# 1232 Appleby jon boat Lil' Brutus



## BigDougA (Mar 24, 2012)

Well I have had this little boat for at least 24 years now and after perusing this site for a few weeks have decided to modify her and take her fishing again. I have not had her in the water since we moved off the 18 acre lake we used to live on 9 years ago. 

I am thinking that I will add styrofoam insulation, some plywood decking and an anti-fatigue mat type surface. Plan to add a 'raised' front deck, move the front seat aft and the rear seat fore by about 12" which will leave 32" x 32" clear floor space. On the front deck I plan to add a pedestal seat and will mount the old Motorguide 28# thrust trolling motor on the bow and run new twin trolling motors on the transom. The paint scheme will be a two tone job gray on the bottom and floor and scarlet above the water line and trim in honor of my beloved Buckeyes. 

Today I removed the rotting transom, sanded down the hull and taped off for painting. Here are a few pictures of my little tinny. I look forward to your comments and suggestions.


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## novaman (Mar 24, 2012)

Looks like You've taken pretty good care of the "little tinnie" over all of those yrs.,and it'll be a great project without a lot of the usual bent and trashed repairs to make. Good luck and show a lot more pics as You go. =D>


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## BigDougA (Mar 24, 2012)

Thanks novaman, I thought she was in pretty rough shape until I began reading some of the posts here. In fact that in part is what inspired me to proceed with the modifications! She does have a few dents after 25 years but then again so do I!

Well today I had an opportunity to go ahead and spray the boat with primer. Before spraying I had to decide whether I was going to paint the aluminum trim around the edge of the boat or try and clean it. I figured what the heck, I had a little bit of Brasso metal cleaner under the sink, let's see what happens, so I tried a test spot and let me tell you, that trim shined like a new dime! Of course I didn't think to take a picture of it until after I had masked it all out but after paint is on I will clean the rest of the trim and take a few shots then... as for today, here are a couple of boring shots of an upside down primed boat! Not much accomplished but I spent the majority of my day working a yard sale for our Relay for Life team with the American Cancer Society and then date night with the little lady. Priorities eh?


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## BigDougA (Mar 25, 2012)

Well today I applied the top coat to the tinny. Had some help from of a couple of my little buddies, Logan and Caleb came to visit and of course they had to check out Poppie's boat! Caleb is always willing to lend a hand... LOL 

Later, rather than watch paint dry, my son and I went on a trailer hunt. Found a trailer on CL for $100.00 Thought we would go check it out, when we got there found out the fella had an old, worn out fiberglass hull sitting on the trailer. He wanted another $100.00 for the hull. Since we did not particularly want to pay an additional $100.00 to haul off the man's junk, and he was adamantly unwilling to negotiate, we decided to pass. 

Ah well, at least we didn't have to watch that paint dry and my son and I had some rare father/son time over dinner.

Tomorrow I plan to sand out the drips, touch up the gray and if possible put on the accent red down the sides. Also have plans to start fabricating the replacement transom. Moving right along!


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## JFDBasser (Mar 26, 2012)

It's looking good. I'd be careful with decks, etc. I had a 1232 with casting decks.....it was nicknamed the SS Capsize for a reason. I rebuilt it with just a floor and short seats on the benches. It worked out great that way.


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## BigDougA (Mar 26, 2012)

JFDBasser said:


> It's looking good. I'd be careful with decks, etc. I had a 1232 with casting decks.....it was nicknamed the SS Capsize for a reason. I rebuilt it with just a floor and short seats on the benches. It worked out great that way.




 Thanks for the input! 

When I speak of 'decks' really what I am thinking is putting in a front surface that is level enough to install a pedestal seat to fish from in the bow and be able to operate the trolling motor. I do not anticipate raising the decking more than perhaps 3-4 inches depending upon the depth of the removable pedestal floor mount. I really want to try and keep the seat bottom even or below the sides of the boat.

I certainly understand the tip ability of this little tinny, my former brother-in-law and she conspired to toss me into the drink one day! Fortunately we were in a small slow moving stream with a depth of 4'... still it was quite a disorienting moment when I unexpectedly found myself headfirst in the creek!


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## BigDougA (Mar 26, 2012)

Been kicking around the idea of an outboard motor for the boat. It is rated for a 7.5 hp motor and has a weight limit of 440lbs.

I am curious as to what folks might think would be an appropriate motor for this boat. I make a trip down to Saint Simons Island every year and was thinking that perhaps it would be nice to take her along and cruise the river and backwaters there. Or perhaps taker her to the Hooch (Chatahoochee river) and fish down around Franklin (GA). 

I appreciate the input.


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## BrazosDon (Mar 26, 2012)

Check and see what the gross weight capacity and max HP rating of your boat. I just bought an Alumacraft 12X33. The max weight load is 350#, and max HP rating is 7.5. I(180#) found a 3HP Johnson(32#) and I thought the rig did very well. Since I am retired, I don't have to go fast anymore. I hope that 7.5HP motor doesn't weigh 440# and that it was just a typo error. Good luck.


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## BigDougA (Mar 26, 2012)

BrazosDon said:


> Check and see what the gross weight capacity and max HP rating of your boat. I just bought an Alumacraft 12X33. The max weight load is 350#, and max HP rating is 7.5. I(180#) found a 3HP Johnson(32#) and I thought the rig did very well. Since I am retired, I don't have to go fast anymore. I hope that 7.5HP motor doesn't weigh 440# and that it was just a typo error. Good luck.




The weight limit of the boat is 440lbs. The maximum horsepower rating is 7.5. I currently weigh in at 225.


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## BigDougA (Mar 27, 2012)

Added the red accent color, two coats... tomorrow perhaps another coat of the smoke gray and call it done for the paint. Then flip her back over and begin the real fun stuff!


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## Froggy (Mar 28, 2012)

Real nice Job.


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## RickyRick (Mar 28, 2012)

WOW that really turned out nicely. I think the red stripe gives it some class to.


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## BigDougA (Mar 28, 2012)

Froggy and RickyRick, thanks for the kind words. Now that I have the masking tape off I am thinking I may add a 2" white stripe to contrast the red and the gray; we shall see. Will turn her over and start on the transom, framing, and decking friday. This is really turning into quite a lot of fun; almost better than fishing!


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## BigDougA (Mar 30, 2012)

Well let's see, did not accomplish much on the tinny the last two days. Thursday was our youngest grandson's first birthday and of course around here we celebrate birthdays for two or three days! LOL Anyway here are some pics of my youngest grandson Landon Allen exploring Poppie's boat.


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## BigDougA (Mar 30, 2012)

So today I buffed the trim around the gunnels (?) today. I was debating whether to paint the trim or just clean it... well when I got out the Brasso and started cleaning it, to my surprise it really started to shine. Being a child of the 60's I have always liked chrome so its off to find some polishing compound and a buffer to make this baby really shine!


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## BigDougA (Mar 30, 2012)

Getting late, last post for the night. Been kicking around some layout ideas. I would like to get some feed back from the experts here!

I was thinking that I would cut out the front bench seat to provide walk through access to the bow and have a pedestal seat in the front with a slider seat on the rear bench. Option one.

Or how about option one with a removable cooler in the middle of the boat? Option one A.

Then I noticed my cooler sitting there and wondered how it might work as a front bench. I would still cut out the existing bench and instead of a pedestal have a bench seat in the bow area, using the cooler as the bench. Option two.

Of course my thinking didn't end there. How about removing the rear bench along with the front bench and use the cooler in the rear and a pedestal in the front? Option three.

But then I thought some more... Why not have a second pedestal seat just in front of the rear cooler bench along with the front pedestal? Option three A.

Well I look forward to reading the comments, i have thick skin so fire away!


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## BigDougA (Apr 1, 2012)

Well I got the sawzall out and commence to cuttin' yesterday! pulled the foam from the front bench and saved it to place under the bow bench. Since the bench did not go all the way to the floor I had to cut down some 1x4's to add rigidity and support to the remaining bench frame. After dry fitting everything is nice and tight so it is on to cutting out the frame pieces for the floor. 

The wife is always wondering why I save the things I save and this is the perfect case in point. I saved two boxes full of styrofoam from four KD shelf units we purchased a couple of years ago. Have had them stored in the attic of the garage since then. 

Now the time to put them to use! And an added bonus; I will be using the boxes the styrofoam was stored in to make the templates for my floor. Waste not, want not, as my grand mother always said!

Here are the pics!


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## BigDougA (Mar 22, 2015)

After a two year hiatus spent in the North Georgia mountains I am back down in the Piedmont of West Georgia and it is time to finish this project!

My son-in-law came by one day with a stack of sign blanks and said, Here ya go Dad, they were throwing these away at work and I knew you would find a use for them. 

Yes I did. 

I removed the heavy floor that I had placed in the tinnie and replace it with the sign blanks, making for a much lighter boat over all. Next is the flooring!


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## BigDougA (Mar 23, 2015)

Laid down the flooring in the boat today. Found this diamond tread foam flooring at a discount odd lots store for $19.00. I plan to go back and by another roll for the sides.


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## BigDougA (Aug 5, 2015)

Here are a few pictures of the final project. I worked on this off and on over the course of a couple of years. After all was said and done I suppose she didn't come out all that bad!


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