# 12 Foot MirroCraft modification/to bass boat



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

I have a 12 foot mirro craft that I am modifying into a bass boat. One of the users on this site, Crappie Slayer did a similar modification on his boat and I used quite a few of his ideas to do mine, just wanted to clarify that so I don't get the full credit. I started from scratch, completely tore out the inside of the boat, flipped it and started the sanding process.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

The previous owners had around 12 coats of white oil based house paint on this boat and I did not have a super strong power tool to get it all off. I picked up a couple of cans of "Aircraft stripper" and what I did was use a paint brush, wipe it on pretty thick and I cut garbage bags and laid it over the stripper and left it on over night. This dug through the layers pretty fast. After that I used my power drill with a steel brush wheel attachment to bring it down back to the original aluminum, I used an aluminum bondo to fill in any gouges or nics in the boats surface, then I sanded that down once it was dry.


----------



## fool4fish1226 (Jun 7, 2012)

Looking Good and welcome to the mirrocraft club!!! Don’t say anything but we are going to take over this site with the leadership of Capt Ahab. Like I said it is a secret so don't say anything about the club.


----------



## bigwave (Jun 7, 2012)

fool4fish1226 said:


> Looking Good and welcome to the mirrocraft club!!! Don’t say anything but we are going to take over this site with the leadership of Capt Ahab. Like I said it is a secret so don't say anything about the club.


What he said. Welcome


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

After is was brought back down to the original aluminum, I washed it down with a degreaser and scrubbed it good. then I made a makeshift paint room in my garage. I do not own a paint sprayer so I decided to use spray cans of (self-etching primer) for the first coats. I sprayed on two coats of this. The self-etching primer is nice because it fills in all of the nics you missed and buff marks from the power drill and it makes a nice and smooth and even coat. After the first coat dried I went over it with a fine sanding block and took off any imperfections or raised spots.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks guys, I am a new boat owner, and not a carpenter by any means so don't be to critical of my crappy workmanship..lol...This is my first boat overhaul, I've researched and read a ton of information to at least make sure it's done right, may be crooked but it'll be right


----------



## fool4fish1226 (Jun 7, 2012)

Your doing a great job keep the updates coming.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

Thank you fool4fish, and here are some more pictures up to date, I have been working on this for around two months solid, took pictures as I was going and now I am posting them, I've only gotten up to framing the inside so far, here are the up to date pics. Please feel free to give me constructive criticism as I definitely need it


----------



## fool4fish1226 (Jun 7, 2012)

Paint looks great =D> I like the color blue on a boat


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

After the first coat dried I went over it with a sanding block (fine grit) this took off any runs, or raised pieces, imperfections etc.. I didn't sand the rivets as that would take the paint all the way off of them or the seams same reason. Then I went over the sanded paint with acetone and a tack cloth. You can pick up three tack cloths from Home Depot for like $4 bucks. It is basically a wax cloth that will pick up ANYTHING that is left behind, dust, debri, fuzzies, etc...


----------



## bigwave (Jun 7, 2012)

The paint job looks good, I will be painting mine a lighter blue, its is by awlcraft, medeterian blue with metal flake......I cant wait til i can finally paint my outside. Great job.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

thanks bigwave, yeah it's been a process but well worth the time spent! I just can't wait until the framing is done and the carpet put on then some fishing hopefully before winter haha :mrgreen:


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

And the framing starts. I screwed the floor down to the frame using the galvanized deck screws. The plywood I used is the 1/2, I did some research and the 1/2 inch is actually stronger per square foot than the 3/4 inch due to the fact that it can flex in different spots compared to the 3/4 in. only flexing at certain points. Not to mention the 1/2 in. will take a lot more weight off of the total in the boat when everything is said and done. After nailing down the plywood you will notice that the metal mounts where the bench seat was screwed into, I removed the back four. I was going to use them for part of the supports but instead I decided to cut a piece of 2x2, drilled holes through it and then I screwed a piece of 2x2 on the top and bottom of that support. I also used gorilla wood glue and clamps for the three pieces to make sure they were nice and secured.


----------



## flajsh (Jun 7, 2012)

Great job on the paint. And welcome to the club. F4f or big will show you the seceret hand shake 8) 
ill be doing mine in a blue called largo blue from interlux .at least that's the plan for now :LOL2:


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks flajsh, 

yeah I was going to try and find different paint colors but I liked this one and I figure it'll be easy to touch up if I do get a nick in it, but there are three solid layers of paint and three in between layers of self-etching primer, I'm pretty sure this paint won't be coming off easy. :twisted:


----------



## fool4fish1226 (Jun 8, 2012)

I like the lay out of your decking and your side supports great job =D>


----------



## wihil (Jun 8, 2012)

Looks great so far! 

As a heads up - change out those galvanized screws for stainless before you get too far along in the project. I've got a 12'er from the 50's that's experienced everything from galvanized screws to treated lumber. Let me tell you - pitting and reaction to aluminum is NO JOKE - go stainless right off the bat or you'll be dealing with the aftermath.

#-o


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 9, 2012)

Wihil, 


yeah I went with the deck screws but I didn't use treated lumber because I knew it reacted with aluminum from when I used to do siding with my dads contracting company, I plan on whipping up a batch of fiberglass resin when the framing is all done and going over that to seal everything up really nice. Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## bigwave (Jun 9, 2012)

Looking good, Hopefully I can work on mine this weekend. I have company coming so as soon as I get the honey do's done, I might get to work on my boat. What are you going to power your boat with.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 9, 2012)

Thanks Bigwave,


I have a Mercury 75, basically 8HP, I can do a carb upgrade on it and make it run around 15HP but I do not think I will do it, just pick up a newer motor next summer. The real test is to see how it pushes the boat through the water with the extra weight. The motor was redone recently, new water pump, distributor cap, plugs and wires, fuel lines, and the carb.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 9, 2012)

Here is a pic of what I used to hold the seams together and corner pieces of the frame. Just a basic hardened steel angle, they hold extremely well, picked up a pack of four at Home Depot for like $2.50 per pack. If you look close I also used Gorilla (wood) glue in all the seams even with the screws just to prevent squeaking and to really make it solid. I used a clamp on those three pieces and held it together over night, I literally stood on the three pieces and it didn't move or make a sound! If you look at the bolts through the wood bracket attached to the side of the boat I used the threaded nuts to prevent it from coming off down the road or bending or anything. Its an extra .30 cents per pack but well worth the lack of a headache

Then the other pics are the rest of the framing for the casting deck, and the side storage boxes. I have a few things to tighten and switch on some of the frames but after it is done I will be mixing up a batch of fiberglass resin to completely seal all of the top wood and frames. I plan to making a door on top of the casting deck to throw life jackets and what not in there. I made extra supports and really just left a little bit of room for the jackets, I needed more supports because I'm 6'4" tall and weigh 220lbs, I do not need to be falling through [-X


----------



## wihil (Jun 9, 2012)

Lookin' good so far! My 12 has a 7.5 (8), and bare boat with me and rods/tackle it'll move me fine, with an additional like sized person/rods/tackle it slowed up a bit more than I was expecting. Still got on plane, but we weren't going to be the first to the hole if you know what I mean.

I thought about upgrading to a 15 this year, but I'm putting motor money into the "16' DeepV Tinny fund" instead. This one will get me around, and the my 12 is a perfect test bed to practice for the next one.

Again - looking great! Hope it doesn't weight too much, but it sure looks sturdy!


----------



## TheMaestro (Jun 9, 2012)

Very nice framing..I especially like the angled motor-well!


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 10, 2012)

Thanks guys I appreciate the feed back, wasn't sure what I was going to do and every idea I had I thought about and changed about twenty times...lol..overall I'm sure it'll do the trick and catch me fish! And I hope to help out the next person looking to change their boat into a bass boat...the experience on this site is immeasurable


----------



## fool4fish1226 (Jun 10, 2012)

Looks great man, you did a heck of a job on the framing =D>


----------



## novaman (Jun 10, 2012)

=D> =D> Welcome and great job!, looking forward to more of the same .


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 10, 2012)

Thanks for the support everyone, now I am just worried I'm going to do a crappy job cutting the pieces and laying the carpet, I have to figure out how I'm going to go about it, I am painting the fiberglass resin on this week, let it settle for a couple of days and paint the motor. Not too long now, I am shooting for July 4th weekend to get it up and running!


----------



## wihil (Jun 11, 2012)

Man I hear you on the carpet - I'm all kinds of unsure about sticking it down.

Just got my front deck done, need to get some Spar or FG resin on it this week (not real sure which is better - used Spar on the transom, but with the deck I don't know which would be best), then it's carpet time.

Still think it's looking great - hope it doesn't end up too heavy once all the ply is on, but I think it's gonna be killer.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 12, 2012)

Yeah Wihil it is making me nervous too...lol..I guess the worst case scenario is I screw it up and have to redo it. I did a lot of research on what to seal the wood with besides buying Marine wood. I didn't buy Marine wood or treated wood because i didn't want to run into problems with chemicals and oxidizing and all that jazz. But I was told FB resin is the best thing to use. It does not dry out, it does not peel off, it seals the wood and makes it weather proof. On top of that use all weather carpet, and it doesn't hurt to get a few cans of water proofing spray to go over the carpet for that extra protection. That is something good to do once a year I guess. Do you have pictures of your project on your boat?


----------



## Andy Taylor (Jun 12, 2012)

I thought using OSB was bad in a boat? It absorbs water like a sponge.


----------



## wihil (Jun 12, 2012)

Fudoshin - No pictures yet - going to to start a new thread shortly now that I've actually started BUILDING on the tin instead of tacking things on to it.

Still trying to decide what to do with my benches as they're riveted in (and at this point I need them in.. :lol: ) Got plans though, and that's what matters most, right?

Keep it going! Love small boat builds.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jun 13, 2012)

mine were riveted as well, they also had the foam attached to the bottom, I just drilled out the rivets and put bolts through the holes into my new structure. It's an option for you, but if you are making a floor over the seats that will probably act as a better support anyways. Good luck hope to see the pics soon.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jul 26, 2012)

Well she's done!! It's been a long year or so, and especially the last four months I have spent at least five hours + on it a day. I individually covered each piece with fiber glass resin, carpet glue, and each was stapled down on the back side. The floor was also resin'd and glued, carpeted. I rolled out each piece every 30 minutes until the glue cured. Got the carpet cheap at Menard's it cost me $80 for a huge roll and I still have tons left after the project, and it is all weather carpet. So now I ran into a snag with my pulley assembly on my 15HP Johnson, A piece broke, so I ordered new parts and I'm having trouble getting it to work right. For now I have my Mercury 9HP, it will move me slowly with the extra weight I'm sure but none the less get me to the spots. Let me know what you guys think.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jul 26, 2012)

Here are the rest.


----------



## Brandon (Jul 26, 2012)

Looks amazing! I am interested in hearing how she does in the water. I have a 12' I plan on modifying. Thanks for the ideas


----------



## Fudoshin (Jul 26, 2012)

Thanks Brandon, it was a learning process, I can help you along the way feel free to hit me up with any questions, I hope my pictures through out the whole process help you out. I will post how she runs on the water, I will probably take it out tomorrow morning to test, just got the registration in the mail and put it on this morning.


----------



## Pan Fisherman (Jul 26, 2012)

Outstanding Mod! I too would be interested to hear how it does on the water!

John


----------



## Brandon (Jul 26, 2012)

Fudoshin said:


> Thanks Brandon, it was a learning process, I can help you along the way feel free to hit me up with any questions, I hope my pictures through out the whole process help you out. I will post how she runs on the water, I will probably take it out tomorrow morning to test, just got the registration in the mail and put it on this morning.



Thanks man! I am going to start on mine this fall so be on the lookout for questions!  oh and dont forget to take pics on the first water test!


----------



## Fudoshin (Jul 27, 2012)

Thanks Pan fisherman, and Brandon I will for sure take pics, and give suggestions if something is to rocky or heavy and what not, and I'll be waiting for the questions.


----------



## Brandon (Jul 27, 2012)

Fudoshin said:


> Thanks Pan fisherman, and Brandon I will for sure take pics, and give suggestions if something is to rocky or heavy and what not, and I'll be waiting for the questions.



Sweet! Can't wait


----------



## wihil (Jul 29, 2012)

Fudoshin - Looks GREAT man! That turned out awesome!

I hope your's gets up and goes faster than mine did. I had it out a weekend ago and was slow going on Winnie with a south wind (should have known better but dang it I wanted to FISH!) Just noticed you're up in APL, I'm south of you by about 30min.

Can't wait to see what comes next!


----------



## Fudoshin (Jul 30, 2012)

Thanks a lot man yeah I saw you are pretty close to me, so are you right out of Oshkosh then? I live off the HWY in Appleton about a mile or so. I wasn't sure if I should take mine on winni or not..but I am going to get it out on the water this week and see how it does. I have a Johnson 15Hp on it now so that should help with the extra weight. Not sure what to expect yet. I still have minor things to get done on her, some wiring and install of the nav lights, fish finder mount, but most of that stuff can wait until winter it's been going on too long this summer. I will probably bring her out to freemont on the big wolf to test. I will take some video's and post pics.


----------



## wihil (Jul 30, 2012)

Yup, down in Oshvegas a mile or two from Rainbow (my usual launch).

The 15Hp will make a HUGE difference - I think you'd be disappointed in the 8hp, just judging by what you added in wood vs what I have in mine. I'd definitely hit up Freemont first to see how it rides before Winnie. I've had the boat on Winnie for a while and thought it wouldn't be that big of a difference with the added mods - but a good 15-20mph South wind sure changed my mind. More power would have been GREATLY appreciated.

Heck with the Nav lights - mount that FF'er on an ammo box and get that thing in the water! Winter's for fishing too, ya know!

I still may chase down some more power before upgrading. Thought I had a 16'er in my sights, but that's not the case.

Can't wait to see pics of it in the water.


----------



## Fudoshin (Jul 31, 2012)

Well I got her out on the water today! It's been a long time waiting....The Johnson 15Horse is having problems, but I have another Mercury 8.5HP, it didn't push it through the water as fast as I wanted but it moved us just fine for a good day fishing on the river with me, my girl, and my son! But only caught two perch, it was 96 degrees out so that's probably why. None the less a good day because my boat worked great, fit all our tackle and rods and us with out an issue. Just need to get the Anchor cranks, seats posted and I'll be set.


----------



## bigwave (Aug 1, 2012)

You know the more I see the dark blue the more I am leaning towards painting mine the same with some metal flake in in it.
I like it... :mrgreen:


----------



## Brandon (Aug 1, 2012)

Man she looks beautiful in the water! I LOVE the blue a lot


----------



## Nowakezone (Aug 1, 2012)

=D> great job! This has given me the bug to start some mods on my 12'!


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 1, 2012)

Thanks guys, yeah big wave I wasn't sure how it would look once it was all done but I am more than happy with the color, I wish I would have put some flake in it but oh well. If it gets scratched or anything it blends really nicely. Yeah Brandon I am a fan of the color now too, especially after seeing her on the water, only $11 a quart at Fleet Farm and I applied to generous coats and only used one quart with self-etching primer. If you go to the earlier posts when I started my mod I have all the stuff I used through out the build. And I hear ya Nowake, this was a year long project for me, although I didn't start on it until four months ago, I bought it early last summer and gutted it out, then it sat in my garage.


----------



## wihil (Aug 1, 2012)

That boat looks like a million bucks - even better in the water. Great job on the build.

=D>


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 2, 2012)

thanks wihil


----------



## Buddychrist (Aug 2, 2012)

How's the balance up that high on that 12'? I'm contemplating doing a deck on my 14' mirrocraft but I'm still skeptical


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 2, 2012)

Actually Buddychrist, it's not an issue at all on my 12'er I just made sure I used the same pieces on each side to even it out, the battery is in the rear left box, and the rear anchor is in the rear right box so that even's it out. I am 6'4" 210lbs and I was standing off my casting deck fishing just fine, of course the boat rocks if you really jump around but what 12 foot boat wouldn't. I am really happy with how it handles, it plains out really nice even with three people on it and a 8.5hp mercury outboard.


----------



## Pan Fisherman (Aug 2, 2012)

Blue has always been my favorite color. You did an outstanding job on the build!

Congrats!
John


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 2, 2012)

Thanks John


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 3, 2012)

Took the boat out yesterday again with my little brother, I stood up on the back seat area with no problems, and I also used the front casting deck with no problems, it wasn't way off balance or very rocky, everything is holding up nicely, and remember I am 6'4" 210lbs so that's a good test to see if it was off balance. The only thing that went bad is the pull rope frayed and has to be replaced...  I individually weighed each piece of wood/screws/carpet/glue/and anything added to the boat, since I used 1/2 plywood, and 2x2s for the framing it took a lot of the weight away from the original plan. The weight came to about 146lbs extra, which really isn't a lot.

I will say this though, since I took off the bench seats, I didn't use ratchet straps to hold the sides from bowing out, I just let them settle where they did and then framed from there, anyways, the extra surface area and the weight combined really helps the boat cut through waves with no problem or too much rocking back and fourth.


----------



## Buddychrist (Aug 3, 2012)

Where's your flotation?


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 3, 2012)

I drilled 2" holes all through out the floor and put pour foam into the holes, then I sanded off the excess when it was dry. Then fiber glass resin the floor, then the glue and carpet.


----------



## Buddychrist (Aug 3, 2012)

Nice! How many holes did you fill?


----------



## Fudoshin (Aug 3, 2012)

I drilled in Threes across width wise, and went all the way to the back and stopped before the back ribs, so let me see I drilled 21 holes I believe. Make sure your floor is nice and secured down before you do that otherwise the foam will push your floor up and when it dries it's too late, you'll have to take the floor off and sand it down or remove it and start over.


----------



## Buddychrist (Aug 3, 2012)

Im not going to remove my seats for the structural reasons but I will be putting marine grade plywood over the flat part of the hull to give me a stable place to stand. I've got a bad back that affects my right leg so any unstable ground scares the crap out of me.

Until then... I'm just gonna stay seated during my tin adventures


----------



## Fudoshin (Sep 11, 2012)

Hey guys I've been out fishing on the new rig, haven't gotten on here to post new pics. I picked up a 2007 Mercury 9.9HP/four stroke that pushes the boat nicely through the water. The boat is nice on the water, I've gotten up on the front casting deck, and the seat is stable when I'm sitting in it, installed a fish finder, rod holder, and rod storage, also got a 40 Thrust motor guide troller. I haven't gone out in a week or so, I actually just picked up a 1990 17ft Bayliner Capri that I'm tinkering with now, new project.


----------



## BIGBASSMAN103 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Looks great - Nice job.

I am working on a 14 Ft Mirrocraft and will be posting photos soon.

Like what you did with the floors.*


----------



## Fudoshin (Sep 12, 2012)

Thanks Bigbassman, 

Let me know if you have any questions through out your build since it's all fresh in my mind hopefully you can use my post during the whole build to help you out a bit. Good luck, can't wait for the pics


----------



## Gators5220 (Dec 27, 2012)

Nice job, love what you do with the boat.


----------



## Fudoshin (Dec 27, 2012)

Thanks gators I appreciate that, long process first build, I learned a lot and enjoyed the boat all summer!


----------



## Gators5220 (Dec 28, 2012)

No problem bud, you taking that thing out and gettin her wet and catchin some fishies?


----------



## Fudoshin (Jan 20, 2013)

Yeah I took it out a bunch, need to get a stronger motor to push the extra weight better otherwise its great, adding some things this winter as well.


----------



## BoatDawg4120 (Feb 1, 2013)

I am working on a 12ft just like this but i am planning on just a front casting deck and decking from the rear bench back, with the floor covered just for a flat surface. my only concern is the added weight. i have a 1955 Evinrude Fleetwin 7.5 hp to push it along. did the 8hp do ok with that much extra weight? ill be adding a lot less than you so im hoping the 7.5 can handle it well.


----------



## Gators5220 (Feb 1, 2013)

You might check a lot of 9.9 to 15hp the only difference is carbs and reeds. So if you just upgrade the carb and reeds you can have a 15hp. Best part is your outer covering says 9.9hp so you can still go in hp restricted lakes!


----------



## Fudoshin (Feb 21, 2013)

The 8.8 was not enough horse power, even though I have side compartments and what not it wasn't too heavy but definitely need a 9.9 or higher, I had a 9.9 4stroke 2010 and that wasn't even strong enough, I'm looking at a 15hp or 25 for this summer


----------



## Buddychrist (Feb 22, 2013)

Or you could put a 115 sticker on it and make everyone turn their heads and scratch it wondering how the motors got that small


----------



## BoatDawg4120 (Feb 22, 2013)

I can see how the 8.8 wouldnt be enough with all the added weight you have but mine i dont have any other choice but to ade weight to the front. that little 7.5 will plane the boat off but only if i sit on the middle bench and lean forward and use my foot to hold the tiller and thats with the fuel tank and all the gear in front of the middle bench. So mine is a weight displacment issue. figured i would deck the front like i wanted but use all wood for framing instead of aluminum like i had planned. and i am going to be installing some trim tabs that i had the shop i work at fab for me.


----------

