14' V Hull Convert to Fishing Machine

Hey fellas, just pulled the trigger on a 14' ft V hull. Going to pick it up today. I'm going to be hard at work for the next few weeks getting this project done ASAP. I opted out of the motor that came with the boat (1972 6hp Merc) due to it being a bit too old and not enough push to it. My plan is to get most the mods done, then figure out how much power I really need for this one. I can't wait to get started. I'll be posting pictures every step of the way, and hopefully have it done by early May. Here's a picture of it from the ad on craigslist. I'll post more tomorrow when I get it back to my house. I live on a pond that restricts any gas motors, so I fish from the shore and my kayak. There are no bass in here, or at least none that I've been able to pull up, but there are plenty of crappie and yellow perch. The perch seem to be spawning already. They are the only ones biting so far (water is still pretty cold). Can't wait to get this boat on some lakes where I can pull in some serious bass.

This is my first attempt at reworking a boat. I've cleaned up and restored and 70's tri hull a few years back but that was child's play compared to what I'm about to attempt. I'll be looking to you guys for some advice and ideas. Here's the boat, and a perch I pulled in last night (still no crappie!).

That trailer looks interesting, is it a mono leaf? Boat looks to be in good shape congrats!

Great stuff. I am in the middle of rebuilding my 78 Gregor Vhull. I have a thread on it you should check out. [THUMBS UP SIGN][THUMBS UP SIGN][THUMBS UP SIGN]

Okay, got the boat back. The trailer is actually in pretty good shape, it's a multi leaf. The boat is a Sears boat, rated for 4 persons and 15 Hp max. The transom wood will need to be replaced all together. I'm going to fill it with water tomorrow to check for any leaky rivets. Looks as though someone had gone through more recently to patch up any leaks (I see some spots where caulking was used). The guy I bought it from had to reschedule for today so I had to wait patiently for two extra days (grueling). I'm going to draw up some potential plans and ideas tonight. First steps I'll be taking it making sure its watertight and getting all the transom wood out. Any suggestions for the initial clean up and readying work? Here's some quick pictures I snapped when I got back with it.

You should strip it down to bare bones. It makes cleaning it up a lot faster. Plus I'm sure you are upgrading the basics anyways. Power wash the inside and start brainstorming.

Hey all, did some initial clean up work today. It will be slow going until Saturday. I only have a few hours of day light after I get back from work. Took the seats off which proved to be harder then I was anticipating due to some bolts that didn’t want to move. Also removed some of the random cup holders and plastic bits that were around the boat. I checked it for leaks and several were found. I marked all the rivets that were leaking. Ideally I should replace the rivets, but would caulking them be just as effective? I've seen people do both on here. I'm not a purest, so I'm prone to sealing them up rather then replacing them. Is there any other reason I should replace them other then the purest factor? I plan on leaving the bottom of the hull unpainted.

Wanted to add some pictures of the trailer on here which seems to be in great shape except for the winch. I'm going to take it off tomorrow and give it a cleaning and see if its salvageable. It works just fine. If I'm missing something you guys see in the pictures point it out so something can be done about it! Haha. Clearly the brake light needs to be replaced.

Put some pictures of the boat with the seats taken off and a quick wash down. If time allows I'll take the transom wood off tomorrow which, as you can see in the picture, needs to be replaced. Still on the fence about the design. I'll keep you guys updated.

you going to go with the same color scheme?

I was thinking of painting the sides above the water line a deep green. The inside of the boat where it's blue will be mostly covered by decking, but I'm going to remove the paint for good measure. I have to budget out this project, but in the event I can swing it, I'd like to rhino line the inside of the boat. I'll have my full plan together within the next couple days, so if anyone has suggestions before I get it set in stone nows the time!

Alright, It's been a month since I last posted. I haven't given up or forgot about this site. I've had a crazy month and I've been fitting in working on this boat where ever I could. All things considered, I've actually made some decent progress. I've been snapping pictures along the way. First of all, I bought a motor. It's a 1984 15 hp Evinrude. It looks as though it had been sitting at the bottom of a lake for two years and some brave soul went to town on it. The fly wheel and block are both painted black (I'm assuming that was to cover up the rust). The pistons have been over bored, most likely due to a ring slip or some sort of damage. The spark plugs look like they hadn't been changed since it was overhauled. I bought this from a guy who had about 4 motors in his garage and this one was too much for his 12ft. He had bought it from the person who rebuilt it originally. I had him start it up and it ran wonderful. I did a compression test and it showed 95 on top and 100 on the bottom. The idle speed adjustment was not working so you could kill the motor by turning the throttle too far down. But overall it seemed like a bargain at $550. He even threw in a 6gal tank and line (after I pointed out some of those flaws). Anyway here are some pictures of it...

Sure is an interesting trailer...those evinrude 9.9/15hp are pretty tough motors.
I think everyone around here has atleast one,can't seem to kill them.

My best guess about the trailer is it was once a pop up camper. I've only had it on the road once but it did a great job on the highway and a few bumpy roads. I'm sticking with it for now.

Also in regards to the motor. I checked the carb out just for safe measure and replace a few gaskets for peace of mind. It looked pretty clean already but I gave it a nice go before putting it back together. Spark plugs had a lot of oil built up on them, didn't seem to affect performance at all seeing how it only took a few pulls to start it cold but I replaced them too, again, just to be thorough. I replaced the pull start and rope because it had seen better days, still worked fine, but didn't want it to snap while I was on the water. Not sure how many of you guys have taken out a pull start, but I made what I'm assuming is a classic mistake of not holding down the spring coil. That was a pain to get back in place! The few screws and plugs missing I replaced and put a new idle speed adjustment on there and she's in perfect shape for the water. That's the last bit about the motor, I promise.

Those few leaky rivets I had mentioned were plugged up using G/flex. It was the easy way out but the guy at the local marine store couldn't say enough about the stuff. Well, I did a sloppy job. My intentions were to completely cover the rivets and wet sand it after it dried. What I should have done it applied it as the directions told me to using just enough around the rivet using the syringe it came with. It's a bummer but no one will see it in the end, all the rivets are on the bottom of the boat. Good news is it worked and the boat no longer leaks, I guess that's most important. Either way, I then primed, painted and clear coated the boat. Came out pretty nice. Wasn't looking to have a sports car finish on it, just something that will hold up and pretty it up a bit. Along with doing that, I used a steal brush carefully to clean and polish up the bottom so it would shine on the water. Here are some pictures:

Also... Those old beat up boat seats that came with the boat were cleaned, repainted and reupholstered with marine vinyl to match the boat... check it out:

How did you do the reupholstery? How did you get the seat pad off/on? They look factory fresh!

I just got 3 of those seats on sale from a dealer near me thru bps. $30 each. The pads just pop off, they are in tight but they do come off...which is one of the reasons i got them. They wont ever rot out. cant wait to see the progression on mod

Thanks guys... actually the hardest part is getting the plugs back in. I had to use two pieces of wood and a C clamp to get the pressure I needed to pop them on (My thumbs still hurt from trying). The only other major issue was stapling the vinyl to the plastic backing. A normal staple gun won't push through the plastic. I needed to borrow a power stapler from a buddy of mine. It seemed like it would be very easy project, but as always, there's always a few snags.

Thanks, I would have never guessed you could do that with those seats!

Looking good

So about all the work I was planning to do this past weekend... I went fishing instead haha. In my defense, It rained Saturday and Sunday up here but that didn’t stop me from dropping it in the local lake for a test run. My reasoning was that I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the work I put into it unless I tried it out at least once before I modified the inside. I'm sticking to that. Either way it was a blast. I had just got the boat registered along with the trailer so it was finally legal to drop it in... so the first chance I got was on a rainy, windy day... I took it. The lake is split into 3 large sections and some parts of it were blocked from the wind so I was able to open her up. With the two of us in the boat (around 400-420 lbs), a full 6 gal tank and some fishing gear she was flying. I later picked up another friend adding about 150 lbs and it was still jumping right up on a plane, just a bit lower top speed. Very happy with 15 hp pushing her along. It will be good to compare top speed when I install the decks and floor. We stuck my friend we picked up in the middle seat and he snapped a picture while we were cruising.

As for the rest of the long weekend... It was memorial day weekend which meant BBQ and beer... and I got some amazing beers from Vermont for the occasion... I included some off topic beer pictures in case anyone else is into craft beer... heady toppers are one of, if not the best beer brewed in the states (If you're into IPAs), Hard to get your hands on them unless you live up this way and are willing to make the trip to Waterbury,Vermont (4.5 Hrs from Boston) and even then they sell out in a day or two from release.

I'll have the bench cut out and the interior coated in bed liner by the end of this weekend. No more procrastinating.