# Lowe 1436 + Trailer Mod (Page 2 Completed Pictures)



## rmzachar (Mar 19, 2011)

Well, got the boat last July and have slowly been accumulating things for it over the past 9 months or so and am just now getting ready to start working on it. Finally!

Anyways, with the weather warming up for at least a couple days up here in Michigan, I got started on some work that needed to be done with the trailer. I had to remove the old bunks, rollers, and various other things to get it to where I wanted it to be. I still need to get a cross bunk and bow stop done up, but the bunks are at least now in place. Once I get the bow stop and cross bunk done I'll be carpeting it all.

*(All images are clickable thumbnails) Album is here. Every picture I took is in there if you want to look at it.
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The motor:








Photos of the trailer when I got it:

















Boat sat on that setup horribly, so off came the old bunks and various hardware and in goes the new bunks. Took two 2x4's sealed up with Thompson's Waterseal and then screwed together. These were then countersunk with lag bolts to the trailer frame itself to test the fit and to make sure all my measurements worked out for the boat to sit in between strakes. It does just that and worked like a charm. Now just need to carpet them.

Measuring up:









Attached to frame with boat on:













Where the 2x4 sits in between the strakes:




Forgot to take a picture of the winch arm up front, but plan on doing something similar to what Russ did on his 1236 build like this:







So hopefully the bow stop and cross bunk will get done tomorrow followed by the carpeting. Anyone have any comments on anything else I should do for the trailer? I'm all ears on that one as this is my first go at this.

Once that gets done, I'll actually be getting to move on to working on the boat! It's a Lowe 1436 that I got from Cabela's last year after a tornado came in and scuffed it up a little bit. $300 for it brand new, so I bought it. Along with the boat and trailer, I also have bought a 20hp Mercury from I believe 1975 that runs great. Also bought a 70lb thrust (I know overkill for my boat but got a great deal on it) with iPilot from work (Cabela's, where I've gotten most of this stuff and a discount  ). It's a 24V trolling motor, so I plan on putting the two batteries somewhere up front to help with weight distribution. Also got a Lowrance fish finder/gps to put on here too. If possible, I have an old head unit from my car and some speakers that I may or may not put in too. Anyways, still trying to get an idea on what to do with the boat.

The boat overhead view:









Pretty much the only damage from the tornado, what would be the best way to fix this? Just smooth it out then put some duck boat paint over it??





Most likely, I will be doing a combination of aluminum angle with plywood decking. Having a hard time though deciding on if I should cut out the bench seat and do a mod similar to dixie_boysles here :






Or if I should go the route bassboy did with this mod here :






Either way, I still have a little bit of time to decide as the lakes are still iced over for the most part and the weather is going to turn cold again in the next few days. Any input on what route to take with the boat would be appreciated. Thanks a lot!


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## rmzachar (Mar 20, 2011)

As far as a bow stop, this is how the boat currently sits up towards the front:





Is the method that I said in my first post the best way to go about doing a bow stop for this?

Also, for the cross bunk, would a 2 foot piece of 2x4 work out fine? Or should it go higher, or is it even needed at all?


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## Ictalurus (Mar 21, 2011)

rmzachar said:


> Any input on what route to take with the boat would be appreciated.



I'd go with the low deck with a 36" bottom.


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## rmzachar (Mar 22, 2011)

I'll probably end up going with the low decks. I had been waiting for the ice to melt and to get out on the boat and just see how stable it is standing on top of the seats. Well, the ice finally melted out here a couple days ago, but the temperature has dropped down to the 30s again #-o . Might still try to get out and see, but I'm guessing low decks will be the way to go.

Anyways, finished up the trailer for the most part. Bunks are carpeted and attached as is the cross bunk. I kept the roller up at the bow for now to see how that works, but will probably make a horizontal bow stop out of a 2x4 still.

The carpeted bunks attached:









The cross bunk carpeted and attached:













The roller up front:





Woo hoo, measurements came out perfect with the boat sitting right on the back end of the bunks when it's all winched up on the trailer:






How bad is it to use the roller up front? I have a feeling that it will rub off that black paint or whatever that is on it onto the boat as well rub off some paint on the boat. Possible denting too? Or is it alright to use. I could probably find one at work that is more like a T with the flat end on the boat. If none of these are good solutions, I'll just go ahead and make a bow stop as I do have some more bunk carpet, and I think it would be pretty easy to attach up there.

Essentially though, the trailer is done and seems to work great. Now time for the actual boat modding to begin! Damn weather needs to warm up a little bit though as I don't have a heated garage to work in...


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## BassBlaster (Mar 23, 2011)

I went with a flat bow stop. I feel like a roller set up like you have there may allow the boat to bounce around a little and if you was to snug it up too much its going to start lifting the boat off your bunks and then your putting stress on the bow where it makes contacts with that roller. Check out my trailer rebuild for ideas on a solid bow stop. My bracket is home made out of a couple pieces of small angle and a steel gas line was used for the tube the bolt goes through. I didnt have a welder at the time so I paid a guy at the local muffler shop 10 bucks to weld it up. It works great and is a solid stop for the boat. Link in my sig.


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## rmzachar (Mar 24, 2011)

BassBlaster said:


> I went with a flat bow stop. I feel like a roller set up like you have there may allow the boat to bounce around a little and if you was to snug it up too much its going to start lifting the boat off your bunks and then your putting stress on the bow where it makes contacts with that roller. Check out my trailer rebuild for ideas on a solid bow stop. My bracket is home made out of a couple pieces of small angle and a steel gas line was used for the tube the bolt goes through. I didnt have a welder at the time so I paid a guy at the local muffler shop 10 bucks to weld it up. It works great and is a solid stop for the boat. Link in my sig.



Yeah, I'm thinking a horizontal bow stop would be the best way to go. I really don't care much for that roller, and seeing as I have all the stuff to make the horizontal bow stop I may as well do it.

Would the place where the roller is now be fine for where the bow stop would go?

Another question for anyone, if I do remove that front seat completely, do I really need to reinforce it? I have seen mods with people doing nothing and people reinforcing it. Also there is the method that RBuffordTJ did with the seat in cutting it down, but not completely out.


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## rmzachar (Mar 24, 2011)

Alright, this is what my general idea of what I want to do with the boat is. Mind you I did this in paint in like 10 minutes so it's not exactly the greatest, but it gives a decent look. Front bench seat would be removed...

Black = decking
red = trolling motor
blue = batteries below decking (2 for 24v trolling motor, 1 for all else)
orange = seats
yellow = motor/gas tank
red = fish finder


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## rmzachar (Mar 24, 2011)

Rigged up a quick test for a front bow stop, and I must say that it works much much better then the roller that was on there. This isn't the permanent attachment of it, nor is it carpeted yet, but it works out great and the boat seems much more secure with it on there. Just need to come up with a better way of attaching it to the frame then those 2x4's that I put on to test the fit...


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## BassBlaster (Mar 24, 2011)

Thats definately better than what you had but if at all poosible it needs to be above the handle that your hooked too so its pulling the boat against a solid stop. The way you have it there, the boat will still want to lift off the bunks if you crank it up to far.

A little more like this.






Heres a close up of the bracket that I made. Pretty simple.


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## rmzachar (Mar 24, 2011)

BassBlaster said:


> Thats definately better than what you had but if at all poosible it needs to be above the handle that your hooked too so its pulling the boat against a solid stop. The way you have it there, the boat will still want to lift off the bunks if you crank it up to far.]



I had tried to come up with a way to have the winch lower then the bow stop, but the holes were already in place on the winch post as it is and I figured I would try to leave it the way it is if at all possible. Also, with the winch cranked all the way as far as it can go, the boat still sits flat on the bunks and right at the back edge of the bunks. The current setup seems solid, but what I am concerned most with in this setup is if the winch fails and I slam on the breaks for whatever reason, nothing is there to stop the boat from flying into the bed of my truck. Would another simple tie down up at the front of the boat be good enough to keep the boat secure in a catastrophic even like that? Or is it just a better idea to redo the winch post with the bow stop higher and the winch itself lower?


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## BassBlaster (Mar 25, 2011)

Personnaly I would redo that whole contraption up front. There has got to be a way to modify the one that is currently there though and make it work. I just cant think of a solution off the top of my head right now. Your winch looks like it is at the level it needs to be though so I'd leave it there and just try and come up with some bracket that would work above it. Dosnt look like you have a whole lot of room above it to work with though. I'll post back if I think of something.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Mar 25, 2011)

This is how I have mine set up.


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## rmzachar (Mar 25, 2011)

BassBlaster said:


> Personnaly I would redo that whole contraption up front. There has got to be a way to modify the one that is currently there though and make it work. I just cant think of a solution off the top of my head right now. Your winch looks like it is at the level it needs to be though so I'd leave it there and just try and come up with some bracket that would work above it. Dosnt look like you have a whole lot of room above it to work with though. I'll post back if I think of something.



I'm going to take another look at it tomorrow and see about moving the bracket that currently is holding onto the 2x4. I'm thinking I may have enough clearance to move that up while still keep the winch in between the bracket. 

This picture here shows where the bracket currently is mounted (look at where the holes are at, it's bolted on through those) :





I'm thinking I can move that up and still, hopefully, have enough clearance for the winch handle to still operate. Won't know for sure until I look at it, but hoping I can move the bracket up, have the bow stop be above the winch, and have the winch go through the opening in between the bracket.


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## BassBlaster (Mar 26, 2011)

I think your idea will work as long as you have clearance on your crank as you said. I mounted my winch and you can see in my pic I had to move it because I wasnt paying attention to clearance. The mechanism that flips to allow the winch to change directions didnt have enough room to flip. Had to drill new holes so now I have a set of bolt holes that are useless showing just below my winch.


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## rmzachar (Mar 29, 2011)

Alright, moved the winch down a little bit, the winch post back a little bit, and now I think all is well. Now to actually start getting some work done on the boat itself!

The little bracket I found at the local hardware store:





Bow stop attached to the bracket:





Bow stop on the winch post (just need to bolt it down):














Next thing on the to do list is to cut out the bench seat in the boat...that's going to be a bit nerve racking on a new boat!


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## rmzachar (Mar 31, 2011)

Well, trailer is finally done...I think it came out well all things considered. Bow stop is in the right spot now, so that's good to know.















I should probably look into extending the tongue...


Anyways, quick question to those that have cut out the bench seat. What is the easiest way to cut it out? Just a straight up sawzall? Drill a few holes in the seat and take a hacksaw to it? I don't have an angle grinder so I couldn't use that. Any input on that would be great.


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## dc3232 (Mar 31, 2011)

If it were me, I would just use a jigsaw


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## rmzachar (Apr 3, 2011)

As far as aluminum angle goes, should I be getting 6061 structural or 6063 architectural? I've seen people use both. I'm leaning towards 6063 as it would be easier to rivet together, but is 6061 with the added strength what I should be getting???


On a separate note, a friend of mine is going to lend me his air powered rivet gun. That should make things easier!


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## rmzachar (Apr 14, 2011)

Alright, not much progress has been made up until today. Finally got a chance to cut out the bench seat! Now that it is out of the way, the real progress can happen. Next up will be cutting up the aluminum angle for the structure. Hoping my friend with his air powered rivet gun can make it out here, if not, I'll be hand riveting. Anyways, here are a few pictures from before and after the bench seat got cut out. 

Before:









After:














I plan on bracing the ribs on the floor and up the sides with angle to provide some more structural integrity that was lost from removing the seat (or is that necessary as the ribs do go a little ways up the side as it is). I also am going to pick up some foam to place under flooring as I have removed foam from under the seat (dang that stuff gets everywhere!). 

Hopefully some more progress can be made soon, just need to get up to the hardware store and pick up some plywood for the flooring and mini casting deck. That is, unless I can find a decent price on aluminum sheeting...


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## rmzachar (Apr 26, 2011)

Alright, small update. Have gotten a few things done over the past week, but not a whole lot. Progress is slow but steady, which is fine as the weather has been mostly terrible up here lately save for a few days. Anyways, seats are out and angle is starting to go in.

Pretty much what will be going on is plywood secured to the angle for the flooring and up along the side walls. A pedestal seat will be added up where the bench seat was taken out...













That's all done now and today I started to frame the front deck. I didn't want it to be huge like a lot of people on here, just a nice small little deck that I may cast off occasionally and as a place to mount the trolling motor, fish finder, and other stuff up there, as well as a spot for storage. I just started on that today, still have some more work to do to make it stronger structurally as well as figure out what I'm going to be doing as far as hatch locations on that.

















Will hopefully have the front deck framing done in the next few days and then got on to the back deck framing and be done with the aluminum portion of the project. Still have to go pick up some plywood and carpeting...hoping to get this all done in the next month or so.

QUESTION: The trolling motor is 24V (I got a 70lb thrust with iPilot from work for like $300, so I had to get the 24V). I plan on putting the two batteries for that up front under the deck. Would it be best to get another deep cycle battery to run all the other stuff (lights, fish finder, bilge, etc) or would it be alright to buy a few of those small 12v batteries? I can get those for like $4 and was wondering how well that would work to run the electronics. If they are useless, I would just buy another battery and keep that in the back back with the gas tank. Would the weight distribution of two batteries up front, and the gas tank and another battery in the back be alright?


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## shaw_426hemi (May 3, 2011)

Ryan,

I am planning to start a very similar project and i had a few questions for you on your modifications.

1. Did you just drill holes and rivet in the added supports you put in after removing the bench seat? If so what type of rivets and where could i get them?

2. Did you weld up the new supports when you added them in or did you bend them on some kind of bender before putting them in?

3. How did you plug the old rivet holes from the bench seat?

4. Did you weld anything to the aluminum of the boat? If so what type of welder did you use?

5. What type of foam did you use for the floor (closed cell)?

6. Are you putting in an aluminum floor? If so what thickness and are you knotching it out to go around the floor supports?


You have a great project going and I hope to use alot of yours work as reference on my 1436 open floor plan conversion.



Thanks,
Shaw


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## rmzachar (May 6, 2011)

Alright, some progress has been made and an update is due. Finally got around to heading up to Menard's and picking up the rest of my supplies. EXCEPT they had no marine carpet of any kind...at all. Only outdoor carpet that would have been somewhat usable was the looped stuff and had no rubber backing, so now I'm going to have to most likely get it from work at Cabela's. I get around 40% off, but it is still expensive getting it from there.

Anyways, framing is pretty much done, other then the back bench/deck. Not sure how I'm going to do that, just wood over the bench, or extending the wood all the way to the stern. Either way, I'm making progress on the rest of the boat. Got the flooring, side walls, and front deck cut today and it looks good to me, so I'm happy. Just have to cut the vertical piece for the front deck and all of that will be done. I also picked up some foam board for flotation and support for underneath the floor, partly for the support and partly because I cut out the bench seat.

Foam board (white piece was from the old bench seat, might just use the pink stuff there too):









Flooring:













Front deck:









Side walls:

















Next up will be the back bench and the sealing up the wood...and buying some carpet!


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## rmzachar (May 6, 2011)

shaw_426hemi said:


> Ryan,
> 
> I am planning to start a very similar project and i had a few questions for you on your modifications.
> 
> ...



1. Yeah, I just driller the holes then rivet riveted on the supports. I used 3/16" rivets I got from Amazon. Why Amazon? I get free 2 day shipping and it saves me a trip. Living around 30 miles from the nearest major city, Amazon has been great with the free shipping.

2. I wish I could weld or had a friend that could weld, but I just riveted them on after cutting them to fit then riveted together for some strength.

3. I left the old rivets on.

4. No welding.

5. Pink stuff.

6. Wish I could afford the aluminum but went with plywood.

Thanks for the comments too!


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## robert.connell (May 9, 2011)

I like your build. I'm getting ready to tackle my boat and had a few questions for you. Where did you get your aluminum angle and how thick is it? I ask because I dont want to get something that is weak and will bend and fold up when some one stands on it. How do you plan on securing the plywood to the angle? You just going to screw it with metal tapping screws if so your not afraid it wont strip out?


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## rmzachar (May 9, 2011)

robert.connell said:


> I like your build. I'm getting ready to tackle my boat and had a few questions for you. Where did you get your aluminum angle and how thick is it? I ask because I dont want to get something that is weak and will bend and fold up when some one stands on it. How do you plan on securing the plywood to the angle? You just going to screw it with metal tapping screws if so your not afraid it wont strip out?



I got the angle from https://www.onlinemetals.com/. If you look around online you can find a 20% off coupon which really brings the price down. I got 64ft of it shipped to my house for 86.50 which came out to 1.35 a foot to my door. I had called around to a few places close to home and they were all right around that price, but with gas to go get it and sales tax it just made more sense to get it online. If you have a scrap yard near you, I'm sure you can get a lot cheaper prices on angle. There's none near me so I went that route. I got the 1" x 1" x .125" and it seems to have worked out well enough for me. I know some other people go with the 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 pieces, but the 1" did the job for what I needed.

To secure it, i'm just going to use more rivets, through the plywood and into the angle. The rivets should work out fine and give it a nice strong hold...that is the plan at least!


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## rmzachar (May 22, 2011)

Alright, been a little while since I updated this. Got a lot done recently, just a little bit of wiring and mounting some stuff and I'm done!

Getting the stereo test fitted:





(To the left of the radio, I got 3 contura switches that I never took a picture of. They control the bilge, nav lights, and a couple LED lights in the boat)

Framing for pedestal mount seat:





I had originally planned on using a flush mount seat post that was removable, but seeing as I only had about 2.5 inches of clearance and the flush mount seat needed like 3 or 4 inches of space, I opted for this setup instead...would rather be able to take the seat out, but oh well.

Carpeting makes everything look oh so much nicer...






































































Contact cement is my new favorite thing. I had never used it before and my god was that so much easier then using carpet glue. Everything just came out nicer using that.

All I really have left to do is run the battery wiring up to the front from the back to power the fuse panel, then hook up the switches and finish up that wiring. Got a couple rod holders to install on the side panels too. Still have to install the hinge up front too. The horizontal piece that has the radio and speakers will be hinged to the little casting deck, at least that's the plan. We'll see how that goes. Also, that weird bracket thing up on the bow is where I'm going to be mounting the trolling motor...that may need some more work but that's what that thing is. 

I should have everything done by this coming weekend, and I got a couple friends coming out here too, so I hope it will be ready to fish by then.


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## rmzachar (May 25, 2011)

Finished up the wiring today and got all the electronics installed...all that is left is securing everything down and installing the bow mount trolling motor. Should be fishing by June...

Stereo, speakers, and switches installed:


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## rmzachar (May 29, 2011)

Well, finally finished it all up. At least most of what I can see that needs to be done. Still need to get it out on the water and see how it all works out, but I think it'll be fine. Here are the finished pictures...


































For having never worked with aluminum angle, or much plywood or framing for that matter, I think it came out pretty good. I know theres a few corners that aren't perfectly cut, and some stuff doesn't align perfectly, but it was a great learning experience. I've been dying to try out the iPilot on that trolling motor since I got it back in October. Hopefully in the next few days here. I think I'm done with all the mods on it for now, may throw a rear deck on there sometime in the fall, but it's time for fishing now!


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## rusty.hook (May 30, 2011)

Below are pics of right and wrong way for the strap/cable/rope for securing a boat to the winch post. Also add safety chain.


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## rmzachar (Jun 2, 2011)

Finally got out on the water today! It was a perfect day to be out, very light wind, low 70s, and sunny. Just a great day. The boat handled great too. Very surprised on how stable it was seeing as the last time I was out on it was when nothing had been done on the boat. The front deck was much more stable then I had anticipated, and I spent quite a bit of time standing on it and fishing from there...kinda wish I had made it bigger now! It works out well though. I hit about 23mph with the old Merc pushing me and another person. That's plenty fast for the lakes I fish. Didn't check the speed with just me on it though. 













First Fish Caught!





iPilot in action, love this thing (click for video):





Heading down the canal(click for video):






So if anyone actually has looked through all of this and is considering doing something similar, this all worked out really well for me.


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