Benjineer's Lund S-16 Mod

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benjineer

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
340
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3
Location
Ellisville, MS
Here are the before pictures. I bought this in July in WI and hauled it back to MS. From what I can tell, it is a '77 model with '85-'87 model motors. I plan to remove most of the middle bench and adding a floor, front casting deck, and bow-mount trolling motor. Planning to make this a bass and inshore saltwater machine. I'm not going to get super fancy with it. It will be carpet-free, but it might get some new paint. I'll try to post here and another site I've been getting ideas from. Thanks for looking. Advice and ideas are welcome. That's what I'm here for. This is the 3rd boat I've worked on. The others are on my personal website at benjineer.com.IMG_8735_small.JPGIMG_8737_small.JPGIMG_8739_small.JPGIMG_8741_small.JPGIMG_8742_small.JPGIMG_8743_small.JPG
 
Here are more pictures of the progress. Trying to get up-to-date since I was already posting on another site. Someone had asked how you operate two tillers at once. Here is a pic of the clamps that are on each for "cruise control". The steering is linked with a tie bar.Cruise Control.jpg
Stripping it down and removing most of the middle bench. I decided to leave some for support, etc. for now.IMG_8800_small.JPGIMG_8808_small.JPGIMG_8809_small.JPG
That gave me a 28" walk-through space. Then I went back and cut some more out which left about 29-1/2". The little benches will be about 15" wide. I had the pieces I cut out folded into some end caps for the small benches and some L-brackets for mounting other things. Here are some pics of the floor going in and out. I'm still not satisfied with it, so it is coming out to get more support underneath. I'm not attaching the wood frame to the Al floor braces, but it will not be removeable when I'm done. The floor is 1/2" treated with 2x4 stringers. It's heavy right now, but the wood is still wet. As purchased, it topped out at 19mph with two guys and a light load. 17mph when we added two more. I've got a feeling I'll be wishing for more power when I'm done, but what I have will have to do for now though.IMG_8818_small.jpgIMG_8819_small.jpgIMG_8821_small.jpgIMG_8822_small.jpgIMG_8824_small.jpg
Here's one of the fuel tank where it goes. This is after I added a sending unit and reconfigured for proper venting, of course you can't see that part for the bottle. More on the fuel tank later.IMG_8820_small.jpg
 
nathanielrthomas said:
Twin 9.9 engines??!! :idea: :idea: How fast do those babies push that tin? You got me thinking brother....

I ran it as-purchased on a lake in WI that my inlaws live on. With about 6 gal gas and 350lbs of people it ran 19mph GPS. 17mph with about 650lbs of people. I only ran it once with just me, but didn't check the speed. It planed higher and felt faster, so I'm guessing around 21. I also pulled my wife on a tube and was pleasantly suprised. I think I could've tossed her off if I'd been trying. The boat is rated for a 40HP. I do have an '05 Johnson 9.9 long shaft I could put between them if there is room. Wouldn't that be crazy? Probably wouldn't be safe if I couldn't link the throttle cables together somehow. One engine wide open doesn't do much, so if you need to slow down in a hurry, killing one will do it.
 
benjineer said:
nathanielrthomas said:
Twin 9.9 engines??!! :idea: :idea: How fast do those babies push that tin? You got me thinking brother....

I ran it as-purchased on a lake in WI that my inlaws live on. With about 6 gal gas and 350lbs of people it ran 19mph GPS. 17mph with about 650lbs of people. I only ran it once with just me, but didn't check the speed. It planed higher and felt faster, so I'm guessing around 21. I also pulled my wife on a tube and was pleasantly suprised. I think I could've tossed her off if I'd been trying. The boat is rated for a 40HP. I do have an '05 Johnson 9.9 long shaft I could put between them if there is room. Wouldn't that be crazy? Probably wouldn't be safe if I couldn't link the throttle cables together somehow. One engine wide open doesn't do much, so if you need to slow down in a hurry, killing one will do it.

how would u steer all 3 engines :LOL2:
 
I'd need a tie bar for trips or weld something on the existing tie bar. I might have to start over because I'm not sure there's room for a third with the spacing as it is. I seriously doubt I'll go there. If 20hp is not enough, I'll probably sell them and buy a single 35 or 40.....or 2 20s...hmmm.
 
First Off, Nice TIN!

I would sell those tens in a heart beat and get something bigger and with one set of controls. Using that setup all the time would be tiresome and not very fun after a while. Seems like a lot to pay attention to while trying to drive a boat.
 
I'll be keeping an eye on this one...... Not to be a downer, but if that plywood is Pressure Treated, get it out of there soon!!! PT ply will react with the aluminum and cause pitting and corrosion fast.
 
Troutman3000 said:
First Off, Nice TIN!

I would sell those tens in a heart beat and get something bigger and with one set of controls. Using that setup all the time would be tiresome and not very fun after a while. Seems like a lot to pay attention to while trying to drive a boat.

Thanks! It's not as difficult to operate as I thought it would be, although I agree that a single would be simpler. It would be annoying if doing a lot of starting and stopping like pulling a tube or something. Here's the drill when running them both. Crank them both, go to full throttle with both, then don't touch the far one until you are ready to stop. You can alter speed dramatically by backing off on the one engine, since it will not stay on plane with just one. If I'm staying in one general area and just moving around a little, I just pick one engine up and use the other one.
 
perchin said:
I'll be keeping an eye on this one...... Not to be a downer, but if that plywood is Pressure Treated, get it out of there soon!!! PT ply will react with the aluminum and cause pitting and corrosion fast.

Thanks for the advice. I've been reading some about that. I'm planning to pull everything out and put some fresh paint inside the boat and on the wood as well. I will do my best to keep it out of contact with bare aluminum. I may even put some rubber coat or bedliner in areas where there could be rubbing. Is marine plywood ok? That is what was on the bench seats, and I plan to re-use some of it.
 
perchin said:
I'll be keeping an eye on this one...... Not to be a downer, but if that plywood is Pressure Treated, get it out of there soon!!! PT ply will react with the aluminum and cause pitting and corrosion fast.

I really like that yours is all aluminum. That is nice. Mine will probably get stripped and redone in the not-too-distant future. I'm just too undecided on the layout and to anxious to use it to go that far right now. The final build will probably have side storage like yours, and removal of the rest of the middle bench. I guess I could have gone with non-treated wood if it's that temporary.
 
cavman138 said:
wow we always joke around about having twin 9.9's. I didn't know there was a boat that actually had them. That's pretty funny.

Whoever did this planned it that way. The engine serial numbers are really close. They must have bought them new as a pair. The transom has some rot as you can probably guess from the aluminum plates on front and back. It's plenty sturdy for the little guys, but if I start looking at a single 30-40, it will require some more work. Looks like I've got to take a break for now. Promised I'd make some progress on our bathroom this weekend, and work is sending me to CA all next week.
 
Ok, need some help here. What size aluminum framing would you recommend for the casting deck? I was thinking 1-1/2 x 1/8" angle because it seemed to be the most popular on here. Also, if I wanted to deck it with aluminum, what thickness would you use? I attached my front deck that will hold the trolling motor this weekend. It is made from some al treadplate. I know I'm doing it out of order, but I had that ready and wanted to see what it looked like. I can take it back off to work on the casting deck. I also mounted switches and gauges, but did not hook them up. I will try to get some pics up.
 
Here are a few pics. I decided the floor will be done after I finish some of the necessities. I put the little board in there (last picture) to keep from getting cut on the remains of the bench.IMG_8860_small.JPGIMG_8861_small.JPGIMG_8862_small.JPGIMG_8863_small.JPGIMG_8864_small.JPGIMG_8865_small.JPG
 
I got my aluminum and got to work on the boat all day Saturday. I got most of the framing done for the front deck. I still have to add a couple more cross pieces. I think I will put two where my pedestal base will be, so I can screw directly into the framing. I also have to put one at the front about where I have the hinge laying. The area in front of the tank will be storage. IMG_9065_small.JPGIMG_9066_small.JPGI also got all the stickers removed from the outside.IMG_9067_small.JPG
 
For the decking with that spacing you could get by with .063 but .080 would be better, .100" would be overkill. Looks like a cool build.

Why not just rejet the carbs, then have twin 15's? $40 for 10 more HP is a prety good deal.

Jamie
 
Ranchero50 said:
For the decking with that spacing you could get by with .063 but .080 would be better, .100" would be overkill. Looks like a cool build.

Why not just rejet the carbs, then have twin 15's? $40 for 10 more HP is a prety good deal.

Jamie

Thanks for the advice. I've been watching your build also. I hadn't thought about rejetting. Is that all I've got to do? Just buy the jets for the same year model 15hp? I think I'm going to just go with some good ACX 15/32 ply for now. It's $30 a sheet at Lowe's. Besides, it won't make such a racket when I drop things on it. I now have a deadline to get this thing at least usable and legal. My dad and I got invited to go with a bunch of guys to one of the MS delta lakes the last weekend in October for crappie and catfish. I have to at least get the front deck on and the trolling motor and other electrical stuff hooked up. The floor can wait if it has to. I also want to repaint the outside before I put the new stickers on.
 
Thanks for the compliment on my build.

Between jets and some Boyensen reed valves that thing should fly. I did the reeds on my old 9.9 and it made a huge difference in performance. 19mph seems pretty slow. Would it plane out? My 1448 when overloaded with wet plywood wouldn't with the single 9.9, yours with twins should get up and go.

Jamie
 

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