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Average_Joe

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Hello fellow Tinboaters,

My names Joe, I'm from upstate New York, Syracuse area, and a new addition to the forum, and I figured what better way to introduce myself than to post up the project I have recently taken on. All opinions and recommendations are welcome!

A couple weeks ago a close friend of mine sold me a little aluminum fishing boat that he had scooped up a while back, and never found time to put to use. It's a 1970 Duracraft 1432, with trailer, and a 9.9 Johnson (I believe), an older min Kota bow mount trolling motor, with all paperwork, for $500. Deal! I got it home, and started surfing the web, and came across a killer forum, Chuck full of information... Maybe have heard of it? Tinboats.net :) After some research, and snooping on some of the forums locals builds, I decided iv GOTTA customize my new "fishing vessel" So here's the blue prints... The boat currently has 3 seats, I'm thinking king about removing the middle seat, with just one in the back and one up front, to open up some floor space for tackle and comfort. I would like to add a smalllll deck over top of the first bench seat forward, roughly 3ft'ish, no higher than the existing bench (other than the plywood) I would like to add a floor to the rest of the boat, aloung with necessary lights, ect. Aloung the way. Finish that up with a nice Steel flex paint job.

So I began the project the other day by drilling out rivets, and mapping out some blue prints, and figuring out the framing for the small deck up front. I will update this post as I go :)

What do you guys recommend for plywood? Iv planned on using 3/4", but do I go pressure treated or no? Pine/oak/maple?

What would you recommend for a water sealing product?

Here's a couplE Before pics to start :)
 

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Hi Joe! :WELCOME:

$500 for all of it?!? Yes sir, you got a deal! Neat little boat. We have one very similar, just a different brand. It is pushed by a 1971 9.5 Johnson as well. Small, but easily gets into the tight places.

I'm not sure about cutting out a seat, as in, the structure. I'd check that out first. Don't want to damage the hull or lose stability.

#1 Rule of aluminum: Never, EVER, use treated lumber. Not good for aluminum.

Marine grade plywood is best, and it is a bit pricey. However, you can use regular plywood and coat it with stain, paint or urethane* it. If you do use regular, be sure to coat it really well, all over, to help preserve the wood. Otherwise, you'll be replacing it in only a few years.

There are many brands and types of sealers, depending on what you are wanting to seal. Be specific about what you are sealing and you will get some good answers and advice.

Why are you drilling the rivets out and on what? How strong is the transom? Oak is what we use for the transom. It is a great hard wood, but it is a heavy hard wood. Pine is a softer wood and will surely rot out faster. Whatever you use, coat it! It will give it a longer life.

Hope this helps. I'll be watching your progress! Keep the pics coming!

Again, Welcome aboard!

Keith
Tyler, Texas

*I conversed with a really nice guy a week or so ago about a product he used on his wood. It was not urethane, but I can't remember what it is. I will look back on my posts and find it for you.
 
Spar Urethane. It is for outdoor use and is not suppose to "yellow" in the sun.

I've not used it yet, but I will when I get the wood ready for the seats.
 
Thank you for the responses! I plan on heading to lowes today to see what I can find for plywood. I believe the last time I was in there I had priced out some 3/4" Oak plywood for roughly $40 a sheet. I'm building the frame work out of 2x2, and aluminum angle braces for support, and Conside ring the framing will only be approx 2ft long and the width of the boat, I believe it will be plenty strong. As for drilling out the rivets, in the boat the middle seat is more of a storage compartment, which has 2 flip up/open hatches original to the boat, with no floatation inside. To me it doesn't look like it could be supporting much, if anything other than two aluminum hatches :) They riveted through the side of the boat, in which I have drilling out, and in the process of replacing with new 3/16th rivets, and 3m 5200 to ensure a tight seal. The plan right now is to get all of the wood work mocked up, and once everything has been constructed, removing the framing and decking for a weeks worth of weather sealing. While that's all taking place I plan to give it a thorough bath, and a nice Steel flex beauty treatment ;-)

Looking forward to getting to this point so I can begin dolling her up withe the trolling motor, battery, fish finder, and figuring out a nifty way to stash some oars and life jackets. I'm significantly more excited about this project then I ever would have imagine .

Fish On
 
Well I got to work I little this evening after work. Preparing for the deck build and finished removing the seat...
 

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The oak plywood is not the best choice for on a boat. You want an exterior grade plywood look for an X in the grade of the plywood. ACX, BCX, CDX The X means it was made with waterproof glues where the oak plywood wasn't.
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
The oak plywood is not the best choice for on a boat. You want an exterior grade plywood look for an X in the grade of the plywood. ACX, BCX, CDX The X means it was made with waterproof glues where the oak plywood wasn't.

That's right. You are so right! My bad, I wasn't thinking "plywood". Sorry 'bout that.

We do not use plywood. We use slab oak. Actually, it came from one of our trees several years ago. Had it cut down and milled, then left it to dry. Hard as nails now, and I sure don't want to have to drive a nail in it. :lol:

Apologies. I would never want to give someone bad advice or steer someone in a wrong direction.

Keith
Tyler, Texas
 
I'd be a little concerned about the structural integrity of the boat after you removed the seat, it doesn't look like your ribs go up the side of the boat at all?
 
JustinS said:
I'd be a little concerned about the structural integrity of the boat after you removed the seat, it doesn't look like your ribs go up the side of the boat at all?
If the ribs are just on the floor and you want to remove the seat you will need to add some kind of structural support for the sides of the hull.
 
Structural integrity is definitly something I will be taking seriously as the project progresses. I haven't totally decided how I will go about doing so, but I would like to do it on a way where it will be unseen. I have though about building some narrow "storage" aloung either side, that I could frame out of aluminum square stock and mount from side to bottom, and maybe across the floor... Just thinking out loud at the moment, but some sort of addition will be made to help support the structure...

Well, I just got home from the hardware store with a sheet of 23/32 weather proof plywood. Time to get back to work boys :) I'll post up some pictures later
 
Couple quick pics for you guys. Progressing slowly but surely. I work a 7pm-7am shift, so on my days off I seem to have the most amount of motivation, to get out in the crudy NYS and do somethinG. But last night I finished up my deck framing, and picked up a sheet of 23/32 "weather proof" plywood (Limited Lifetime Warranty :')

Off of work this weekend so I hope to get a bunch of work done Friday and Saturday . I plan to get my plywood cut to size, and begin work on reinforcing the stern, and building storage between. The stern and seat. :) It's coming aloung
 

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The seat you removed was supporting the sides of the boat flexing toward/away from the center-line of the boat which will definitely happen if you are on your gas motor and start hitting chop. Compare the ribs along your floor to the style used on the new alumacrafts that are pictured on their website and you'll see what people are talking about with the side support that your floor rib design doesn't provide. Not a big deal, but you should address it in your build is all.

If you build storage boxes down the sides of the boat they'll act like buttresses provided that you tie the sides of the boat into them and attach them to your floorboard. Might as well re-use the old seat's rivet holes rather than punch new ones. Either that or run some sort of brace from the old rivet holes to your new floor. 1432 is a narrow boat though, make sure as you're designing everything you think about your maneuverability once you're out on the water with it.


One other thing, being an older boat, before you get too far down the rabbits hole with flooring make sure it doesn't have any leaks if you haven't already. Being in the Syracuse area this might be tricky to do before the snowpack melts and it warms up outside, but grab a garden hose and fill the bottom of the boat while it's on the trailer 2"~3" with water and see if it leaks out anywhere. Better to fix leaks now than deal with them behind a screwed down floor.
 
Great information. I will definitly do as you stated above and leak test the boat prior to floor boards. As of right now my framing is only floating on the angle, nothing has been mounted yet, only mocking up right now this way I can still pull the framing prior to full install to weather treat the frame work. As fore the structural reinforcement, I am relieved to hear that we had the same concept on how to go about doing so. This is my first build, and I am definitly a novice in this field, but I am already catching the "Aluminum Boat modification" bug. Some day down the road I would love to find an old bass tracker style boat, 16-18ft on craigslist to scoop up for cheap and goto town with.

Next step, will be reinforcing the stern, and building the storage compartment. Considering the aspect of weight, what would you guys recommend for thickness plywood for the floor, and possible side storage boxes. Do you think I can get away with 1/2", or shall I run with 3/4" throughout?
 
your floor ribs are spaced apart well - you could go 1/2 and just put extruded polystyrene foam board (insulation board from a big box home center) between the ribs to support the thinner wood & save a lot of weight.
 
Fellow ny'er.. Picking up a buddy waterfowlers old boat in a couple weeks. made a trip to liverpool to get a motor. now i wish i went bigger than a 4hp 4stroke... im from north shore of oneida lake!
 

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