14' Lund rebuild and modification

[rscottp]

Interesting layout on your boat, do you know what model it is? I never saw those side boxes between the back and middle benches, I wonder if they are from the factory?

As far as your front deck goes, I wonder what type of water you fish? I think a lot depends of how rough it gets. I have had the casting deck on my boat for years and have found it to be pretty stable in moderate chop. The new deck will be about 1"lower than the previous so that I will still have the storage I need. It also seems that centering the seat over the existing bench would be more stable that mounting it closer to the front.

Just my 2 cents, looking forward to see what you do!

 

[rscottp]

found your hull in Lund archives!

 

[Humj7]

Nice looking boat you have there. Love the polished hull I hope to polish my hull this winter.
My 1st boat was a 14ft blue Finn I added front deck and floor. Form my experience I would keep the front deck as low as possible I installed mine on top of the front seat and would not have wanted it any higher.

 

[Centrarchidae]

Humj7 and rscottp - Thanks for the advice about the deck height. I was originally thinking of making the front deck the same height as the front bench, but I get the feeling it might need to be lower. Your opinions confirm what I have been thinking. Putting the front seat about at the center of the bench is a good idea - that should leave enough room to make the front area big enough for a good fishing location. Just need to figure out how low it can go and still fit the fuel tank and the battery.

rscottp - thanks for finding the boat literature. I think that might be the actual model I have. I found some specs for that model, and it looks like they match what I can measure on the boat. That middle walk-through bench has already been removed on the boat when I bought it, but the brackets that held it are still on the sides of the hull. Thanks!

 

[Centrarchidae]

Well, I've been quite busy since the last time I posted, with little time to work on the boat. Been doing lots of thinking though. I have decided to go with the non-symmetrical plan primarily because it creates the most open floor space. I like to be able to move around without tripping or bumping into things.
On the last day of 2013, I bought a little space heater to take the chill off working in the garage. Makes a huge difference! New Year's day I started the heater, ate breakfast while it warmed up, and then got to work. (After staring at the boat for a bit longer). Up to this point, the things I did could easily be reversed - put the floor back in, reattach the benches. Then I cut the first rivet holding one of the little side boxes in the boat. An hour later I nearly had the entire back end disassembled.

 

[Centrarchidae]

Earlier, I ordered an adjustable pedestal base, so I started placing it in the boat to see how it fit. I put so wellme pieces of wood in the boat to temporarily represent the side boxes and see how it looks as well. Here's what I came up with:

 

[rscottp]

Glad to see you are back at it. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[mfbear]

Great start on it. I also like the bare hull, mine had too much patching so had to paint it to make it look decent. I think you may find that you will need to off center the rear seat with a tiller motor. I would also put the front seat at the rear of the front deck, not sure how deep yours is but yes keep the front deck as low as possible, I had to raise my deck higher than I wanted to accommodate the batteries. You will probably also find that standing on the front deck when someone in the back moves is even more shaky. Not sure if you checked out my build but it does have side boxes. I will probably sit on one when I am using the outboard, but with front and rear trolling motors that won't be often. My build is located below.

 

[Centrarchidae]

Had a chance to work on the boat today. Seems I get enough time to work on her for a few hours about every two weeks. Today the weather was much warmer - mid 30's, but with wind and rain. Didn't need to run the heater too much to make it tolerable in garage - bonus!

Last time I cut out the rivets holding the rear seat pieces in and was able to remove whole pieces of aluminum. Felt like crossing a point of no return. Today was a bit more of a point of no return - the main frame of the rear bench was modified. The piece is a structural member and is riveted into the hull and stretches across the whole width of the boat. I couldn't rip it out completely as it forms the floor beam as well. Since I am putting a box on the port side, I cut that end square at about the point the box will be. I cut the starboard side at an angle such that the bracket that attached to the bench could still be used and there are still a rivet or two in place at the bottom. Broke two new saw blades in the process - not even 2 hours old!

I also turned a corner as it were in this mod - I started building. Up to this point it has been cleaning, cutting and removing, and while there still is more of this to do at the front bench, it felt good to be building. The plan id to extend the flat floor in the middle all the way to the back so today I built a floor beam on the rib between the what was the rear bench and the transom. I also cut some pieces to go from the transom braces to the new floor beam. Still need to figure out how to attach these, but it is starting to look like something!

 

[Centrarchidae]

Was able to get some more planning and some more mods done on the boat since the last post. I started building the port-side box near the stern by using some of the sheet metal I took out earlier. The piece already had the angle cut to fit to the stern, so all I needed to do was cut it to height such that it fit on the floor instead of directly on the hull. I did some "backyard tinsmithing" and made some 90° angles and riveting tabs as well. Nothing is attached yet and I will need more sheet metal to finish it up.

Got started on the front of the boat as well. The original plan was to have a front deck with the fuel tank and battery underneath. My concern was that this would make the front deck too high, because it needed to be 2-3" higher than the front bench. After much thought and using cardboard mockups of the battery and tank, I decided to put the battery and fuel tank way up front on a larger platform where the bow seat was originally. This requires some structure to build a platform large enough to hold the battery and tank, and will use the front 2' of the boat, but puts it in an area that gets little use anyway. When fishing last summer we put the anchor on the bow seat, or else under it. The front passenger fished from the front bench and would put a tackle box on the bow seat. I could get an Anchor Mate or other anchor management system and keep the anchor outside of the hull and free up the entire bow. This would also keep the boat cleaner! With a flat floor in front of the front fishing position a tacklebox can be kept right on the floor. Problem solved!

Putting the fuel tank and battery in the bow allows the front deck to be made much lower than the front bench. I measured it out and looked at it many times and decided the front deck will be about 3" higher than the main floor, about 7" lower than the original front bench height. That should really keep the CG low! So, after some cutting of the front bench and adding in some aluminum angle the front deck is starting to take shape. Still need to add some feet to the front corner so it will be supported on the hull, but so far i have not had to drill a hole through the hull. The opening in the front deck i think could be used to store life vests and other small things and the area under the battery and fuel tank can be filled with flotation foam.

I did a little experimenting with solid rivets on the back angle support inside the original bench. I bought a small bucking bar and started driving in rivets with a small hammer. I did it in this location since it will be visible from inside the boat and i was trying to keep all the rivets looking the same. Purely for aesthetic reasons, but it wasn't too difficult and they seem stronger than pop rivets. The rest of the rivets are the pop rivet kind since i could not easily get to both sides of the rivets.

 

[rscottp]

Looks good! I like watching the progress you are making on a hull similar to mine. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[Centrarchidae]

Thanks rscottp! I have been following your build as well. I am really liking the flat floor ribs in these Lund's. It is making building structure to the hull quite easy compared to other designs without the flat ribs.

I have been able to work on the boat at night a few nights this week so I have made some good progress. I got the starboard side box completely built, which extends from the front bench back to about 4' from the stern - about 4' feet in length. I removed the middle seat bracket from the hull and cut it up to make supports for the new side box. Filled in the holes through the hull from the bracket with some 3/16" solid rivets. Also removed some SST screws and nuts that were used to fill in rivet holes of the 2nd bench when it was removed.

I also started making the port side box in the back as well as a square storage or foam box in the back corner on the starboard side. Originally I was thinking of reusing some of the bench sheet metal to make the boxes but I decided instead to use the aluminum angle to make a frame and then use some thin wood for the sides and some thicker wood (probably 1/2 or 5/8") for the tops. I got the bottom profile of these boxes done so the next step is to build the vertical supports and top frame.

 

[Centrarchidae]

Well, I haven't posted an update on the boat rebuild in over a month, but I have been able to make some progress. I have all the major aluminum work done for the floor, side boxes, and seat supports. I made the seat supports out of aluminum angle and also 3/8" plate, attaching the frame with rivets and screws to the floor frame.

 

[Centrarchidae]

All the framework is done and I was able to start adding the floor. I am using 1/2" ACX plywood for the floor, attaching it to the frame with #8-32UNC machine screws. I also got the frame done on the bow that will support the fuel tank and the battery. I ordered 2 more seat posts and have them installed, at least temporarily for trying them out. The two seats came with the boat. I will need to get one more for the third post, but I might get all three new ones as the seats I have are a bit weak for back support. Next up is finishing the rest of the wood for the boxes and the front deck. I am planning on using Nautolex vinyl flooring, which I have already ordered and received, for the main floor surfaces and am planning on staining and coating the box sides and tops. I like the original wood look and am hoping I can get a good finish. If not they might get the vinyl as well.

 

[rscottp]

Looks awesome! Are the seat pedestals removable?

 

[Centrarchidae]

Thanks rscottp,
Seats are actually driver position rated, so are not quickly removed. I wanted to make the boat safe for all operating conditions without having multiple seating configurations. If needed they can be removed with a 3/8th Allen screw.

 

[rscottp]

Centrarchidae » 16 Mar 2014, 13:33[/url]"]Thanks rscottp,
Seats are actually driver position rated, so are not quickly removed. I wanted to make the boat safe for all operating conditions without having multiple seating configurations. If needed they can be removed with a 3/8th Allen screw.

They didn't look like they popped in and out, just wondered in the event I decide to put in a drivers seat on mine.

 

[Centrarchidae]

Well, not much new to show since the last pics, but I finished cutting all the wood decking and am now in the process of staining. I am planning to make the starboard side into a storage compartment and still need to cut the hatch. (My daughter's idea, as well as making one of the back ones into a cooler). Got foam to put everywhere and vinyl flooring ready to go. A few pieces still need to be finished staining and then 3 coats of spar urethane. Probably 2 weeks before the assembly process can begin!

Has anyone ever riveted wood to aluminum? I am thinking of riveting the wood to the boxes for a more smooth looking finish. I have some flat head solid rivets that I think will work quite well

 

[rscottp]

My original floor was riveted to the aluminum ribs.

 

[Centrarchidae]

Making a little more progress today. Removed all the aluminum shavings and rivet nails and took the boat to the local quarter car wash to get it cleaned up. Cleaned out about 200+ rivet nails, a pile of shavings and a bunch of other debris. Planning to put some self-etching primer on it on Saturday - supposed to be 60°F or more. It was almost that tonight!

Took off the caps on the stern and the bow of the boat as well as the oar locks and lifting handles on the stern. Sanded a bit of the inside prior to the washing and I think I am ready to put some primer on it.
Remaining major steps as I see it are:
1. Prime inside
2. Run electrical and fuel lines
3. coat all the wood components with spar urethane
4. Figure out how to make the cooler in the stern port-side box - planning on a rubermaid container with Styrofoam insulation around it.
5. Cut the hatches on the storage box and the cooler box.
6. Install the foam and then all the wood. Probably aught to paint the inside as well.
7. Finish assembly