1960 Alumacraft V-Hull Conversion

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calico_james

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Hey guys,

Been reading a lot on the forum, thanks to everyone who contributes. Finally getting ready to make some decisions and start working on my deck. I have a pretty shallow v hull (pics to come), so I am going to have to be creative and make adjustments here and there. That being said, the first thing I am contemplating is my trolling motor installation. The bow has a handle welded on, so I cannot get my motor (minn kota all terrain 55lb, bow mount) mounted flush with the front of the boat. My thoughts on the solution are to rivet in a sheet of aluminum, possibly supported with plywood or angled aluminum underneath it for support (I want to limit vibration). I would then have to mount the trolling motor offset just a bit. I am stuck here, and open to any suggestions from those who have dealt with something like this before. Thanks all.
 

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Here are some pictures of the boat before I purchased it.
 

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Assuming it's a bow mount, you could cover the front with wood or composite panel. It could rest on top or make it flush with each side. Thousands of pics in these threads.

8VM36Mah.jpg
 
water bouy said:
Assuming it's a bow mount, you could cover the front with wood or composite panel. It could rest on top or make it flush with each side. Thousands of pics in these threads.

8VM36Mah.jpg

Yeah I was thinking of that, but then I thought that doing aluminum riveted to the gunwale might be more sturdy and would reduce vibration (with the right support). I guess carpeted plywood would be a bit cheaper though. It just comes down to preference, but I thought some experienced input would help. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
calico_james said:
water bouy said:
Assuming it's a bow mount, you could cover the front with wood or composite panel. It could rest on top or make it flush with each side. Thousands of pics in these threads.

8VM36Mah.jpg

Yeah I was thinking of that, but then I thought that doing aluminum riveted to the gunwale might be more sturdy and would reduce vibration (with the right support). I guess carpeted plywood would be a bit cheaper though. It just comes down to preference, but I thought some experienced input would help. Thanks for the suggestion!

Aluminum will work just as well, although wood is a lot more "dead", when it comes to noise and vibration.

I will say that without a deck or floor, it's tough to make a foot control work comfortably with bench seats. That's the main reason that I decked my 14' Alumacraft.
 
By all appearances, we have the same boat. :)

Mine was given to me after sitting in a barn for a number of years. All I did was clean it up and make a few repairs to get it water worthy to fish some small local lakes. All of the original wood transom and motor pad was in bad shape so I rebuilt all of that and fabricated a stronger transom board that covers more of the rear than the original did on the inside.

For the motor pad, I cut down a $5.00 kitchen cutting board from Walmart and it worked out great. I ended up making some pads to clamp a stern mount trolling motor up front and reversed the head on that. Also made a platform for the battery that sits in the middle of the boat and helps balance it all out with just me in it.

Pushed along with a 1965 Evinrude 5hp, it does just fine and I get a white knuckle 7 mph ride in it at WOT. It works fine for what I do around here for fishing.

boat1.jpg


boat2.jpg


boat3.jpg


boat4.jpg
 
Having built my own bow plate on my boat, my advice is to go between the gunnels, not on top of them. Having my bow plate higher than the gunnels leads to problems such as tarps tubbing on the carpeted edge, and if you store the boat upside down like I do, itll catch water running off the hull. You can see pics of my bow plate here: https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=43755
 
thomasdgs said:
Having built my own bow plate on my boat, my advice is to go between the gunnels, not on top of them. Having my bow plate higher than the gunnels leads to problems such as tarps tubbing on the carpeted edge, and if you store the boat upside down like I do, itll catch water running off the hull. You can see pics of my bow plate here: https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=43755

Huh, this makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for sharing the tip.
 
Hey buddy, hope this helps.. Skim through my old boat build.. Same dang boat!

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20339
 

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