# 14ft shallow V build



## derekdiruz (Apr 25, 2016)

I guess it's time to start a build!

I have a 14ft shallow V with a 6 horse Johnson motor. Boat I'd a 1972 Montgomery ward Seaking and motor is a '77 seahorse. The trailer has no identification, though I doubt it to be homemade. I got this all for a steal, as I got it from the original owner and it has been stored inside all its life, having not been used in the past 12 years too.

I had a lot of options though I settled on the cheapest and simplest build design I could do. With a small boat that I'll likely resell to fund a larger boat eventually in a year or two, I decided to keep the seats in and just deck over the top. This will give me much needed storage as well as space to stand and move comfortably while using a bow mount trolling motor.

Yesterday I began building the framework for the boat. Tomorrow, I will seal and cut the deck. The framing surprised me because I did not use a lot of wood like I've seen and yet it is very sturdy. I took it to the lake with a piece of 1/2" plywood laid over and it did not flex at all under my weight!

pics and details to come!



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## perchjerker (Apr 25, 2016)

sounds good! how about a few pics?

Since I have been doing mine and reading a lot on this site, I have been interested (and a little concerned) about my transom height. Mine is only 15" I wish I had a 20"

what is yours?


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## derekdiruz (Apr 25, 2016)

Mine is 15 inches. I'll post pics when I get around a computer! My phones isn't agreeing with that! I love you build because it is a very similar boat!

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## derekdiruz (Apr 26, 2016)

The bracing is minimal as can be seen in the pictures, though today I may add more. I built it minimally not knowing the location of the hatches I plan for just yet. Today is the deck cutting and placing!


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## perchjerker (Apr 26, 2016)

looks good

are you from Ohio?

I have that same Reef Runner sticker on my Lake Erie boat lol


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## derekdiruz (Apr 26, 2016)

Spent my whole life here in beautiful North Canton. Many of the lakes I fish and hunt are west branch and mogadore. I have large private ponds I do that on as well, big enough for an outboard even!

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## derekdiruz (Apr 26, 2016)

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Got a good amount done today. Deck is cut. The bottom floor is rather just a board placed in to help see it all come together. Eventually the floor will go there, but for now the deck was the goal! Thursday I will be sealing it then hopefully this weekend it will be finished with the bow mount trolling motor and the hatches and carpet!



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## perchjerker (Apr 27, 2016)

off to a great start bud


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## finnie (Apr 27, 2016)

looking good, I'm building a similar layout as you with my 14 footer. I cant wait to fish out of it!


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## derekdiruz (Apr 27, 2016)

I decided on this because it's the least work and I doubt stability is an issue. I'm very excited to get the spar on and finished to see it all come together as well!! Good luck on your build

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## derekdiruz (Apr 30, 2016)

Today's Update:

I spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not I enjoyed the style of the framing and decided I hated it ultimately. So i started more or less from scratch with it to lower the deck about 1.5" to directly sitting on the seats rather than raised above them. I spent the day rebuilding the deck and putting the first coat of spar urethane on everything.

Tomorrow, it should mostly be finished. At least to where it is fish-able! I intend to add 2 more coats of spar urethane to the wood and then cover with carpet on the main deck and hatch doors with hinges. Also, I purchased hardwood (Oak I believe) to replace the transom. That will happen tomorrow as well. Then, I will add a floor between the rear bench and middle sometime this week or next. In the meantime, I've spent long enough off of the water and from fishing!


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## Hotpickle (May 1, 2016)

Are you adding anything for flotation under the deck? I want to do a similar setup to my old 14 footer but am concerned about the extra weight.


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## derekdiruz (May 1, 2016)

I did not add anything as it's sitting on top of all of the original seats. I don't ever cross big water and fish shore lines. I'm a fairweather fisherman as well that is a solid swimmer. Therefore, I don't particularly care to add much. I did however just place the deck in snugly. It's not bolted down nor do I think it needs to be. So if I sank, it would float out maybe? Lol 

I will be adding a bilge pump at some point to keep up with any standing water in the back, because I'm not sure if it leaks. I also may apply steelflex at some point too. 

I started with the deck because this was the most labor intensive part of the build. I had a week off from my schooling this week so I tried my best to knock it out. I did, too, aside from the transom wood and hatches. Seeing as I tore out the transom, the boat is out of comission for another week or so. Plus, assuming I put the transom in on Tuesday I as hope to do, the 3m 5200 will have ample time to cure while it sits until the following Tuesday to fish.




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## perchjerker (May 2, 2016)

I think your floatation is fine

you did not remove any, correct?

and what you added was wood, which floats, so that's a wash. 

I removed my center bench but took the foam out of it since it was still like new and added it to my boat. But I did not add any additional.


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## derekdiruz (May 10, 2016)

UPDATE:

The boat is darn near finished. I at least can use it to fish now. The only additions left for the boat are likely a non weight bearing rear deck because I like the extra spots to place small tackle or something while I'm changing lures, plus it makes it look more tidy with the battery and gas tank hidden; and I have a 55lb bow mount that I will install sooner rather than later.  The last is to put a folding seat in the rear for the driver to use while controlling the tiller.

I've decided on no rear floor between the rear and middle bench seat to cut back on weight. I have no idea how to put the seat in the boat, whether I want it between the benches, or I can mount it on a swivel to the rear bench. Any suggestions?

For now though, updated pictures:


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## perchjerker (May 10, 2016)

looks great bud

on the seat, I would just bolt it to the bench like most others do. Take a look at my build

you would not want it on the floor between the benches, how are you going to reach the motor?


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## derekdiruz (May 10, 2016)

Prior to beginning the build it was on a floor between the benches. The pedestal was butted up against the bench. If I can reuse the pedestal and not have to purchase anything else, I'm gonna lol 

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## derekdiruz (May 10, 2016)

this picture is when I brought it home . The pedestal you can see is slightly in front of the bench. I hated it dead center, so it will be slightly offset, but I'm not sure if on the bench or not.

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## perchjerker (May 10, 2016)

I still dont know how you would reach the tiller handle with it where it was. Unless you have gorilla arms or are facing backwards while driving


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## derekdiruz (May 10, 2016)

haha, if I turned sideways, it was only a short reach. Maybe 22 inches in total, minus the distance that the till handle protrudes towards the seat? The benches are only 10 inches wide and it began 12 inches from the transom.


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## perchjerker (May 11, 2016)

ok your rear bench is further back than mine is.


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## dkhunter8383 (May 11, 2016)

I really like the layout of your deck with the hatches. I am about to start building my deck and I am trying to decide if I should buy or build my hatches. How did you build yours because the look very clean and well made. At $40-60 for 1 hatch I could save a lot of money building some like those. Do you have any pictures of how you made those?


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## derekdiruz (May 11, 2016)

Here is how I cut the hatches. I drew them out and cut them with a jigsaw. Then I cut about 3/8 inch further on the deck to allow for the carpet. However I didn't do it well enough or allow enough gap bc it was too tight with the carpet wrapped on the edges. So I had to shave some off. I figure the hatches are my least worry on the boat because if they rot or I decide I want to recut and carpet new ones for a better fit, I can. 

Also you can see in my pics of the hatches open that there is a beam running on the side of the doors to allow the hatches to close down onto. This supports them so they don't collapse under weight. 

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## perchjerker (May 12, 2016)

your work looks good bud


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## derekdiruz (May 12, 2016)

Yeah I've decided if I come to like the set up a lot I'll redo it in aluminum over the winter. I wouldn't in cutting out the benches and replacing them with angle to add more storage beneath. Possibly adding a live well too? Well see what happens! Sunday I will be taking it out for the first time 

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## dkhunter8383 (May 12, 2016)

What did you use for hinges?


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## derekdiruz (May 13, 2016)

Simple stainless hinges from home depot. The small hatches have 2- 1.5 inch hinges and the large one has 2- 3 inch hinges. The front hatch doesn't have hinges because it will be for spare life jackets and all of the necessary legal stuff that I don't anticipate needing while on the water. Also, that has a hatch so if something rolls up front I can get to it. I didn't block off any section, it's simply a deck over the original benches 

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## Mattfish13 (May 14, 2016)

Looking good! Did you get that trolling motor on yet?


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## derekdiruz (May 27, 2016)

Took her fishing today and it was so worth it. I'm so happy with what I decided on. It was very stable and very nice to be able to actually walk around. I doubt I will mount the bow mount motor I currently have. The shaft is extremely long. I might purchase another smaller motor as cheap as i can though. Not sure. 

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## perchjerker (May 28, 2016)

you can shorten the shaft on the bow mount easily. thats what I did


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## derekdiruz (May 28, 2016)

Ah, that I did not know. I'll definitely look into that then, because I'd rather not spend money I don't have to. Lol


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## perchjerker (May 28, 2016)

I can help ya with that if need be


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## derekdiruz (Jul 8, 2016)

As duck season approaches, I got to thinking - I can't use my boat the way I generally have during hunting season. Therefore, it's time to rebuild the boat!

I will be using steel flex on the exterior, and gluv it inside. Purely as a safeguard against leaking, and I've heard steelflex helps with loading and unloading the boat.

I've got plans for a rod locker/gun/bow storage, a small deck in front and rear, and wiring. That's pretty much it! To date, I've picked up a 4x8 piece of 1/8" aluminum sheeting from a trailer company, only paid $25 for it! (therefore, I'm thinking the "rebuild" will be fairly cheap!)

Will post my design ideas in a short bit!


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## thill (Aug 2, 2016)

derekdiruz,
Your project looks simple and clean. Nice job!

I have a similar boat, and I did a deck from the front bunk to the bow. But seeing yours makes me wonder if I shouldn't go ahead and extend the deck back to the second bunk. That is HUGE space you have to fish on, plus nice storage!

Thanks for posting your project.

-Tony


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## caleywoods (Aug 2, 2016)

derek,

Your hull shape looks almost identical to the 1463 Landau I just picked up. Great to see what it looks like.


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## derekdiruz (Aug 3, 2016)

It was quite simple, and I do love the space. The main reason I don't like it tgough is the added weight slows it down! Lol. Plus, I've pretty much changed my mind in what I want now for the boat, to make hunting easier. I think I've made my mind up finally on what to redo to help hunting. That being said, I'm going to purchase the last supplies for the build this week and get started in another week or two. 

If you go this route with this deck, just be sure your bow mount trolling motor (if you have one) is light and the battery is in the back. Otherwise, how I have it in this pic, it sits very low up front. Plus it's annoying when motoring that it just plows the water lol but, my 6hp is small I guess.

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## caleywoods (Aug 3, 2016)

derek,

You mentioned wanting to do rod lockers. Any idea how you might do that without removing any of the bench seating?


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## derekdiruz (Aug 3, 2016)

Honestly, I've kind of decided against those. Originally I thought I'd build this like a bass boat (hence the deck) but ultimately I pretty much realized I've got a small, weight conscious, boat. Therefore, despite using aluminum for framing and for the plating, I decided it would add much more than would be smart, and as an avid duck hunter I'll be carrying a lot of excess weight as is. The purpose of the rod lockers were simply though to have a place for my guns while hunting... as my boat is originally for hunting not fishing. 

The design I had in mind for the lockers were to keep the benches in place and tunnel through them. I thought that the back bench at the transom end would be the stopping point, and the middle bench would be hollowed in that section. To build the locker then, I just would plate it all with the aluminum and rivets, and use a dremel with a cut off wheel for precise cutting of the bench. Then I'd use a knife to cut the styrofoam out. Overall, it would allow for a place to slide the rods with them out of the way, or guns if it were that season. 

My current design that will likely proceed though, is as follows:
-remove front and rear bench, and hollow out the middle.
-Use existing braces for the front and rear benches for the decks.
- deck from front bench forward with underneath open. this eliminates the necessity for a hatch, and allows for good, usable space.
-Deck from rear bench to the transom. Leave small gap in rear (4x12") to allow for wiring or fuel lines to pass through.
-foam will be added to both front and rear, but I'll show you how when I put up pictures.
-middle bench will become a hatch, where the battery is stored to the side, allowing still for a lot of room to store the life jackets, fire ext, lights, etc.

Using this type of set up will allow for the gas tank and battery to stay dry and out of the rain/snow while hunting (which is a big concern for me). Also, it will allow for the maximum usable space while hunting with all of my decoys, perhaps a dead deer, tree stand, and bow too? I do like to hunt the public waters for deer using my boat for access. THe reason I decided on the open lower space for the front deck is to provide a deck for fishing, while still being able to stow my bags or other gear out of the rain/snow.


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## derekdiruz (Aug 5, 2016)

Purchased aluminum angle and rivets today. Already had the sheeting. Will start the project in just over a week, as I have a break in my schooling before fall classes begin. Should be done just in time for duck season! When I begin this project, day one will be demo and paint. Then decking will go in and painting again after. I don't think I will texture the deck, other than possibly adding skateboard tape on various spots. 

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## derekdiruz (Aug 12, 2016)

Got some framing done today. Deck goes in tomorrow. The front V was impossible for me, so I decided on a smaller raised deck above it like for a trolling motor. But, I don't have a TM for it so it will be a large hatch for life jackets and such. Figured that'd be easiest, and the most useful way for it.

I've got tons of aluminum I'll have left over, so I'm trying to decide what else to do.

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## derekdiruz (Aug 18, 2016)

so i decided to hold off on paint for a bit, it will only be getting a cheapo krylon paint from wally world. 3 bucks a can is easy nuff to repaint if needed.

Got the deck in, got the extra top piece on. The top piece is only held on by 6 rivets, so if needed I can remove it. The reason I'm thinking it may need taken off is when I want a trolling motor up there next spring. For now though, it'll do. Tomorrow I get the boat wet to see what works. In doing this, I've got quite a bit of aluminum sheeting and angle left over. Plus, around 80 rivets. Therefore, i'm deciding what else to do.. I'm thinking the rear deck option will happen, because again, next spring I want to add seats back in that are on the pedestals. I think one seat base on the rear deck, one on the front deck, and one on the middle bench may be an option, but we'll play it by ear. Likely won't do much until duck season ends, except for little odds and ends.

Bought a new, smaller, gas tank, plan to put something in to hold the batter in place while trailering, and paint. That's all for now!


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