My 1972 Sears 12' machine

I am going to start off by saying, I appreciate all the feed back I will get on this in advance.
I have a 1972 12' sears v-hull that I will be turning into my own little fishing machine. If anyone has read Rick James's write up it will be similar to his, with a few twist.

I have removed all of the decals/ stickers because the entire exterior will be painted with steel flex and a rattle can green accent.

Now on to a (what do I do with this hole) question. When I bought the boat, it had a 1/4-20 bolt and washers sandwiched through the hull. with ALOT of silicone. After many, many hours of pondering. I was thinking of putting in a through the hull fitting and using it as an intake for a live well. I have already bought all of the material to make this happen. just curious as if anyone has any input before I actually pull the trigger.

Live well idea parts

possibly new decal replacement

live well is a great idea to use the hole. go after it

Hahahha that word be a cool sticker I'd put it on my rig

Had a fairly decent day as far as the weather goes and decided to get some work done.

a little progress today.

Nice looking paint, whatd you end up doing with the hole?

Nice looking rig. I decided to paint my entire boat hunter green since it will be used for waterfowl hunting. I like how you did your paint though. Seems like just enough to add color but you didn't overdo it. If you have any questions I have done about 10 of these boat projects and am happy to help.

jparrishbt said:

Nice looking rig. I decided to paint my entire boat hunter green since it will be used for waterfowl hunting. I like how you did your paint though. Seems like just enough to add color but you didn't overdo it. If you have any questions I have done about 10 of these boat projects and am happy to help.

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Thank you for the future help.. I am pretty much winging it as I go. I have read a lot of post on here, so I hope I have enough information to be dangerous. :shock:

P.S. My Wife said it needed to be green. Dunno why she said that. I just say yes dear and try not to make eye contact.

I painted the Flex Steel today, let it dry and parked it outside. I picked up @ 62 feet of aluminum square tubing and angle to start the flooring and other things as soon as I think it is safe enough to flip over on the trailer.

derekdiruz said:

Nice looking paint, whatd you end up doing with the hole?

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As soon at I can flip the boat back over I will be taking measurements for the seat plates and the live well. I will be using the accidental hole for a through the hull 1" fitting to create an intake for the live well.

Made a few modifications today. I realized once I complete a lot of what I have in mind for this boat, I will no longer be able to flip it over like I used to do to keep water out of it. Well, this little boat did not come with a drain plug so I added one. It is an Attwood Marine one used for PWC's. I thought to myself if I do not like it, I can always try something else. and it was inexpensive. :wink:

The other issue I tackled today was what to do with the hole someone else put in the bottom of the boat. I decided to use it for an intake pickup for a live well that I will be installing in the near future. I hope you enjoy.

Live well intake

great thinkin. I would love to see when the livewell is complete what she looks like with the boat ready to fish.

I had one of these same Sears Jon Boat when I was a kid, it had a 15 hp on it and man did it fly!

I know it has been a little bit since I last updated this thread, with travel, work, and a visit to Florida, very little time remains. BUT, I have had a couple of afternoons I was able to scratch my head and play with some ideas.

Nice, I like your layout, can't wait to see her complete!