14' Starcraft Sea Scamp Mod

[fishthedayaway]

hey, im getting my first boat (im 16) on saturday and i plan on converting it. Im not sure on the brand of it for sure right now but it shouldn't matter too much. my plans are to

1- cut down a portion of the front and center bench seats in the middle to lower the height of the deck when it goes on in order to lower the center of gravity.

2- build the frame out of 2x2s because i only plan on keeping it for a couple years before upgrading. the framing will be from the center bench seat going forward and will have plenty of storage underneath the deck.

3- build my own removable live well that will have a removable cutout in the bottom floor so it will be lower in the boat with all the water weight.

4- deck and carpet it from front to back to give it a better look and feel.

5- run electrical underneath the deck from the trolling motor and graph to the batteries.

6- find an electrical panel where i can control what power is going to what accessories


and im probably forgetting some things that i will end up doing like everyone does. im going to keep a running tab on how much this whole project is going to be below. also instead of posting up a ton of pictures, im going to record the progress of working with my GoPro to make things simpler. any tips or comments will be appreciated since this is my first project.

Boat, motor & trailer - $160
45lb Thrust bow mount - $45
Battery - $60
Materials - $110
Charger - $50
TOTAL - $325 (so far)

 

[Driftingrz]

Good luck on the boat. your plans sound somewhat like my last boat, though i removed middle bench completely for a large "deck" and added tackle storage where front bench is and battery/storage between bow and bench

lets see some pictures of your first boat

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=25594

 

[fishthedayaway]

actually i might as well do that, shouldnt take too long with a cutoff wheel, thanks for the suggestion. also, does it affect it much structure wise?

 

[Macrosill]

I have the same 14' Sears Gamefisher. I just removed the middle bench seat this afternoon. I found very very little difference, if any, with the middle seat removed.

 

[Driftingrz]

i just drilled out the rivets holding the seat in, all were above waterline i believe. seat and foam came out whole and no i never knoticed any difference in stability, the large lower deck kept everything rigid. check my build it was a pretty simple setup

 

[fishthedayaway]

just got the boat, kinda difficult putting it away for now being that theres 2 feet of snow on the ground. it is a starcraft 14 sea scamp. and the motor is a 7.5 sears/roebuck gamefisher? camo painted... the mod will be much easier than expected because the seats arent aluminum, just a board that spans across. so removal should be very simple. the deck should be much better support anyways. pictures to come!

 

[fishthedayaway]

 

[fishthedayaway]

 

[fishthedayaway]

time to remove the old "deck" and the seats/foam. most was rotted out and or eaten through by animals.

 

[fishthedayaway]

 

[fishthedayaway]

about to buy materials for the structure of the deck and floor, what do you guys prefer to use to seal it and where is it available? thanks!

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

my boat is identicle to yours. i,am redoing the transom now and installing a jack plate. I,am old and slow too.......

 

[fishthedayaway]

just about done with this project, spent 12 hours working on it sunday and a few more here and there since then, already have most of it decked and carpeted, ran most of my electrical, and im extremely happy with how its turning out so far.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=789795021030974&set=pcb.789795141030962&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=789795117697631&set=pcb.789795141030962&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=788245511185925&set=pcb.788245724519237&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=788245644519245&set=pcb.788245724519237&type=1&theater

 

[ccm]

Going to do something similar to my Arkansas Traveler. One thing I noticed was that your battery was just resting on the floor don't know if your done but get a battery box and secure it. If the battery tips over the best scenario is a small amount of acid leaks out, corrodes your hull, and your having to scrub it out with baking soda to neutralize the acid. Worst case it tips and the posts touch the hull discharging the battery arcing against the hull and blowing a large hole in the boat. I've seen it happen before. I didn't have a good strap on my box and ended up having to scrub the entire hull. It didn't ruin my battery thankfully. Sorry about the rant just giving some friendly advice.

 

[fishthedayaway]

im getting a battery box, also im going to deck the back as well for storage but i havent secured the battery yet because i may be getting a different trolling motor that will need a 24V system.