# Buster's 1966 14' Foremost



## bbarbee (Apr 3, 2011)

Hope I finally post this in the right place. I got this boat from a neighbor who passed away a few yrs. ago. He took me fish'n several times in this boat when I was about 8 yrs. old. That was about 34 yrs ago. Glad I could get ahold of it. 
I finally got started with the decking today. Any pointers and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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## bbarbee (Apr 6, 2011)

Slow go'n but go'n


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## bbarbee (Apr 8, 2011)

Largest part finished. It was a job....more than I thought. I lucked out and picked up 15 ft. of piano hinge for $10 at the scrap yard. 

One useful thing I found is if you jigsaw cuts as bad as mine, you can run a few layers of foam tape around the edges of you wood before glue'n carpet and it fills the low spots left by the saw.

Notice I used camouflage straps for the hatch pulls....but the didn't hide well...ha,ha.
Still have to put the floor in in front of the back seat and do something with the middle bench. 
I'm think'n a place for the battery. Any suggestions???


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## Jim (Apr 8, 2011)

Excellent job on the front deck man! Nice and clean, I like it! :beer:


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## MtDewMadMan (Apr 9, 2011)

That looks fantastic !! Great job !!


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## bbarbee (Apr 10, 2011)

Thanks guys! 
Took the boat out for the first time with the new deck. Sat purdy good in the water. A little lower than normal but it didn't sink. But thats about all it did. Motor wouldn't start fo nothing!! I had just started it up before we left. My luck. Messed with it all day one the lake and no fish'n!!! Got it back home and it was what I thought. The float was stuck. 10 mins. I had it fixed but the day was gone. Note to self: Put a tool box in somewhere! Oh well...I'm gonna take tomorrow off and give it another try.
Hopefully this week I can do something with the middle seat, cut it up or cut it out and put the floor in just in front of the back seat!


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## MtDewMadMan (Apr 10, 2011)

Ah some days are like that. I learned my lesson on tool kits the hard way too. Went out a couple years back in my old boat and made a mad dash up river. After fishing one spot went to fire up again and she was a goner. Why do sparkplugs wait until you are a few miles away from the dock to foul out ? Lol that's just Murphys Law I guess. Good luck on your next outing !!


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## bbarbee (Apr 10, 2011)

Glad you said it. I'll pick up some plugs too...


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## bbarbee (Apr 11, 2011)

Went back out today. Boat done great thanks to the lord.
Now to start on the floor!


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## bbarbee (Apr 11, 2011)

Question....will a lawnmower battery be enough to run a trolling motor if thats the only purpose for the battery? Thanks!


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## dc3232 (Apr 11, 2011)

No... I dont recommend that. You would only get like maybe an hour or two out of it. It just doesn't have enough capicity.


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## bbarbee (Apr 11, 2011)

Good to know...Thanks!


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## dc3232 (Apr 11, 2011)

No Problem, Happy to help
8)


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## bbarbee (Apr 11, 2011)

Will one marine battery be enough? Sorry .... my first trolling motor ever!


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## dc3232 (Apr 11, 2011)

Yes, but it will depend on how large the lake is, and how much you use it. I have 2 for my boat. 1 is for the rear trolling motor and 1 for the front trolling motor. On a 1700 acre lake, fishing about 6 hours, I only use about 20-25% of my rear battery, and about 30-35% of my front. Hope this help


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## bbarbee (Apr 11, 2011)

Helps alot. Yea 1 will do it. Appreciate it!


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## bbarbee (Apr 14, 2011)

See who's catch'n the fish!!


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## JonBoatfever (Apr 15, 2011)

bbarbee said:


> Question....will a lawnmower battery be enough to run a trolling motor if thats the only purpose for the battery? Thanks!



I bougt a small deep cycle battery for around 40 bucks at acdemy that was about th same size and weight as a lawnmowr battery and is good or a little trip out on the lake but not for a full day or tounament.


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## bbarbee (Apr 16, 2011)

Floor in front of back bench. Wrap it in carpet tomorrow.


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## MtDewMadMan (Apr 16, 2011)

Looks really good and at the rate you're going you'll be done in no time !!
But then again are we ever really done with modifications ?? 
There is the "snowball" effect and I've learned that very well with my Mustang II. 
I'm going to assume it works the same way with boats too......And probably airplanes even or anything else we decide to improve. Maybe I'll try to mod a submarine to see if those become an obsession too lmao.


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## bbarbee (Apr 16, 2011)

Thats the truth. I built a Harley about a year ago and I'm still coming up with different things to do to it. Same with this boat. I almost get one thing done with it and I already have more ideas. The floor is not the last.....got more ideas....lol


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## bbarbee (Apr 17, 2011)

Floor finished!!!! But more to come...ha ha ha


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## MrSimon (Apr 17, 2011)

Looks really good! Thats a really neat idea to use the under-floor space as storage. Simple. Clean. Nice job!!


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## bbarbee (Apr 17, 2011)

Thanks! It did turn out better than I thought. I can fit 6 or 8 rods in the floor. I wish it was finished but the further I go the more ideas I have!


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## bbarbee (Apr 26, 2011)

The wife lost a bigger one!


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## bbarbee (May 9, 2011)

Here we go again! Cut out bench for battery storage and tackle tray storage.


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## bbarbee (May 9, 2011)

Finished! Maybe?


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## MtDewMadMan (May 9, 2011)

That turned out great. Really like all the storage compartments you made.


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## appfire (Jun 15, 2011)

Hi, nice job on the Foremost. Just picked one up almost exactly like that one. I was just wondering how steady it is on the water with the front floor raised to bench height? Are there alot of rocking going on? Thanks

Chris


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## fadeblack (Jun 18, 2011)

me too. I just started mine and I hope it turns out half as good as yours! Nice job.


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## tinboat newbie (Jul 25, 2011)

well done! It looks great.... I just picked up a 1974 Starcraft today. It looks just like yours and I have similiar plans for it. Since I'm new, I want to keep it simple but make it look nice and clean. I was wondering how much you spent on materials so I have an idea of what I'm getting into. The boat came with a nice trailer that looks fairly new, evinrude 9.5 that runs but needs tuned up, minnkota 17lb trolling motor mounted on the bow, hummingbird fish finder (older model but works), lights, anchor, and all the small things you need. I paid $500 for it. The man got it from a relative so he didn't have much in it. It sounded like a good deal so I bought it on impulse and thought it would be a good project..... I love this site!! So many ideas! :mrgreen:


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## bpoulin (Aug 2, 2011)

Yours is about the same size as mine, how's your stability when you're on the front deck?


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## bbarbee (Aug 3, 2011)

I can rock it back and forth...and it's stable. No problems!


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## Fenwick (Mar 26, 2012)

bbarbee said:


> I can rock it back and forth...and it's stable. No problems!



I have an aluminum 12ft v-hull that I was thinking about remodeling like yours. I've never put a deck in a boat before. Is there a prefered height for the front deck for optimum stability?


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## Vermonster (Mar 26, 2012)

Fenwick said:


> I have an aluminum 12ft v-hull that I was thinking about remodeling like yours. I've never put a deck in a boat before. Is there a prefered height for the front deck for optimum stability?



12' maybe too short. Read this first:
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9074

Stand on the front seat (carefully) and see how stable it is. You may just want to keep your modification a bit lower, or it may work out just fine.


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## Fenwick (Mar 26, 2012)

Thanks for the info.


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## BearwoodBoats (Mar 26, 2012)

Hey Guys, Nice Channels, there good eatin!!!


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## Fenwick (Mar 30, 2012)

On my boat mod I plan on putting in a casting deck. Do I need to use marine grade plywood or can I use something else? As for the carpet, can I use indoor/outdoor carpet from Home Depot/Lowes or do I need to purchase marine carpet from Bass Pro Shop/Cabelas/Boaters World/etc? I see you used wood bracing. If you could redo it, would you still use the wood or would you use metal angle bracing? Nice mod.


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## bbarbee (Mar 30, 2012)

Aluminum is expensive. I did wood just to save money. I do wish I would have used 2x2's instead of 2x4's. But the 2x4's got the deck to the height I wanted it. I did use marine grade plywood and coated it with fiberglass resin. I also got my carpet from lowes again for the money savings but with that said the carpet from lowes is decent carpet.


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## Fenwick (Jun 7, 2012)

How much did you spend on the project? I'm thinking of buying a boat like this, fixing it up, and then selling. So I'd like to know about how much I'd be spending. Thank you.


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## bbarbee (Jun 8, 2012)

Fenwick said:


> How much did you spend on the project? I'm thinking of buying a boat like this, fixing it up, and then selling. So I'd like to know about how much I'd be spending. Thank you.


 If I remember correct it was about $350 for the wood, fiberglass resin, glue, carpet and seat post for the front.


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