1957 Feathercraft 14ft v hull conversion

Hey all, I have been reading these forums for several years now and I thought I would add my modest project to the list and pick your brains in the process. I have just done some dickering for a 1957 14' Feather-craft v hull with no leaks and very rough paint and then traded my old 12 foot flat bottom and motor for a 20hp Mercury early 70s I believe, seems to run very well.
For the mod I am thinking about putting a slightly raised floor in the front braced off the shelf in the bottom of the front with a hatch to store life vests, etc.
Front bench seat-cut the top of the seat in 3 sections, left hatch with a live well, center seat with battery underneath, right hatch with dry storage
Middle section- stable floor
Driver bench-cut the top of the seat in 3 sections, left hatch dry storage, center seat extended dry storage, right hatch cooler
I am thinking 1/2 inch untreated plywood, water sealed with an oil based paint maybe an "oops" color from the paint store or other cheap option and covered with a marine carpet. the floor will be braced with the ribs of the boat and balanced with 1x2 or 2x2 were needed.
Exterior paint is rough and many layered, I will sand well and feather it out then shoot etching primer on all bare metal and use a good poly primer, haven't decided on the final design or color scheme.
If anyone has any ideas or guidance I am all ears.
I will probably start with the exterior hull so that I can get the stickers and numbers on it, this is NE Florida and it will be 80 degrees by the end of February and ready to go.
Thanks all
Rhett-

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. Just a thought: With it being an older boat, you might think about putting some new foam or other means of floatation under the bench seats/under flooring. I'll be watching so post lots of pictures!

Currently there is no foam at all in the boat, what is recommended? I would still like to be able to put some storage under the bench seats does foam have to fill the entire cavity?
Also has anyone used rubberized undercoating or truck bed liner spray on the entire inside of a boat or maybe on the bottom half?
Thanks

rgodbold said:

Currently there is no foam at all in the boat, what is recommended? I would still like to be able to put some storage under the bench seats does foam have to fill the entire cavity?
Also has anyone used rubberized undercoating or truck bed liner spray on the entire inside of a boat or maybe on the bottom half?
Thanks

Click to expand...

There is a thread about figuring the amount of foam needed to float your boat at top of this thread or in the boat house. Requires a bit of math but isn't too bad.

I'm not sure about the bed liner, but, as you've probably scene, this forum is big on steel flex and I've read plenty of threads about guys coating the inside of their rig with it. Might be worth some research. And what rscottp said about the foam formula. It is somewhere on a sticky.

I started stripping the paint with a citrus based stripper that worked pretty well, after 24 hours I scraped it down with a wire brush, then started hitting it with the wire wheel on a drill and grinder. I changed my mind about painting and I am going to polish the aluminum and leave it as is. I polished 1 small patch with just a scotch pad and some wax and I like the results so far. I think the next step is to finish stripping, wet sand with 400 grit and then polish.

Latest Update
I stripped the entire boat with the Citristrip which worked pretty well, no complaints, I used 1 bottle on the whole exterior of the boat. I did it in segments and let it sit for about 24 to 48 hours, it ate through about 4 layers of paint in some spots, white, red, blue, and green. I then used a wire brush and grinding wheel to get to the bare metal.
Issue:
I wet sanded with 220 then 500 grit to clean up the grinder marks then spent a day with rubbing compound and an electric buffer. I was able to get a pretty nice shine and polish on the aluminum but it wasn't worth the effort, this is a 1957 boat so there are so many scratches, dents, and gouges that the polishing just made them all stand out. I was afraid to try to sand all the scratches out, I might go right through the hull.
New Process:
I then re-scuffed the entire boat with a rough grade of scotchbrite pad and some Comet and washed it all really well. I used almost 5 cans of Rustoleum Etching Primer. Currently the boat does not leak at all, I filled it to the seats with water to check. I am going to add a strip down the bottom of the boat with truck bed liner spray, I think this will help seal up and keep sealed any little issues or weak seams and give some small amount of protection from oyster beds and the like. I am going to then spray the entire hull with Rustoleum Primer Filler and wet sand it with some 500 grit paper before painting. I haven't decided the color yet, probably a tan or something like that.
Any ideas at this point would be greatly appreciated, I still have a lot to do on the interior but I really want to get the outside done so I can put the stickers on and get it in the water. I have a "new" 72 Mercury 20 hp that cranks and runs well, I am gonna drop it by the shop next week to have the yearly maintenance and let them check it over, I haven't had it in the water yet and I really want to get it professionally serviced and checked, I am getting to old to paddle for hours.

After the etching primer I taped off about 2 in on ether side of the outside rails and used the truck bed liner spray, I did not see any noticeable good that this did once it was done and at $8 per can I don't recommend it.
I let that all dry well and put two coats of primer filler on the whole outside and let that cure; 6 spray cans.
I wet sanded the primer with 500 grit to smooth it all out and then used a rough grit scotch-brite pad to make sure all surfaces were well scuffed and washed the whole boat well.
After drying I applied 2 coats of a Rustoleum French Beige that is where we are now; 5 cans so far, I think that it needs some kind of graphic or stripe if anyone has any ideas shout them out.

Hope you can grab some oysters!

It's nice to salvage an old timer like this. I'll be interested to hear back how the Rustoleum holds up.

Latest update
I cut out the front bench seat and left the bottom framework, then put in 2x4 braces on the front, middle and against the rear bench seat for the floor. I used 3x8 in plywood for the floor, to keep the weight down and with the braces it seems like this is pretty sturdy so far. I will be putting in a pedestal seat and post for the front seat and here I braced it with 2 pieces of 2x6 against the center support, The rear bench I removed the aluminum top and installed 2x4 braces and a plywood lid with piano hinges so the rear bench will be all storage. I will also be putting in a lid for the rear area over the gas tank and all. I used indoor outdoor carpet and glue from the Home Depot, the carpet was $17 for a 6x8 piece and looks pretty good I think.
I also primed and painted the interior, I haven't decided if I want to carpet the sides or not, has anyone done this and does it hold well?

Still need to set up the battery, lights, and other electronics as well as get the seats installed and rod holders.

Latest Update:
Finished up the carpet and hatches, I mounted the battery in the front of the boat and made a angled hatch cover that will cover the battery and some storage area. I used a set of jumper cables to run from the battery in the front to the rear of the boat under the floor to the trolling motor and as an auxiliary to the other electronics. I have a lawn mower battery under the side of the rear bench to run the depth finder and lights as needed. I added the seats from Bass Pro Shops as well as the cup holders. I added a magnet bar from Harbor Freight to hold knives, pliers, hooks, etc for easy access, I will also add one near the front seat. Under the rear bench is storage for life vests, tackle box, anchor, etc. Still need to figure out what pole holders I want to use and I have a Bimini top on the way from bass pro shops to still install.

Nice clean build :beer: