nicdicarlo
Well-known member
Ok, so taking advantage of the relatively nice weather, I decided it was time to begin work on laying out the new floor in my Crawdad. I few weeks ago, I gutted the whole boat of all the undesirables: trolling motor bow mount, original floor boards, some floatation foam and other plastic that was just getting in the way. I left the transom mount I built a few years back, but may just replace that as well since I have a lot of scrap. I took measurements of all the important dimensions, and came up with a scaled diagram for my floor layout...
Here's what she looked like after the gut...
I wanted to do one continuous piece of plywood from front to back, fitting around all of the seat posts. I got the idea to remove the seats, make measurements to the center of the seat posts, use a hole saw to cut holes for the posts, install the wood, and reinstall the seats. This would give me a stable platform, as well as minimizing the surface area of ply edges that would result from installing multiple floor panels around the seat framework. All cuts were made with a cordless circular saw. The hole saw cuts were 2.25" in diameter to give me some breathing/mistake room. My measurements were pretty accurate. We'll see how it fits when I button everything up. Here's how the wood fit...
While waiting for my batteries to recharge, I had a nice lunch of leftover Ravioli and meat sauce. There’s always a nice pasta creation in the fridge at my mom’s house, the Crawdad’s current storage grounds. Next I laid out the new pieces for the trolling motor bow mount. I basically recreated what I had previously built, but bulked up the front section slightly to tie the mount into some additional frame screws and add room for some eyelets if I want....
Here's how the motor mount will look installed....
The next step was to round of the corners of the floor and motor mounts with a jig saw. I wanted to reduce the number of sharp corners for rope, line, etc. to get snagged on...
Finally, I installed "L" brackets to the ply. The brackets will be secured to the seat posts with self tappers. This will reduce the number of fasteners I will have to use to secure the ply to the bottom frame work. I didn’t want to go with a floating floor, since the boat will be store upside down quite a bit....
The next step will be some final sanding and applicaiton of the polyurethane coatings. I will then apply some grip tape to the high traffic areas. Here's what I purchased for the sealant (Helmsman Spar Urethane)....has any one ever used this product?...
Next, I admired my creation….
I used two new tools for this project: a cordless 19.2Volt 5.5” craftsman trim saw and a cordless 19.2Volt craftsman jig saw. I was very happy with both tools. Both saws cut through the plywood with ease, especially the circular saw, and the laser guides were a big help since I was unable to find a suitable straightedge in the basement. I would highly recommend these items. I'll probably finish up within the next couple of weeks. I'm pretty happy with the first phase. Updates soon!
![IMG_1848.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/1bc/1bc7cf00a1fc96aa059fdc9cad2e3fcf.jpg)
Here's what she looked like after the gut...
![IMG_1849.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/61d/61dfc5f607d2b1a5c1125246814efaaa.jpg)
I wanted to do one continuous piece of plywood from front to back, fitting around all of the seat posts. I got the idea to remove the seats, make measurements to the center of the seat posts, use a hole saw to cut holes for the posts, install the wood, and reinstall the seats. This would give me a stable platform, as well as minimizing the surface area of ply edges that would result from installing multiple floor panels around the seat framework. All cuts were made with a cordless circular saw. The hole saw cuts were 2.25" in diameter to give me some breathing/mistake room. My measurements were pretty accurate. We'll see how it fits when I button everything up. Here's how the wood fit...
![IMG_1856.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/d58/d58bfe4a60b0ea13bc4cf2be88daa104.jpg)
While waiting for my batteries to recharge, I had a nice lunch of leftover Ravioli and meat sauce. There’s always a nice pasta creation in the fridge at my mom’s house, the Crawdad’s current storage grounds. Next I laid out the new pieces for the trolling motor bow mount. I basically recreated what I had previously built, but bulked up the front section slightly to tie the mount into some additional frame screws and add room for some eyelets if I want....
![IMG_1855.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/c9f/c9f3fabf1c4a4e475f9f733c74fc0d42.jpg)
Here's how the motor mount will look installed....
![IMG_1859.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/322/3227e3173e8146c252ba90a2b47e2633.jpg)
![IMG_1858.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/9ed/9ed36ff00acd60811df121ce3d35058a.jpg)
The next step was to round of the corners of the floor and motor mounts with a jig saw. I wanted to reduce the number of sharp corners for rope, line, etc. to get snagged on...
![IMG_1857.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/6c3/6c3463285f0f72abc6b00242cbaeb5fe.jpg)
Finally, I installed "L" brackets to the ply. The brackets will be secured to the seat posts with self tappers. This will reduce the number of fasteners I will have to use to secure the ply to the bottom frame work. I didn’t want to go with a floating floor, since the boat will be store upside down quite a bit....
![IMG_1860.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/e97/e97588174589bdc48267edd48b4a410d.jpg)
The next step will be some final sanding and applicaiton of the polyurethane coatings. I will then apply some grip tape to the high traffic areas. Here's what I purchased for the sealant (Helmsman Spar Urethane)....has any one ever used this product?...
![IMG_1847.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/7cc/7cc5f74e94be5d3be0bc8ef5541cadf6.jpg)
Next, I admired my creation….
![IMG_1862.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/499/499454a9a75adc7e4e980ab67c120103.jpg)
I used two new tools for this project: a cordless 19.2Volt 5.5” craftsman trim saw and a cordless 19.2Volt craftsman jig saw. I was very happy with both tools. Both saws cut through the plywood with ease, especially the circular saw, and the laser guides were a big help since I was unable to find a suitable straightedge in the basement. I would highly recommend these items. I'll probably finish up within the next couple of weeks. I'm pretty happy with the first phase. Updates soon!