1972 14' Sears Semi V Aluminum Boat. Need Guidance.

Hello. My name is john and i am a new member to TinBoats. i am 16 today. Last year i had a bunch of spare time on my hands and had always itching to go fishing. Once i turned 15 i realized if i took a boaters safety coarse i could take a boat out all by myself. So i began searching craigslist for a boat. We weren't able to spend to much but i was determined to get something. i ended up getting this 1972 14' Sears with a 1978 20hp mercury. However, during a trip to Maryland i brought the engine with us cause my uncle had a boat but no engine and i was dieing to take it out. but while out there it broke. I brought it home to Indiana, and learned it was gone. So i need to get a new one. My dad said i can get one when i'm closer to finishing. When we first got it it had green turf on the floor that was glued in with glue that lined the bottom. It also came with a 32# motorguide trolling motor battery, and lights. I also had a hummingbird fishfinder laying around that wasn't being used. I had done some work when i got it last summer just giving it some tlc and cleaning it up. I planned on doing this over winter but i wasnt given enough time because of sports and school. So i'm going to fix it up now.
I started off earlier by taking out the middle bench and taking off the front deck. This weekend took off all the little things that were all over the boat. I am planning on take it to get sandblasted today.
So my future plans is replacing the front deck like it was before. possibly putting in rear deck. I saw a couple boats with it and liked the extra storage. I am planning on having the options of running this with 2 or 3 seats. I got on seat to attach at captians chair directly to rear and middle and front seats interchangeable with the seat mounts i got.
I'm not gonna do the trailer now but i'm gonna do the trailer probably this next fall/winter.
I am just looking for guideance and help with completing this project. If you can just help in guiding me through the process. I would appreciate it greatly.
It will make much more sense if you go through pictures backwards. because i didnt know they would come up like this. So go through photos from the bottom up.

:WELCOME:

Thanks for joining. I would clean it up, give it a nice paint job in and out and replace what is there with new stuff(deck, carpeting) and fish it. Then in your spare time think about adding a rear deck. That is a nice looking boat.

Just a couple of things real quick:

Removing the middle seat also removes some of the structural support for the hull; this will allow the hull sides to flex while trailered and underway which will cause bigger problems down the road. You will need to add support back to the sides with your mods; rod lockers along the sides do this very well as well as just adding some type of gusset or bracing where the midseat was located originally.

Caulk on the bottom of the hull probably means a leak of some kind. the best thing to do is remove the caulk, and anything else that was used to patch holes badly, then fill with water to find the leaks. Patch the leaks permanently by rebucking the rivets, welding or using patch plates as needed. IOW, patch them for good.

Filling the holes on the breasthook (that little triangle part on the bow) can be done a number of ways; by riveting a backing plate and then filling with body filler, using something like HTS 2000 with a backing plate, or just completely building a new one. Depending on the type of material you will be using (Wood or Alu.) it could be done several different ways; none of them are extremely difficult.

I know you said the transom is in good shape, but I would drill some test holes to be sure; if there is even the slightest hint of water in the transom I would replace it. It is easier to do it now then wait until after the decks are in and hafta rebuild it.

there are lots of builds here:
Jon and Vee mods
Look through them to get some ideas on what you need for your build.

Looks like a nice hull to mod out though!

Happy Birthday Johnny! You have a nice boat to start with.
As Jim said, first make it useable and use it.
Take on the modifications and upgrades as you have the money and time.
I would make a plan, laying out the things I wanted to do in small jobs that you can complete in a week. Nothing stinks quite as much as getting a weekend of perfect weather and having the boat torn all apart and can't be used!
And while we all want a nice boat, you can still have fun with one not so nice. So do only what you have the money for and enjoy the boat.
You have a much nicer boat than my first one.
I pulled a 14 ft Steel V boat out of a brush pile with the rubrails burned off.
Put new Rubrails on, replaced the plank seats and painted it with Latex House Paint and for several years had tons of fun with that boat that I had less than $50 in.

Rat - thanks for the advice. Yeah, I was planning on doing something on the sides to give it some more suppport. I was also gonna use the front deck to support the sides. About the Breasthook will it take away from the structure from the boat if i did take it off and built something new? or when if i was to build something new should i just attach to to where the Breasthook is.
The furthest external part off the transom is a rubber piece that is on the very outside. I imagine this is how all are. Are you saying to drill into that?

Thanks Jim,
Thats exactly how it was last summer. At first i was dying for a bigger, faster boat. But then became desperate for anything. Me and my friends call the boat Henry and we have alot of fun with it. Once school is out. I will really get to work with them fixing it up. Probably doing the major stuff done then doing the little details along the way.


My plans are to get it sandblasted at a place near my house. Then once i get it back to paint the boat all the way around. Except for very bottom which will be covered by a false floor. Then move on to building front deck, false floor, livewell?, storage, rod holder, etc. When i get it back from sandblasting i will show some pictures then.

Should i be using self-etching primer? or what is the best kind. and what is the best kind of paint? We have a large air compressor, and i plan on getting a paint sprayer to do the job, in order to give a good paint job. Also what do you think a good color scheme would be? I got the blue chairs already and would like to go with something blueish.

Welcome aboard. I'd suggest blue and silver (or a gray) would look good with those seats. I'd stick to a dark outer color and a lighter inside color. Good luck and keep up the work(and the pictures).

JohnnyBoy,
Way to go scoring your own boat already! When I was a kid my folks owned a resort and my brothers and I had a 12' wooden flat-bottom. It had a hole in the bottom so when we rowed out we just stuck a reed in it. We did lot of fishing and goofing off in that boat. My next one came about 15 years later when my brother and I owned a Lund 12' v-bottom. We had it for a few months and then had to get rid of it. My next boat came 35 years later when I was 57. My point is be patient, move ahead slowly and have some fun. Yes, it would be nice to have the boat of your dreams but until that time use this boat as a way to learn and get some fishing in. The people here are very willing to help so don't be afraid to ask. I am a beginner too with a lot to learn. By the way, you have a lot to work with there. It's a nice boat with a lot of potential. Too bad the motor got trashed but you'll get another in time. Good luck and keep posting pictures.

Removing the breasthook and installing another one will be fine, as long as the structural integrity is maintained, or improved. Assuming you want a bigger platform up front you could easily make a deck that has its highest point just below the rubrail. With the right amount of cleats and frames this would be as good as the existing one or better as far as structural integrity is concerned; plus you would have a nice deck for your trolling motor and stuff.

You will definitely need to use self etching primer on bare Aluminium. Many have used the rattle cans but I would suggest a two part mix like the Pettit ZC (Zinc Chromate) primer. There was also another product on another thread I just read today that seemed to work pretty well, but I can't remember the name of it. It was like luma lux or lux lite or something. In the long run, and doing a whole hull, the two part will be cheaper.

On testing the transom, I would drill a couple of test holes, maybe four depending on what the first few revealed, in different areas of the transom. These can be easily filled with epoxy glue or 5200, just stay away from the very center-line of the transom. This way if it is good you will not create nexus of forces. Do this when you get ready to build out, not while you are using the boat. If you do use it in the mean time you need to watch the transom when you are taking off and shutting down; if there is a lot of flex you will see it most then and will proly need to rebuild.

I agree with Nevillizer on the color scheme to match the seats. dark blue with a light cream or white maybe to set it off.

bobberboy said:

JohnnyBoy,
Way to go scoring your own boat already! When I was a kid my folks owned a resort and my brothers and I had a 12' wooden flat-bottom. It had a hole in the bottom so when we rowed out we just stuck a reed in it. We did lot of fishing and goofing off in that boat. My next one came about 15 years later when my brother and I owned a Lund 12' v-bottom. We had it for a few months and then had to get rid of it. My next boat came 35 years later when I was 57. My point is be patient, move ahead slowly and have some fun. Yes, it would be nice to have the boat of your dreams but until that time use this boat as a way to learn and get some fishing in. The people here are very willing to help so don't be afraid to ask. I am a beginner too with a lot to learn. By the way, you have a lot to work with there. It's a nice boat with a lot of potential. Too bad the motor got trashed but you'll get another in time. Good luck and keep posting pictures.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bobberboy,

I have really settled down and gotten pretty excited about getting to start work on the boat. I have decided to get the main work done and primary things down, and to get out fishing some, then move onto littler things. But would also like to get most of the stuff done now. I'm kinda going with something multi-purpose. Something that i could use for small little bass tournaments, panfishing, trolling for pike or musky, and just recreational boating with friends.

Rat said:

Removing the breasthook and installing another one will be fine, as long as the structural integrity is maintained, or improved. Assuming you want a bigger platform up front you could easily make a deck that has its highest point just below the rubrail. With the right amount of cleats and frames this would be as good as the existing one or better as far as structural integrity is concerned; plus you would have a nice deck for your trolling motor and stuff.

You will definitely need to use self etching primer on bare Aluminium. Many have used the rattle cans but I would suggest a two part mix like the Pettit ZC (Zinc Chromate) primer. There was also another product on another thread I just read today that seemed to work pretty well, but I can't remember the name of it. It was like luma lux or lux lite or something. In the long run, and doing a whole hull, the two part will be cheaper.

On testing the transom, I would drill a couple of test holes, maybe four depending on what the first few revealed, in different areas of the transom. These can be easily filled with epoxy glue or 5200, just stay away from the very center-line of the transom. This way if it is good you will not create nexus of forces. Do this when you get ready to build out, not while you are using the boat. If you do use it in the mean time you need to watch the transom when you are taking off and shutting down; if there is a lot of flex you will see it most then and will proly need to rebuild.

I agree with Nevillizer on the color scheme to match the seats. dark blue with a light cream or white maybe to set it off.

Click to expand...

Thanks Rat,
You have really been able to answer alot of the questions that i have had. What i think i will do when it comes to color is do a darker blue on the whole boat. I saw one on her the other day that looked great. Then probably have the second color in the carpet. But i may also do a separate color on the inside and top edge. Putting a plastic sheeting just underneath that lip would be pretty easy.
Thanks for all the help. Once i get some more work done on it i will post some more pictures, and probably some more questions also :lol:

I got it back from sand blasting this Friday. I wasn't able to work on it Friday night. By got the whole bottom side primed today. I did one coat in the morning and then one more tonight. I wasn't able to take pictures of it Friday after getting it back. But took some of the bottom before i primed, and will do the same tommorrow when i prime the inside.
I went to HD to get the primer and rollers. I used a gray rustoleum aluminum primer, and high density foam roller to apply it. I also used little foam brushes for detailing. It worked pretty well and am satisfied with what i have.

Questions:
How long should i let the primer cure until i paint?
I plan on using a sprayer to paint, I have a large air compressor, how should i set that up? What kind of gun? HVLP?
Should i use a different type of paint for bottom than inside?

Hello,

I have the exact same boat as yours but the data plate is missing. I see you had a picture of it on here but I cannot make out the numbers. Could you tell me what the capacities are (hp, weight, number of passengers, etc). Thanks. Nice looking boat too! I like what you have done with it.