# Beat up 1448 jon into a bowfishing machine



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

I posted a link to this one in the other forum, but I wanted to post each pic, so here it is.


I got a deal on this thing, and it's obvious why. But I had alot of free time coming up, a few good ideas and alot of oak left over from some past jobs (I'm a finish-carpenter). Here's what it looked like when I brought it home. 














The guy cut out most of the gunnels. 





So I started by taking everything out of it...


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

I replaced the transom and hardware on it. The glue is a strong polyurethane glue I use for high-stress jobs, like when I'm bending wood.




A new bow-board in front..






and layers of 1/2" red oak for the new gunnels. I put thick beads of silicon caulk along the wood where it met the aluminium of the boat, and a polyurethane glue between the pieces of oak.





Then 3" carriage bolts every 8" to snug it all up.





The oak pulled the hull back into shape all on it's own.





Oak on both sides of the hull, inside and out, adds up to over 2" of solid wood. Alot of support and strength.





Here's the gunnels all done...mostly.


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

I then finished up the bow and sealed it all with 2 coats of spar-varnish...





..put some 3" and 4" screws into the corners to keep everything tight..





..and planed the gunnels level with the boat.





Nice and level gunnels all the way around.





I ended up changing all the hex-head bolts to real carriage bolts because of the smoother heads.


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

I then started on the gunnel-caps all the way round the boat. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of these few steps. It was pretty involved here and I was preoccupied with getting the curves all right.





Spot for the bow-light..





..and stern-light..





..and then I drilled, screwed and plugged the cap down with 1 1/2" screws about every 10" or so.





Here it is all routed, sanded and sealed;


----------



## russ010 (Jan 19, 2009)

thats is some awesome craftsmanship.. How did you fix that hole in the front left corner?


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

I just covered it up with the oak, and then used some bondo and spray paint to finish off what the wood didn't cover.

Here's a couple of it finished;





















Then I had to start the frame for the elevated deck. It is a bowfishing boat, remember?


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

All the wood for the elevated frame wasof either 1 1/2" wide, 1 1/4" wide or 1" wide scrap I had lying around. All the ends are mitered tight, glued, predrilled and screwed. It doesn't even squeak when me and my partner are on it, it's so tight. And light-weight too.













And here it is on the boat;





With the motors mounted...





Lights, generator and a few decals and she's ready for some serious fish-slaying!





Here's one of the first trip out. I had the best day ever bowfishing! 





And finally, here's the biggest gar my partner and I ever shot, in the first state-shoot my boat was ever in. I think we took 5th out of 17 teams. That's my partner with the gar, and me with my biggest buffalo ever, same day.









Hope you enjoy the pictures.


----------



## Greg (Jan 19, 2009)

Nice work. That is truly a one of a kind bowfishing rig. I can't believe what the last owner did to it...LOL.

C'mon over anytime...I need some help with building some kitchen cabinets. :lol:


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye (Jan 19, 2009)

if only i had half the talent you did!


----------



## evattman (Jan 19, 2009)

Man, that was awesome!! Great job! =D> =D>


----------



## bassboy1 (Jan 19, 2009)

Nice woodworking. Dad has always been a woodworker, so before I learned to play with metal, I used to mess with wood, and I do have to say, that takes a lot of work to reach that. I never had the patience for fine woodworking. 

Do you have any fore and aft rocking, as all of your triangulation is transverse?


----------



## Bubba (Jan 19, 2009)

bassboy1 said:


> Do you have any fore and aft rocking, as all of your triangulation is transverse?



I got it! Your the Doogie Houser of boats.... :LOL2:


----------



## bassboy1 (Jan 19, 2009)

Bubba said:


> bassboy1 said:
> 
> 
> > Do you have any fore and aft rocking, as all of your triangulation is transverse?
> ...


Had to google that one.... :lol: :lol:


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks alot guys. I have been a carpenter for 16+ years and I started in a cabinet shop. I've been doing custom stairs and railings for the past 8 1/2 years. I like making things come out nice.

Bassboy, most of the movement we have on it is side to side. Noone rides up there while under outboard-power, and that's the only time we have any real fore and aft movement on the boat; starting and stopping, breaking waves. When we're up there, we're only under trolling motor power, so we aren't moving that fast. On the other hand, when one of us hits a fish, there's all kinds of side to side motion going on! But the way I put it together, it could handle plenty of fore and aft rocking if it had to, like when we hit a stump or something. Still, I've not heard one creak while we've been on it.

I'm glad you guys liked it.


----------



## phased (Jan 20, 2009)

You sir are a true craftsman. Beautiful work and an equally awesome bowfishing boat. I could never have envisioned the finished craft when looking at the beginning photos. Thanks very much for sharing it with us.


----------



## Captain Ahab (Jan 20, 2009)

Can you post up the brand name for the glue that you use - looks awesome!


----------



## ACarbone624 (Jan 20, 2009)

That is some awesome craftsmanship there. Very Very nice! =D>


----------



## rcgreat (Jan 20, 2009)

Anybody have a couple of wood clamps I can borrow?   

On the serious note that is one excellent looking boat. Nice job.


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 20, 2009)

The glue is Tite Bond Urethane glue. It expands as it dries and it look like that Great Stuff spray foam. You don't need to use very much of it.

Thanks again guys. I do take alot of pride in my work.


----------



## Captain Ahab (Jan 21, 2009)

bowman5 said:


> The glue is Tite Bond Urethane glue. It expands as it dries and it look like that Great Stuff spray foam. You don't need to use very much of it.
> 
> Thanks again guys. I do take alot of pride in my work.



Thanks - I am gonna be (hopefully) doing a mod using some Ash - and that glue looks perfect for adding the wood


----------



## baptistpreach (Jan 21, 2009)

Did you water seal the wood? You did a truly amazing job! Thanks for sharing, and I thought that bow fisher rigs had a railing to lean on? Aren't you afraid of falling off!

Also, do you eat those fish?! Throw them away? Make bait of them? I know they are considered nuisance fish, but just curious!


----------



## baptistpreach (Jan 21, 2009)

bassboy1 said:


> Nice woodworking. Dad has always been a woodworker, so before I learned to play with metal, I used to mess with wood, and I do have to say, that takes a lot of work to reach that. I never had the patience for fine woodworking.
> 
> Do you have any fore and aft rocking, as all of your triangulation is transverse?



Am I the only one who has a REALLY hard time believing a 15 year old is so knowledgeable and well spoken?! :shock: :lol: I'd love to meet you someday, for I do think you're the Doogie Howser of boats!


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (Jan 21, 2009)

some of the best wood workin ive seen on a boat

do yall eat the carp? 

keep on killin =D>


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks alot Preach. 

I sealed the wood with 4 coats of spar-varnish with a U.V. inhibitor, to help protect it against the sun, and water of course. I'll clean it up and add another coat every spring, and that's all I should have to do to it, unless it gets a ding in it.

We don't eat the carp, but we do eat some of the gar. They have a 'tenderloin', for lack of a better description, down the back on both sides. It's very good eating. It has the texture of lobster, but it tastes like perch or crappie; nice clean mild tasting fish. The trick is cleaning them and preparing them for the frying pan. You can't soak gar-meat in water like other fish; you have to cool it by setting it on ice as soon as you clean them, and you need a pair of tin-snips to clean them. They have boney scales and thick, tough skin that you have to cut through. Very well-worth the effort tho!

The carp are mostly used for fertilizer. It's not uncommon for us to shoot a few dozen of them in a few hours, and frankly I don't eat that much fish in a year! But they are very hard to make tasty. We usually dump them on a farmer's land that LOVES them as fertilizer, so they're not wasted. Alot of people don't care for the fact that they're not eaten, but there's too many of them in our water-ways because other fish don't eat alot of them either. We just try to get as many of them out of the water as we can, and bowfishing is the best way to do that, short of netting them. The DNR here in Illinois has contacted our club several times over the past 3 years to help them 'clean up' a few different lakes in the state. It's cost-effective for the state and it's enjoyable to us, so we do what we can. The boat was a great means-to-an-end here. Plus, it looks good on the water.  I'm really glad you guys like it.


----------



## baptistpreach (Jan 22, 2009)

I've got no problem with the fact you don't eat them, I've heard they are very involved to make them good, but I suppose the Chinese would disagree :lol: . They are considered an invasive species, and considering they produce 1 million eggs per pound they weigh each year.... I don't suppose you're really gonna wipe them out anytime soon. I'd love to shoot some myself


----------



## bowman5 (Jan 22, 2009)

baptistpreach said:


> I've got no problem with the fact you don't eat them, I've heard they are very involved to make them good, but I suppose the Chinese would disagree :lol: . They are considered an invasive species, and considering they produce 1 million eggs per pound they weigh each year.... I don't suppose you're really gonna wipe them out anytime soon. I'd love to shoot some myself




I HIGHLY recommend you give it a try. The first night my buddy and I went out on his boat, we shot 83, and that was in about 4 1/2 hours. And we missed ALOT.


----------



## Captain Ahab (Jan 22, 2009)

Go catch some on a rod and reel - they are some of the best fighting fish around


And where else can you consistently catch fish that size


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (Jan 22, 2009)

> Alot of people don't care for the fact that they're not eaten, but there's too many of them in our water-ways because other fish don't eat alot of them either



those people are weenies. i wish some bowfishers would come up to our local river and shoot some. you'll be wading down the river and a gaint carp will be swimming rite next to your legs. they havent been helping the smallmouth bass and native trout population to say the least. , wich our river is known for.


----------



## Il.xthunter (Apr 24, 2012)

May I ask What lake you took all those fish at my son is dying to bow fish. He has a mission menace with ams reel just looking for a spot.


----------



## novaman (Apr 26, 2012)

AWESOME!!! =D> =D> =D> . You turned a pc of scrap into something really nice. Fantastic workmanship, great to see the Younger generation is every bit as dedicated to their craft as past ones were. Keep up the good work. Nice job on the rough fish!


----------



## pepperrocks (Apr 26, 2012)

That is a sweet set-up..


----------



## Gators5220 (May 3, 2012)

Man that is some seriously nice looking wood work, I used to be a carpenter for about 8 years putting myself through undergrad and have to say nice job man, that's real sharp! =D> Are you all done with her or any more plans for the boat?


----------

