# 1432 EldoCraft



## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 8, 2009)

Hey everybody, my name is Ross and this is my first time posting on tinboats.net...this is an awesome site...I found this site about a week ago looking for ideas for my "new" 1432 eldocraft. This is my first boat (family has had them over the years, but first one titled in my name)...I'm pretty excited about this boat. I bought it for $250 during memorial day weekend (had a clear title, trailer, a 28lb thrust minn kota tm, and no leaks...i thought it was a great starter/project boat for that price..)

Anyways, I am just looking for some input/ideas for this boat from some of you guys. I've looked through some of the old posts and liked what I saw.

First off, this boat is going to be for small water - small lakes, up in coves, and maybe occasionally on the river. I plan on mostly fishing out of it, but another reason I got it was to get to some duck hunting spots that I can only get to with a boat. I know I am going to have to be pretty careful whatever I do in it, with it only being 32 inches wide and all, but I dont plan on actually hunting out of it-will be just a means of getting to and from spots.

Also being in college, I'm somewhat limited on my budget. 

Luckily, I think I have all of the tools I should need, and my dad and uncle can help with the stuff I'm not sure about.



Here it is:






























Well, here's my plans as of right now.

I want to paint the boat an olive color, kindof like the Xpress boats are...any maybe in time, put a stencil kit on it and camo. 
I have a 5 hp champion blue ribbon motor (runs like a top) - I plan on replacing the wood on the transom with some treated wood (just to be sure)
I also want a depth finder on the boat-any suggestions for anything less that $100-150 thats worth it? I really dont want to buy a depth finder that nearly costs more that my boat and trailer #-o 
Not sure on what I want to do for the floor-dont really want to carpet it, because I dont want to deal with cleaning fish and duck blood and mud out of it. I just want to be able to rinse it off with a water hose and let water drain out the drain hole in the back.

I guess that this is the biggest "mod" I have for the boat though...
...I would like to figure out a way to build a box for storing a battery and storing all my lifejackets and what not where the middle bench sits right now. Not sure if I should take the middle bench out, because I dont want to lose any bracing in the boat. I thought about building a box that would span from the rib behind the middle bench to the one in front of it, and the box sit just as high as the benches are (almost be like a "wider" bench), but I'm just not sure if I can do that. I also thought about cutting the face off the front side of the middle bench and putting a "wall" where the frib in front of it sits, putting hinges on that and having a door lay flat on the middle bench. I might have to get on Autocadd at work or just paint on my home computer and do some drawing to clarify what I am trying to explain if it isnt clear.

Sorry my post is probably LONG WINDED...but I'm fired up about this boat and looking for some input from other people.

Thanks! :mrgreen:


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## dyeguy1212 (Jun 8, 2009)

Nice rig man, you have a ton of options. I have a similar boat, and I'm modding for bass fishing. You might get a few ideas or tips from it, even though its a little prettier than what youre looking for to duck hunt in. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8484


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## ober51 (Jun 9, 2009)

> I have a 5 hp champion blue ribbon motor (runs like a top) - I plan on replacing the wood on the transom with some treated wood (just to be sure)



Don't use pressure treated wood, especially if it is flush against the transom. There are trace amounts of metal in the wood, like copper, that will react with the aluminum and it will corrode very quickly. Your best bet is to use regular ply and use a quality water sealer, like Thompson's. I did this and it came out great, plus it was cheaper. Just don't want to see you have a problem down the road, welcome to the site!


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 9, 2009)

ober51 said:


> Don't use pressure treated wood, especially if it is flush against the transom. There are trace amounts of metal in the wood, like copper, that will react with the aluminum and it will corrode very quickly. Your best bet is to use regular ply and use a quality water sealer, like Thompson's. I did this and it came out great, plus it was cheaper. Just don't want to see you have a problem down the road, welcome to the site!



So no wolmanized wood? thats what I was planning on redoing the transom in. I know it has traces of copper in it, but didnt realize that was bad for an aluminum boat...


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## Ouachita (Jun 9, 2009)

TXsurveyor11 said:


> So no wolmanized wood? thats what I was planning on redoing the transom in. I know it has traces of copper in it, but didnt realize that was bad for an aluminum boat...



Ober51 is definitely right. Use untreated and seal it with spar varnish or something similar. Aluminum doesn't get along with a lot of other metals. Make sure you use stainless steel fasteners also.
What part of Texas are you in? Those pasture pictures remind me of home (west Texas).


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 9, 2009)

Ouachita said:


> What part of Texas are you in? Those pasture pictures remind me of home (west Texas).



That is my parents' place in Athens...I live in Tyler right now, working and going to school, and for me its only about a 30 min. ride home, which is nice to head back on the weekends and once or twice a week to do some fishing and other stuff..


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## ben2go (Jun 9, 2009)

If you have an Academy Outdoor store close to you,watch the sunday paper for sales flyers.They recently had 2 name brand fish/depth finders on sale.One was 69.99 and the other was 79.99.


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 10, 2009)

dyeguy1212 said:


> Nice rig man, you have a ton of options. I have a similar boat, and I'm modding for bass fishing. You might get a few ideas or tips from it, even though its a little prettier than what youre looking for to duck hunt in. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8484




Thanks man - your boat looks great, and it helps you have a 1432, there doesnt seem to be many of them on this site..



ben2go said:


> If you have an Academy Outdoor store close to you,watch the sunday paper for sales flyers.They recently had 2 name brand fish/depth finders on sale.One was 69.99 and the other was 79.99.



I'll keep my eyes open... We have an academy here, I saw several hummingbirds for under $100 the other day. They are pretty simple though, which is expected for the price I'm trying to stay under. I did see that there was an Eagle fishmark 320 (i think?) in the academy add for this week, for $130. I really want something that will give me an accurate depth, and show some structure and maybe even a few fish. I know the old saying though, "you get what you pay for"


I actually started taking the old paint off the boat last night... I got a couple of paint stripping wheels at walmart, and some 80 grit sand paper for the sander. It might have just been me, but the paint stripping wheel seemed like it was pretty rough on the aluminum...it definitely was getting the job done, but it might have been a little more than I wanted...anyone else have this problem? The 80 grit did real good though, I got alot of one side and the bottom of the boat done, but wore all my sandpaper down. I meant to take pics but forgot the camera in Tyler...

Another question I have by the way--do I need to sand this thing all the way down to the bare aluminum? I got down to the aluminum in several spots, but I was told by someone I work with just to get the stuff thats flaking off off or thats rough off the boat, and use the original base (the dull green) as somewhat of a primer. The green paint is on there pretty good on most of the boat except in places that have gotten wear over the years (floor, benches, bottom of boat...)

I'd like to get this sucker sanded and maybe painted on saturday and sunday...we'll see though.


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## ober51 (Jun 10, 2009)

THe guy gave you good advice: don't go nuts, just get the stuff you know shouldnt be there - loose paint, chips, etc. Just scuff up the surface for a primer to adhere to, then you'll be fine. Two nice, even coats of primer (use at least bare metal primer or self etch on bare aluminum spots) and then as many thin top coats as you can of a quality paint like Pettit or Interlux. Plent of paint threads on here, check em out. Good luck!


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 19, 2009)

Well, its been a couple of weeks, and I haven't got as much done on my boat as I thought I would in that time. I've been real busy with the girlfriend, and also busy working on it seems like every piece of farm equipment my family has..

I have gotten most of the boat sanded down and ready to paint, and I'm going to try to do that and replace the transom wood saturday morning (I hope)...

Question though-I've seen several topics on using bedliners in boats. I found some Herculiner 1 gallon kits (covers a 6' truck bed) on sale for $60 at walmart. I did some calculating and i figured that a gallon and a quart would cover the floor and the side walls in my boat pretty good, but I was just wanting to know about anyones input on bedliners in boats--i've heard that it can get slick at times, but whatever bedliner is in my dodge (came already sprayed in the bed) doesnt. Its not like I'll be doing much walking around in it-I just figured it would be a nice "perk" having it in my boat for cleaning and what not..

Does anyone have Herculiner in their boat and/or pickup? Shoot, I could have it in my truck and not know it, because like I said, whatever liner is in my truck came in it, and even the dealer didnt know what it was. I know that I LOVE my truck's bedliner, I've had my truck for 3 years now and the bedliner has seen some rough wear on it, but hasnt peeled anywhere or cracked or anything..

Thanks for the help so far fellas!


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## dyeguy1212 (Jun 19, 2009)

TXsurveyor11 said:


> Well, its been a couple of weeks, and I haven't got as much done on my boat as I thought I would in that time. I've been real busy with the girlfriend



wipshhh!



that is all :wink:


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## dyeguy1212 (Jun 19, 2009)

on a more serious note, keep going with the paint removing wheel. It might scratch up the aluminum, but its not going to eat through it unless you sit in the same spot for 10 minutes... The scratches will be filled with primer and paint, so dont worry about it.

Also, just get the loose stuff off, unless you KNOW its crap paint that will chip. I could just tell with mine, so I took 3 days out of my busy schedule to strip the ENTIRE thing down... which sucked. Really REALLY sucked.


Just do the bare minimum, and use your judgement.


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## Brine (Jun 19, 2009)

TXsurveyor11 said:


> Does anyone have Herculiner in their boat and/or pickup? Shoot, I could have it in my truck and not know it, because like I said, whatever liner is in my truck came in it, and even the dealer didnt know what it was. I know that I LOVE my truck's bedliner, I've had my truck for 3 years now and the bedliner has seen some rough wear on it, but hasnt peeled anywhere or cracked or anything..




Definitely *DON'T* put it inside the boat. It's too rough (for feet or fishing line) and will get too hot to be inside a boat. I used it on my trailer, and I think it's gunna work out great in that application, but not inside the boat. I can only speak for Herculiner tho, not any of the other bedliner products.


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 24, 2009)

Paint is on! I'm pretty proud of what we got done this past weekend. Replaced transom wood, and finished sanding the boat AND the trailer. Tuesday while I was on my way back my uncle went ahead and put 2 coats of paint on the outside of the boat...I think he is getting just as pumped about this thing as me...

Here are some pics of the fresh paintjob from tuesday...























I think it looks pretty good myself. We ended up buying a gallon, so I think I can get at least 3 coats on the outside of the boat and 2 on the inside.

My dad called from home and told me my boat seats came in today (max-4 camo) and I also went to Lowes and picked up some brown marine carpet (will add pics sometime later this week when I have a chance..) This project is starting to total up, but I might as well put all I can into it while I'm working full-time for the summer...but I'll post my total expenses on here whenever the boat is complete.


The plan for this weekend is to cut a hole in either the front bench or middle bench for a battery - correct me if I am wrong, but I dont think I'll lose too much support in the boat if I do this with the ribs that are running up the sides. anyone have any advice on which bench to cut open to put a battery in? 

also, I have an electrical question for you gurus - what size battery/batteries should I get? I have a 28 lb thrust trolling motor I plan on putting on it, I'll have my running lights (only at times though. I dont plan on doing a whole lot of late night fishing in this boat late into the night--just light to get me in at dark and get me out to duck hunting spots in the morning) and I plan on putting a marine grade cigarette lighter plug in for a spotlight for driving early in the morning/late afternoons. Should I get a battery for the trolling motor and a battery for the lights? and what size on each, and could I just use a standard automotive battery for one? Any advice there would be appreciated...

Well...I'm kinda running out of things to say now...I'm sure I'll think of something else to ask everyone about tomorrow when I get a little more work done on it. Tomorrow we're planning on painting the inside of the boat and maybe the trailer...

Thanks for the advice in advance--


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 24, 2009)

dyeguy1212 said:


> TXsurveyor11 said:
> 
> 
> > Well, its been a couple of weeks, and I haven't got as much done on my boat as I thought I would in that time. I've been real busy with the girlfriend
> ...




Hahaha, I know man. Gotta keep her happy though, shes good to me so I've gotta be good to her to :mrgreen:


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 24, 2009)

dyeguy1212 said:


> on a more serious note, keep going with the paint removing wheel. It might scratch up the aluminum, but its not going to eat through it unless you sit in the same spot for 10 minutes... The scratches will be filled with primer and paint, so dont worry about it.
> 
> Also, just get the loose stuff off, unless you KNOW its crap paint that will chip. I could just tell with mine, so I took 3 days out of my busy schedule to strip the ENTIRE thing down... which sucked. Really REALLY sucked.
> 
> ...



Thanks for your advice man--I ended up using the paint removing wheels to finish up the boat and the trailer. It got the job done..


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## TXsurveyor11 (Jun 24, 2009)

Definitely *DON'T* put it inside the boat. It's too rough (for feet or fishing line) and will get too hot to be inside a boat. I used it on my trailer, and I think it's gunna work out great in that application, but not inside the boat. I can only speak for Herculiner tho, not any of the other bedliner products.[/quote]

I took your word on the Herculiner--saw some samples of it, and I figured you were right. It wouldnt be the right kind of bedliner for a boat..and oh yeah....its already HOT enough here in Texas when summer rolls around...the black bedliner would just soak up that heat, which I wouldnt want out in the open on a lake.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Jun 24, 2009)

Paint the inside a nice light color.


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## Cheeseball (Jun 25, 2009)

Paint job looks sweet!


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## Waterwings (Jun 25, 2009)

Nice paint job! 8)


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## swamp cowboy (Aug 18, 2012)

ive got a 12ft eldo craft ive been workin on for about 2 years now, its now OD it was original factory "Robins egg Blue" when i first got it. :shock:


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