# 1660 Mod V Hull Project



## JigglyJohnson (Jul 25, 2016)

I recently bought a moderate v hull boat. I originally thought it was aluminium, but it's much heavier than it should be and the guy who I stored my boat with thinks that its galvanized steel. In any case, it's a huge step up space wise from my old 1236. 

Here is the boat how I first got it. I purchased it from a mechanic that painted and rewired the trailer. I think he also repainted the outside of the boat. 










I took the old 9.9 off my 12 footer for now. I will eventually upgrade to a 25+ hp tiller. 






The first thing I did to the boat was install a seat and an old donated bow mount trolling motor. 









The next thing I did was rip out the two middle bench seats. They had low quality, aged and deteriorated flotation foam. I will be adding a lot more than what the boat had. 









I placed 4 foot aluminum angle along the ribs to get an idea of what I'm up against. I paid way too much for the aluminum at HD. Found 1/2" square aluminum tubes that are 9 1/2' long locally for $5. Hoping they're strong enough to be used structurally. 












I've been immersed in project build threads here for the past month or so and I've decided to take elements from many of the different amazing builds here and on YouTube. Unfortunately I lack the 'toolsy' skills that many here possess, but I'm taking the plunge anyways. 

My plan includes the following (random scatter brained order):

1. Nautolex vinyl covering everything. 
2. Decent gunwales with rod locker on one side, maybe both. Storage on one side of no second rod locker. 
3. Will be spending the extra money for a lock for the rod locker latch, slam latches for everything else, trolling motor plug for future upgrades. 
4. Aluminum frame with plywood as the structure. 
5. U shaped structure to operate the tiller. 
6. One seat centre rear
7. Elevated front deck level with gunwales. 
8. Seat on front deck. 
9. Flotation foam under the aluminum frame like in this boat as well as in every available space (picture borrowed from tinboats.net):




10. I'd love to put a live well in if space permits, but I'm pushing it. If I can it will be half of the rear of the front deck. 
11. Emergency gear storage at the very top of the front deck. 
12. Winch type anchor hanging on the front of the boat. 
13. Enclosure for the gas can, with hose and fuel fill tube so I can fill up gas directly. 






What I'm really hoping for is to hear where my plans are flawed. I'm really not experienced with any skilled building. Adding to my challenge is the fact the boat is 2 hours away and I don't have a great work area as of yet. Thanks for the long read. Hoping for advice. 


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## Johnny (Jul 25, 2016)

Welcome to da Bayou, Jiggly 

test the hull with a magnet


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## JigglyJohnson (Jul 25, 2016)

Johnny said:


> Welcome to da Bayou, Jiggly
> 
> test the hull with a magnet


will do! 


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## DaleH (Jul 26, 2016)

Looks good! I'd forget about enclosing the fuel tank, you may find it more trouble to rig up properly than it's worth ...

Nothing like being able to slide out an empty tank from under the seat and then grabbing a fuel one from the garage or shed and heading out fishing ...


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## JigglyJohnson (Jul 26, 2016)

DaleH said:


> Looks good! I'd forget about enclosing the fuel tank, you may find it more trouble to rig up properly than it's worth ...
> 
> Nothing like being able to slide out an empty tank from under the seat and then grabbing a fuel one from the garage or shed and heading out fishing ...


makes sense and saves money. 

I also found out that the boat is a Spectrum, which appear to have been made by tracker. 


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## onthewater102 (Jul 27, 2016)

Another strike against the internal fuel tank - assuming you're using the foam board insulation from most big box home improvement stores if you spill gas filling your tank you're likely going to have it dissolve your foam into sticky goo.


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## JigglyJohnson (Aug 4, 2016)

Got frustrated by the lack of fishing and threw in a 4x8 pressure treated plywood board sitting on unsecured aluminum tubing (and a tackle bag and a battery [emoji23]). Will get back to proper installation in two weeks






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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Aug 4, 2016)

If it is an aluminum hull you don't want to use pressure treated wood. The copper used in the wood will react badly with aluminum.


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## JigglyJohnson (Aug 4, 2016)

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> If it is an aluminum hull you don't want to use pressure treated wood. The copper used in the wood will react badly with aluminum.


ive read this before. What if I vinyl it? Does that help?


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Aug 4, 2016)

When the wood gets wet the copper will leach out and where the water goes the copper will go.


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## JigglyJohnson (Aug 4, 2016)

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> When the wood gets wet the copper will leach out and where the water goes the copper will go.


gotcha. Was well worth it for the day. I'll pull the board out asap. Will it cause damage if left in for a couple days?


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Aug 4, 2016)

I'd do it for a day or 3 but not for long especially if the wood is new and the treatment is wet.


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## JigglyJohnson (Sep 27, 2016)

So I started the thread off explaining that I'm not "toolsy" and the results support my claim. 

Finding a place to work on the boat has been challenging, but my brother in law let me use his garage for a very short time, so I've been rushing to get her functional for some fall bassin' 

I framed the floor using 1/2" 1/16 aluminum tubing that I sourced cheap on Kijiji. It's all held together with low grade fasteners and L brackets. It's not pretty and it's probably not going to be great long term. If I get two years outta her like this I'm happy. 

I used black silicone to seal the rivets. I'm saving the 5200 to seal all the exterior below-the-waterline holes I drilled.




Sealed rivets





Exterior screws....how bad of an idea is this?





Where I'm screwing into 





Wood in to mark off the path of the aluminum angle cross bracing. 





Framing in the final stages of completion. 



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## ericman (Sep 28, 2016)

Those screws are a BAD idea. They will work loose. Drill thru with 3/16" bit and re-fasten with solid aluminum rivets.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Sep 28, 2016)

Silicone has an acid in it that is bad for aluminum.


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## JigglyJohnson (Sep 28, 2016)

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> Silicone has an acid in it that is bad for aluminum.



This was a black silicone for marine applications....still bad?

The previous owner had regular silicone on it in spots. 


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## JigglyJohnson (Sep 28, 2016)

ericman said:


> Those screws are a BAD idea. They will work loose. Drill thru with 3/16" bit and re-fasten with solid aluminum rivets.



Will do. Thank you for the advice. 


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Sep 28, 2016)

JigglyJohnson said:


> lckstckn2smknbrls said:
> 
> 
> > Silicone has an acid in it that is bad for aluminum.
> ...


I don't know. Does it say safe for aluminum?


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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 3, 2016)

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> JigglyJohnson said:
> 
> 
> > lckstckn2smknbrls said:
> ...


Looks good to use. It's for marine applications and it bonds aluminum.









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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 3, 2016)

JigglyJohnson said:


> ericman said:
> 
> 
> > Those screws are a BAD idea. They will work loose. Drill thru with 3/16" bit and re-fasten with solid aluminum rivets.
> ...


Beers and fishing on me if you ever come to Ontario. 

The rivets are so much better in every way and they were so easy to work with. Should have the framing for the floor completed by tomorrow.













Any thoughts on the L brackets I'm using?






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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 3, 2016)

Shoot. I used pop rivets. I didn't understand the difference initially. How bad is the difference? I'm coating all the external ones in 5200. 


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## onthewater102 (Oct 4, 2016)

You really can't get away from the pop rivets attaching to the ribs, so you're good there. If you can use solid rivets for the aluminum connections that do not mate up to the hull ribs they will be sturdier.

The sealant you pictured specifically says its "Silicone Free" in the 1st line on the backside so you're good to go - it's a polyurethane based goop.


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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 4, 2016)

onthewater102 said:


> You really can't get away from the pop rivets attaching to the ribs, so you're good there. If you can use solid rivets for the aluminum connections that do not mate up to the hull ribs they will be sturdier.
> 
> The sealant you pictured specifically says its "Silicone Free" in the 1st line on the backside so you're good to go - it's a polyurethane based goop.



Thanks buddy!


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## onthewater102 (Oct 4, 2016)

The issue with blind rivets (pop rivets) is they're hollow so they don't hold up to sheer forces nearly as well as a solid rivet would. I built my boat using stainless blind rivets for their enhanced sheer strength (vs. aluminum blind rivets), which I could get away with as I'm never out on salt water, but stainless & aluminum react in the presence of salt water so that isn't really the best solution. I had used aluminum blind rivets initially but they quickly failed and I ended up replacing them all.

Any future projects I take on will definitely use solid aluminum rivets wherever possible, tooling to use an air compressor air-hammer to set them is very inexpensive.


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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 4, 2016)

onthewater102 said:


> The issue with blind rivets (pop rivets) is they're hollow so they don't hold up to sheer forces nearly as well as a solid rivet would. I built my boat using stainless blind rivets for their enhanced sheer strength (vs. aluminum blind rivets), which I could get away with as I'm never out on salt water, but stainless & aluminum react in the presence of salt water so that isn't really the best solution. I had used aluminum blind rivets initially but they quickly failed and I ended up replacing them all.
> 
> Any future projects I take on will definitely use solid aluminum rivets wherever possible, tooling to use an air compressor air-hammer to set them is very inexpensive.


How bad did they fail? Should I be replacing these right away?


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## onthewater102 (Oct 4, 2016)

The ones I had fail were in the bracketing I made to support my trolling motor. They failed within ~2 months. They had (comparably) a lot of weight jostling around, especially while trailering the boat.


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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 4, 2016)

onthewater102 said:


> The ones I had fail were in the bracketing I made to support my trolling motor. They failed within ~2 months. They had (comparably) a lot of weight jostling around, especially while trailering the boat.



If I get two months out of it, I can live with that. That will get me to the end of the year. It's only supporting 125lbs of dumbass [emoji851]. 

I finished the floor framing, using all aluminium pop rivets, but at least they're 3/16 and not 1/8. I 5200'd most the rivets and seams. Once that cures, I'm putting in a 4x8 plywood sheet for the rest of the year.













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## JigglyJohnson (Oct 18, 2016)

So I need to get out for some fall bass before the end of the season. I plan to continue the project throughout the winter but for now I stuck to what I need to fish. Today I screwed down a sheet of plywood and installed my seat, the trolling motor foot control and a cup holder. I'm gonna screw in a little Tupperware container before I head out for miscellaneous storage because righty now there is nothing under the plywood except for the aluminum framing and I do not want to be losing my favourite baits down there. 








My niece helped me installed a makeshift direction arrow for my trolling motor along with a casing to keep it dry. It'll be nice knowing which direction the motor is pointed in before hitting the pedal. 









I need to figure out where to store my battery for now. I'm thinking up front in the gap between my platform and the front bench. I'm not sure what approach to take. I was thinking either a few strips of aluminum riveted to the bench seat and bent down then back up to be bolted to the plywood. That or just buy a plastic marine battery box from BPS and bolt it in between the plywood and the front bench. Thoughts or advice would be very helpful as I'm clearly new to this [emoji5]






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## JigglyJohnson (Nov 24, 2016)

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best truck bed liner to use? I already used 3M 5200 on the rivets and confirmed there are no more leaks. I want to roll on some truck bed liner to quiet the boat a little. It will also serve as a paint. I want to lay it on before I add any foam. 


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## derekdiruz (Nov 25, 2016)

I used raptor liner on my truck and loved it. After 2 years, no chipping or anything else. No sun fading. Awesome product.. I'll be spraying my boat with it below my deck to hold foam in place (I'm using board foam) and dampen sound

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## JigglyJohnson (Dec 1, 2016)

derekdiruz said:


> I used raptor liner on my truck and loved it. After 2 years, no chipping or anything else. No sun fading. Awesome product.. I'll be spraying my boat with it below my deck to hold foam in place (I'm using board foam) and dampen sound
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


thanks for the advice. 

Has anyone ever used brazing rods for aluminum framing? I was thinking about soldering all the joints together in addition to the riveting in place. 


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## JigglyJohnson (May 8, 2017)

So I have (very) slowly been working on this project over the winter. Being a new daddy meant time and money were both hard to come by. In addition to that, my wife made a deal with someone at work, so I am getting a 17 foot bass boat. The project has now turned from a passion project to a get it done and sell it project. With that said, I'm still trying to do my best with my limited skill set. 






I started by adding in two additional braces to each horizontal support. 






I got them all done. I'm clearly not an expert but I tried to do everything the right way within my capabilities to allow this to last a long time. All cuts were done with a jig saw on a balcony with a single saw horse. 










I finally removed the old seat support brackets. In hindsight I should have removed these initially to remove the seats. I also shouldn't have scraped the seats. Live and learn. 






I'm going to try to rig together the two pairs of seat brackets to make two battery trays. 

Next steps that I have planned are to vacuum and clean the inside again. Cover it all with some spray rocker guard, then start inserting foam sheets. I'm looking to get 24 cubic feet in the floor. There won't be any floor storage but I plan for two side cabinets. At least one will be a rod locker and the other either general storage or a second rod locker. 

I might build an elevated deck up front a foot pr two back from the front bench just to simplify the battery storage. 

I know this should have all been planned out ahead, and most of it was, but plans change. 

I am working on treating my side cabinet wood pieces with old timers formula so I think I'm doing that right at least [emoji5]


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