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I have a 1984 Bluefin. Its just a basic tiller setup, 14ft and 60" wide vhull. The hull is all original, every rivet. Doesn't leak a drop, seems to be built better than many new aluminum boats.

Maybe something like a Carolina skiff would work for you? The 17 and 19 are both very wide and stable, and usually configured with a lot of open deck space. Could easily have seating for 4 or 5 people in one.

I fish lake Panasoffkee at least once a year, most of my life. Several years back they did a major lake restoration, dredging and clearing weeds. Ever since the water clarity has been better, and the lake is more fishable overall. The panfishing is almost always good, tons of big...

Seems a bay boat would fill your needs. Many bay boats have options for a lot of seating. They also have a bow low enough for a trolling motor (I would assume you want that for freshwater at least). Why are you shying away from a bay boat exactly?

10-4 thanks! Want to do this once the right way. Going to build a floor in the boat while I'm at it.

Been working on bringing this 84 Bluefin vhull back to life. The maiden voyage went well except one minor detail... the transom is toast. Pulled it apart last weekend, pretty fun, nothing like some 30+ year old hardware. The transom was 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood glued together it appears...

Nice job on the build, came out looking great! A nice 15 or 25hp motor would be awesome on there. As far as trolling, I troll for largemouth bass in my kayak and in my aluminum boat down here in florida. Its not something I do all the time, but when travelling between spots I often do. Some...

Thank you! it appears to have had a floor at some point that was almost full width of the boat. Appears to have been screwed in with self tappers into the ribs. I want to do a lower floor, only about 28" wide i think. This boat is very sturdy without the middle bench, virtually no flex. Its...

So after today i have a list... need to get a 3 gallon tank that will fit in the back behind the bench, a couple rod holders, a way to secure the battery. Also, found a problem. the transom is soft where the motor mounts. It looks like a big project to replace all the wood in the transom, but...

Finally got her in the water today! Had a good time, caught 7 bass, nothing big. Was interested to see how the 15 horse would do, and to check out ease of use of the trolling motor with my homemade mount... It worked great, the old johnson ran perfect. Had a heavy group27 deep cycle in the...

Ive been slacking on this project, but I'm getting moving now. I got the center bench out, got a hole welded up, finished removing the misc screws, brackets, etc., sanded it all down and repainted inside and out. Looks like a different boat! Ill get some pics posted soon.

Great idea, and great execution! I don't see why something like this couldn't hold a decent sized jon boat. In my neck of the woods I see quite heavy bay boats with 200+ hp motors being held with powerpoles. They all use fiberglass spikes.

Nice boat! I like the lights on there too. This is something I'm considering on my little 14 footer, maybe just one bright led for some vision at night navigating the weeds or channels in the shallow florida lakes I like to fish.

There shouldn't be any problem with removing it, especially since you are going to replace it with a similar (larger?) piece. As mentioned above just make sure it is very securely attached, both for security of the trolling motor, and any structural integrity that it provides the boat.

If you were able to install some sort of rudder that is easy to lift in or out of the water I would imagine it should help and not increase the boats weight very much.

Ive fished small boats that do this as well, while fishing using the trolling motor. Keeping the outboard down in the water helps a little. Other than that maybe just try putting a bucket over the side on a short rope from the stern? worth a shot

Have a good friend with a 16ft G3 with a 50 Yamaha 4 stroke, Ive been fishing with him in it for years. It has the starting battery and a large deep cycle for its 12v trolling motor both in the stern, plus fuel. The boat seems very well balanced, and no trouble with swamping coming off plane...

No prob, been a boat mechanic 12 years, ive installed many a transducer! In an old jon boat I used to have I had a cheap little hummingbird and I actually just let the ducer hang out inside the bottom of the boat unmounted. As long as the bottom of the transducer was wet where it touched the...

That's cool, I'm right down the road from you in north palm beach. I started working for a new company about 7 months ago, Nautical Ventures. I do outboards and electronics primarily. Just got started on a little aluminum boat project and joined this forum, lots of cool builds and info here.

Nice boat, and nice work on the wiring, etc. As a boat mechanic, I have a definite appreciation for clean rigging!