# Sea Ark 1652-SLD Mod



## BassMaster52 (Feb 12, 2012)

Hello all, I'd like to start by thanking you all for sharing your wealth of knowledge and projects completed. I'm just starting my first aluminum boat project and all of your ideas, pictures, and knowledge have given me inspiration and confidence to start one of my own. I have a 16 foot Sea Ark with a modified V hull. This boat was sold to me with a 15hp Johnson tiller motor and was otherwise very "stock". I will share some of the plans tomorrow, but for now, here are a few pictures of the boat at the start of the project. Any suggestions or thoughts along the way are much appreciated.


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## gillhunter (Feb 12, 2012)

Looks like a great boat. I like the layout. Looking forward to seeing your project!


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## fool4fish1226 (Feb 13, 2012)

Looks like a great boat to mod - Keep us up to date with lots of pictures


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## BassMaster52 (Feb 13, 2012)

The main goal of this project was to take the 2005 15hp Johnson tiller motor off the boat and install a side console with a remote controlled 2002 40hp Mercury EFI 4-stroke which I purchased a few months back. As my friend and I discussed the project, more and more of the options we discussed became plans. As mentioned earlier, I bought this boat stock and it had no navigation lights, a small gas tank, a very small lawn mower battery, and very little storage. I plan to use this boat as a crabbing and duck hunting boat and wanted to convert this plain aluminum boat into a safe, reliable, and functional vessel. With this in mind, here is a list of most of the upgrades I will be doing: steering system and wheel, 9 gallon fuel tank with sending unit and fuel gauge, mercury tachometer, three small storage hatches, 2 dual purpose batteries, GPS, Stereo, two additional pin style seat bases with reinforcement plates, small bilge pump, navigation lights, side console, fuse box, and in-dash switch panel. The sketch below shows most of these ideas incorporated.


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## BassMaster52 (Feb 13, 2012)

I was able to get some work done this weekend and wanted to share my progress and pictures. I had a sheet of aluminum cut and bent to sit in between the two rear seat boxes. This metal will be fitted and riveted down to 2"x2" aluminum angle to create a sturdy storage compartment. You will also see in the pictures that I had a divider made that will serve as a support and will divide the storage compartment. The rear portion will house my new gas tank and the front will be a storage box. I was able to get a rough dry fit of the rear storage compartments as well as cut out two of the hatches in the rear seat boxes. The hatch doors are from Cabelas. I also got in my new seat reinforcement plates (14" x 16" .125 aluminum) and was able to place them in position for pictures. My speakers came in as well and I was able to cut the rear speaker holes in the front sides of the rear seat boxes. I will be installing 8" Bazooka camouflage speakers in the rear and 6 1/2" Bazooka camouflage speakers in the front. You can also see in the pictures, I was able to dry fit my front navigation light and cleats. You will notice that the front nav light has a horseshoe around it. It came on the boat and gave me pretty good luck last crabbing season so I think I will leave it.


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## earl60446 (Feb 13, 2012)

Nice boat to start with, big and wide, should be a real stable roomy platform. What was / is that pipe used for that is sticking out of the rear starboard flotation pod?


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## BassMaster52 (Feb 13, 2012)

Thanks Gill, Fool, and Earl. One thing I will promise is lots of pictures! I want to document the transformation of this boat. And Earl, that piece of pipe is something the original owner put on the boat. He screwed a curved piece of pvc into the metal pipe to use as a "J hook" for crabbing (trot line). I took it off and plan to make my own rig that mounts to the rail and is adjustable (front to back) on the rail. So here are the pics of the work I got accomplished this weekend and of the motor that is going on later.


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## fishtotheface (Feb 13, 2012)

Hey man, I think your boat is some junk and should take it to the scrap yard and get the $20 it's worth!


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## fool4fish1226 (Feb 13, 2012)

Thats coming along nicely - Keep up the good work and the pictures coming


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## RivRunR (Feb 13, 2012)

earl60446 said:


> Nice boat to start with, big and wide, should be a real stable roomy platform. What was / is that pipe used for that is sticking out of the rear starboard flotation pod?



[email protected]! I just _KNEW_ he was gonna say "periscope"


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## 2ndBassendment (Feb 13, 2012)

fishtotheface said:


> Hey man, I think your boat is some junk and should take it to the scrap yard and get the $20 it's worth!



Excuse me, sir. Let's try and keep the thread on topic. [-X 

Looks good so far, Bassmaster52. Keep up the good work!


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## Pweisbrod (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks great! I will be following, not too many duckboats on here... 8)


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## fishtotheface (Feb 14, 2012)

Hey BassMaster52, I heard that your trailer is in better shape then your Sea Ark. I'll buy the trailer for $35.


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## boatwatcher (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice project, let's see that $35 trailer


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## MTord03 (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks nice! Are you selling the 15hp?


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## BassMaster52 (Feb 21, 2012)

Yes MTord03, I will be selling the 15hp soon. More progress pictures coming this weekend.


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## fishtotheface (Feb 22, 2012)

Hey, that fish looks like a 2 pounder. Get one next time with some girth.


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## BassMaster52 (Feb 22, 2012)

See what happens when you share your project with your a**hole friends..... #-o


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## fishtotheface (Feb 22, 2012)

I love my Bass Master. I just want to go crabbing this year. I will bring the fun!!!!! As usual. Nance go bed now. WAKE UP BETTY.


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## 2ndBassendment (Feb 29, 2012)

fishtotheface said:


> Hey, that fish looks like a 2 pounder. Get one next time with some girth.



I photographed that quality fish and it was better than 6lbs :wink:


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## 2ndBassendment (Feb 29, 2012)

BassMaster52 said:


> See what happens when you share your project with your a**hole friends..... #-o



=D>


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## 2ndBassendment (Feb 29, 2012)

fishtotheface said:


> I love my Bass Master. I just want to go crabbing this year. I will bring the fun!!!!! As usual. Nance go bed now. WAKE UP BETTY.



Sea Ark Mod Update,

Bassmaster has been acquiring quite a few new toys for the boat. I'm sure he will be including mock up or maybe just parts pics when he gets sometime. I'll hint to a very sharp electronics upgrade for the boat (Lowrance) but you guys have to wait on pics or Bassmaster to fill you in on the rest. The Sea Ark is seeing alot of prep work at this point getting ready for new paint. It isn't much to look at momentarily but when the gritty work is completed it will be upgrade city with lots of pics along the way.

Stay in bed Nance.... Veteran fishermen are talking.


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## fishtotheface (Feb 29, 2012)

Betty, now is not the time to wake up, it is not the weekend yet. BTY, I got your Veteran right here. But to Tina, you better be calling.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 9, 2012)

The last week or two have been hectic and I'm just now getting around to updating my progress. Many hours have been spent cutting holes in the boat for things like the navigation lights, bilge pump, 12v receptacles, battery switches, speakers, and wire-ways. In addition to cutting holes, I managed to get the inside of the boat stripped of paint and back down to the bare aluminum and install the aluminum angle that will support my rear storage compartments. My plans for the weekend are to get the interior sanded and prepped for paint. Once I do so, I believe the progress will start picking up a bit as most of the components going in the boat have already been dry fitted. Here are a few pictures of the interior and paint stripping process.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 9, 2012)

Another portion of the project that I have been "whittling away at" is the floor. As you can tell from these pictures, the boat came with a piece of diamond plate flooring. My issue with the floor was that there was a substantial gap on either side of the floor where it did not butt up to the support ribs. If you've ever been crabbing I'm sure you can understand why this a problem. Lets just say I had a few dead crabs under the floor when I pulled it up. To attempt to solve this problem I decided to run a 6" wide strip of aluminum down each side and cut it to form around the ribs. I decided a template was a good idea here. I figured it would be easier to notch these out of wood first so that I was not grinding and filling on the aluminum strips for days. Here is a few pics of what I am talking about.


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## OhioStateBuckeye (Mar 9, 2012)

Nice man! How do those speakers sound? I am thinking of picking myself up a pair. What CD Deck/mp3 are you planning on using with it?


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 9, 2012)

I absolutely love the speakers and head unit that I bought for this boat. I hooked it all up when it came to test it and it really sounds good. I went with the Sony DSX MS60 head unit and couldn't be happier. It has a faceplate that swivels down and a tray that swings out of the head unit. You can plug your mp3, ipod, or iphone into the deck and it swings back into the head unit. Then the face swivels back up to enclose your device and can be controlled from the outside or with the remote. I did a lot of looking and researching and I found exactly what I wanted. I purchased both sets of speakers and the head unit from a place called J&R. I got the 6 1/2" speakers for $82.99 and the 8" speakers for $98.99 and the Sony head unit for $169.99.....all of which were much cheaper than anywhere else I looked. And to top it all off... FREE SHIPPING! Hope this helps.


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## 2ndBassendment (Mar 9, 2012)

Nice work!


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## fool4fish1226 (Mar 14, 2012)

Coming along nicely, great idea for the floor and yes templates make things much easier IMO


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 14, 2012)

Indeed they do! I was able to trace the templates on to my aluminum and get them cut out this weekend. I'll have pics up in a day or two but I am very happy with the way they turned out.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 20, 2012)

So just thought I'd post a few new pics of my progress. I was able to get the floor trim pieces cut and dry fitted as well as dry fit the rear hatch boxes. The seat reinforcement plates and seat bases are also drilled and ready to go. The side console has been mounted and I'm in the process of cutting a piece of aluminum to make a cover for the front. Now that the entire inside of the boat is stripped and sanded down to bare aluminum, I am getting closer to washing the boat out and laying down some primer and color. I am expecting my progress to speed up a bit now that most of the accessories going in the boat have been dry fitted and are just waiting for paint, well at least I hope so. Looking to have the boat finished by the end of April.


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## fool4fish1226 (Mar 20, 2012)

Man thats coming along great, you did some great prep for the paint, the aluminum dang there looks good enough to leave bare.


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## boatwatcher (Mar 21, 2012)

You are doing a really good job, grasshopper.


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## Zum (Mar 21, 2012)

Looking good.
Maybe I missed it but why did you scrap off the original paint?
Was it in hard shape,if your re-painting I thought the original primer/paint would be good to paint over.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks guys. The idea to paint started because I was adding quite a bit of fresh aluminum to the inside of the boat and was going to have to paint it. Then I realized that the paint was really oxidized and wouldn't match my new paint at all. The inside had a good bit of ware on it so I decided that I would take it down to bare metal and start fresh. As for the outside, the paint is in great condition and I will be just roughing it up a bit and spraying a top coat over it. 

Also, I am looking to put down some type of foam sheets under my floor in between the ribs. I've been doing some research and from my understanding it needs to be closed cell foam? I guess this keeps the foam from absorbing water. Makes sense.... My question is, does anyone know where to get cheap sheets of flotation foam about 1 1/2" to 2" thick? I saw another thread where someone put the blue building material foam down...is that closed cell?


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## Ictalurus (Mar 23, 2012)

The blue and pink board are closed cell (latest group consensus), I know Lowes has the blue board and I believe HD has the pink. As far as thickness, that may be up to the individual store. My local Lowes carries the 1/2" sheets of the blue board, think it was $10 or so a board.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 27, 2012)

Ictalurus said:


> The blue and pink board are closed cell (latest group consensus), I know Lowes has the blue board and I believe HD has the pink. As far as thickness, that may be up to the individual store. My local Lowes carries the 1/2" sheets of the blue board, think it was $10 or so a board.



Thanks! I picked up a sheet from Home Depot yesterday and it looks like it will work great.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 27, 2012)

Just about done with the rear deck area now. I was able to cut my "rear deck window" where my gas tank will sit and simply just need to cut my lid for the top. You can see from the pictures that I got the divider put in the box.


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## BassMaster52 (Mar 27, 2012)

I was able to get an electronic fuel sending unit in my new tank and get some pictures of how the tank will be situated in the box. I also found some stainless steel hinges for the lid. They were not offset hinges so I ended up making two spacers so that the hinges will sit flat. You can also see in this next group of pictures that the front compartment in the rear deck has a seat base plate on the bottom. This will allow me to open my hatch door, stick a 13" seat pole in the box, and have the capability of a third seat between the two pictured. I carefully placed the two outer seat bases so that when three seats are in the boat it will resemble a long bench seat. 

Oh...I almost forgot.... I ended up cutting an oblong hole next to the plug hole for my bilge pump. I glued a piece of 3/8" starboard to the hull so that I could mount the bilge housing to it.


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 5, 2012)

Here are a few pictures of the floor fully assembled and in the bed of my truck. I dropped it off at Line-X yesterday and should have it back by tomorrow. I think its safe to say that all the accessories for the boat have been fitted and its now time for paint. Today's plans include flipping the boat over and prepping the underside. It should just take a light scuff/sand and an acetone wash and then it will be ready for paint. More pics coming soon.


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## fool4fish1226 (Apr 9, 2012)

Awesome build keep it coming =D>


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 11, 2012)

Thank you Fool4fish!! I've been steadily plugging away at it and it is coming along nicely. This past weekend I was able to get the boat flipped upside down and sanded, washed, and acetoned. My friend and I laid down 2 coats of factory SeaArk OD Green paint and combated the falling pollen and leaves as best we could. While letting the boat dry and harden this week, I was able to get a little trailer maintenance done. I took the axle out and scaled off all the rust and re-painted that. I ran new wires and slapped on some new lights. And I also threw on two new galvanized wheels with new tires. I am currently in the process of fitting all of my gauges and accessories in the console so that its ready to go when we turn the boat back over. Here are a few pics of the progress and there are more to come soon of the console.


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## bigwave (Apr 11, 2012)

Looking real good, I like the way you guys outfit those flatties......cant wait to see the finished product.


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## 2ndBassendment (Apr 11, 2012)

Even being able to hear the plans, see all the new parts, and observe various stages of this build.... I'm still amazed at how kickass this project is turning out! Also, a big thumbs up on how well you have kept the thread updated with progress and pictures. I probably speak for everyone following the build when i say... We appreciate it.

Keep up the good work, brotha!


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## fool4fish1226 (Apr 11, 2012)

Even with an outside paint job it turned out great. I had to do the same what a pita, everything seems to be attracted to fresh paint.


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## boatwatcher (Apr 12, 2012)

This is coming along nicely....................good job.


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## thegr8cody (Apr 12, 2012)

Where did you get your console from?


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 13, 2012)

Thank you all for the comments. I ordered my console through a local SeaArk dealer. The only other place I know to find side consoles is a place called AK McCallum in NC.


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## 2ndBassendment (Apr 17, 2012)

Hey!!! Slacky Slackerton!!!! Can we get the console complete electrical dry fit and trailer pics? Or would that be too much to ask, lol 8)


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## bigwave (Apr 17, 2012)

2ndBassendment said:


> Hey!!! Slacky Slackerton!!!! Can we get the console complete electrical dry fit and trailer pics? Or would that be too much to ask, lol 8)


Gota love your a-hole buddies......you crack me up 2nd


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 23, 2012)

2ndBassendment said:


> Hey!!! Slacky Slackerton!!!! Can we get the console complete electrical dry fit and trailer pics? Or would that be too much to ask, lol 8)



Your right Mr. 2nd.... I have been slacking on the updates. So here's one just for you buddy!

The last week and a half I have been letting the boat sit upside down so that the fresh paint on the bottom has ample time to set up and harden before sliding it back on the trailer bunks. While we were "watching paint dry" I built a little mount for my console on my work table so that I could begin positioning all the electronics. I started by drilling out the holes for the gauges to include the tachometer, fuel, and trim gauges. Then I cut out square holes for two different switch panels, mounted the GPS with RAM mount and installed the radio head unit with splash guard. Basically everything in the console has been mounted and is ready for wiring.

When the boat paint was finally good and hard, I coaxed some friends and family over with beer to help flip her back over onto the trailer. One of the very first things we did once the boat was back upright was set the newly line-x-ed floor back in the boat to check the fit. The fit was good and the coating and appearance were awesome. The next step was to lay the 1 1/2" foam board strips in the boat and spread adhesive silicone to the top of them. We then reinserted the floor and climbed in the boat to put some pressure on the floor. My buddy and I sat in the boat for a half an hour and drank beer and watched YouTube videos while we were "working" as human clamps. I must say, that might have been the most enjoyable project we have worked on so far. So here are a few pictures to validate my story, and I apologize but I don't have one of us drinking beer and laying in the boat pretending to be hard at work.


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## vahunter (Apr 23, 2012)

Lookin good! That line-x looks great! Mind if I ask how much the line-x ran you?


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 24, 2012)

vahunter said:


> Lookin good! That line-x looks great! Mind if I ask how much the line-x ran you?



Sure, I was quoted $150 but that was basically for one coat of line-x. I anticapated the line-x to be about 1/8" thick when doing all my cutting and fitting and I found out that a single coat is closer to 1/32"-1/16". When I dropped it off I asked for an extra coat of line-x for extra thickness and also for durability and the price ended up being $180. I really like the way it turned out and think it was money well spent. Hope that helps VAhunter.


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## wcbond4 (Apr 25, 2012)

I too have a question! What exactly did you use for the seat reinforcements? I have a factory aluminum flat floor and it just isn't very thick. My seat pulls on the floor in a way I don't like.


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## wcbond4 (Apr 25, 2012)

Doh! Just found dimensions on page 1! Guess I overlooked it the first time! Do you see any flex with them?


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 25, 2012)

wcbond4 said:


> I too have a question! What exactly did you use for the seat reinforcements? I have a factory aluminum flat floor and it just isn't very thick. My seat pulls on the floor in a way I don't like.



The seat reinforcements that I am using are 1/8" thick aluminum and are very sturdy in my opinion. If you were to bolt or rivet them to your floor (preferably bolt), I think it would help firm things up. I bought my reinforcement plates from AK McCallum online and I think they were about $15-20 a piece. You could probably find a metal shop that's local and they can cut you a 14"x17" piece of .125 (1/8") aluminum and just bend an edge down about 1 inch. Hope this helps!


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## wcbond4 (Apr 26, 2012)

I found a local shop here and I got 19x19x1/8 diamond plate for 10 bucks each! And I got a mounting bracket for my TM! Thanks for you reply. I plan on riveting the heck out of mine! I can't bolt


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 27, 2012)

wcbond4 said:


> I found a local shop here and I got 19x19x1/8 diamond plate for 10 bucks each! And I got a mounting bracket for my TM! Thanks for you reply. I plan on riveting the heck out of mine! I can't bolt [/quote
> 
> Sounds like a heck of a deal!!! My only suggestions would be: 1. Rivet close to the edges so that you don't get any upward flex on the corners which will cause pinch points. 2. Use aluminum rivets if your diamond plate is aluminum. 3. Use a big rivet like 3/16" or bigger. Good luck


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## BassMaster52 (Apr 27, 2012)

So this week was all about getting the inside of the boat done and painted. So far I have gotten everything primed with two coats of the recommended wash primer, one light coat of reduced color, and installed the rear console area. I was also able to get my hatch liners foamed into place and attach the hatch doors. As you can see from the pictures below, I have been busy. The plan for today is to get the final two coats of color on the boat so that next week is all about assembling and wiring. Lots of pictures will be coming soon because I have a feeling it is going to come together quickly during the assembly stage. Here a some pictures of this weeks work.


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## Gators5220 (Apr 29, 2012)

Really love what you are doing and have planned with this boat, very classic layout, only thing I'd have done different is center console but that's half a dozen one, half a dozen another...keep up the good work!

As always cold beer, tight lines, and Go Gators!

my build https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25183


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## 2ndBassendment (Apr 30, 2012)

Man! This is going to be exciting the next week or so seeing this thing finally come together! In lou of this project being nearly completed we started to toss around names for the boat. I know one in particular is in mind but i thought it would be cool if you guys tossed a couple out there.

It will be mostly utilized for crabbing but i think it will probably see quite a bit of waterfowl action too and an occasional fishing trip. Let me start by throwing out a couple, pathetic or not  

1. Blue Bandit
2. Cribbie Crusader
3. Maryland Marauder (spelling owns me lol)
4. Salty Savage
5. Get er dead (lol)


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## BassMaster52 (May 3, 2012)

Alright.... I'll play with you since no one else has anything. Here's a few more I came up with even though I still like the name I originally picked out but you'll have to wait til she's finished to find out.

-GreenHead Graveyard
-Jimmy's Jon (Jimmy is a waterman's term for a male crab)
-Hi-Tech Red Neck
-Lucky Craft
-Foul Fisher
-"Honey Don't"
-Money Pit
-Crab Addict


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## 2ndBassendment (May 3, 2012)

I like Jimmy Jon and Hi-Tech Redneck. But.... I'm pretty sure that there are about 100,000 boats that beat you to these names. Original is still sounding like the one but for giggles n shits here are a few more....

1. Corn n Cribbies
2. Hush Puppy Hurst
3. Crabilac Pimppinnnn!!!
4. Bourbons n Crabilacs
5. Blue flec Redneck
6. Crambo
7. George of the Crungle

OMFG I'm :LOL2: Lost all seriousness on this one. Not to mention I'm a flaming NEWB in the eyes of the tin boat gods! \/


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## reel_magic (May 3, 2012)

love your mod great detail.....clearly looks "ALL DUCKED UP" to me :lol:


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