Hello! My first post here and thought I share with you guys my build that is currently going on. I have a 2011 Alumacraft 1542 with a 2011 Tohatsu 20HP 4-stroke outboard. I purchased this boat when I was in college studying engineering and its been a no-nonsense shallow water machine till now (boat+motor+4 seats). To show appreciation for my first boat, I decided to put some time into it and turn it into a even more capable vessel.
As shown below, I've previously experimented with different type of lights to see what I would like best, and decided first thing on this build should be fabricating a proper casting deck to mount many things! Hopefully, this will be the start of turning an everyday tin boat into a lean-mean (and green) fish-fighting machine!
-The very first photo I took of my boat back in August 2012.
-Cheapest halos from Home Depot.
-LEDs with frame made out of PVC
To build the casting deck, I started out by welding the frame out of 2x1 aluminum tubing and tried to keep everything strong yet light as possible. This was the first time I ever tried welding, and thankfully I was blessed to have a good friend who has a complete TIG setup in his garage who could take over once I realized I am not very good at welding lol. I thought as an EE, with experience at soldering under a microscope would help, but boy was I wrong. With his help we were able to make good progress however!
As shown below, I've previously experimented with different type of lights to see what I would like best, and decided first thing on this build should be fabricating a proper casting deck to mount many things! Hopefully, this will be the start of turning an everyday tin boat into a lean-mean (and green) fish-fighting machine!
-The very first photo I took of my boat back in August 2012.
-Cheapest halos from Home Depot.
-LEDs with frame made out of PVC
To build the casting deck, I started out by welding the frame out of 2x1 aluminum tubing and tried to keep everything strong yet light as possible. This was the first time I ever tried welding, and thankfully I was blessed to have a good friend who has a complete TIG setup in his garage who could take over once I realized I am not very good at welding lol. I thought as an EE, with experience at soldering under a microscope would help, but boy was I wrong. With his help we were able to make good progress however!