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When I was shopping boats two years ago I saw one for sale very much like this layout. They were asking (what I thought was) too much so I bought this instead. Now, many hours and dollars later I’m likely approaching the cost of that other boat… but I can still tell people I bought this boat for...

The boat is finished! (Well, good enough to fish out of anyway!) Four days till it hits the water! Here’s the finished product:

My 14 has a 20HP on it and it goes plenty fast even with 3 guys in it. Rated up to 35HP, I could go bigger if needed but what I have is paid for!

The floor is in! Here’s the installed frame with all the foam (in several layers). I fit close to 9 cubic feet which gives me close to 540 lbs flotation. Following the US Coast Guard Boat Builders Handbook I calculate somewhere around 500 lbs needed, and their calculation assumes worst case. So...

Good deals go fast. When I was actively looking two years ago I was on every day for weeks looking at the typical used sites. The trash sticks around. Every once in a while you find something of value but it never lasts long.

This is how: What you’re seeing is the wooden frame (2x2) which supports the floor, a stainless angle bracket screwed to the end of the 2x2, and a stainless self-tapper screwed into the aluminum rib. Rubber pad added between the bracket and the rib for cushioning/protection, and 3M 4200...

I had a half bag of polymeric construction sand so I used that. Now that it’s on the board it’s a little more coarse than I’d like but I’ll live with it. I don’t generally fish barefoot so it will be fine. Definitely grippy!

Nope no rug. Seems like it would get dirty/ratty too quickly. I looked at vinyl but too pricy. Paint is cheapest, and there’s a few folks on here who speak highly of the paint-and-sand combo so I’m giving it a try. For $30 it’s worth the risk.

I’m in the process of refitting my Mirro with a floor and with all bench seats removed. I will be adding support braces down from the gunnels to the floor frame to stabilize the sides. See this older post for what mine will eventually look like: Dustin's 14ft alumacraft conversion... lots of...

The frame is screwed into the aluminum ribs with short self-tappers. The floor will be screwed to the frame once painting is complete. Will post pics of attachment once I assemble everything.

Great tip. Sand is already on in the picture above. It’s almost dry now, will go roll a second coat now.

Quick update: been doing a lot of varnishing and painting to seal up floor and get ready for install. Hoping to install this weekend. Going with a paint-and-sand topcoat rather than vinyl as I can’t afford the $2-300 that vinyl will cost me. A can of porch paint was $30. Thanks to thill for the...

2 lb foam is lighter thus gets you 2lbs extra buoyancy vs 4 lb foam. Unless you need better structural support from the foam, I’d think 2lbs would be sufficient. Foam gives about 62 lbs buoyancy per cubic foot, less the poundage. So 2 lb foam is about 60 lbs buoyancy, 4 lb foam is about 58 lbs...

I appreciate the intent of your comment. My goal is to get a working finished floor in the next 3 weeks. Beautification can be done later.

I cut the floor fairly tight fitting. A wide bead of caulk will be enough to seal it up in most places. If I have wider gaps I’ll use weather stripping plus caulk.

I found lots of plain steel hardware on mine too… ugh… most of the bolts ended up shearing rather than unscrewing. Full set of new stainless bolts will be going in. Your interior looks bright and shiny! Can’t wait to see the new paint!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks so my boat work has been limited, until today. I finished sealing the frame with OTF and 2 coats spar, then started cutting my foam pieces. I have EPS foam which melts in gasoline, so to avoid that happening I’ve wrapped each piece in plastic shrink wrap (got...

Wow that is some great looking plywood!! Skip the aluminum tops and just leave it as the wood. Who cares about the exposed fasteners. It looks great!! Are you planning to put foam back in, or are those bench cubbies for other storage? Would highly recommend some foam just in case, hate for your...

Might be handles integrated into the corner caps? Is that an old transducer mounted on the back? Won’t do much good right next to the motor like that.

150 might be exaggerating. 100 lbs is probably closer to the truth. Yes it’s some extra weight for sure, like driving around with an extra half of me in it all the time. But I’m not trying to win races. We’ll see how it performs this year. I’m hoping the weight helps balance out actually, it’s...