3 Man Bass Boat. Done and on the water!

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tholdah

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Well, I'll start by declaring that we (my father, brother, and myself) are new to the site and we love it. We've been looking at the conversions posted here for weeks waiting for the weather to break to start on our project. We're finally getting close to some good weather (we're in Mass.) The thing we will add to our story here is what we paid for everything. I always find myself curious of what things cost as I read the "strings". Our budget on this product is $1500 MAX!

The quick background story; My parents moved out of the big house we grew up in and bought a small ranch on a beautiful lake. We soon acquired a ski boat, 2 jet skis and a small 12' jon boat. If you add all the time we spent on the ski boat AND both skis, it wouldn't come close to the time we spent fishing on the Jon boat. The problem, 3 quys on a 12'er. Ya'...not pretty. So we started searching for a larger boat (at least 16'). Certainly they are out there, but not with 3 seats equaly placed on the deck. So we searched...and searched...and found the following.
 

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I forgot to mention that included with the boat was the cooler live-well you can see in one of the pictures, as well as a foot powered trolling motor. We haven't tested the live well pump yet, but the trolling motor works great.
 
Hey Tom,
Nice pics....boat looks alot different without the top deck.

We're located in Pembroke, Carver and Halifax....boat is moored in Halifax at Monponssett lake.

Cant wait to get it in the water and do some fishing....hopefully soon.
 
Sorry...i'm doing something wrong here in trying to edit our post. Only 1/2 the story is getting onto the post. I wanted to add, that the guy who built this before us used flimsy aluminum angle iron for the cross beams, and didn't use any supports under it. It was like a trampoline!

Also, in regards to the motor, like I said, we gambled with this. It needed a fuel pump, water outlet elbo, and the fuel inlet connector. A new fuel pump was $85, but we found all 3 pieces at our local outboard shop for $30. It took about 10 minutes to attach the parts; we hit the button and she fired right up! I'd say we scored. :D

By the way, no offense to the local marine shops, but we wanted to put in new spark plugs. The marine shop was sold out, but sold them for $4.97 each. I bought them @ Wallyworld (Walmart) for $1.77 each.
 
By the way, no offense to the local marine shops, but we wanted to put in new spark plugs. The marine shop was sold out, but sold them for $4.97 each. I bought them @ Wallyworld (Walmart) for $1.77 each.


I'm sure that happens a lot with marine shops and other specialty places. Prices seem to be higher because they carry an item and I feel they sometimes count on impulse buying by the customer. Just my $.02 worth. Good deal on finding them at Wallyworld :)
 
As you can see, we have the old carpet and deck removed, and will are moving to the clean up/prep stage before we start building the deck and putting down new carpet. Are there any suggestions on getting the old carpet glue off? I began chipping away at it tonight and it was hell! :evil:

Do we need to get all of the glue off, or can we just spread new glue for the new carpet over the old stuff? Thx!
 
Try a 4 inch angle grinder with a wire brush. Not one of the flimsy single stranded one, but the one that has something like 15 or so brades of heavier wires. Dewalt makes one that is sold at Home Depot.
 
Personally I would try to remove as much glue as possible. It will result in the new carpet installation going in easier and the finished product will be smoother. Depending on the type of glue, you could try a putty knife with a heat gun or perhaps a solvent based stripper. I would not advise using both together though. Something about heat guns and solvents doesn't seem overly safe. Maybe a wire wheel might work without clogging up, Sanding is most likely not a good idea.
 
We finally hit some really good weather so we got crackin' on the deck of our Aircraft Carrier. =D> Yes...it is a large fishing platform! We did not go with remote steering and we didn't put a drop down in the rear opting for the most deck we could build. Pictures say a thousand words so here ya' go. Keep in mind. We are not carpenters :lol: We think we have everything fit well enough. We have no weak points and we can hopefully work magic with the carpet. (that's on for next weekend). We sealed the framing yesturday, and will seal the deck over the week.

For materials, we used 1/2" plywood for the deck; 2X2's for the framing and hangers. We'll add and list all of the cost in the end.
 

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Here's what we used for sealing products. We used the Thompson Deck Sealers on the framing and the Cabot on the deck. We we're worried that the Thompson stuff was going to dry oily and not be a good surface to glue carpet to. The Cabot stuff was recommended by the guy at Lowes and it says on the can "Marine Durability". Both surfaces have dried now and look good and sealed. The second picture shows the beading ACTION of the Thompson Waterseal. The can says it repels water, resists mildew, and will last 10 years. Plus it can be applied with a squirt bottle.
 

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That's dang nice work! Have you already run the wiring for tm's, etc?

You do realize that the "Marine Durability" means you can give the can to a Marine and they won't break it right away...........................................j/k MARINE0341 ! :wink: . That Cabot's is supposed to be some good stuff!
 

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