat or 2 for durability as much traffic as the inside hull will see.


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## NH-PLAY (Aug 21, 2013)

I like, extra coats should do the trick no worries


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326910#p326910 said:


> NH-PLAY » Yesterday, 9:55 pm[/url]"]I like, extra coats should do the trick no worries



Thanks. I really like the asper grit. It was just what I was hoping it would be.

Yeah, I plan to recoat everything on Saturday morning once I get the boat nice a dry, I have plenty of paint. Will give it all day to dry/cure. And I'm sure it will solve my problem. It's just dissapointing to have to redo it. My fault for sure, we rushed getting the second coat on not giving the first coat enough time to dry and doing it right when the dew started laying. I'm sure all that excess moisture caused the paint to finish alot lighter.


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2013)

Had another minor setback. I ordered my stick steering setup yesterday, but it's on manufacturer backorder for up to 15 business days #-o . Won't be using the jet during goose season it looks like. But it's not a huge issue. The boat will still be ready to go with accessories installed and everything wired up. We will just be crusing along at a snails pace just like last year with the 5hp motor.


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## hercdrvrwo (Aug 22, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326942#p326942 said:


> BigTerp » 22 Aug 2013, 09:05[/url]"]Had another minor setback. I ordered my stick steering setup yesterday, but it's on manufacturer backorder for up to 15 business days #-o . Won't be using the jet during goose season it looks like. But it's not a huge issue. The boat will still be ready to go with accessories installed and everything wired up. We will just be crusing along at a snails pace just like last year with the 5hp motor.




That sucks brother -- but your boat looks good! I like it! Put up some pics of the hunt too ok! 

BTW are you interested in trading a hunt? You can come on down and hunt my swamps and maybe I can head up your way and hunt with you once -- never fired my gun north of the Mason Dixon.

Cheers
Herc


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2013)

Thanks man. Hopefully we will get into some birds opening day. I'll be sure to post some pics.

I'm happy with how things are turning out. The crappy paint job has me bummed though, but I'll feel much better when I can do it properly on Saturday. Hopefully it turns out as good as the outside hull this time!!! [-o<


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## BigTerp (Aug 22, 2013)

I forgot I took this picture. This is the face plate for one of my control mounts. They were painted the same night as the inside of my boat. But I put them on a piece of carboard under the boat, so I don't think they got any dew on them. They turned out perfect. The picture is the face plate laying on my rear bench/hatch. You can see the difference in the paint I'm talking about.


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## BigTerp (Aug 23, 2013)

Just a little update on the Asper Grit.........that stuff is NICE!! I pressure washed the inside of my hull to get her cleaned up and ready for another coat or two of Parkers duck boat paint and to knock any loose paint off from my half $%# paint job. I was worried I was going to knock the Asper Grit loose, but it didn't budge. I had a few small spots of paint that peeled up around my seat mounts and one of my hatch lids. I'm sure this is from the aluminum being wet when I painted. But other than that the Asper Grit and Parkers paint help up awesome, even with my crappy paint job. Other than the way the color turned out, I'm extremely happy with the durability of the Parkers and the Asper Grit. Going to clean her up one more time this evening, tape everything off AGAIN, let her dry and then tarp her to keep her dry overnight. I'll then wipe her down with acetone and paint her CORRECTLY tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!!! [-o<


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## BigTerp (Aug 26, 2013)

Got a good bit done over the weekend. Put 2 more coats of Parkers duck boat paint on the inside of the hull, and it came out MUCH nicer than what I did earlier in the week. My dumb fault for painting right before dark. But she's good to go now.





















Got the entire inside camo stenciled yesterday. It turned out much better than I was expecting. Forgot to get good pictures of the camo work. But you can see some of it in the next pictures. My buddy stopped over and helped me get things wired up. We installed both batteries, 2-bank on board charger, nav lights, stern light, stereo, bilge pump, 12V socket and switch panel. Still need to wire up and install my sonar and interior lights and get all my wires tidied up. We ran out of daylight for those jobs. I didn't get good picutres of the wiring either. 

Back of control panel. This is located on the face plate of my motor control mount.





Port battery compartment. You can see the on board charger to the right, which is mounted in the center hatch.





Just a few pictures of how much of a mess wiring a boat is.










Things turned out really nice and the boat is starting to come together. Only things left to do is camo stencil the outside of the hull, wire up sonar and interior lights, install sonar and tidy up all my wiring. I'll try and get some better pictures tonight of how things are coming along. Once we got cleaned up, it was to dark to get any good pictures of the boat.


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## hercdrvrwo (Aug 26, 2013)

=D> GREAT JOB MAN!! Lookin good! Can you see the light?? =D>


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## BigTerp (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanks man!! I'll get some better pictures tonight.

I can see the light........FINALLY!! Still a bit left to do, but she's ready to hunt, which is the main thing. Resident goose season opens up Monday. Planning on going Monday and, if I can get off work, Tuesday morning. For now we'll be using the trusty 1965 Johnson 5hp. 

Remainder to be done:
-Finish camo stencils
-Install interior lights
-Plumb bilge pump
-Install sonar and transducer
-Clean up my wiring mess
-Figure out and install transom riser
-Install jet drive

Probably be back at it again tonight :shock:


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## BigTerp (Aug 27, 2013)

Was at it AGAIN last night. I've lost count of how many days in a row I've been working on this project, but I need a break!! I was actually sore yesterday and even today, I guess from spending countless hours over the weekend squating, bending, etc. over the boat to paint and wire. I've gotten alot done in a short amount of time though, so it's been worth it. And my wifes been AWESOME with all the time I've been spending on the boat. Can't be appreciative enough for that!! Anyway, last night I drilled and installed my outles for my bilge pump. I also found the right spot for my pump and 5200'd the base to my bilge. I also grinded clean a few screws from mounting my bus bar and battery charger to keep them from getting caught on waders. Also finished up stenciling the outside of the boat. Hoping to finish up wiring my interior lights later this week. On to the pictures.

Got a few better pictures of the paint work. Turned out really nice IMO.










Stereo setup. It's just 2 6" amplified speakers for mp3, smart phone, etc. hookup. The white plug is the auxillary jack, and the black knob is gain/volume control. sounds really nice.





Aplifier tucked in front of the starboard battery.





2-bank on board charger. Mounted on the faceplate of my center bow hatch. You can see all the wire conduit I still need to install.





Control panel. This is on the starboard gunwale. My motor controls will be mounted right beside the panel once we get the motor installed. JUST enough clearance for both.





Stern light mount. You can see my bilge pump right below, which is where I mounted it. Through hull fitting for the pump is tucked under the corner transom brace right below the stern light. This is all on the starboard side.





Navigation light. I went with led modules from www.oznium.com. Was looking for something low profile that wouldn't stick up on the bow and risk being kicked while entering and exiting the boat. These are only about 3" long, but are super bright. Just what I was looking for. They are installed with 5200. The painters tape is just a temporary clamp while the 5200 cures





Lit up.





12V accessory plug. This is located on the port side of the rear bench. Once the jet pump is installed the captain will be up front. So the man in the rear seat will need to operate the spotlight.





That's it for now. I'm calling her 95% done. Just need to finish installing interior lights and my sonar and transducer and cleaning up my wiring. I'm going to wait until after next week to do my sonar and transducer, since we are hunting Monday/Tuesday. I want to give the 5200 a good week to cure once I mount my transducer since it involves holes below the water line.


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## BigTerp (Aug 30, 2013)

Got a few more things done over the past few nights. Installed/wired my sonar, installed my stern light storage clips, re-installed my fenders and side bunks, finished up my bilge pump installation and installed my boat numbers. Days are getting shorter which sucks when your trying to get things accomplished in the evenings.

750 gph bilge pump working. I 5200'd the pump to the starboard side of my bilge. Worked out nicely. 










Stern light storage. These clips don't hold the light quite as tight as I'd like. The light can slide back and forth. Had to slide the light until the clip got snug against the curve of the shaft towards the top of the light. Nice and snug that way. 





Sonar installed. Didn't install my transducer yet, will probably wiat until we get the jet hooked up to the boat. But wanted to get the sonar wired and installed so I can start cleaning up my wiring. It's located for easy viewing from the captains seat.





Boat numbers from John (bulldog from this site) at Vinyl Images (board sponsor). He did awesome work at a reasonable price!! I think they look nice. And now I'm LEGAL.





My buddy is going to stop by tonight to help me wire and install my interior lights. Once I get the wiring cleaned up, I won't be doing anything else until after we hunt next week. Going to take her out Sunday morning to do some scouting for our Monday morning hunt. Hopefully we can fill her full of birds!!


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## BigTerp (Sep 3, 2013)

Got my interior lights wired up late last week, and am super happy with them. We used them yesterday morning and this morning while running to our hunting spot and while setting decoys. They are bright enough to light up the interior of the boat really well, but the red color doesn't effect your night vision at all. We had the boat out all day sunday with up to 4 people fishing off of it at a time. It fishes 3 comfortable, but 4 is doable. Never thought about getting pictures while fishing or hunting the last 2 days. Even though we only caught 2 fish and bagged 0 geese, I was having to much fun!! 

Not sure how good these will show up, but here is the interior lights lit up.










Heres a little better shot of the LED nav lights. They are SUPER bright.


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## Mojo (Sep 3, 2013)

This looks really great dude. I like how you did the Nav Lights. I've already got a bow light for mine in the package but I may rethink that and go with something like you've got going on there. Nice work!


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## BigTerp (Sep 4, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=328310#p328310 said:


> Mojo » Yesterday, 5:17 pm[/url]"]This looks really great dude. I like how you did the Nav Lights. I've already got a bow light for mine in the package but I may rethink that and go with something like you've got going on there. Nice work!



Thanks man!! 

These are the nav lights. I went with the straight black.
https://www.oznium.com/super-bright-12v-led-module

And these are the interior lights. I ordered the premium ones, but they were on backorder for so long I went with the standard.
https://www.oznium.com/rectangle-led-module

I'm happy with both. The only problem with the nav lights is they are so tiny and blend in with my camo stenciling, I have to be carefull not to pull the anchor up over them, push the boat off dock and break them, etc. But so far so good.


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## BigTerp (Sep 4, 2013)

Wanted to show you guys my setup for getting my boat in and out of my river access that my subdivision has. It is a steep muddy/rocky ramp that the river frequently rises over and mucks it up, so backing all the way down is asking for trouble. We use a winch that attaches to my hitch, and then the ball mount attaches to the winch. We rarely use the winch itself, unless it is real muddy or snowy. We basically get the winch cable taught with enough slack so I can back to the top of the boat ramp and my trailer rolls down to the water. Just do the opposite to get her back out. Whoever is with me can guide the trailer down and up super easy. If I'm by myself I'll pull to the top of the ramp, power up the winch and lower her down and back that way. Obviously don't need this setup at regular concrete ramps, but in conjuction with the pneumatic wheel I put on my trailer jack it works perfect for what I need it for. We did the same thing all last fall/winter during duck season and eventually broke the pin on my trailer jack. That's why it now has a 10" pneumatic wheel :LOL2: 












I think I alreay posted this, but this is the old trailer jack with a new 10" pneumatic wheel. The wheel has ball bearings at the connection point so it spins and turns freely preventing it from binding up when going up or down the ramp. HUGE improvement from the standard trailer jack wheel that we struggled with all last year.


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## BigTerp (Sep 4, 2013)

Looking back over my work, I can't believe how much I got done in the last month. Things started out slowly with this project, but I got finished what I needed to in time for goose season, which was my goal. I felt like I was rushing but I don't think I took any shortcuts, which was also part of my goal. Still have a bit to get done, which includes:

- Finish tidying up my wiring 
- Install Sonar Transducer
- Fab up and install transom riser
- Install motor and controls

I got my stick steering unit in yesterday. My buddy is helping me to fabricate and install a transom riser for the motor. But we are both busy the next 2 weeks, so not much will be getting done until then. But once we get that finished up I can FINALLY call this project done (except for the rear deck I want to install in the spring)!!! New goal date of October 5th to have her back on the water with the jet motor hanging of back.


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## Ranchero50 (Sep 4, 2013)

Sometimes it's best to take a break and enjoy the boat. It'll give you perspective about what you want to do next and possibly some stuff you've done that you may want to change. Heck, I've been building mine since 2009...


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## BigTerp (Sep 5, 2013)

Thanks Jamie. Once I get the jet mounted and setup right, that's the plan. We had it out most of the day on Sunday. Fished from above the trestles to the dam. Only caught 2 decent size catfish, but had fun. I only saw 2 boats up my way all day. One was an inboard jet and the other was an outboard jet. River wasn't super low either. Figured there would be more traffic on the holiday weekend.


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## BigTerp (Sep 5, 2013)

The motor is ready to go!! Just need to find the time to get it mounted up and my controls installed.





Spent a little time last night cleaning up some of my wiring work. Had a bunch of stickers laying around that I threw on the underside of my hatches as well.


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## chevyrulz (Sep 5, 2013)

nice job on everything =D>


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## BigTerp (Sep 5, 2013)

Thanks man!!


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## gillhunter (Sep 5, 2013)

Nice work, and I like your choice of adult beverages :LOL2: :LOL2: .


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## BigTerp (Sep 6, 2013)

Thanks gillhunter!! I'm a pretty avid homebrewer, but with the time and budget constraints of my project there hasn't been any homebrewing going on for quite awhile.


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## BigTerp (Sep 9, 2013)

Had the boat out most of the day on Saturday. My buddy and I went goose hunting in the morning, and got skunked again. The geese aren't interested in the river when there are cut corn fields all around. Then my wife and I went out for most of the afternoon to do some fishing. I ended up catching 10, and my wife 2. All small smallmouths and a few bluegills. All caught off of various spinners. We had a fun time!!

Shot of part of our decoy spread. Looked pretty cool with the fog still on the river.





My buddy took this shot on the motor back to the boat ramp.





Tiny smallmouth.





Even smaller one. The number 3 was for my buddy. He caught 2 the last time we went out, so I had to let him know I was ahead.





Me being a good husband and pulling the boat through some shallow riffles. Can't wait to get the jet installed!!!!!





My wife had a good time, and seems more interested in ever to go fishing with me. That's what it's all about!!!


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## jblood13 (Sep 10, 2013)

I really like the asper grit, but I was wondering if your floor and deck still get hot. I am in Florida and my buddy and I both have problems with our boats getting too hot to touch with bare skin and have been looking at different ideas such as hydroturf and grip products. I think your boat turned out amazing and you have given me some ideas for mine but progress has been extremely slow.


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## BigTerp (Sep 10, 2013)

Thanks!!

The floor and deck do still get hot, but not as bad as my rear bench which is only painted and doesn't have the Asper Grit on it. Something like hydroturf would probably be cooler, but also tougher to clean.


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## Ranchero50 (Sep 10, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=328810#p328810 said:


> BigTerp » Yesterday, 13:42[/url]"]
> Tiny smallmouth.
> 
> 
> ...



Typical this year isn't it... Still waiting for the levels to drop back to normal. Supposed to hit 93 today so I expect I'll be on the water once the kid gets off school but doubt we'll make it up that far if the waters dropped.

My wife won't go with me anymore, said she can't breath at speed...


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## BigTerp (Sep 10, 2013)

> My wife won't go with me anymore, said she can't breath at speed...



HA!!! After hearing some of your stories, I can't blame her.

Yeah, pretty much been the story this year. When we were out hunting Saturday morning I saw several nice size smallies on the way back to the boat ramp. Got excited that we were going to be chasing them later that afternoon/evening. Nothing but little ones though.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Sep 11, 2013)

The winch idea is freakin' genius! Do you worry about smashing the nav lights on trees or docks? 

I had hydroturf in my old boat and it cleaned up just as easy as the rest of the boat at the carwash.


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## BigTerp (Sep 12, 2013)

Thanks man. The winch is really the best way for me to get my boat in and out at my river access. In reality a simple cable that I could attach to my hitch would work just as well. But the winch will be nice for when I'm by myself and no one to guide the boat up/down the ramp as I back it in/out.

Never really thought about smashing up the nav lights. They seem pretty durable so far. By biggest concern is breaking them while pushing the boat off the trailer, pushing the boat/trailer around the driveway, etc. They are so low profile and blend in with my boat I forget they are there sometimes.

Good to know about the hydroturf. I considered going that route for a long time, but am happy so far with the Asper Grit.


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## BigTerp (Sep 16, 2013)

Dry fitted the jet yesterday evening. Going to have to raise my transom 4-3/4" to get the front of the jet foot even with the bottom of my hull. We are going to make a simple transom riser out of aluminum sheet and angle. The bottom 2 bolts on the motor will be going through the existing transom, but the top bolts will only be going through the riser above the existing transom. My buddy recently got an aluminum setup for his welder, so everything will be welded together. Planning on cutting out the sheet and angle this week and getting the riser installed, motor bolted on and controls installed over the weekend. Can hardly wait!!!


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## BigTerp (Sep 26, 2013)

We got the jack plate/transom riser installed last night. Also got the motor bolted on, controls installed and remaining wires/cables installed for the controls, stick steer and motor. Everything seems to be working great!! Only thing left to do is drill a hole through the rear bench to route the control cables and motor plug through. Didn't think to get any pictures, but I'll snap some once I get the boat back home. It's currently at my buddies because he has some free time to finish routing/cleaning up all the wires and cables. Hoping to take her for a test run this weekend or early next week. The anticipation is going to kill me, but life is pretty busy right now.


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## DanMC (Sep 26, 2013)

Great job across the board !


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## BigTerp (Sep 26, 2013)

Thanks man!!

Can't wait to get her on the water with the new motor!!


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## BigTerp (Sep 30, 2013)

Taking her out this evening after work to test run the new motor setup. My buddy got the control wires ran through the rear bench seat, hooked up and adjusted over the weekend. She should be ready to go. Can hardly wait. Wish me luck!!!! [-o<


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## typed by ben (Sep 30, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330806#p330806 said:


> BigTerp » 33 minutes ago[/url]"]Taking her out this evening after work to test run the new motor setup. My buddy got the control wires ran through the rear bench seat, hooked up and adjusted over the weekend. She should be ready to go. Can hardly wait. Wish me luck!!!! [-o<


i need a buddy like that! does he put gas in the boat too?


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## BigTerp (Sep 30, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330810#p330810 said:


> typed by ben » Today, 8:58 am[/url]"]
> 
> 
> [url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330806#p330806 said:
> ...



HA, not yet. Not sure if you read through this thread or not, but he actually bought the motor off Craigslist blown up and in need of a rebuild and I helped him rebuild it. Actually, I just basically handed him tools and beer. Can't beat that!! He's a hell of a guy. He's my hunting partner 99% of the time and fishing partner 75% of the time. And after all his help with this project, not to mention the motor, he's free to use my boat anytime he wants.


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## Ranchero50 (Sep 30, 2013)

So was it everything you expected it to be?


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## BigTerp (Oct 1, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330899#p330899 said:


> Ranchero50 » Yesterday, 9:05 pm[/url]"]So was it everything you expected it to be?



Not even close!! But we are hoping we have the problem figured out. The engine seems to be running in S.L.O.W. mode. Which is a fail safe that if the engine overheats or the oil injection system isn't functioning it limits the rpms to 2500, even at WOT. We don't have a tach or anyway to tell what the rpms are, but it sure seems like that is the case. We aren't using the oil injection system, so it may be as simple as disconnecting that wire from the engine. If that doesn't work, we'll have to take a look at the temp switches to see if they are bad. Hoping one or both of those are the problem, if not we'll move on down the line until we figure it out. Won't get to trouble shoot unitl tomorrow evening and will take her back out Thursday. 

Other than that everything went well. My controls and stick steer functioned great, motor started right up each time, transom riser seems solid, timing is on the money, plugs looked good and even though we didn't get up on plane the jet foot seems to be set almost perfect. That may change once we get on plane, but I'm hoping not. 

Will do some trouble shooting tomorrow evening. Hopefully it will be a quick and obvious fix!!! [-o<


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## typed by ben (Oct 1, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330836#p330836 said:


> BigTerp » Yesterday, 11:55[/url]"]
> 
> HA, not yet. Not sure if you read through this thread or not, but he actually bought the motor off Craigslist blown up and in need of a rebuild and I helped him rebuild it. Actually, I just basically handed him tools and beer. Can't beat that!! He's a hell of a guy. He's my hunting partner 99% of the time and fishing partner 75% of the time. And after all his help with this project, not to mention the motor, he's free to use my boat anytime he wants.


yeah thats a good deal there.


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## Ranchero50 (Oct 1, 2013)

That sucks... I have a buddy at work who's dealing with the same thing. His VRO oil level sensor is unplugged, no difference and is expecting to buy a power pack. His was a used motor off eBay so who knows the history.


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## BigTerp (Oct 1, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330933#p330933 said:


> Ranchero50 » 4 minutes ago[/url]"]That sucks... I have a buddy at work who's dealing with the same thing. His VRO oil level sensor is unplugged, no difference and is expecting to buy a power pack. His was a used motor off eBay so who knows the history.



Yeah, power pack could also be the problem, hoping not. We are going to use an ohmeter and start trouble shooting. Could me a multitude of things. Blocking diode could also be bad allowing something else to engage S.L.O.W. mode that shouldn't. 

Should I be getting a horn/alarm if it's in S.L.O.W. mode? We don't. I'm also thinking that when I turn the key on I should get a horn/alarm kind of as an everything is ok sort of thing. I haven't heard anything from the engine. Maybe the horn/alarm is bad as well?


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## BigTerp (Oct 2, 2013)

Did a little tyding up last night and grabbed a few pictures of the motor setup. The transom riser is 2 pieces of aluminum sheet that sandwiches the transom. There is another piece of sheet welded to the back side of the fore sheet that acts as a spacer for the transom. Where the top of the transom meets my transom wood, there is a small space, hence the need for a spacer. The top part of the transom riser accounts for 4-5/8" of rise which allows the front of the jet foot to sit flush with the bottom of my hull. The transom riser is made up of various pieces of aluminum sheet that makes one large piece that is all welded together. The motor is bolted through the riser and transom with four 1/2" stainless bolts and nyloc nuts. If any adjustment is needed (probably down if anything) we can knock off small amounts of the top part of the riser as needed. The four bolts I have in now will allow for adjustment without having to drill anymore holes through my transom. Once everything is dialed in, I'll be adding 2 more bolts through my transom to finalize the motor install.

















A few pictures of my controls and stick steer.










Hoping to get my hands on an ohmeter tonight so we can start diagnosising the motor. Hopefully it'll be something fairly simple that is causing our problems.


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## JoshKeller (Oct 2, 2013)

try disconnecting the temp sending units from the harness as a quick and free test and see if the motor opens up. the oil injection wires must also be unplugged from the oil tank. heres a video of my motor going into slow mode to help you determine if its slow mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c28Znn-6Wc&feature=youtu.be

ive got plenty of tools if you need them.


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## BigTerp (Oct 3, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=331118#p331118 said:


> JoshKeller » Yesterday, 10:29 pm[/url]"]try disconnecting the temp sending units from the harness as a quick and free test and see if the motor opens up. the oil injection wires must also be unplugged from the oil tank. heres a video of my motor going into slow mode to help you determine if its slow mode.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c28Znn-6Wc&feature=youtu.be
> 
> ive got plenty of tools if you need them.



Thanks man!! I'm hoping the motor is going into SLOW mode. Can't really figure out what else is going on, unless the power pack is bad. My buddy is stopping by this evening with a megaohmeter so we can test all the possibilities. The weird thing is the motor never gets wide open. It starts fine, but when you go full throttle it seems bogged down and like it doesn't want to open up all the way. I notice how yours seems to act fine and then you can see when it goes into SLOW mode. Mine seems to be constantly in slow mode. Other odd thing is there is no horn/alarm sounding. The alarm could be bad, or the blocking diode could also be bad causing something else to engage SLOW mode that won't set off an alarm. Either way after tonight, we should have a good idea of what is wrong. Wish me luck!!! [-o<


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## BigTerp (Oct 3, 2013)

So my buddy brought his ohmeter over tonight and everything seems to check out. Power pack, temp switches, etc. are all good. We were able to ground the temp switch and run the motor in a barrel to put it in SLOW mode. SLOW mode isn't our problem. SLOW mode is very noticeable and different then what the motor is doing. While running in the barrel the motor would run at WOT but bogged down. Then when the water level in the barrel would start dropping the motor would open up and run like it should. It's almost as if the water going into the pump is causing some sort of restriction. Now, I checked my impeller clearance last night. It's not uniform. Some spots are tighter than .020 and others are over.027. If I rotate the flywheel, the clearances stay at the same spot in respect to the liner. So it doesn't seem to be a bent shaft, but more like an imperfect liner. But the liner isn't gouged or marked at all. Not sure if that could be causing this issue or not. My buddys guess it's there is some sort of restriction within the exhaust. Basically when there is any load on the motor it doesn't want to open up. Anyone have any ideas?


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## JoshKeller (Oct 3, 2013)

have you verified all the carbs are opening up properly? does the timing advance arm move freely? it almost sounds like the lower water level is reducing the exhaust pressure, sort of like running it on muffs instead of submerged.


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## BigTerp (Oct 4, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=331211#p331211 said:


> JoshKeller » Yesterday, 9:13 pm[/url]"]have you verified all the carbs are opening up properly? does the timing advance arm move freely? it almost sounds like the lower water level is reducing the exhaust pressure, sort of like running it on muffs instead of submerged.



Thanks for the thoughts!!! I forwarded this to my buddy to see what he thinks. I haven't checked to see if the carbs are opening up properly or if the timing advance arm is moving freely, but he may have. He's the engine guy not me  . Actually it's the opposite of what your saying. When the pump is completely submerged the engine won't open up. Once the water in the barrell starts to lower, the engine then seems to run like it should and opens up. It acts as if the water pressure within the pump is restricting something, or if any load is on the engine it won't open up. Kind of like what you'd experience when getting cavitation. But my engine never fully revs until the pump starts to come out of the water. Make sense?


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## Ranchero50 (Oct 4, 2013)

Reed valves...

Or possibly your pump isn't for your engine.


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## BigTerp (Oct 4, 2013)

Thanks Jaime!!

My buddy confirmed the carbs are opening up fine and the timing arm is good to go. We also inspected the reed valves when we had the powerhead apart and they looked fine. This is why it's driving him bonkers trying to figure this thing out!! The motor is marked from OMC with a model number that translates into 50hp jet. So I'm almost positive OMC built the motor with the jet pump installed. I checked outboard jets website and got the jet pump model # that should be on this motor. I'll double check tonight to see if I can find a model number on the pump just to be sure.

My buddy is thinking there is a crack or hole in the exhaust tube. We are going to inspect it in the morning. He also wants to back the boat in the river to be able to run it with just the foot submerged. I'm guessing this would confirm if it's some sort of exhaust issue?


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## chevyrulz (Oct 4, 2013)

looks good man, I like your jack plate :wink:


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## Ranchero50 (Oct 4, 2013)

I'm still going to say reeds. If they are to strong they won't let enough air into the bottom end and if too weak they won't seat quick enough for the piston stroke to push the fuel charge into the cylinder. You can check that by running it with the top and carb hat off. If you can feel air puffing or pulsing out the carb inlet you may have problems. Get a set of Beyensons to put in.

Also, did you guys do a WOT chop? Run the engine at max throttle for a minute and pull the kill switch. Drop anchor and pop the plugs out to inspect how the engine is firing at WOT.

Per exhaust, there's really nothing there to get blocked. You should be able to pull a spark plug and force compressed air into the cylinder to check for exhaust flow.

Good luck.


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## BigTerp (Oct 4, 2013)

Thanks Jamie. I think you might be right on the reeds. It's the only thing that makes sense. I checked compression tonight. Was a hair over145 bottom cylinder and almost 150 on the top. So that checked out. My buddy checked the spark yesterday and all was good. Going to go over ALL the electrical components tomorrow just to rule everything else out. Will probably be ordering reeds tomorrow as well. Thanks for the help!!!


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## BigTerp (Oct 4, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=331289#p331289 said:


> chevyrulz » Today, 4:59 pm[/url]"]looks good man, I like your jack plate :wink:



Thanks man!!! Pretty simple design. Was a bit of a pain fabricating, but it works really well and is extremely stout.


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## BigTerp (Oct 9, 2013)

CLOGGED JETS!!!!! We tore apart the carbs on Saturday and the jets were nasty as hell, especially the lower carb. I guess we neglected to fully inspect/clean each one when doing the rebuild. I know we cleaned the carbs, but must have overlooked the jets, or had a few to many beers that particular day  My buddy took the boat out on Sunday and said it ran like a top!! Got 20mph's out of it with him and a passenger. I was expecting closer to mid 20's, but that will certainly do. Going to finally have the chance to take it out tonight to see for myself how it runs and do any fine tunning that may be needed. Pretty excited


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## BigTerp (Oct 10, 2013)

Had her out last night and I am more than happy!!  Motor ran great with zero issues. Got 26.3mph up river with just me and no gear in the boat. Quite the improvement from the 5-6mph I was getting with my grandfathers 1965 Johnson 5hp. Boat planes easily and stays on plane down to a little under 3/4 throttle. Thing is a pig on gas though. I ran it for about an hour trying to vary the throttle and rpms and not stay at WOT for too long, which was hard to do, as part of the break in process. Used about 2 gallons of gas. Going to take some getting used to how a jet powered boat handles, but I like the way it slides while turning. Looking forward to taking her out again to progress with the break in period.


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## BigTerp (Oct 14, 2013)

Haven't had the chance to take her back out due to it raining for the past 4 or 5 straight days. I'll be duck hunting this Saturday, so that'll be the next chance I get to take her out.

With all my excitement of the jet, I forgot to mention I got a bow mount, foot controlled trolling motor installed. It's an old Tracker Pro Guide Series 41. But it works well on the boat. I'll try and grab some pictures.


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## BigTerp (Oct 15, 2013)

Got a few pics of my trolling motor setup. I played around with several different ways to mount it and ending up mouting it length wise on the bow from starboard to port. Mounting it along either the port or starboard sides would interfere with the captain and controls to much. Other than being a bit of a hazard when boarding/unboarding the boat from the bow, it works good where it's at. We installed it with rivit nuts so it can easily be removed when needed. Also installed an Attwood TM plug. You should be able to see in one of the pictures on the foot pedal there is a switch for 12V or 24V. We rewired this an installed a new switch that when on 12V it runs when you have your foot on the "throttle". When it's on 24V the "throttle" acts as an on/off switch so you can run it constant without having to keep your foot on the pedal.

















Attwood plug. TM is routed to the port side battery. Only other thing hooked up to this battery is the 12V accessory plug located in the rear bench which is used primarily for a spotlight while running to hunting spots early in the morning.


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## BigTerp (Oct 15, 2013)

Got my transom riser primed last night. Planning on painting it to match the boat this evening. Can't have all that shiny aluminum showing while duck hunting. Also should make it easier to see any cracks or voids in the riser, if it were ever to get any.


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## Ranchero50 (Oct 15, 2013)

Looks good, going to be interesting running it Saturday. Hopefully the brown water will be down so you're not tying off to tree branches


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## BigTerp (Oct 15, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=332118#p332118 said:


> Ranchero50 » 11 minutes ago[/url]"]Looks good, going to be interesting running it Saturday. Hopefully the brown water will be down so you're not tying off to tree branches



Thanks man. Those TM props are tough. I have the bruise/welt/cut on my right shin to prove it. Slipped while pushing the boat from shore last week when I had it out and smashed shin right on the prop. Would be nice if I could have mounted it to either side.

River is surprisingly only at 3.6 this morning. Looks to have dropped some from last night as well. I thought it'd be well over 4 feet with all the rain. Guess the ground was pretty dry and soaked most of it up. I'll take the higher/muddy water over all the green crap when the water is down (for hunting anyway). All the green stuff seems to seek out my jet foot and plug it up constantly.


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## Ranchero50 (Oct 16, 2013)

Yes, welcome to OB jetting at its best. At least you can tilt the engine and rake out the foot.

Mine does the same darned thing unless I can get it on plane, then it's moving too fast to make salads.


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## BigTerp (Oct 21, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=332191#p332191 said:


> Ranchero50 » October 16th, 2013, 8:24 am[/url]"]Yes, welcome to OB jetting at its best. At least you can tilt the engine and rake out the foot.
> 
> Mine does the same darned thing unless I can get it on plane, then it's moving too fast to make salads.



River was much better over the weekend in terms of grass. Got to run through the shallows for the first time with the setup. Went from the island right below the dam down past the tressels and back without hitting once. I'm impressed with how shallow it runs!! Boat and motor seems to be setup perfect. Had a few hiccups though. Needle valve on the bottom carb was stuck first thing Saturday morning. We un stuck it after we got done hunting, and it ran fine. Ordered new needle valves for both carbs anyway. 

We took her out again yesterday and went from fourlocks almost to Hancock. We got up to about Little Pool and turned around to make sure we had enough gas. Burned through about 8 gallons. Thing is a hog on gas. Man was that fun!! It's a little scary at first when your running full throttle through about 5" of water and then have to quickly pick a line through the riffles with rocks sitcking up seemingly everywhere.. Only hit twice, and both were glancing blows to the jet foot. I got a pretty good feel for reading the river and picking my lines.

Cam in my NOS OMC control box broke a tooth. Caused it to skip a gear and get locked in neutral. We tore it apart and put it back on track but couldn't use reverse unless we wanted to lock it up again. I think my gate cable is bad/stiff. The gate also doesn't like to fully open. Thinking I need new cables. Only thing I can think of that would be causing both issues. I have another pair that I'll compare to whats on the boat now. If there stiff as well, Looks like I"ll be ordering new cables.

Anyway to test my cables to see if they are bad? Can you lube control cables to lossen them up anyway? The handle on my control box is pretty stiff going from neutral to forward and reverse. Once it gets into "gear" it loosens up. Making me think my throttle cable is ok, just the "gear" cable I need to address.


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## JoshKeller (Oct 21, 2013)

pretty sure i have a set of cables in my garage if you need them.


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## BigTerp (Oct 23, 2013)

Definitely bad cables!! Tore apart my control box last night, unhooked my cables and tested them. Throttle cable is nice and smooth and moves freely. Gate/gear cable is super tight and takes a good bit of force to move in and out. I have an extra cable at my buddies that I'll check out. Hopefully it's ok so I can just swap it out for the bad one.


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## BigTerp (Mar 10, 2014)

Got a few things done to the boat over the weekend to get her ready for fishing now that the weather FINALLY seems like it's going to break. Once we got the motor issues figured out this past fall, we haven't had any issues with the boat and motor all winter. I'd guess we had her out over a dozen times over the winter waterfowl hunting. Everything seems setup just right for the way we use the boat. Glad I was patient in deciding exactly how I wanted everything setup. Hopefully everything continues to run well. Havne't had her out in almost 2 months due to the crappy weather we've been having. Missed the final month or so of waterfowl season due to either snow, ice or dangerous river conditions.

Got an extra seat and 2 13" pedestal for the rear bench and front deck. Front deck is WAY to flimsly though. Need to figure out a way to reinforce the stock aluminum deck and or seat base before it gets used. Any suggestions?





Here is the front deck base. It sits on the factory deck which is rather thin aluminum. It flexes ALOT from bow to stern with the seat and pedestal installed. Any suggestions on how I can reinforce before I rip up my bow deck?





Ordered a heavy duty tarp of Ebay last fall to use as a cover. It's OK for $30, but I've already had to tape up a few tears with some gorrilla tape. Worked pretty good with all the snow and ice we had over the winter, so I guess I really can't complain. Here is how I support my cover. 2 small sawhorses, a long 2x4, bucket and bungee straps.





Cover on





Made some rodholders out of PVC. I have a grip type additive on my floor and deck paint. I was afraid it would tear up my rods and reels so decided some rodholers were in order. Used 1-1/4" PVC for about $4.50 for 10'. Only used 4' of it though. Probably use the rest to make a rodholder stand for my rec room. I thought they turned out nicely.















I have 4 rodholders coming from https://www.metalrodholders.com/. Once I get those installed the only thing left to do is fabricate and install a stern deck. Then I think I can finally call her finished.


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## panFried (Mar 10, 2014)

Looking good Terp! Just in time as weather seems to be breaking finally. Whats with the basket ball? Is that a cover/protector? Reminds me of the old folks with tennis balls on their walkers or hitch ball covers.


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## BigTerp (Mar 10, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=344441#p344441 said:


> panFried » 30 minutes ago[/url]"]Looking good Terp! Just in time as weather seems to be breaking finally. Whats with the basket ball? Is that a cover/protector? Reminds me of the old folks with tennis balls on their walkers or hitch ball covers.



Thanks man!!

Yes, the basketball is to protect the cover. Since it's not custom fit, depending on how the cover falls when I put it on, it sometimes is over the wench bracket which could easily tear right through my cover.


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## BigTerp (Mar 11, 2014)

Installed a set of driving lights on my boat last fall. Started a thread on it, but figured it should go here as well.

Needed to add some sort of driving lights to my boat. I run pretty shallow areas of the local river and really needed some extra light when heading to hunting spots before dawn. A hand held spotlight wasn't nearly enough and made me really uncomfortable when running the sketchy areas. I ended up following a thread on another site that took a halogen off road light and converted it to HID. I ended up converting a pair into 35 watt HID. Here are the lights I used.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029ZCEEY/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used Xenon HID conversion kits for both that I got off of ebay. Here are some pictures of the project.
















Had to add another switch since all the ones on my control panel were taken up.





Here they are lit up at night. I'm VERY impressed with the amount of light they put out. Can't wait to see how well they work on the water once dialed in.


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## alanbird_87 (Mar 14, 2014)

Hi, great looking boat. I really like the aluminum floor. I was wondering if you attached the forward floor to aluminum angle and if so how did you?


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## BigTerp (Mar 17, 2014)

Thanks man!!

Yes, the bow end of my floor is attached to a piece of angle with rivets. Here are some good pictures of how I did it.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=26774&start=180


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## BigTerp (Apr 11, 2014)

Here is a short video my wife shot yesterday of me coming out of a small, narrow creek into the main river. For those of you familiar with my area, it is Tonoloway Creek on the east side of Hancock. The video is a little goofy and looks a little better if you go full screen. My wife shot it with my phone vertical instead of horizontal. Makes it a little weird, but shows pretty good how well the boat/motor combo runs and how shallow I'm able to go. We caught zero fish by the way  

[youtube]s_ZOPjJcdVs[/youtube]


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## panFried (Apr 12, 2014)

Very nice!!!


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## huntinfool (Apr 12, 2014)

Looks great. Heck of a transformation.


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## BigTerp (Apr 14, 2014)

Thanks!! Getting a pretty good feel as to how I can run this boat. It gets a bit scary at times, but I guess that's part of running a jet. Here is another video my wife forgot she took with her phone the other day. Again, it's not the best due to it being a cell phone, but it shows even better how shallow I can run and and how the boat handles. I was running a back channel, inlet/cove (whatever you want to call it) of the Potomac River. You can see my excitement/surprise at the end of the video that I made it through that last shoot. Was just a few inches of water :shock: 

[youtube]Pewo2z4upaM[/youtube]


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## typed by ben (Apr 14, 2014)

i bet the guys that live that way were about surprised as hell to hear an outboard that far up!


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## BigTerp (Apr 14, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=348631#p348631 said:


> typed by ben » Today, 8:59 am[/url]"]i bet the guys that live that way were about surprised as hell to hear an outboard that far up!



There are a lot of jet guys in my neck of the woods. I saw 6 out just yesterday morning while I was out trying (and failing) to catch some fish.


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## BigTerp (Apr 14, 2014)

Installed my rod holders yesterday that I got from from https://www.metalrodholders.com/. Tyler was great to work with and the rod holders are top notch!! I ordered 4 - 45 degree holders along with 4 bases. I'm going to order 6 more bases so I can have numerous options as to where I want my rod holders setup for a particular night of cat fishing. Can't wait to use them!!

These are powder coated black. I painted the bases myself to match my boat. They are currently installed with blind rivets, which work ok, but I'm going to have my buddy tack weld them onto the rails to keep them secure.


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## depp2291 (Apr 20, 2014)

How much asper grit did you end up using?


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## Djknyork (Apr 20, 2014)

Nice rig... Fellow jet runner here.
If your fishing for smallmouth bass now get some 3 inch 1/8 oz tubs n jig them slowly along the banks. The bite will be subtle just a little added weight or a small thump n set the hook. Killing them here in PA right now.


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## BigTerp (Apr 21, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=349468#p349468 said:


> depp2291 » Yesterday, 8:52 pm[/url]"]How much asper grit did you end up using?



I got the quart size sifter bottle and used a little more than half of it.


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## BigTerp (Apr 21, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=349469#p349469 said:


> Djknyork » Yesterday, 9:00 pm[/url]"]Nice rig... Fellow jet runner here.
> If your fishing for smallmouth bass now get some 3 inch 1/8 oz tubs n jig them slowly along the banks. The bite will be subtle just a little added weight or a small thump n set the hook. Killing them here in PA right now.



Thanks!! We've been struggling with the smallmouth. Was out again Saturday afternoon/evening fishing tubes in the manner you describe, with no luck. Did get the chance to break in the rod holders and catch a few catfish though. My wife outfished me 4-1, but it was nice to FINALLLY get the skunk off my back and some fish on the boat.


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## Metal Rodholders (May 1, 2014)

Great looking boat you can tell a lot of hard work and planning went into that.


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## BigTerp (May 2, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=350836#p350836 said:


> Metal Rodholders » Yesterday, 2:40 pm[/url]"]Great looking boat you can tell a lot of hard work and planning went into that.



Thanks!!! LOVING the rod holders!!!


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## surfman (May 5, 2014)

Nice build, just use a battery tie-down for the battery it is supposed to be secured anyway.


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## BigTerp (May 5, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=351311#p351311 said:


> surfman » 7 minutes ago[/url]"]Nice build, just use a battery tie-down for the battery it is supposed to be secured anyway.



Thanks!!

Batteries are in a tray and tied down with straps. Haven't had any issues with either one arching or anything so far. Did have one of the battery strap buckles break recently on my trolling motor battery. Not sure how that happened, but it's since been replaced.


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## BigTerp (May 5, 2014)

As I've previously mentioned, I needed to figure out a way to reinforce my bow seat mount. After talking with bassboy1 (Fish On Fabrications), who made my hatches, I went with some 1" x 1" tube to attach beneath my deck to the front 2 mounting holes of my seat mount. I still get some flex, but nothing like I did without the extra reinforcement. I'm 6'8", 275#'s so it would be tough to get it completely solid.

Wanted to run the tube the width of my deck, but had to cut them short enough to fit into my factory "access panel". Still ended up with over 3' of tube.





This is how they are oriented under the deck. Made a significant improvement.


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## panFried (May 5, 2014)

Nice! I did the same thing ironically after reading your previous post. So I bought 1 " square as well for the front screws and left the back mounted to underlying bench. I'm hoping it will be enough as well. Great minds...


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## BigTerp (May 6, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=351345#p351345 said:


> panFried » Yesterday, 8:37 pm[/url]"]Nice! I did the same thing ironically after reading your previous post. So I bought 1 " square as well for the front screws and left the back mounted to underlying bench. I'm hoping it will be enough as well. Great minds...



HA!! Like you said, great minds....

It certainly helped mine. I'm still going to run some rivets along the length of each tube (per bassboy1) which should help further stiffen up the deck.


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## BigTerp (Jun 16, 2014)

> That way when you hit something solid you'll pole vault out over the front of the boat and not get rolled into a ball on the bow.





[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=324141#p324141 said:


> Ranchero50 » July 29th, 2013, 5:16 pm[/url]"]
> 
> 
> [url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=323948#p323948 said:
> ...



Looks like Jamie knew what he was talking about.........
















Did this 2 weekends ago. Was running a cove off the main river that I thought was moving water, but it was dead stagnant. No riffles to indicate where the rocks were and I hit a decent size one that was sitting about 1" under the surface at full throttle. Already got a new foot, liner and impeller. Waiting on a few more parts to come in this week and should be back on the water by the weekend. Lesson learned!!!


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## riverbud55 (Aug 5, 2014)

Nice build,,,mite be time for a tunnel if ur going running that shallow,,,, mite think of getting a rockproof intake foot if they make the right size for your engine https://www.rockproofboats.com/UHMW.html ,,, got a tunnel on mine and have knocked a few(big) trees out of the water and ran her up and parked her on a sand a time er two,, foot still good as new other then digging some bark out


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## BigTerp (Aug 5, 2014)

Thanks man!!

I looked into the UHMW foots when I destroyed mine, but they only make them for the large size pumps. Mine is a medium. A tunnel would be nice, but I'm not going to go to the trouble and expense of doing that. If I had a thicker gauge hull I'd definitely consider it, but mine is on the thinner side as you can see below. 

Did this last weekend. It welded up nicely (thanks to Ranchero50) and I'm back in business, but man did the boat fill up with water fast!! About 1.5" x 1/2" size hole.





Repaired


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## riverbud55 (Aug 6, 2014)

oops guess n ya found out how shallow she runs,,,had a few of those on my old Gregor  only has .080 er 090 hull,,,with a jet always running on the edge [-X ,,,,, was look n at putting 1/2'' uhmw bottom on the bottom on it,, think n back 7 years ago was like 3k,,, think rockproff mite still do it,,,, was a place up in WA or ID that does/did it,,,, would to have made a 1200 mile trip twice to have it done,,,,, gave up on that idea and went and bought a boat with a 3/16 bottom not not really a tin boat  ,,, still had to make a 1800 mile round trip to get it,,,,, our biggest problem are trees, sand and gravel bars 

dont understand them not having uhmw foot for the mid size engines, with all of the 40s 50s and 60s out there running jets you would think their would be a call for them,, was reading something that the folks involved in building them said their wasn't enough call for them :?: said something like if he had 20 prepaid pre-orders he could set up the CNC machines to make a run of them and be able to bust even,,, guess no one wanted to put up the $$$$$,,,,just wonder why specialty manufactures/outboard jet wouldn't have their own???

don't know if ya ever seen these little fins er not https://outboardjets.com/download/medium_series/Accessories.pdf not only help the performace but also helps protect the foot a bit,,, think the jet doctor makes ans sells their own, think their fins are longer giving more protection,,,, can make your own with a hammer a good vise and some 3/16 ss,,,, was trying to fine a better pic installed but out of time and got to get.


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## nowgrn4 (Apr 4, 2015)

Great Fab and transformation. Very Tidy. Like the Stick steer and front compartment the most. Thanks for posting the build.


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## hookedontronics (Apr 9, 2015)

nice work!


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## BigTerp (Apr 9, 2015)

nowgrn4 said:


> Great Fab and transformation. Very Tidy. Like the Stick steer and front compartment the most. Thanks for posting the build.



Thanks!!


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## BigTerp (Apr 9, 2015)

hookedontronics said:


> nice work!



Thanks!!


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## BigTerp (May 18, 2015)

Got a little more work done that my boat needed. I reinforced my transom riser yesterday. Something that needed done since last summer, but I kept putting it off. The welds on the fore portion of my corner caps were starting to crack. We fixed the cracks last fall, but they are coming back. My transom flexes noticeably when underway. Nothing crazy by any means, but enough that you can see it. The developing cracks were an obvious sign that my transom/riser needed reinforced. I have a Johnson 50/35 which is right at the max motor size my Coast Guard plate says I can put on my boat. It has 45 hours or so on it, and as you can tell, I run by boat hard. I'm sure my homemade transom riser sort of "centers" the forces/stress my motor puts on my transom and probably even increases the forces/stress. We used 1x1 aluminum square tube. Raised the motor a bit with a floor jack to take the static stress off the transom and then welded the tube on. It REALLY stiffened up my transom. Thinking it might even give me a little better hole shot as well.


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## panFried (May 27, 2015)

Nice Job Terp! Man what a change from when you first got her!


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## BigTerp (May 27, 2015)

panFried said:


> Nice Job Terp! Man what a change from when you first got her!



Thanks man!! Was a *LOT* of time and work put into this boat. But we sure get the use out of it. Was all worth it!!


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## Gators5220 (Jun 15, 2015)

Sick build man, I dig it. =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>


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## BigTerp (Jun 16, 2015)

Gators5220 said:


> Sick build man, I dig it. =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>



Thanks!!


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## lgpjr49 (Jul 9, 2015)

Nice build man, very thorough and helpful to new guys (like me) who've never done a rebuild. One question I have is how big is your front deck after everything is said and done? And can you fish from it comfortably with the TM?


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## BigTerp (Jul 9, 2015)

lgpjr49 said:


> Nice build man, very thorough and helpful to new guys (like me) who've never done a rebuild. One question I have is how big is your front deck after everything is said and done? And can you fish from it comfortably with the TM?



Thanks!!

I'm taking my little brother fishing tomorrow evening. I'll try to remember to get measurements for you while it's uncovered.


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