# Alumacraft 1436 (Mouthin' Off) mod



## SpyGuy23 (Jun 22, 2012)

Just brought home our newest family member from Academy. We're going to name her "Mouthin' Off." Throw a couple oars inside her and she'd fish just fine, I'm sure....but let's drill some holes in her before we get her wet!



Yes, that is a roll of toilet paper used for a tire stop.

Big thanks to all you guys who post on this site. I hadn't worked with metal since 8th grade shop class, let alone, worked on a boat before, but with your insight and expertise, things have come along nicely thus far.

First order of business has been the front deck. I wanted a raised front deck but was wary of stability issues, given my affinity for awkward motor function. I settled on making the front deck flush with the front bench seat and decided to run the deck all the way up to what Alumacraft likely calls their casting deck - a tiny built-in deck at the bow. I had read forum after forum searching for ideas on a support system. Being a somewhat experienced woodworker, it would've been the easy choice for the supports. But with myself weighing 225 pounds, and having a few buddies pushing 3 bills, every pound of added weight was going to count. Here's what I came up with:




I used 1 1/4" X 1/8" aluminum L-angle and all of the connections were made using 3/16" pop rivets. All of the 90 degree cuts went quickly, but it got tricky when connecting the vertical supports to the ribs since the ribs lay at a slight angle. Not having the equipment nor the know-how for welding, I first positioned the boat on the trailer how it would likely lay (empty) on the water by raising the trailer jack to the appropriate height. I then angled the bottoms of the vertical supports using a miter saw and laid them flush with the ribs. It took some trial and error and a garage full of aluminum shavings to find the correct angle for the cuts, but the result was a surprisingly sturdy support for the deck. The first rib ended up being about 9.5 degrees, and the second (pictured below) was 1.9.




The angled cuts kept everything at 90 degrees.




I designated a hatch size based on the biggest item I'd likely place in there, the anchor. I attached support for the hatch, as well as more front and rear support for the deck (hopefully overkill at this point). The pedestal seat will fit nicely just behind the hatch and in front of the built-in bench seat, so I won't need to be drilling any more holes than necessary into the bench. ...Future live well??? 




On to the deck. I would have liked to install diamond plate, but that was one area of personal ignorance I wasn't willing to relieve myself of. So plywood it is. With a little research I've learned a few things to consider when choosing a ply: the wood's weight, rigidity, water resistance, cost, pressure treatment (may corrode metals), do bugs like it (I read that birch attracts bugs - just something to consider). I read other user forums, mulled it over with a few guys at the lumber yard, and chose to go with 3/4" marine grade plywood. The 3/4" vs. 1/2" adds substantial weight, and the marine grade adds significant cost, but for my needs, a lower maintenance, sturdy piece of ply that won't need to be swapped out once a season was a fit. I bought myself a $10 insurance policy on the ply by purchasing some 1/2" foam insulation sheathing to make a template. That way I wouldn't ruin a good piece of wood with poor measuring. I laid the insulation where the deck would lay and methodically cut into it until it was a good starting point to trace the cutout for the deck.




First cutting with a circular saw, then fine tuning with a jigsaw - a few trips from the boat to the workmate for touchups, then it was back in the boat with a snug fit.




I left about 1/8" on both sides for the carpet, and beveled the bottom of the ply about 1/4" to fit flush with the gunwales after the carpet is installed.




Up next will be the battery housing and extending the front deck towards the stern a few feet to cover the remainder of the front bench seat and provide a little more storage/room for electronics (circuit breaker, charger, possibly a switch panel) behind the bench seat. More to come...


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## fool4fish1226 (Jun 22, 2012)

:WELCOME: Nice start


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## Vermonster (Jun 22, 2012)

Looking Good! Congrats on the newest addition to the family!


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 22, 2012)

Thank you Fool4Fish and Vermonster for looking and for the kind words! Having a blast so far!


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## inlovewithsurfin (Jun 22, 2012)

cant wait to see it when its all said and done... love what youve done so far!


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 22, 2012)

Decent progress today. I had hoped to get more done, but being such a noob at this stuff, I'm realizing that I don't even know what there is to know about what I don't know. So I've had to stop to research just about everything. DISCLAIMER: I'll probably tend to be a little long-winded on these posts in the hopes that it will help some other folks out with their projects. If you're a vet at this stuff, this probably won't interest you too much, but I would certainly welcome any insight or criticism - anything to help me avoid that "oh [expletive]" moment that might be coming.

I started out the by day tackling the battery housing. I picked up a protective battery case from Academy and worked around it. I'm guessing that the weight of the battery is 60-70 pounds. Wanting to fish, with my cumbersome self, primarily from the front deck, and having the weight of the trolling motor (and possibly an outboard motor one day) at the stern, I thought that the best place, weight-distribution wise, for the battery would be smack in the middle of the boat. With the distance between the rear of the front bench seat and the first rib behind the front bench seat being just greater than the width of the battery case, it made my decision a no-brainer.




There's a whole lot of small pieces fitting into a small amount of space here, so I wanted to be absolutely positive that this would work before drilling any holes in the boat and attaching anything. This meant putting together and taking apart the housing a few dozen times. The rivet gun is a pretty maneuverable tool, but it would have been murder to get 90% finished with this only to realize that I couldn't get the gun to one of the final rivets because the space was too tight. So i summoned every clamp I had in my workshop and did a balancing act - a solo game of aluminum L-angle Jenga (only in this case, building something up, not taking it down piece by piece...and still careful to check that everything was level). I thought for a second that this could be the one area I could just tell my fishing buddies, "hey, don't step on this." But when there's a fish on, that tends to make a man have tunnel vision. This housing needed to be sturdy enough to breakdance on, and I think it's close. 

Another angle:




With the battery housing pretty well in hand, I moved my focus to the front deck hatch. I drilled 4 holes that I knew would be well within the range of the eventual hatch and jigsawed out a piece just big enough to fit my hand through.




I then returned the deck to the boat, reached in the hole, and traced the underside of the deck using the void in the supports as a template.




The blind tracing job actually came out pretty accurate, but I knew I had another 3/4" to cut, so accuracy wasn't all that important yet. I returned the deck to the boat and fine-tuned my measurements, this time being able to see what I was about to cut. And the finished product:




To finish out the day, I drilled for the pedestal seat mount. 




For those who are familiar with these mounts, I have a question. The mount has kind of a 360 degree Y-shape under the base. What's the best way to go about drilling for these? Is there a special drill bit I can pick up? I had planned to just add another piece of ply on top of the deck with a bigger hole, but more height means less stability, and possible impromptu bath time. I'm hoping there's a better way to get it flush with the deck.

Up next, I plan to finish the front deck, by extending it back towards the stern. I still haven't decided if I want to take it back all the way to the end of the battery housing to make room underneath for electronics, or just bring it to the end of the front bench seat. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 22, 2012)

inlovewithsurfin said:


> cant wait to see it when its all said and done... love what youve done so far!


Thank you for looking! We're running out of good fishing days in Oklahoma (it's going to be 102 this week!), but hopeful to have it on the water soon!


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## Vermonster (Jun 23, 2012)

You're doing the right thing by taking your time and mocking it up! I like the work so far - nice and clean!

For the front deck length:

I like the idea of extending it out to the end of the battery compartment. It would be square, and you wouldn't have a box in the middle to possibly trip over if you're landing a fish and have that tunnel vision. The extra space would make a nice spot for storage as well. If I can find the link to the build I'll post it, but a guy on here actually built in aluminum shelves that fit his plano boxes for tackle. Depending on what you normally fish for that might be a cool little add on. You could also put a dry box on one side of the battery as well.

Don't forget your cup holders for your Shiner!


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 23, 2012)

Vermonster said:


> You're doing the right thing by taking your time and mocking it up! I like the work so far - nice and clean!
> 
> For the front deck length:
> 
> ...



Thanks Vermonster! I was thinking the same thing about the tripping factor. I like the dry storage idea too. Appreciate your help!


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## scedistofisher (Jun 27, 2012)

Hey man I love what you are doing with your boat and it has given me a couple of great ideas for mine. I can't wait to see more progress.


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## inlovewithsurfin (Jun 27, 2012)

i second what "Vermonster" says about extending the front platform to the end of the battery box... you could definately put extra storage on each side of the battery for tackle or whatever!

what size plywood are you using? i used 1/2in for all the floors and decking. with a little support its plenty of sturdy enough for me +1. the only reason i am asking is because all my modifications added alot more weight than i would like.


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 28, 2012)

scedistofisher said:


> Hey man I love what you are doing with your boat and it has given me a couple of great ideas for mine. I can't wait to see more progress.



Appreciate it, and thanks for looking, Scedistofisher. Looking forward to seeing your project if you're able to post!


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 28, 2012)

inlovewithsurfin said:


> i second what "Vermonster" says about extending the front platform to the end of the battery box... you could definately put extra storage on each side of the battery for tackle or whatever!
> 
> what size plywood are you using? i used 1/2in for all the floors and decking. with a little support its plenty of sturdy enough for me +1. the only reason i am asking is because all my modifications added alot more weight than i would like.



I appreciate the thoughts! I did decide to run the front deck just behind the battery housing to avoid tripping and add a nice size to the front casting deck. There will be storage on either side behind the built-in bench seat, likely for the battery charger and circuit breaker on the port side, and tackle on the starboard side.

After a lot of back and forth on the subject, I went with the 3/4" marine grade ply. I had the same concerns about unnecessary sturdiness and added weight. I plan to deck the back of the boat with 1/2" and fish primarily from the rear of the boat when I'm solo, so the added weight to the front hopefully won't be too much of a detriment.


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## inlovewithsurfin (Jun 28, 2012)

sounds like it will work nicely for you! post some more pictures of the work youve done! we all love pictures here... keep up the good work!


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## SpyGuy23 (Jun 29, 2012)

I wasn't totally satisfied with the battery housing supports, with it being so high, so I added a little extra support to the middle and now my goal of being able to breakdance on it has hopefully come to fruition:




With some insight from a couple of members, I made my decision regarding the back end of the front deck. I decided to run it back just behind the battery housing to avoid tripping, and also provide some more storage. I went to work on the support, first the port side:




This will eventually have a door to access storage that will raise vertically (easiest design I could think of while providing the needed functionality) and will likely house my battery charger and circuit breaker for the trolling motor:




I matched the starboard side as best I could using the same design (amazing how much easier things are the second time around):




This will have another vertically rising door for storage. I have some small Plano tackle boxes that should fit nicely:




And finally, I'm through with the aluminum angle for the time being:




I had seen the commercial for this puppy about half a dozen times, and thinking it would be perfect for the deck cuts, decided to pull the trigger:




I have nothing invested in Dremel, and have nothing to gain by promoting this product, just thought it might be a relatively inexpensive (about $130) alternative for some people. I have table, circular, and jigsaws already, but thought this would provide a more finished look to some of the tricky decking cuts I needed to make. The tool works great. My only complaints are that the thing runs extremely hot (cutting 3/4" ply may be asking about the max of this tool's capability), and it makes an incredible amount of dust. Also, the blades seem a little on the cheap side, and at about $20 a pop, that may be how they can afford to sell the tool so cheap.

With the support in place, I used the same foam insulation sheathing I had used for the first cut to make a template for the remainder of the front deck. A few trips to the workmate for touchups, and it was back in the boat with a nice fit:




I beveled the sides of the ply again about 1/4" to fit snugly with the gunwales, and left about 1/8" all around to provide room for the carpet.

Eyeballing the size of the cutout that would be needed to make room for the battery housing, I was thinking it might be about the size of the front deck hatch. Wanting to keep as much of this cutout intact as possible, I got my measurements as accurate as possible before cutting, and as luck would have it, success!!




You can see in the previous picture the insufficient hole I had previously drilled for the pedestal seat base. I drilled only big enough to accommodate the shaft that extends down (about 1 1/4" diameter) hoping that I could find another drill bit to taper the top edges of the hole to fit flush with the base's 360 degree Y-shape:




Not being able to find anything for this, I settled on using a 2 3/4" hole saw with an arbor:




This would have been a simple way to mount the base, had I used this first, but since I already had a hole in place larger than the arbor, I had to get creative. I made a guide out of a scrap piece of 2X4:




Now the hole saw bit would be held in place when I clamped this guide over the plywood:




Here's the new cutout showing the initial hole size:




This allowed the pedestal base to lay flush:




And here's a couple more shots of the cut front deck (nothing is bolted in yet):







Up next, I plan to fiberglass the plywood to prep for carpeting. I'll be out for a couple days for the 4th, but will check back in when there's progress.


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## scsdiver (Jul 2, 2012)

Looks awesome! keep up the good work cant wait to see it finished. really the aluminium frame work turned out very nice.


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## Swampthing(True) (Oct 24, 2012)

Very nice! I don't suppose you have the dimensions of that battery box housing I wanna try making one of those!


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## stapleface (Oct 27, 2012)

very nice work =D>


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## adajam99 (Oct 28, 2012)

nice boat


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## sledneck22 (Mar 18, 2014)

Nice boat. Sorry if this is worthless now that the post is so old but I have been dabbling on doing some more modification with my 14' flat. I already have a lower deck built on the front of my boat but just ordered a bow mount trolling motor. Thus, I'm thinking of gutting my current deck and raising it to the height of yours.
Can you or anyone else following tell me the stability of the boat with a deck that high?


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## onthewater102 (Mar 18, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=345320#p345320 said:


> sledneck22 » 18 Mar 2014, 11:28[/url]"]Nice boat. Sorry if this is worthless now that the post is so old but I have been dabbling on doing some more modification with my 14' flat. I already have a lower deck built on the front of my boat but just ordered a bow mount trolling motor. Thus, I'm thinking of gutting my current deck and raising it to the height of yours.
> Can you or anyone else following tell me the stability of the boat with a deck that high?



Depends on the person perched atop it and the water conditions you're faced with...real populated lake - anyone but a circus performer is going to feel uncomfortable up there...


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## sledneck22 (Mar 20, 2014)

Well I'm going to leave my lower deck and try that for now. If I feel I need to be higher to fish more adequately then I can always add the upper deck. Thanks for the reply.


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## onthewater102 (Mar 20, 2014)

go stand on your middle bench seat and see how you feel - it's more about feel for you than anything. you might even try throwing a large milk-crate in the front atop your deck to see how you feel that high up.

Plenty of people have decked 1436's right to the top of the gunwales and been fine - i'm working on my own 1436 and my plan is for my deck to be about 1/2" or so higher than the current level of my middle bench seat - but I fish very quiet water with no large motorboat access so it's not really a concern for me - I just like having a bit of lip running around the floorboard to help deter my dog from jumping over while we're out fishing.


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## sledneck22 (Mar 20, 2014)

here is what the bow of my boat looks like with the trolling motor where it'll be and the "floor/deck" I installed last year. I think i am going to leave the floor the way it is and if I have major problems with space, I'll rip the floor out and make a deck out of aluminum.


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## onthewater102 (Mar 21, 2014)

If it gets you to where the fish are then its good.


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## misunderstood (May 19, 2016)

I know this is a thread resurrection but would love to see updates as I will be doing a 1436 Alumacraft soon. Love what you've got thus far. 8)


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