# 2002 Alumacraft MV 1544 AW Makeover



## Stump Bumper (Mar 11, 2015)

Hey guys, I've been checking out this site for about 2-3 years now, ever since I got my 15' Alumacraft. It came pretty well stocked from my father in law but I have made a few minor mods here and there along the way. I take this boat almost every where. I live in eastern NC and I fish rivers, creeks and sounds. I fish for bass, brim, shad, catfish, flounder, rock, trout and red drum. The pictures below show basically what it looked like when I got it.






2002 Mercury 25 2 stroke









Minn Kota 55# trolling motor





6 gallon gas tank and deep cycle battery for trolling motor and battery for lights and electric start on motor





Since, I have removed the old Humming Bird fish finder base and transducer and installed a Lowrance Mark 4 in the same location. I've upgraded the plastic seats with thicker cushioned Bass Pro Shops seats. And have built a storage box on the starboard side of the boat out of an old deep freezer that had gone bad. I just recycled most of the outer box, added some hinges and a lock. It now stores all the life jackets, paddle, and other misc. items.













I wanted to have a rod rack on the back for cat/shad/rock fishing, so I took a gamble with some square tube steel I already had and a treated piece of wood and made one. I know it's a matter of time before I see rust, but so far (2 years) so good. The wood is now attached to the top square tube with 2 bolts instead of the zip ties. All components have been painted. The smaller square tube telescopes into the larger square tube that is mounted to the inside of the gas tank/battery storage box. I hope you like my 18-wheeler mud flaps that make my floor mats. They sure beat the hot metal on summer days.








I had to make some more permanent modifications to the rack since these pictures but you get the jest.





So that's what I was working with until now. I decided I wanted to add some Beavertail float pods to the back. With me (280#s) the 25hp 2 stroke, 2 batteries and a 6 gallon gas tank, the transom was sitting mighty low. Once they were delivered, I made my mind up to strip the boat inside and out for the installation of the pods. They look great and I'm ready to see the difference they make. I'm currently in the process of painting the entire boat inside and out. The exterior of the boat is going to be a camouflage pattern I've never seen on a boat before. You'll have to wait and see the after pictures later. The carpeted marine grade plywood walls and floor will be re-installed. The front and rear decks are going to be flat tan to try and lower the heat. I'm going to apply multiple coats of 3m Professional Grade Underbody Rubberized coating on the decks to create a softer surface (remove the thick rubber mud flap floor maps) then paint the decks flat tan.
Pictures of the new pods and the base coat of paint applied.













I hope to be finished with the makeover by the end of April. I'll try to keep posting updated pictures as I go. Please feel free to share you're wisdom and constructive ideas.
Thanks - Stump Bumper


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 14, 2015)

Well, I was able to get the camo paint job done yesterday, but I don't like it. The look I was going for was honeycomb/snake scale camo. I've seen a few guns with this pattern but no boats. I was worried that it would look strange on such a large scale. I'm not sure if it's the light color tan and green I used or how random the pattern looks.





One of the pods





I'm going to try and darken in up with some stencils I made from artificial flower arrangements from Wal-Mart. I plan to use some dark brown spray paint to blast over the stencils so the grass/reeds will keep the tan and light green color and have a brown background.





I'll update with pictures soon. If all else fails, I might just go back to a solid forest green.


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## Carolina (Mar 14, 2015)

Sweet, let us know how the pods work out. I've often wondered if pods introduce additional drag, this reducing the top end speed.


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 14, 2015)

OK, darkened up the camo paint job this afternoon. I'm still not 100% happy but I think I'm gonna stick with it. Now it's time to flip her back over and start working on the inside.


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## Capt1972 (Mar 14, 2015)

I personally think most camo looks very dark at distance. The lighter camo jobs seem to blend in better, at least the ducks seem to think so in my experience.


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## LeftCoastAngler (Mar 16, 2015)

I like it.
...but Im no duck.


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 21, 2015)

Well sunshine and warm weather equals me getting a lot done today. I was able to spray the entire perimeter and both decks with 3m rubberized underbody coating and paint everything tan after it dried. It turned out really nice and the 3m gives the decks a non slip feature. I was also able to reinstall the floor, side walls and my storage box.

























Next will be reinstalling the trolling motor, the Mercury tiller and the Lowrance Mark 4. Can't wait to get her back in the water. Also picked up some new rods at Dunham's, just gotta get some line on em.


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## TNtroller (Mar 22, 2015)

Very nice work. Enjoy it when its done.


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 28, 2015)

Managed to make some progress today. Got the Merc, trolling motor and bilge pump back on and wired up. Installed the cargo net I ordered. Turned out it was a little too long at the bottom, but it'll work. I've got the rod rack base reinstalled. Also got the registration on. Right now I've got a block of "cutting board" pressed against the transom with 5200 drying. Once cured, I'll be installing the Lowrance Mark 4 and I'll be done.






























Maybe I'll have her back in the water next weekend.


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## rusty2112 (Mar 28, 2015)

what did you use on the side to mount your rod holders? Looks great


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 28, 2015)

Thanks Rusty. The rod holders are: https://www.amazon.com/Attwood-Vertical-Mount-Holder-Storage/dp/B003DK2NWM


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## rusty2112 (Mar 29, 2015)

Not the rod holders the material they are attracted to


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 29, 2015)

If you're talking about the side walls, they're 1\2" marine grade plywood wrapped with carpet. They're drilled to the ribs. It's the same thing the floor is made of.


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## rusty2112 (Mar 30, 2015)

Okay thanks


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## mbweimar (Mar 30, 2015)

Are those the "small" or "medium" beavertail pods? I'm looking at those for my boat. I have a 1752.


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## Stump Bumper (Mar 30, 2015)

Per Beavertail's website, my 15' needed the small size.


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## Stump Bumper (Jun 3, 2015)

Well I've had a few opportunities to take ol' Stump Bumper out since the makeover was complete. I am very pleased with the performance of the pods. The top of the transom is no where near as close to the water line as before. The water actually only comes up to about half an inch below the top of the pod. And that's fully loaded (Me, gas, batteries, motor). Top speed hasn't really changed, I still get about 20mph against current and about 23-24 with current. It really reduced the time it takes to get on plane. So I guess the added buoyancy overcomes the additional drag. Also, when I throttle down abruptly, water doesn't come close to rushing in over the transom. I have made a couple of other modifications. One being an adjustable tiller handle extension to allow me to drive while standing, which is a great benefit when looking out for floating debris. I went to Overton's and bought some Wise high back camo seats rated for over 200lbs since the plastic web support underneath one of my old seats cracked. Also, I've upgraded the trolling motor to a Minn Kota Riptide 55# 12v and installed the Minn Kota trolling motor plug in my trolling motor mount. I do fish a combination of fresh and salt/brackish waters so I figured it would be best. I'm contemplating if I want to install the quick release mount for easy removal of the trolling motor, but I can't think of a time I'd go out and not need it. I installed the plug verses hard wiring the tm so that it can be quickly disconnected from the battery while it's charging. The only issue I have now is a white TM on the front deck of a camouflaged fishing boat. If I ever decide to use the boat for duck hunting, I'll have to figure out a way to cover all that white. I've thought about the "No Mar" gun wrap tape so that it can be removed. I hate the idea of painting a brand new $700 trolling motor. Any of you guys have a saltwater trolling motor on a duck boat? Here's a pic before heading out to the Pamlico sound last Saturday for some flounder/red drum fishing.


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## dwbiggs (Jun 3, 2015)

Nice setup...I have an alumacrat 1546 modv with same pods that I just put a 25hp Yamaha 4 stroke on...I assume your boat is similar in weight to mine so was wondering what kinda speed are you getting? Have had mine out once so haven't really had a chance to play with settings yet.


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## Ictalurus (Jun 3, 2015)

Boat looks great man, well done! =D> =D>


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## Stump Bumper (Jun 3, 2015)

dwbiggs said:


> Nice setup...I have an alumacrat 1546 modv with same pods that I just put a 25hp Yamaha 4 stroke on...I assume your boat is similar in weight to mine so was wondering what kinda speed are you getting? Have had mine out once so haven't really had a chance to play with settings yet.



I still get about 20mph against current and about 23-24 with current. That's loaded with all fishing gear, cooler and 2 people. BTW, I'm a big guy, 6'3" 280 lbs.


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## overboard (Jun 3, 2015)

Nice job! 
I like that idea for the rod rack on the back, I could use something similar to that one when fishing for shad in a local river.


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## dwbiggs (Jun 3, 2015)

> I still get about 20mph against current and about 23-24 with current. That's loaded with all fishing gear, cooler and 2 people. BTW, I'm a big guy, 6'3" 280 lbs.



Guess I'm in the ball park then...two big guys with fishing gear got 20mph. Set guy in middle of boat instead of up front... figured it would help. My motor has hydrofoil, don't know how that's affecting it....going to remove that and play around this weekend with tilt settings.

Pondering same thing with the trolling motor...whether or not to get salt water motor or not...I use my boat for duck hunting as well. What shaft length did you get? 

Thanks!


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## Stump Bumper (Jun 3, 2015)

"What shaft length did you get?"

I picked mine up at Amazon for $720 +tax (free shipping). It was the 12 volt 55# thrust Co-pilot with the 48" shaft.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MQNSLU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
The price is back up to $815 now. I didn't think I would be able to part with my foot controller and was disappointed to find out it doesn't come with one. After trolling around the grassy banks all Saturday morning flounder fishing, I'm in love! I was able to captain the boat all day from the rear deck. I went by Overton's today and picked up a roll of the "No Mar" real tree gun wrap tape. I started my attempt at applying small strips of the tape on the T.M. head this afternoon with little success. The "sphere" shape of the head make this a very difficult task. I know that spray paint would make it a quick, simple job, but man do I hate the idea of painting a brand new (expensive) accessory. I have seen on Ebay a vinyl cover for the head but the shaft, base and motor is still white. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Trolling-Motor-Cover-Camouflage-Kit-/360503554821. 

"Nice job! 
I like that idea for the rod rack on the back, I could use something similar to that one when fishing for shad in a local river."

Thanks! I've really enjoyed having it. It was a random idea I had trying to use some spare materials piling up in my shop. Even though the square tubes are not stainless steel or aluminum, they've shown no signs of rust with the multiple coats of paint. The base tubes are fixed to the inside of the gas tank / battery storage box with two threaded rods in each tube at the base.







The removable part is made of smaller sized square tube that telescopes inside of the pieces fixed to the boat.






I know some may say it's rigged kinda crappy, but it works for me.


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## overboard (Jun 4, 2015)

:lol: Looks good to me, and it also looks like it will do the job. 
I had thought about doing something similar for awhile, to mount both rod holders and downriggers on. It has to be strong, removable, and break down and assemble without too much trouble. 
BUT: that's another project I don't need!


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## Master-deBaiter (Jun 4, 2015)

I like what you've done; I will probably do my rod holders similar to your setup. Do you mount a blind on your boat for ducks?


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## Stump Bumper (Jun 4, 2015)

Master-deBaiter said:


> Do you mount a blind on your boat for ducks?



Not yet. So far all my duck hunting is done wadding in the swamp. I may try to do some coastal or river duck hunting if I ever build me a blind. The main reason I painted the boat camouflage is to hide any imperfections that may show after bumping into drifting logs on the river, hitting boat docks, etc.


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