# My Boat



## bAcKpAiN (Jan 3, 2008)

****NOTICE****
*All original pictures of the build were lost in a horrific photobucket accident. For pictures of the final outcome please see final page.*

Ok, I am heading out to Home Depot Tomorrow to get the lumber and carpet for my conversion. I hope to get the decks done in between tomorrow and Saturday, I will be updating with pics to show progress as I go along.


The Plan:

I do not want to deck to the tops of the seats because of my son being on baord with me at different times, my wife likes the high gunwales to keep him high and dry. So, with that in mind as well as fishability I am planning a front and rear deck to the bench tops. I am going to do something similar to Joey Bag o Donuts on the front, only difference I am going to add some bracing beneath and split it with a hinge so I can store stuff underneath with easy access. 

I am going to add a rear deck from the transom to the front of the rear bench seat for another place to flip, pitch, and work topwaters on lakes. I am going to leave the mid section around the motor open for ventilation and access to safety equipment etc.

For the mid section of the boat I am going to leave the benches as they are, and build up a floor in between them making for a flat stable surface to walk on and have storage underneath. If I am drift fishing this will also allow better manuverability making the benches easier to step over if needed. These floors will be framed out using 2x3's for joists footed to vertical boards from the floor to the bottom of the joists and screwed into the existing benches. The floor will come up just a tad higher than the middle seat support bracket as seem in the pictures. I am thinking because of the 2x3's as braces I will be able to get away with thinner plywood. I am leaning toward 1/2".

I plan on taking the existing swivel seats out for now, and seeing what I can come up with as time goes by. Spring fishing usually means mobility more than comfort. I can tackle that challenge come the warmer, longer days of summer. After the decking, I plan on installing a bilge pump, livewell, and the fish finder wiring everything into a nice neat switchboard. Any ideas, feedback, and or criticism are certainly appreciated. 

Any guesses on weight I will be adding with this project? I have to push it by hand up a slight incline for storage, so if I am going to be adding _*too much*_ weight I will have to rethink some things to make the decks removable. I have some ideas for that too.


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## Jim (Jan 3, 2008)

Seems like you have everything covered and well thought out.! I like the top on your boat. That must be a huge plus for days its raining or even a scorching sun. I cant wait to see the progress.

Good luck man!


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## alumacraftjoe (Jan 3, 2008)

Good luck and post plenty of pics. I am going to be doing a similar project on a 14 foot v bottom alumacraft in the near future so I am soaking up all the ideas on here.


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## Captain Ahab (Jan 5, 2008)

Nice stuff man - does that Bimini get in the way when you have it folded?

I fished the Del. Bay for many years in a 19' Sea Nymph with a Bimini and it posed little problems, but then again there was very little casting involved. I have a 16' Mirrocraft and was considering adding a Bimini but I am concerned about crowding the decks with snaggy crap.


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## bassboy1 (Jan 5, 2008)

Esquired, I had one on my 12 foot Grumman. I never used it. The boat was too small as it is. Also, it acted like a sail on windy days. And, it was just one more thing to have to strap, and unstrap at the launch ramp. I say get a good hat. :lol: 
His only has 2 bars, like mine, so it cannot fold up, and stay vertical. It has to fold down to the stern, and then it will really get in the way. To get one to fold + stay vertical, you need to find one that has 2 bars that attach to the gunwales on each side.


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 5, 2008)

I would say the bimini, would work in a few settings. One if fishing alone, would provide a place to retreat to in times of rain, or hot sun for a few. You could stand in the front and cast and all would be well. It would work as well if you were fishing from the bow and had a non fisherman with you just to hang out. The other way it would work again is if you were alone anchored in current and fishing out the back without casting. I fished with it on all of one time, and took it off afterwards.



ps will update boat progress after kids are in bed.


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## Jim (Jan 5, 2008)

I think the bimini is awesome! I would love to have one.


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 5, 2008)

Last night, I only had enough daylight to get to Home Depot for lumber and get the boat emptied and prepped. Here are the cleaned out pics, notice the nice rust stains from the swivel seats being in there for a few years.







Today I was able to get an earlier start so I was able to actually make some progress. With a little help from my lil buddy and a friend (I am showing him the new invisible step). 











I was able to make some progress. What I did was made rails out of the 2x3's for support braces. I am going to screw cross members into the plywood flooring to make the floors two large hatches for storage. Near the transom, I split the deck so I can store the gas tank and everything underneath and the middle section is going to stay open so fumes have a place to evaporate. Again, both decks will open as a hatch.


























As darkness fell, and my batteries died in my cordless drill I finished cutting out the basic shapes for the bow casting deck. I have since decided I will probably cut it down and make it more like the middle decks and have it lower than the seat. I am going to do this simply because I am pretty much stuck in the back of the boat because of the tiller steer motor and the transom mount TM. This will make mounting a front seat easier as I can just mount it on the seat again. Hopefully the forecast is correct and I will have three nice warm days this coming week to get the front half decked, the bench tops cut, and all of the lumber water sealed and carpeted.


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## Jim (Jan 5, 2008)

You made great progress in one day! It looks good!


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## bassboy1 (Jan 5, 2008)

bAcKpAiN said:


> [/img]


I wouldn't do that too much, if I were you. last time I tried that, I ended up hitting the concrete head first. :shock: 


Good work so far. Don't forget to leave space to sit and operate the tiller, on the outboard.


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## alumacraftjoe (Jan 5, 2008)

Looking Good!


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## Captain Ahab (Jan 6, 2008)

WOW - great job that boat is gonna be a sweeet river smallie eating machine.

We need to get you a Bucks Co. Park Sticker and I will show you Lake Galena in the spring!


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 6, 2008)

esquired said:


> WOW - great job that boat is gonna be a sweeet river smallie eating machine.
> 
> We need to get you a Bucks Co. Park Sticker and I will show you Lake Galena in the spring!



Sounds like a plan! How much is one of those stickers, and where could I get one? I have been dreaming of fishing Galena in my boat since I got it, but didn't get much chance last summer/fall to venture out.


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## Captain Ahab (Jan 6, 2008)

bAcKpAiN said:


> esquired said:
> 
> 
> > WOW - great job that boat is gonna be a sweeet river smallie eating machine.
> ...



$10.00 for County resident (like me  ) and $20.0-0 for you out of county folks. Get them at Ranger office and they are good for all of the Bucks Co. park lakes. PM me if you need more specific info and I will do my best to help.


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## Waterwings (Jan 6, 2008)

Progress is looking good, and you're gonna have some good fishing times with it!


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 7, 2008)

After a rest and planning session with my help, I was able to put in a few hours after work today.






We got all of the decking cut and in place.





















I used Joeybago'donuts idea for the front deck, only modified a tad, I put in a T connector for support in the middle and used the main ribs in the hull for the lateral support. In the end it feels very sturdy and strong. I am going to cut one more vertical support for near the seat, and possibly one 2x3 on each side of the front deck, but due to the small span and the doubled plywood it feels plenty strong. The 2x3's on the bottom of the deck fit snugly around the center support making for zero movement.






Tomorrow after work, it is time for water sealing and final fitting. Might be a while before carpet goes on we are supposed to get rain through the weekend here starting wednesday


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## Captain Ahab (Jan 7, 2008)

Looking good - you are moving along nicely


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## pbw (Jan 7, 2008)

Looks good, I am moving so slow right now it seems!


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## Waterwings (Jan 7, 2008)

Looks good! I always say if we have to have nasty weather, better it's rain, than snow & ice!


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## alumacraftjoe (Jan 7, 2008)

Looks great! I am going to modify my v-hull soon so this gives me some good ideas.


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 7, 2008)

What I like about this mod is that it is almost totally removable at any given time. The only thing that won't be easily taken out is the bracing which can be worked around if I want to try a trip to some rough waters or something. I am really anxious to see how it responds on the water. Quite often it will be me and two other guys fishing the big D, I am hoping I didn't add too much weight to make that possible. Again, the cool thing is, if I did all I need to do is pull some decks out.


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## Jim (Jan 7, 2008)

Keep them coming man! Boats gonna be killer when done!


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## pbw (Jan 7, 2008)

Are you installing a bow mounted trolling motor? Where is the battery going?


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 7, 2008)

I am going to have the batery under the bow deck, or the one behind it if it won't fit and all wiring running to the back to a switch/fuse box. I want to have the batter as far forward as possible. The trolling motor is a transom mount though and will stay on the transom because it is only a 30" shaft and wouldn't convert to the bow. If I had a longer shafted motor or a bow mounted I would put it up front. After reading the internet forecast for the next few days I went ahead and water sealed the wood in the dark by the light of lanterns. I have to take advantage of this warm, dry weather while I can. It won't be here for long that is for sure!

EDIT: looking over my measurements the battery will be going right behind the first bench seat under the deck. I will probably mount the battery box somewhere under there semi-permanent. I will store the anchor and anchor rope under the bow, having those two things in the front should help with weight distribution.


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## pbw (Jan 7, 2008)

bAcKpAiN said:


> I am going to have the batery under the bow deck, or the one behind it if it won't fit and all wiring running to the back to a switch/fuse box. I want to have the batter as far forward as possible. The trolling motor is a transom mount though and will stay on the transom because it is only a 30" shaft and wouldn't convert to the bow. If I had a longer shafted motor or a bow mounted I would put it up front. After reading the internet forecast for the next few days I went ahead and water sealed the wood in the dark by the light of lanterns. I have to take advantage of this warm, dry weather while I can. It won't be here for long that is for sure!
> 
> EDIT: looking over my measurements the battery will be going right behind the first bench seat under the deck. I will probably mount the battery box somewhere under there semi-permanent. I will store the anchor and anchor rope under the bow, having those two things in the front should help with weight distribution.



Are you going buy some of those battery feet to protect again shock or vibrations during towing/wave impacts?


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 8, 2008)

I have never heard of them, so far I have just kept it in the battery box. The box is larger than the battery, I could probably put some styrofoam around it.


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 7, 2008)

I know progress has stopped for a long time now, but Saturday I am going to get back on the project. There is a long story as to why I haven't done a thing in weeks, but the short story is that I put the boat in a garage that required much cleanout to get it in and out of, not to mention the fact that to get the door opened and closed you need a full socket set. :lol:

Hopefully this saturday i will get on the ball and make some serious progress toward getting this think on the water!


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 9, 2008)

Humbug, It rained here on and off all day. So I drove to Cabelas and bought the seat pedestels, rod holders, and various other goodies.

I keep telling myself that the weather will break, and I WILL get this thing done before the "season" starts. But working on the street is killing me. Anyone near Philly have a garage I could borrow to finish this thing before spring?!! :lol:


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## ky_madman (Feb 14, 2008)

Enjoying your build. Keep the updates and photos coming!


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks for the encouragement. I am still in a "when I have any time at all the weather doesn't cooperate" scenario. I do however, have all of the final parts in hand except the washers I am going to use to fasten the seat pedestels with. Maybe this evening I can make a little progress in this nice weather window and give some updates over the weekend. 

Unless of course, someone here in the Philly area wants to donate their garage on Monday to work on it with me! hehe :lol: Working on it in the street has been at best a hassle, and at worste it has just kept me from working because of rain, sleet, snow, and what have you. 

On a side note, anyone have any experience using 3m 90 spray adhesive? I cannot find anywhere a temperature range to use it in, maybe I don't have to wait for warmer weather to carpet? If anyone knows I would appreciate the info. I really want to get the project finished by March.


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 15, 2008)

Backpain - you can use my garage if your boat will fit. We might have to clear some stuff out but i am game!


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 15, 2008)

What is your schedule monday? I have off for Presidents Day (I teach in a christian school). :twisted:


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## redbug (Feb 15, 2008)

bAcKpAiN said:


> What is your schedule monday? I have off for Presidents Day (I teach in a christian school). :twisted:




he is off everyday






wayne


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 15, 2008)

Backpain - you get the boat here I will help. 

I can PM you my phone number


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 16, 2008)

FINALLY some progress!!
Well, I finally had some time off when it wasn't raining, sleeting, or snowing up here. :roll: 

My wife has made it "her project" to carpet the decks. As you will see from the pics I had no arguements, she is doing a great job and it allowed me today to tackle the seating installation. 

What I did was drill a hole using the hole saw and dug out as much of the floatation foam as needed to reach under to get the washers and nuts on the installation boats. Since my wife was carpeting the decks I was able to focus on installation and the seating. Here are some after pics from today. I apologize for not having any shots of progress as it came, we were trying to get it done before dark.































Now I will need to focus on the electronics and wiring. Not exactly sure how that is going to work out, but so far I am pleased with the progress. There are HUGE slow periods but it seems once we get around to it we make some decent progress. I haven't forgotten to call you Esquired, had some surprise company show up this evening and I hate calling people late. I will call you tomorrow afternoon and leave a message 8) .

-Mike


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## Jim (Feb 16, 2008)

Looking good Mike! I like the offset seating!


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 16, 2008)

Thanks Jim, It helps with manuvering from the back to the front and vice versa if you are fishing alone or with one other person. When you are sitting on a river waiting for stripers or cats it helps give everyone a little more room and make the little 14' "feel" a little bigger. Not to mention I have to be able to use the tiller.


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## redbug (Feb 17, 2008)

Back pain s far so good.. now all you need to do is get a paint job on the motor cowing and your set..

Wayne


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 17, 2008)

Yea a paint job and some 9.9 stickers :twisted:


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## alumacraftjoe (Feb 17, 2008)

Looks Great!


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## switchback (Feb 17, 2008)

It's looking good. Can't wait to see more pics.


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 18, 2008)

Today we almost got her finished! I still need to run the wiring, and install the rod holders and some other odds and ends. I am still waiting on the seats to be delivered, so those have to wait. I am also going to wait and see how the boat sits in the water before I run the permanent wiring. I will place the battery where she helps ballast the boat best. I am thinking I will need it in the front, but you never know. Here are some pics with the carpeting finished!


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## jkbirocz (Feb 18, 2008)

Your boat is looking great, nice and clean. Keep up the great work.


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## asinz (Feb 18, 2008)

Looks great.


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## Hooked (Feb 22, 2008)

looks awesome. I found this site as I am looking at picking up a boat this spring, and then fixing her up. I love this look as it is relatively simple (i'm not the most skilled with tools) yet it looks great.


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## Jim (Feb 22, 2008)

Hooked said:


> looks awesome. I found this site as I am looking at picking up a boat this spring, and then fixing her up. I love this look as it is relatively simple (i'm not the most skilled with tools) yet it looks great.



Hi hooked,
Welcome to the forum! I hope you find it a cool resource and help when you do your future boat! The modifications the members have done are simply awesome. Some are all out conversions and some are simple and clean. 

Thanks for joining!
Jim


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## alumacraftjoe (Feb 23, 2008)

Welcome Aboard Hooked!!!!!!!!


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 23, 2008)

Welcome to the site hooked! What I like about this is I can use the boat for everythign I fish for. I can bass fish as well as sit anchored up for catties and stripers.  

I am still waiting to see how it sits and handles in the water, so stay tuned just in case I have to lower the floors some.


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## Waterwings (Feb 23, 2008)

backpain,

Looks great! Nice job!  


Hooked, Welcome Aboard!


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## switchback (Feb 24, 2008)

That turned out great.


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## FishinsMyLife (Feb 25, 2008)

I haven't been commenting on this topic, but I have been watching it since it started. That boat looks great!


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## pbw (Feb 25, 2008)

Do you have a photo of your rear decking that cover the gas tank and battery? I'm working on repairing the back rear decking on my boat so I can run a outboard.


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## ky_madman (Feb 25, 2008)

Looks Great. I'm starting the rebuild on my Semi-V this week. Thanks for the inspiration.


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 25, 2008)

I will take some when I get her out this weekend when the seats come in. The structure is basicly the same as between the seats except I screwed a 2x3 into the solid wood transom. I have them kind of just "set in" so I can take the whole thing out when needed like everything else. I am more a function over form kind of guy, so it isn't as polished as others might make and or like, but it works for me! At least hopefully it works for me, I haven't had it out yet lol.


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## pbw (Feb 27, 2008)

bAcKpAiN said:


> so it isn't as polished as others might make and or like, but it works for me! At least hopefully it works for me, I haven't had it out yet lol.



Isn't as polished? I think it looks clean I'm a neat freak  my wife seems to think my boat is going to SPAWN into me buying another boat


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## Jim (Feb 27, 2008)

pbw said:


> bAcKpAiN said:
> 
> 
> > so it isn't as polished as others might make and or like, but it works for me! At least hopefully it works for me, I haven't had it out yet lol.
> ...



It is! 8)


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## pbw (Feb 27, 2008)

Jim said:


> pbw said:
> 
> 
> > bAcKpAiN said:
> ...



shhhhh


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## Waterwings (Feb 27, 2008)

> ...my wife seems to think my boat is going to SPAWN into me buying another boat




Been known to happen, lol :shock:


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## bassboy1 (Feb 27, 2008)

Waterwings said:


> > ...my wife seems to think my boat is going to SPAWN into me buying another boat
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ya know, my collection started out with one boat, that I was looking to restore, then have a cheap turn key fishing boat. Now look what it has excelled into. Beware!


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## bAcKpAiN (Mar 25, 2008)

Ok, she is finished and we took her out for a few hours on the Delaware to drown some blood worms. We only caught the skunk, but was really nice to fish out of the new improved boat!!

Here are the pics :
















































All in all I couldn't be more please with how it came out, it was 100% easier to fish from and I noticed no loss of freeboard, or speed with the extra weight. My wife and son had a blast!! When I take it out on a lake I will be sure to post pics in lake mode for everyone as well.


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## Captain Ahab (Mar 25, 2008)

Looking good there - I know that launch, LOL


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## Waterwings (Mar 25, 2008)

The boat looks great! Seems the little one was enjoying himself also


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## Ouachita (Mar 25, 2008)

That turned out really nice! I am envious of you getting out on the water.


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## Trout Hunter (Jul 29, 2008)

I really like how you did the bracing. did you just use self tappers right into the seat sides? the braces that are underneath don't look like they are screwed to the bottom at all. Are they? I am sort of a big guy..... 255, would your decking set up hold my fat butt? Have you had it out yet? How is the center of gravity? Is it tippy at all? Thanks.


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## bAcKpAiN (Jan 1, 2009)

I made some changes this past week to the boat. Most notable was the fact that I was able to get a bow mounted, foot-controled trolling motor to make fishing more comfortable. In order to mount it I had to first build a platform for it on the bow. I used materials I had laying around as well as scraps left over from my original conversion. I used a scrap piece of 2x8 for a vertical support which is fastened to the decking with "L" brackets on the back side. I used the same 1/2" plywood as I used for my flooring for the deck. And fastened it to the 2x8, and the gunnel of the boat.

Here are the pics:

















Now I need to get the wire to extend the power cables as I am relocating the batteries to the back of the boat for better weight distribution seeing as my outboard is dead. One qestion, would it be ok to get 6 guage wire and run it to the back with an inline fuse? What amp fuse would I want? The motor has on the specs max amp rating is 42. Would a 30 amp fuse be constantly blowing?


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## DewNut (May 5, 2009)

Great job with your build... I have a 14' 1988 Sea Nymph similar to yours. This site has helped me a lot with my build! I will be posting some pix soon!


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## bAcKpAiN (Apr 8, 2010)

All original pictures were sadly lost forever.
For the sake of future modders I am putting up a final post here with the pictures of the finished boat as it sits now.
If you click on the thumbnail it will show you a full sized picture of the boat.

























































And finally a video of it in action on the Tidal Delaware River last summer.

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Here is a video I made last night after dewinterizing the motor.

[youtube]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/3hO2PHvUkPw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/3hO2PHvUkPw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]​


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## jigster60 (Apr 8, 2010)

=D> =D> =D> Good work BP ......and its great to see ya enjoying it with your Family.....................JIGGY


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## jojo (Feb 27, 2011)

What kind of seat pedestals are those? I like the height. Are they adjustable?


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 27, 2011)

I am not sure of the brand. I bought them at Cabelas. They are adjustable in 1" incraments with a pin that holds it at the desired height. If memory serves they were roughly $35/each which is why I bought them. I was able to get two with the seats for the price of one pnuematic pole.

Here is the link to the Cabelas product. https://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Boat-Seats/Pedestals-Bases%7C/pc/104794380/c/104705280/sc/104492880/Swivl-Eze-Manually-Adjustable-Pin-Pedestal/699918.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-boat-seats-pedestals-bases%2F_%2FN-1100617%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104492880%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd701131&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd701131%3Bcat104492880


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