# 14' Naden Fisherman Modification



## deezee (Apr 11, 2010)

Greetings! I'm a long time lurker between Iboats and here. You fine folks got me motivated to upgrade my Naden Aluminum boat. 2009 was the first year I had started fishing since I fished with my father some 35 plus years ago. He passed away when I was 6 so I had no other experience fishing after that.
I few of my friends invited me to go fishing with them last spring. I had no fishing rod or tackle so I had to borrow from them. Needless to say I was hooked. We went to a hidden lake and caught a few Northern Pike for our "friends fish fry"

Friend Dave kissing a pike.






So I had to buy my own gear and I was able to purchase a complete set of rods, reels and tackle from Ebay.
We fished a number of days on and off, in a buddy’s aluminum boat that had no motor, just paddles. Now this lake we have access to is shaped like a horseshoe, so you can be in the middle, cast and hit the shore from the boat on either side. It’s that narrow. It’s close to a small river so my guess it was part of that river and after time it was closed off but fortunately it’s fed by a spring. Anyway back to my point, I bought a trolling motor and a battery and we were set to go, problem was we kept the boat at that lake and if we wanted to go anywhere else I “had” to buy a boat.
So 2 months later I was a proud owner of an 14’ Naden Fisherman with a 4 stroke 15hp Yamaha.


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## deezee (Apr 11, 2010)

My daughter and her friend.


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## deezee (Apr 11, 2010)

Why can't I add multiple photos to a post? I get this message: It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image.
Ah, figured it out. Anyway

Myself and Derrick.





The boat worked great but seeing all the mods done to the boats on here made we want to do something over the winter months. So September of 2009 I started the project.
The boat stripped of all accessories and rug that was on the seats. Very front bench was ripped out because the mounts were torn.











I was lucky to find about 50 feet of 1 ¼ aluminum angle for 10 cents on the dollar. That took care of most of what I needed. I bought 5/8 good one side exterior plywood
That was coated with resin. I also was able to find some outer deck vinyl at a local hardware store that was rolled up in a ball in the corner. Picked that up for ½ price. It wasn’t enough to do the whole boat so I picked up some high grade outdoor carpet for cheap as well.

Front bow and casting deck dry fitted.





A photo of the boat disassembled and ready for sanding primer and paint.





Four coats of Rustoleum Sandstone paint that was rolled on with a foam roller.















Now this is where I fall apart on the photos documenting the rest of the build. I was given an old metal cooler that I made into a live well with pump and a drain. Found many opportunities for storage possibilities. Ahead and behind the live well, as well as in the middle bench that I cut for a walk through for battery storage and electronics. I also needed to find a place for the gas tank. The floor is framed with the 1 ¼ aluminum angle that was attached to each side of the bench’s with extra support for the pedestal seats. The bases are bolted to the aluminum along with 5/8 plywood below the deck. I just cut the pieces in a circle. So all in all I have the bases attached to the plywood deck, attached to the aluminum angle the followed by the circle piece of 5/8 plywood. I had wanted those seats solid without wobble. Worked great.






To cut the middle bench I loaded up with protective gear, a skill saw with carbide tips and a felt marker. Marked where I wanted to cut and went to it. It’s loud and violent but made some nice cuts. I did not cut all the way to the bottom of the boat as I need some solid material to attach my angle to for the deck. I took the cut pieces to a local plumbing shop and they bent the aluminum to wrap around the ends. 











All decking was predrilled and attached to the aluminum frame with stainless steel screws. Stainless hinges for the storage and live well lids.
Enjoy some photos of the finished product.
















Maybe next year I will add some decking to the rear. I ran out of vinyl and I also like to sit on the bench straddled when I captain the boat to the next fishing spot.




















Added a couple spots for two batteries in case I decide to add a bow mounted trolling motor.













































So I have some minor fixes yet to do. I want to find a convenient place to mount the fish finder. Add some storage for the tackle. We just had a dump of snow here so it looks like I won't find out how she fishes until May.


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## ober51 (Apr 11, 2010)

Really sharp - great job. Did you buy the motor new? I love those Yammys, such a quiet, efficient motor.


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## deezee (Apr 11, 2010)

ober51 said:


> Really sharp - great job. Did you buy the motor new? I love those Yammys, such a quiet, efficient motor.



No it came with the boat. Nice not having to mix gas.


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## Specknreds (Apr 11, 2010)

Very impressive build!!! =D>


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## aircraftmechanic2000 (Apr 12, 2010)

Wow,

certainly one of the nicer builds I have seen! 

Job well done!


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## deezee (Apr 12, 2010)

Thanks. One thing I would not do again is have the lid with rounded corners. I did that to match the live well lid. It was a bugger to wrap. Not so much the lid but the inside corners. I did not get that right at all. #-o


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## dyeguy1212 (Apr 12, 2010)

=D> =D> =D> =D> 

This is one of the nicest mods on this site... job well done :beer:


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## Nevillizer (Apr 12, 2010)

Wow, turned out really good.


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## Froggy (Apr 12, 2010)

Great! you got two different post on the back bench? sit low while riding out, then move over on the higher peg, I like that .


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## Anonymous (Apr 12, 2010)

Congrats to you ! 

... this is one my fave builds.


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## deezee (Apr 12, 2010)

Ebay was my friend with a lot of the parts here. No doubt it cost me.


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## gmoney (Oct 13, 2010)

Hey guys I'm new to Tinboats and I just bought pretty much the same Naden boat and Yamaha except the boat is older but the yamaha is an '04. I plan on making some modifications to it once I get some money 

deezee, did you just attach the casting deck frame to the front seat since there are no ribs in the boat?


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## deezee (Oct 14, 2010)

My front seat was torn from the tabs attached to the boat, one tab was torn away from the boat. So my frame is attached to the storage compartment. In the photo "Front bow and casting deck dry fitted." you can see how it was attached. If my tabs weren't wrecked I would have removed the seat and used the tabs because I still wanted storage there. Good luck.


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## gmoney (Oct 14, 2010)

thanks deezee, my tabs are torn on the front seat as well, I will remove it eventually. I will have to fish from my boat first to see what I would like to do to my boat before I start tearing it apart. I love what you did with your boat, it looks unreal! hopefully mine ends up looking half decent. I will half to leave the mods to the spring or summer, I'm way too busy with school to get anything done


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## Howard (Oct 14, 2010)

Nice build, nice story, =D>


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## SaltyBuckster (Oct 15, 2010)

Very nice.I like what you did with splitting the center bench.Ah Ha,I was going to take mine out,not now.Great job.Enjoy her.


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## playall8 (Oct 15, 2010)

My favorite so far. nice job


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## C.U. Fishin (Oct 16, 2010)

Great job on the build. I love the scrounging you did buying some of the supplies, finding a use for stuff other folks think is scrap is one of my favorite things to do.


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## benjineer (Oct 18, 2010)

Very nice! If I don't change my strategy, mine will end up looking a lot like yours....if I ever finish it.


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## jasond37 (Oct 18, 2010)

Very impressive! It think it's one of the best modifications I have seen on this site so far. I really like your floorplan too.


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## deezee (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I took it out on a few trips this summer and it works well. I winterized her last weekend. Until next year.


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## benjineer (Oct 19, 2010)

Winterized???? What's that? Down here we only have two seasons - summer and February.


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## captdan (Oct 21, 2010)

benjineer said:


> Winterized???? What's that? Down here we only have two seasons - summer and February.


 :roflmao:


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