My First Boat and Build, HELP!

My grandparents were in need of money and I was getting back into fishing a lot lately and fishing the local canal was becoming a drag (pun intended). So long story short I bought my grandfathers 14' Aluminum Sea Nymph. He also threw in a 5.5hp Johnson Seahorse. It didnt have a trailer so I had to find one elsewhere. I found one a short drive away for a $200 that came with a 12' Fiberglass boat. I didnt need that so I gave it to my cousin to do whatever he'd like with it. Back to the topic at hand. I know own an aluminum boat and I've never owned a boat, raft, dingy, kayak, etc in my life so Ive opened up a whole new can of worms...yes i did it again. Im coming to you members because I have no clue and need some help answering my questions. Ill have pictures to reference my questions as well.

Questions:
-Is it fine to remove the stock benches out of the boat but not the bottom mounting bracket because the rivets go through the hull into the center support on the bottom of the boat? Can i just pound them down out of the way?
-What is the best material to use for the framework to build the casting deck/storage areas; Aluminum or Pine Wood? Pros and Cons?
-What is the best way to seal the wood used in the boat? Fiberglass resin, etc?
-When Building the framework how do i know whats level in boat relative to how its going to sit on the water? Dont want to be standing at an angle while out on the water.
-I have a couple spots that need fixing via welding. Whats better Tig (which i have) or the Muggy Weld kit that requires Oxy/Acetylene (which i have as well just tanks are empty)
-How do i go about sealing the seams on the inside and outside of the boat? Whats products best to use?
-I want to protect the outside/underside of the boat, whats the best product to use?
-I want to paint the upper portion of the hull, Is there a specific paint and primer to use? Marine specific?
-Do/Should I run a bilge pump and float switch?
-Where can i find a 2 hose fuel hook up for my Johnson Seahorse motor?

And I had to clean out the tank I got with the boat. Nothing a little Electrolysis didnt take care off.

Man, that looks like a fun project. I am sure you will learn a lot along the way. If you go through my build I have covered a lot of this. As far as welding aluminum. Tig is always the best to use on aluminum, just ensure a clean surface before you start. If you really had to remove the benches, which I wouldn't advise. You should drill them out and grind the head flush then pound out with a punch.

So your suggesting that i just build around the existing benches then. Ill have to repair them as well then. Some of the edges of the benches the aluminum has actually torn, from what...i don't know. They are made of pretty thin aluminum (1/16) as it is and only have styrofoam packed under them. So structually i dont think they actually add much rigidity. I could probably add some aluminum angle iron to the side of the boat with some rivets and then weld the seams and use wood to mount between them to acutally add strength to the hull.

I'm working on an Alumacraft Model F and have some leaky rivets/seams. I purchased some Gluvit and will post on my progress so you can see how it works.

I was reading in the other guys post and he used it. Apparently it works great. They sell this water resistant spray on coating at my local Lowes that i was looking at. Its in aresol form and only costs $10 a can. Thing is i dont know how far 1 can will go. And the gluvit is $50 for a 2lb can and thats the cheapest i could find it online.

Well I had a wild hair up my butt and an engineering plan in mind so i went and ripped out the bench seats anyways. There wasnt nothing to them and they came out surprisingly easy.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=361368#p361368 said:

xxxKYDxxx » Yesterday, 20:26[/url]"]

Questions:
-Is it fine to remove the stock benches out of the boat but not the bottom mounting bracket because the rivets go through the hull into the center support on the bottom of the boat? Can i just pound them down out of the way?
-What is the best material to use for the framework to build the casting deck/storage areas; Aluminum or Pine Wood? Pros and Cons?
-What is the best way to seal the wood used in the boat? Fiberglass resin, etc?
-When Building the framework how do i know whats level in boat relative to how its going to sit on the water? Dont want to be standing at an angle while out on the water.
-I have a couple spots that need fixing via welding. Whats better Tig (which i have) or the Muggy Weld kit that requires Oxy/Acetylene (which i have as well just tanks are empty)
-How do i go about sealing the seams on the inside and outside of the boat? Whats products best to use?
-I want to protect the outside/underside of the boat, whats the best product to use?
-I want to paint the upper portion of the hull, Is there a specific paint and primer to use? Marine specific?
-Do/Should I run a bilge pump and float switch?
-Where can i find a 2 hose fuel hook up for my Johnson Seahorse motor?

And I had to clean out the tank I got with the boat. Nothing a little Electrolysis didnt take care off.

Click to expand...

Just my limited 2 cents.
-Keep the benches. They help with the structure and flexing of the boat.
-I used wood. 2x4's and 3/4" plywood. A bit heavy, but it was my cheap option. I didn't have any way to build a custom aluminum fame.
-I used Spar Urethane to seal my wood. Minimum of 3 coats and a very light sanding in between.
-Regarding the angle of the platform I built. I used a plumbob and some angles to get it flat, but wasn't worried about the perfect fit. I think you will know what is flush. Also, I used 2x4's from the very front "foot step" to the first bench, and just worked from there.
-I had my hole welded by a local welder. Don't know what he used, but I was a very smooth good job.
-What do you want to protect? Are you going to paint?
-I used self etching primer and Rustoleum Oil Based Enamel. Works great.
-Bilge and float seem like if you have the time and money... and preference.
-the duel hose line you can find on Ebay. had to get some myself.


hope some of the helps.

Building my front deck was my first attempt at actually fabricating with aluminum. It goes really fast, riveting together at the connection points, it is lighter than wood, and will not rot.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=361531#p361531 said:

Timtactical » 29 Jul 2014, 23:11[/url]"]Building my front deck was my first attempt at actually fabricating with aluminum. It goes really fast, riveting together at the connection points, it is lighter than wood, and will not rot.

Click to expand...

Aluminum is expensive in retail form. Try to salvage it where you can. I think now I have enough aluminum to build my front casting deck. I salvaged it from an old army cot that someone had tossed in a dumpster. Old extension ladders are a good resource as well.

I know its expensive, but I think the framing could be had for around $75. Doing it once is worth the extra cost to me.

well I got the tank exchanged and got ready to weld it up, Its aluminum...how hard could it be? Well apparently its a son of a ***** because thats all that came out of my mouth for an hour or two. I gave up on that and called my uncle up. He welds for a living and said he'll do it up for me

QUICK QUESTION

Are these style of boats stable up front when a flat deck is installed? Or are they kind of tippy side to side becuase the front is a V instead of a flat bottom? I dont know squat about these boats.

Tippy.

V bow cuts through waves because it is narrow. It is less stable because it is narrow.

Just part of the package.


Have fun, be safe.

I think i should be ok as long as i stay behind the V portion. And that doesnt start until about 2ft from the front of the boat. Other then that its flat the rest of the way back. I plan on having a compartment forward on the boat so i'll be back a little bit soooo i think i'll be ok. As long as im not up there dancing back n forth :|

Another Question

What lines/adapters/fittings will i need to connect my fuel pressure tank to my outboard? I have no clue what to look for. The motor is a Johnson 5.5 Seahorse. Im guessing from the 60'S era.
If someone could find a picture or Ebay post to show me exactly it is that I need.

looks like a lot of fun, keep the pics coming as you progress...

Got the boat up to my uncles shop and he welded up the spots that needed it quick. Now I can Leak Test it and then address those issues.

Well backed the boat out to the pond behind the garage and tossed in the sump pump. Filled up pretty quickly and even sucked up a crawfish lol. As I anticipated it leaked around where the welds were made. Im guessing due to the heat warping the surrounding areas and melting the sealant the factory put in back in the 60's. Other then that I think only 3 rivets need replacing. I may just give them a tap with a ballpeen and a rounding tool. As for the other seams I need to get a Water resistant Sealant/Epoxy. I have a few ideas of what to get but whats everyones thoughts on these products below?

From what I've read here, most prefer either the Gluvit or the 3M 5200 with the scale tipping towards the 5200. I've had several people tell me that the spray liner actually will leak. Can't say about the other one. Never heard anything about it.

Yeah I think my plan is going to be to Use almost all of them. I'll probably go on the inside with the 5200 in all the cracks, crevices, seams, etc and then go over that once its cured with a couple shots of FlexSeal. And then on the outside I'll go over the rivets and seams with GLUVIT. I dont know of any other ways to seal it off. And just to be on the safe side i'll install a bilge pump hooked up to a float switch.