15ft Deep V Smokercraft Mod

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Lunkerville

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Aug 19, 2008
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Location
Ontario, Canada
Hi Folks,

As with many of the new members, I am looking to begin a mod on my boat. I purchased a 2008 15ft Smokercraft Alaskan Dlx deep V last spring. It came prefabbed with a split middle bench and a complete floor however no casting deck. I am going to deck in the bow basically covering the front bench. I have gone through many of the topics/pics and see that many of the guys are using aluminum L bracket for the framing which will keep the weight down. Where would I purchase this type of L bracket? Also, looking for some advise on adding a second battery to the boat for a bow mount trolling motor. Would you recommend placing the second battery in the bow? I am concerned about the weight of a battery, gas tank as well as myself with the addition of a second battery in the stern. Thanks for any help you can provide. I tell ya, I have surfed numerous sites on the web talking about mods but none come close to this for the information that all the members have posted......
 
:WELCOME:

Be careful with the deck height.It can make a boat tippy.No problems with the battery in the bow.You could put a battery in each side of the split bench.That would keep the weight centered better.You can purchase aluminum angle from a metal supplier and cut your own L brackets.That would be cheaper.1.5x1.5x1/8 would work fine.Remember to use stainless steel fasteners and untreated wood to prevent corrosion.
 
I have nothing much to say other then WELCOME.
I'm sure you get the help you want here and we like pictures.
 
Thanks for the info Ben2go. Funny you mention untreated wood. I just stumbled across an article talking about the chemical reaction that will occur when treated wood is placed against aluminum. That would have been a pretty costly mistake.
 
Welcome man! You found a good place to share ideas. Get some pictures up of the project and we can do some brainstorming with you.
I run two batteries on my 14' and I have them sitting next to each other to balance me out because my console and trolling motor are on the same side. It took a while playing with it before I found what was going to work best. I took my grinder with a cutting wheel to cut into the seat. Plus, both of the batteries are in the same spot, one less thing to worry about. When I charge one, I remember to charge the other.
 

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Nice Pics Darb79! I like your deck layout. When you cut into the bench for the battery compartments were you concerned at all about removing the floatation? As I mentioned in my first post, I have a split bench with two nice sizes boxes for seat mounts. I had questioned a dealer at the Spring boat show here in Toronto about the possibility of hollowing them out to create storage however, he was pretty admit that this was a no no should the boat capsize. What are your thoughts? Here is a pic of my boat. It would definitely answer my balance issues if the floatation isnt as major a concern as what was initially told to me.
 

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Lunkerville said:
Thanks for the info Ben2go. Funny you mention untreated wood. I just stumbled across an article talking about the chemical reaction that will occur when treated wood is placed against aluminum. That would have been a pretty costly mistake.

You're welcome.If you take the foam out of the split benches,you can add builders sheet foam on the sides and under the floor.Any good 1 inch foam from a home improvement store will work.
 
LV
Nice boat, that is going to be a great boat to mod. I like the spilt bench style. To answer a question you had on the bench supports, I am going to leave the support exposed but put decking around it going up 1 1/4inch level with the rest of the deck to keep that gap from being a lure gobbling hole.
 

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