** SeaArk 1652 Bass Boat Conversion - "The Dirty Oar" **

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ATW

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
51
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Location
Delavan Wisconsin
Hello all,

Longtime lurker and fan of the site. My project has taken me over 3 years to get where I am now (90% done) but I probably could've done it in a year had I busted my rear on it--but life happens and things get unfairly tossed on the back burner...like boats.

Me: 28 year old marketing manager and hot rod/muscle car & outdoors fanatic in SE Wisconsin, bought my first house in December with 3 car workshop, live-in girlfriend and a 6 year old son.

I purchased a 2001 Bass Tracker 'Pro Crappie' in the summer of 2012 with my previous girlfriend--my first real boat (aside from various puddle jumper jons I owned as a teen). It was ready to fish--but I never even launched it because we ended up breaking up shortly after and we sold it to avoid the argument over who gets what. But this isn't a tale about a Tracker...

I began my boat search again the following summer since I was single and ready to mingle. I've always been a fan of aluminum boats/bass boats because of the areas I fish and the risk of gouging glass fishing rigs. My father owned a 96 Skeeter ZX200 with a 200hp OMC that I fished in during my youth (sweet). Great boat for anything really, but semi-risky in the rivers I preferred to fish.

Browsing Craigslist in the summer of 2013, I found a local ad for a 'Sea Ark 1652 (all-welded hull), 40hp motor'. Very basic ad and no pictures. Had an asking price of $1600 for it. I could tell the person wasn't too e-mail/Craigslist savvy so I made an appt to check it out.

To make this long story short, this gentleman inherited this boat from his father-- the boat is a 1997 Sea Ark MV 1652, steering console, CMC Power Trim, 1974ish 40hp Evinrude, tilt trailer. I ended up getting the whole deal for $1200. 8)
It was carpeted from top to bottom with wood floors and some wood deck work and the trailer needed work. But the boat was last registered in 1999 so it was used only two summers its entire life--and it was in perfect cosmetic shape--not a dent. Here are some pics of when I first saw it. Don't get me wrong-- it was a hodge podge of wiring and rats nest but a diamond in the rough, none the less. Especially with a fully working power trim unit.

My plans are a fully functional, bass type boat with ZERO WOOD. All aluminum everything and everywhere.

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First thing I did was get the trailer up to snuff since it was a hairy first drive home-- flat tires and rotten hubs. The trailer needed paint, wiring, wheels, --pretty much everything.

I lost a TON of build pictures when I switched phones so bear with me.

I took the boat off the trailer and sanded the trailer down to bare metal. I primed it, and coated in a black bedliner. Sand blasted and painted all the roller brackets. The tongue on the trailer is extra wide for walking down. It had a 1 7/8 ball so I replaced with a new 2" coupler and redid the wiring. Added LED tail lights and side lights. Bought new 5 bolt hubs and a found some new rims and tires on Craigslist for cheap. Redid the bow stop, added a new winch and safety chain and a spare tire holder. Only need to add the home-made guide on using a ladder stabilizer and PVC pipe (thanks, TinBoats!)

Trailer is a now a million bucks!

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Also that summer, I decided to see if I could power the boat with a newer motor-- the 70s Evinrude wasn't jiving with me. I ended up finding a 1992 Johnson 25 HP with another aluminum jon boat steering console for $500. I sold the 40 HP Evinrude that was on my boat originally for $500. I then sold the extra steering console for $100 so I made $100 said and done-- and I had a nicer motor that should sufficiently pull this boat.

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The only other thing I did that summer was gut the boat of the wood and carpeting. The wood on some spots was spongy and gnarly and I wanted a clean slate.

Here it is empty and full of carpet glue residue:

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I actually didn't even work on the boat again until the summer of 2015. I spent the summer of 2014 collecting parts and things I needed to really hammer it out.

I was fortunate enough to live near a metal recycling center that WAS open to the public at the time-- and it was like man's playground. I stopped a few times a week and gathered some nice 1/8" aluminum signs/panels/angle/tube/whatever to make the decks and floors for this boat. It cost me less than $100 for all. The big sheet in the photo is 13 feet long!

Sadly, they changed owners and it is now closed to the public.

I also ordered an aluminum trolling motor bracket and aluminum jon boat throttle control bracket on eBay ($20)

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I really wanted a livewell for this boat and I was trying to utilize one that I could put length-wise in front of the back bench so it acted as a seat support and also sat lower than the back bench. Craigslist score once again-- found a guy who bought a smashed up Lund for the motor and was selling hatches and a plastic livewell with hoses and plumbing and pumps-- all for $80. It was about 48" long, 13" inches deep and 10" tall--perfect for my needs!

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My ex's brother-in-law was parting out a boat so I bought a fuel tank, fuel hose, Minn Kota 30lb bow mount trolling motor, transom saver, battery, and Humminbird fish finder for $100.
I sold the trolling motor shortly after for $150 so I was up $50 on this splurge.

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Since I was planning on adding that livewell as my seating area, this forced me to move the console more toward the front of the boat so the steering cable and throttle controls were now too short-- had to buy replacements of the correct length.

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I spent ALOT of time researching seats and what not. Temptress Navistyle would've been nice.. but.. EXPENSIVE. I found a set of 3 Springfield Mossy Oak Duck Blind camo seats on eBay for $115 and free shipping. I'm sure they'll fade like they all do.. whatever--cheap enough.
I bought the matching casting seat from Sportsman's Guide for $20.
My Dad had a box of boat stuff which included the bases and poles = Freebie.

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I also started acquiring a ton of electrical crap:

-Six gang switch panel
-Marine fuse block
-Livewell timer
-Auto/Manual Bilge Switch
-new Power Trim Switch
-Volt meter panel & Cig lighter port
-Tinned wiring and terminals
-Heat tubing
-Marine radio and speakers with aux port and USB
-Front and rear nav light sockets
-Trolling motor male and female connector

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First order of business was to assemble the rear deck. The areas next to the open space sat about 3/4" lower than the bench with the carpet glue on it. The plan was to even it out for even walking. The bench also had a bow in it so it held water so it needed to be leveled a bit too before I completely covered it in new aluminum. You can also the location of my new livewell where the seat will sit on top of.

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I cut and measured braces and bracket to level the area out before applying the aluminum sheets. I also stripped the carpet and cut down one the aluminum hatches I bought with the livewell to cover the fuel tank and battery area in the back. Mocked up one of the pedastal mounts too.

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Started to mount the floor supports for the flat floor-- riveted 2" angle brackets from corner to corner. Also mocked up the mounting for the livewell. The white fitting on the side of the livewell is my overflow (1.5") The fill is on the opposite side (3/4). The seats will bolt directly to the hatches and fold up with the hatches to access the livewell. I also cut the aluminum sheets for the back decking so it is seamless.

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I used a jig saw and a circular saw with a metal cutting blade for 99% of my cuts. I bought a cheap SkilSaw from a swap meet for $5 since I didn't want to cut metal with my nice Milwaukee!

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Started to mock up the front deck-- I extended the deck out to the 3rd set of ribs on the boat which made the deck exactly 7 feet long. I planned on putting two pedestal mounts on the front so I could fish up there with my 6 year old--he approves!

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I used 2" angle in 1/8 and 1/4" for the front deck. I recovered the original front deck because it was dented and bowed and held water like a bird bath.
I spaced out my bracing so I could add hatches to the tops for storage. The trolling motor battery and a dual bank charger will also be housed underneath the boat here too.

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Before and after of the front deck.

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Ordered a custom decal for the Dirty Oar!

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You can also see my livewell intake screen in the rear.

Finished the plumbing of the livewell. Always fun drilling large holes in the side of your boat! Also put foam in the floor and covered it in sheet metal. The livewell has a plug in the bottom and drains in the bilge when you pull the plug. It intakes from the right hand side via 3/4" hose and overflows/maintains level via the white 1.5" fitting on the left. In all likelihood, I don't know how often I'll use it so hopefully it all works as designed.

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Scored a Minn Kota All Terrain 55 for $225 in spring 2015. I think I am going to sell it since it is a 52" shaft and might be too long for this unit.
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In July of 2015, I was finishing up the sheet metal when my back gave out. I was sidelined for months and ended up having to have back surgery in September 2015. I believe I agitated from jumping in and out of the boat to get parts/tools all the time. This really put a damper on the build until this spring again. :(

I'm happy to report that I'm now about 90% back to normal. So, when I thought I would have this boat done for less <$2000, I was wrong-- tack on around $80,000 in medical bills. I now own an olive drab yacht.
 
Scored a pair of blemish Tempress hatches for $29 each on eBay. Good help is also hard to find these days...

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Finished up the sheet metal work this spring-- fully contained the livewell and boxed it all up. Added a drain hole in the floor to help keep the carpet dry. You can see the black livewell fill hose on the left side of the photo.

Started running some wires from the front lights and speakers, too.

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Did some final touches the front-- cut holes for the hatches, cut holes for speakers, ran wires for the trolling motor and front navigation lights.

And now...

CARPET!

I ordered 20 feet of taupe carpet from Sportsmans Guide-- it was about $80. Will be applying it with WeldWood Contact Cement.

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My sig other carefully cutting the pieces. A chalk line works well for straight lines on this.
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Applying carpet directly to existing aluminum sheet is an interesting job-- Its a lot less forgiving than wrapping wood and then bolting it into place.

Front deck is done aside from trimming the edges. Turned out nice all things considered. Mounted the hatches and pedastals and speakers. I also bought a manual adjustable pole for the casting seat.

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Now onto the rest.. (the aluminum hatches on the livewell and battery/fuel tank area are just sitting loose. Doing those seperate.

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