# 12ft Sunray shallow v



## FatChad (Apr 19, 2015)

New to the site, been looking around and getting some great ideas for the 12ft 1988 Sunray I bought a couple weeks ago


----------



## DarynCashmark (Apr 19, 2015)

I see nothing but unlimited potential! Whatever mods you decide on, make sure to post lots of pics. My wife always says I am looking at "boat porn" when she catches me on this site. I tell her I just read the articles. :LOL2:


----------



## FatChad (Apr 19, 2015)

Thanks, I am very excited to see what I can do with it. But its already helping me catch more fish so bigger mods might have to wait.


----------



## FatChad (Apr 20, 2015)

And I also hear it from my girlfriend. I try to show her a boat picture and she says that's not a ring lol


----------



## FatChad (Mar 16, 2017)

2 years later and after plenty of fish boated in this little tin, it's time to lose the middle seat. Stay tuned... More to come.


----------



## Crazyboat (Mar 16, 2017)

FatChad said:


> 2 years later and after plenty of fish boated in this little tin, it's time to lose the middle seat. Stay tuned... More to come.




By removing the middle seat to you need any bracing to keep the sides from flexing?


----------



## FatChad (Mar 16, 2017)

In the future with a gas outboard I'm going to go with the "most definitely" answer. But for now with the electric motor I'll probably use it without and save up for the aluminum and plywood. I stood in the middle and grabbed both gunnels and couldn't flex the boat almost at all, so, safe for now.


----------



## derekdiruz (Mar 17, 2017)

When I pulled the middle bench I couldn't flex like you tried as well. My issue was the twisting of the hull I felt

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


----------



## FatChad (Mar 17, 2017)

Thank you, that's good advice. I'll check into that, maybe some aluminum angle comes sooner rather than later.


----------



## FatChad (Mar 22, 2018)

Well it's been a year, I finally have found the time to do more with the boat than put it in the water and fish. Tonight's progress


----------



## FatChad (Mar 25, 2018)

More progress today. New boweye and the inside of the hull is taking shape.


----------



## FatChad (Mar 28, 2018)

A little more done after work tonight.


----------



## FatChad (Apr 7, 2018)

Taking shape


----------



## FatChad (Apr 28, 2018)

Painted the inside of the boat a few days ago and got most of the plywood carpeted


----------



## richg99 (Apr 29, 2018)

Coming along nicely. Be sure to not add too much weight.


----------



## nerdtastic (May 1, 2018)

That is a really nice build so far. I also have a little 12' that I am working on now I never thought it would be deep enough to put a floor in like you have what are the dimensions of the floor piece. I am wondering if I could do that with my boat.


----------



## FatChad (May 2, 2018)

Thanks for the kind words guys. The floor is 7' x 3' in the rear tapering to 14" in the front. Today I finished bolting the new transom in and packed some foam in the sides and under the rear seat compartment. As for weight, it's only an estimation but i don't think it's gained more than 40-50 lbs.


----------



## FatChad (May 2, 2018)

I forgot to add that the trailer has been getting upgrades as well. A nice 20/40 semi gloss black rattle can job, new bearings, seals and harbor freight bearing buddies and a winch strap to replace the rope.


----------



## FatChad (May 2, 2018)

I got impatient and took the boat out to the city park lake up the street. The rear seat pieces aren't bolted to hinges yet, a few panels haven't been installed but it cruises nice with the trolling motor and was plenty stable even with two guys standing and fishing.


----------



## jasper60103 (May 3, 2018)

FatChad said:


> I got impatient and took the boat out to the city park lake up the street. The rear seat pieces aren't bolted to hinges yet, a few panels haven't been installed but it cruises nice with the trolling motor and was plenty stable even with two guys standing and fishing.



Good job and thanks for sharing.


----------



## FatChad (Sep 29, 2018)

This summer running the local rivers I have found a few places that hold ducks. So the boat will be pulling double duty this year. 21 days to go!


----------



## FatChad (Nov 3, 2018)

I realized that I never posted possibly my favorite improvement. New oarlock socket inserts and oarlock risers. The inserts are plastic and inexpensive and the risers are just cut up original locks with some tubing welded in and washers to keep wear to the inserts minimal. Silent. No creaks whatsoever, a pet peeve of mine. Anyone who rows to drift rivers or go across ponds should consider this. A 5/8" drill bit to drill out the old brass inserts will be the most expensive part at around $25, if you can't find one to borrow.


----------



## 93longhorn (Dec 16, 2018)

Where did you buy that aluminum? And how did you know how to fasten it inside the boat, etc.? And how did you cut it?

I want to venture out and have a few ideas for my 12 footer...just not sure where to start.


----------



## FatChad (Dec 27, 2018)

The aluminum I bought at a place called metal supermarket, they had any size needed. 6061 1x1x.125 angle for the floor bracing. I used 1.5x1.5 and 2x2 both quarter thick for the side bracing and the front cross support. I am fortunate enough to have a friend with a metal shop in his garage. So to cut we used an automatic metal cutting bandsaw, but a vise and sawzall would work as well. All of the aluminum on the floor is attached with 3/16" rivets into the ribs of the hull. The side supports are bolted with 1/4x20 ss machine screws, washers and nyloc nuts through the original front seat support and welded to some more of that 1x1 1/8th inch that is riveted to the original rear seat. The front cross support is welded to the side supports. All of the welding was done with a mig with a spool gun. I hope that answered some questions. Ask any others that come to mind. I did a lot of reading on here, measuring and thinking about layout and pricing a parts list before I started collecting parts. Once I had most of the parts I started the project. That way I wouldn't get stuck with it half done and possibly unable to afford what I needed to finish quickly.


----------



## FatChad (Aug 31, 2019)

I haven't updated this in 3/4 of a year. This spring I picked up a 78 Evinrude 15hp longshaft from a friend. We did a little trading and I ended up getting a good deal on it. The first thing I did was pull the lower unit, cleaned it up a bit and replaced the water pump. Took the driveshaft to a friend up a friend and had him use his lathe to cut a section out of the middle and machined it to a peg and socket essentially before welding it back together at short shaft length. I took a hacksaw to the shift linkage to shorten that and cut the slot for the retention screw. Bolted all that up and finished by replacing the thermostat, which happened to be stuck open. Boat runs 22mph by myself with 3 gallons of fuel and a group 27 battery


----------



## FatChad (Aug 31, 2019)

To handle the extra thrust and weight of the new motor I rebuilt the transom again. I didn't like the way I did it before so it was a good opportunity to clean it up. 3/4 acx construction adhesived into an inch and a half thick piece. Then 1.75x.125 6063 channel cut, fit and welded with a spool gun to act as the transom cap, but also stiffens the transom immensely. All lights were wired in, solder and adhesive heat shrink for that.


----------



## FatChad (Aug 31, 2019)

Then over the last week I've been painting, since I apparently like to work backwards. Washed, wet sanded then wiped with vinegar/water. Followed that with rustoleum clean metal primer and Rust-Oleum flat brown. Finished it off with redleg stencils and 4 colors of spray paint. Last picture is my daughter relaxing in the boat


----------



## 1960 yellowboat (Sep 4, 2019)

Are you not worried about raising the center of gravity when you add the decking?


----------



## FatChad (Sep 5, 2019)

The front is more of a seat than a deck. Standing on the floor feels more stable than it did standing on the ribs, probably just because it's flat. It's possible to stand all the way in the front, but I wouldn't do it while fishing. Pic is of the boat being grassed in with the "layout" style blind I stuck on it this year.


----------



## bikerider (Sep 25, 2019)

Have you considered using underneath the two sides of the deck for storage? Looks like a good place to put extra gear or cargo netting or something. The front of the deck looks like it makes getting in a and out of the boat at shore very easy. Nice job.


----------



## FatChad (Oct 25, 2019)

That's generally what it ends up being anyways, right now the dekes get stacked over there but some netting or pockets would be a perfect addition. The front deck does make it easy to hop out without a dock. Thanks for the kind words. Raffia showed up the other day so I grassed it all in today.


----------



## 86tuning (Jun 6, 2020)

Nice buildup! Any more pics of your engine conversion from long to short shaft? Thanks for the inspiration!

- B


----------



## FatChad (Sep 3, 2020)

Thank you! The carpet is no longer clean and the paint is scratched from most of the local launches having no docks, but it is a great boat. As far as the shaft length conversion, Leeroy's write up is far more thorough than I could ever remember to type up. https://www.leeroysramblings.com/OMC-Converting_shafts.htm


----------



## 86tuning (Sep 30, 2020)

Wow, thanks for the link!


----------

