Alumacraft 1542 Front Deck Layout Help Needed

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Katy Texas
Have a new-to-me Alumacraft 1542 with side console steering and really struggling to come up with a plan/design for a front deck. My want is to deck from the existing stock bow seat (deck?) back to the middle seat with storage underneath and a pedestal seat. Plan to use under the middle seat for storage also. I have a bow mount remote control (no foot pedal) trolling motor to install. Plan to use aluminum framing and plywood decking.

I am a complete newbie so have been searching everything I can find. The problem has been that the Alumacraft is built a little differently than most other popular 1542's like Tracker etc., so the general deck and framing designs for them dont quite work on the Alumacraft. Basically have lots of questions and I am hoping y'all can help with. Maybe someone has specific experience with an Alumacraft? What are the odds anyone has a drawing of their layout and framing?

Initial thought is to run the deck level with, instead of on top of, the bow & middle seat to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. One issue is the Alumacraft seats have a lip on them 3/4" x 1" thick) which makes it a pain to attach the framing to the front edge of the seat (actually haven't figured that out yet...). Most of the designs I have seen run on top of the seats, or at least on top of the middle seat. Wondering if that is for ease of framing or to make it perfectly level (front seat seams a little higher than middle seat)? Running it from the front gunwale level back would make mounting trolling motor simpler. Would those extra inches tall affect the stability?

Next step is designing layout in a way to be simple to construct, yet provide ample storage and support for a pedestal seat. Where is best place to mount seat - right in the middle of the deck, or set back to give more open floor space? What are the best storage compartment dimensions? Where should the trolling motor battery (12 volt so single battery) compartment be?

Planning to use plywood hatches not the high $$ prefab dry hatch lids and drain system - is that a mistake?

What other design or construction items/issues am I forgetting?

Any ideas and info greatly appreciated.
 
Your boat, only you can choose what will fit your needs. If your seat has a lip then attach aluminum angle below the lip so your plywood deck is flush with the seat. You should be able to get away with good 5 ply 1/2" plywood. I havent done and flat bottom jon style boats but gave done a few V bottom boats with great sucess. Many folks build way to light while others go way overboard and make it way to heavy. Pics might help us to make suggestions !!
 
I used a square flush-mount seat pedestal base on my foredeck, like AlumaCraft uses. Hillside Castings in Arkansas. I wanted the deck flat for casting, sometimes. They make lots of handy boat jewelry. TexasJim
 
If by newbie you mean this is your first boat, then maybe use it as is for awhile before making modifications. Doing that will give you a better feel what changes you might want to make to meet your needs. Then you do it once.

Thanks for mentioning Hillside Castings. Always good to know about potential resources.

PS: Some pic's might help generate some ideas. And, congrats on the new boat!
 
Here are some pictures of boat to give a visual.
drawing of lip on the seats
Seat_Lip.jpg

Boat_from_Starboard.jpg

Front_looking_back.jpeg

Middle_Bench_to_Front.jpeg

Middle_Bench_to_Front_top_view.jpeg


Hope that helps.
 
If by newbie you mean this is your first boat, then maybe use it as is for awhile before making modifications. Doing that will give you a better feel what changes you might want to make to meet your needs. Then you do it once.

Thanks for mentioning Hillside Castings. Always good to know about potential resources.

PS: Some pic's might help generate some ideas. And, congrats on the new boat!
Newbie to Jon Boat Mods - tons of bass fishing in regular bass boats so have a good idea of the simple modifications I want to make.
 
Boat isn't that deep, I wouldn't get to carried away with a deck or you might end up top heavy and extra tippy...Cool looking little boat, bet it flies over the water !!
 
You could still use a piece of aluminum angle then add a strip of wood as a spacer so you can use thinner plywood. I used 5/8" plywood for my floor suspended 4 ft between seats and that held my fat butt !! 3/4" will be to heavy, if your handy with wood working, you could make a Z shaped from wood to offset that seat, so your floor would be flush to top of seat. Ifvyou just floor the boat,ctry adding foam between the floor ribs so the plywood floor sits flush on top of the ribs, therevyou could get away with 3/8" plywood if you get the better grade so it doesn't bow.
 
Boat isn't that deep, I wouldn't get to carried away with a deck or you might end up top heavy and extra tippy...Cool looking little boat, bet it flies over the water !!
I was a little worried about the stability of a deck , but have fished it a bunch with a buddy standing on the existing front deck and me standing on middle or back bench and it hasn't been a problem at all. The weight of the deck could make it a little more "tippy" but I am going to use aluminum framing to keep it as light as possible. A lot of folks I have talked to with decks said it isn't a problem?. I am going to move as much weight as possible (batteries and maybe the fuel tank) forward and centered on the floor to add some ballast I think will help. Also I am a fair weather fisherman so wont be out there trying to stand on it in rough water. Doing some drawings now showing the deck options at different heights and I will post shortly. Now I am just trying to decide if an extra couple inches higher will make any noticeable difference.
 
I am working on my first modification. What did you finally do and are you satisfied?
 
Have not had time to start and still undecided…..

Still haven’t found anyone that has done this make/model boat, and haven’t received much advice. Let me know if you have better luck!
 
Have not had time to start and still undecided…..

Still haven’t found anyone that has done this make/model boat, and haven’t received much advice. Let me know if you have better luck!
Will do.
 
Pretty much a noob here too, but that boat looks like it has a flat bottom, so what do you gain with a casting deck? I'd just use it the way it is. Seems pretty much perfect for fishing as-is to my eye.
 
I am working on my first modification. What did you finally do and are you satisfied?
I have a 1648 with the lip on the front deck. I saw online where a DIYer was using pop rivets to attach angle directly to the lip. That’s what I’m going to try and use aluminum as the deck extension. In other words the angle will be attached just a little less than flush than the deck to account for the width of the aluminum decking. Using .09 aluminum for the decking. If it doesn’t seem sturdy enough I’ll brace the angle from below.
 
Pretty much a noob here too, but that boat looks like it has a flat bottom, so what do you gain with a casting deck? I'd just use it the way it is. Seems pretty much perfect for fishing as-is to my eye.
Lots of advantages to being higher up when bass fishing (see the way bass boats are designed), in addition for me the advantage is storage space under the deck.
 

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