Alumacraft Fisherman 150 SC rebuild

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
This is my first boat rebuild. It is also my first first post on the forum. I picked this boat up about a year ago. I purchased it with the intention of rebuilding it however with summer and salmon season approaching when i bought it, i decided it had to wait. Now that hunting and fishing seasons are in the "off season" here in the pacific northwest, now is the time to rebuild it. I havent found many, if any boat rebuilds from up here in the PNW but i hope you enjoy it.

1994 Alumacraft 150. Measures 14 ' 6" end to end and 67" across at its widest point
2016-02-06 13.58.16.jpg
2016-02-06 13.58.32.jpg

I have enjoyed the boat for a while now and know what i want and dont want when i rebuild it. Since the boat will be used for salmon fishing the bays and rivers here in the PNW i look to maximize my floor space while keeping the console. I decided to keep the console as i find it convenient when pulling crab pots as well as its fun when i am using the boat for play. However i need the most floor space possible. This helps tremendously when fighting salmon and being able to move around the boat when fighting the fish. High level plans include replacing the floors with something much better suited for the PNW environment. Carpet just doesnt cut it around here. Id also like to push the console forward a bit, while pushing the rear bench back a bit as well. This should give me just enough room to fish three comfortable for salmon in spring and fall, and still be able to use my casting decks in the summer for warm water species. Repaint of the interior, refinish the console, add a half windshield to the console. Re wire of the boat from front to back to revive the navigation lights as well as install some interior lights for illumination while preparing to fish before sun up. Id am also going to clean up and reorganize the storage as well as change how the gas tanks and battery are stored to hopefully find a better balance in the boat and open up some storage. I will also be installing a larger single gas can (up to 8 gallons hopefully) with a split fuel line so i can have the appropriate fitting for my two different motors, without having to carry a second can of gas.


Up first is taking care of some basics. The boat seemed heavy when i ran it and i suspected the old wood in the boat was soaked and possibly the factory foam was holding water that being said it would still do 31 MPH with nissan 25hp. I got to pull the first prices up tonight and my suspicions were confirmed. The floor was soaking wet and the foam was a sponge. As far as i got tonight on the short time frame but will keep this updated as i go.
2016-02-06 20.45.11.jpg
2016-02-06 21.13.39.jpg
 
Day 2
Was able to spend some time on the boat today. Spent the first part of the day drilling out rivets and removing the old sheet metal so that i could get to the floor. The old floor was absolutely SOAKED from years of neglect. Honestly for as much time as i spent on the boat this last year i am surprised it held up as good as it did.
2016-02-12 14.24.57.jpg
2016-02-12 15.19.09.jpg

Once the floor was up it was time to remove all the foam underneath. As i had suspected by how how heavy the boat was, the foam was literally soaking wet. Also, i was kind of shocked by how poor of a job Alumacraft did at putting foam in the boat. Had i taken on water, im not sure i would have floated anyways...
2016-02-12 15.52.23.jpg
2016-02-12 17.50.37.jpg

Ill be back at it tomorrow, cleaning the boat out and pressure washing the hull to prep for gluvit and paint next week. I also need to figure out how to seal these holes. It used to be the livewell intake and drain. I dont have access to a welder and dont want to use just a regular bilge plug. Id like something more permanent. Any suggestions?
2016-02-12 17.54.50.jpg
 
Are you going to change the lay out? No kidding about the lack of foam.
You could rivet a patch sealed with 3M5200 over the 2 holes or if you think you or the next owner could use the holes put new thru hulls fittings with plugs in them.
 
Day Three

I needed to get the motors taken off the boat so i could finish stripping the rest of the boat down. First i needed to build a stand to hang them on. After a quick google images search i whipped this stand up so i could hang the motors for storage a bit of work at a later date.
2016-02-13 16.42.06.jpg

With that done i was able to push the boat outside and get out the pressure washer and clean out the remaining dirt and crap that was left in the boat
2016-02-13 15.58.27.jpg

Now i need to apply a little elbow grease and try to get the remaining gunk out of the bottom of the boat, remove a little bit of carpet adhesive and prep the interior for gluvit and new paint. I also will be picking up some marine grade and once the templates are cut i will be able to go back and forth between layers of paint in the boat and layers of resin prepping the floor. I need to refoam the boat, will probably use pool noodles if i can find any this time of year, and install some conduit for the electrical before i put the new floor in. I am open to any other suggestions as this is my first build.
 
Pool noodles are not as good a choice as the foam insulation panels.
Marine plywood isn't necessary ABX ACX BCX are good and less expensive.
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
Pool noodles are not as good a choice as the foam insulation panels.
Marine plywood isn't necessary ABX ACX BCX are good and less expensive.

do you know what the name of the foam insulation is? I have only seen it referred to as "the blue stuff" lol. If I remember correctly I am looking for closed cell foam.
 
It's the pink or blue extruded foam insulating panels. Pink is Corning's trademark color, blue is another companies color. They are closed cell.
 
Day 4 and 5

Wasnt planning on it at first but decided to go all out and prep the outside of the boat along with the inside of the boat for paint at the same time. While i was planning on painting the boat myself, after all this prep work, i am not sure why i dont just drag the boat down to an auto shop and have them spray the inside and outside for me and save me the time. Figure they can spray whatever color i want along with bake it in there oven to harden it faster than i could. Price depending, should get me back to the rebuild sooner than later.
2016-02-26 17.53.41.jpg
2016-02-26 17.53.52.jpg
I also took all the carpet off my old flooring in preparation for cutting my new flooring. strangely enough, the original flooring was in three separate thicknesses, from 1/2" on the floor, 1" on the casting deck and 3/4" on the anchor/ trolling motor nest. so.. i have some figuring to do, to replicate how i am going to rebuild it without having to buy three all different thicknesses. Against the recommendation of others i spent the money on the marine flooring thinking there must be something to it, or they wouldnt manufacture it.
2016-02-27 11.56.54.jpg

Still some questions about floor coverings, i requested a sample of hydroturf three weeks ago but havent received it yet. I might just use fiberglass resin to protect the floor and paint it and add sand for some grip for while fishing and just use a piece of outdoor carpet while using the boat for play.
 
Day 6 and 7

Got down to the last of the cleaning of the boat, had to get my boy involved to get a skin in the game.
2016-03-04 10.43.14.jpg

With the final surface prep done, i was able to apply a coat of gluvit. I covered all the seems and the the rivets on the keel and chines.
I was very impressed at how stinkin hard that stuff dries.

After this important step I begin cutting and test fitting all my floor and deck lids. While it went fairly fast it was still a lot of measuring cutting, re measuring, re cutting etc... i ended up going through and implementing all of 3 sheets of 1/2 and one sheet of 3/4.
2016-03-04 17.00.09.jpg

During this time there is also a TON of thought that needs to go into the placement of all the little things, such as bilge pumps, hoses, wiring, etc..
2016-03-04 14.36.29.jpg
I chose to automatic 750GPH pumps, one of which will be auto and switched, both will be hard wired to the battery

To make sure that it all fit i had to partially resemble the boat. I lengthened the bow piece by 4 inches to give my extra storage / battery storage for the trolling motor when needed. I also added hatch doors over the splash well to give me a bit more deck space as well as clean up the look, and cover the gas cans. There is now also additional storage under the rear bench, which will also serve as a rear casting deck. in keeping with the extra storage motto i also re arranged which compartment is used for storage in the front casting deck and will, the old storage now will house the extra foam.
2016-03-05 13.26.07 HDR.jpg
2016-03-08 16.12.01.jpg
2016-03-08 16.53.46.jpg
2016-03-08 16.54.28.jpg
2016-03-08 16.55.04.jpg
2016-03-08 16.55.32.jpg

And with all that i am pretty much done with test fitting of the floors. Next i will be cutting out the holes for the seat posts etc... i will be moving the console, throttle linkage and drivers seat forward about 10 inches to give just a bit more space in the boat.
 
Great project you have going and love all the pictures! I'm interested to see if you will go to the auto paint route versus doing the paint yourself. The wood flooring came out nice. Are you going to seal the plywood somehow? I ask because I'm doing a much smaller project than yours, and I came across these products "CPES" which I googled:
https://www.google.com/#q=clear+penetrating+epoxy+sealer
There seems to be several companies selling it, and it seems like even if you only buy a small size and do all of the end cuts of your plywood, that it would be cheap insurance to seal those edges. Please keep us posted, and thanks.
 
uncndl1 said:
Great project you have going and love all the pictures! I'm interested to see if you will go to the auto paint route versus doing the paint yourself. The wood flooring came out nice. Are you going to seal the plywood somehow? I ask because I'm doing a much smaller project than yours, and I came across these products "CPES" which I googled:
https://www.google.com/#q=clear+penetrating+epoxy+sealer
There seems to be several companies selling it, and it seems like even if you only buy a small size and do all of the end cuts of your plywood, that it would be cheap insurance to seal those edges. Please keep us posted, and thanks.

At this time I have decided on roll and tip method. For one, just to paint my own boat. Two the boat still has some imperfections and I'm okay with that, it's a fishing boat. Three, if I scratch it up I'll have the paint and know how to touch it up.

As far as the floors, at this time I'm leaning towards thinned fiberglass resin. Using two or three coats should really help to encapsulate the wood. As long as I mount and brace it right I shouldn't have to much flex which could result in a crack in the resin and slow moisture to seep in. Always interested in feedback though
 
I don't know how well polyester resin will soak into the wood. Every time I've wet out glass on plywood, it just sticks to the surface, and builds up (cracking and weight). You may be better off with an other type of sealer.
 
Day.... i dont even know any more. Maybe like 8,9,10, 13, 15?

Time for an update. I have been hard at work but steadily making progress. I needed to assemble some piano hinges for the hatches. challenges were, i couldnt find them with the flange shape i needed, and i made the floor and casting deck from two different thickness of wood. ooh.... the things i would do differently next time. Anyways here are a few picks of the hatch hinges.
2016-03-18 14.44.22.jpg
2016-03-18 14.44.50.jpg
2016-03-18 18.35.16.jpg

After i finished the hatches, it was time to finish the prefit and pre drill of the flooring and such so i could take everything out to start final prep. Here are a few pics.
2016-03-22 17.29.10.jpg
2016-03-26 16.43.08.jpg
2016-03-26 16.43.20.jpg

I decided against fiberglass resin and decided to use multiple coats of spar. the bottom and the sides getting most of the attention. I will use rustoleum proffesional with hardener for the top coating on the decks. This week i will be painting the inside of the boat so that i can install floatation, finish wiring and start final installation of the flooring/ decking.
 

Attachments

  • 2016-03-26 16.43.08.jpg
    2016-03-26 16.43.08.jpg
    50.6 KB · Views: 502
Progress report (Edit, not sure why but some of the pictures uploaded sideways, sorry!)

While this has taken me much longer than i thought it was going to, i have really enjoyed myself and have learned a ton. Here are some progress pictures.

Rustoleum Gloss white with valspar hardener
2016-04-07 13.50.46.jpg

with the interior painted i could move to installation of the floor. Floor is painted with Rustoleum Smoke Gray with Valspar hardener. Added grit for grip on the floor and garage floor epoxy flakes for some contrast.
2016-04-08 18.43.01.jpg
2016-04-12 19.07.51.jpg
2016-04-16 11.34.16.jpg
2016-04-14 19.44.30.jpg

With the flooring in i could start final assembly steps
2016-04-19 20.40.46.jpg
2016-04-20 20.47.00.jpg
2016-04-23 15.21.40-1.jpg
2016-04-23 15.22.11 HDR.jpg

Still have a ways to go but getting closer
 

Latest posts

Top