12' 1976 Harber/Sears V-hull conversion

[waterant]

Geez that looks like it's going to be awful heavy. May not even work well for one person.

I just weighed the boat again with both seats and an empty gas tank: 235LB (empty hull without even bench seats was 105LB)
so I added 130LB - not even 1 normal person's worth.
It's missing the battery, a few wires for navigation lights, hatch lids, a couple of small walls, paint and eva foam (which is pretty light).
I may have to go with a smaller battery because the battery I already have from some other project is almost 40LB
or maybe it will actually balance the bow better, I'll test it on the water and it's easy to swap the battery.

On the manufacturer's plate, the boat is rated for 654LB load.
minus 72LB for my 2-stroke 9HP outboard and 130LB of "upgrades", I still have 452LB left to play with.
Yes, it's getting tight but still reasonable.
I'll cut my sugar intake and will probably fit just fine.

 

[waterant]

Hi guys,

I hope you had a great Christmas, and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Some progress on this build:

I tried aluminum blazing for the first time to buld hatch frames. Worked pretty well. almost like TIG welding with a strong bond.

















so far, it's 318 LB.
213LB added to the 105LB original hull.

I added 2" 1/8" flat bars to the hull tightened into a heavy 2" 1/8" angle in the middle for reinforcement because I will have to be able to raise this boat by the crane and it was not designed for lifting.

Yes, it is heavy. This build would be better on 14' or 16' hull, but I have room only for 12' on my deck.
It will float just fine and run well with 2 people.

I will add pods or 3x strips of 2" foam to each side for extra flotation and stability - this will add 150-300LB of buoyancy.
I'm still considering the type and design for that part.

 

[waterant]

I calculated the boyancy of foam I have inside the boat now and it's ~511 pounds for 1.5x of 4x8' sheets of 2" rigid foam.

* From another thread I found:
4x8' sheets of 2" foam is 5.33 cubic feet.
Seawater weighs ~64 pounds per cubic foot.
So sheet displaces ~5.33x64= 341 pounds

Current total weight is 318lb for the boat + 40lb battery + 110lb for the outboard = 468 lb

Everything weights less in the water, aluminum weights in the water 0.68 or something like that. So, 511lb of flotation to keep 318lb from sinking. Seems like enough.

I still want to add side floats for stability, similar to boat collar from Australia
https://boatcollar.com.au/product/buy-max-collar-rooftopper-trailer/Super expensive to ship from Australia.

I'll diy them. Already found a supplier for the same material.
I'll open a new thread about this project because I couldn't find anyone describing this except some ugly floats on sticks done from insulation foam from home depot.
There must be a better way...

 

[waterant]

Hatches are done, decks are done, hatches reinforcement is done, and electrical is done, spaces between hatches are painted.
I am getting ready for EVA foam.

















I "un-bented" two old seats and got enough material for the front deck and hatches. It was a bit challenging to flatten those, and there are a few uneven places, but nothing critical.

For the rear hatches, I used 1/4" HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene). I still had to add reinforcement because it flexed too much if I stepped in the middle. With the reinforcement, both hatches feel very solid. Using aluminum sheets would be the best option but at $450+ per sheet it costs here i just could not justify the cost.

Things left:

- Install EVA foam
- Install the electrical and bilge panel (all is wired; I just need to install it over the foam)
- Finish engine controls (I'm waiting for the cables and steering arm)
- Add foam collar
- Wait for spring
- Splash! .. and hope she floats

 

[perki307]

SWEET!

 

[airshot]

Wow...great job..

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

I have one of those boats. They're pretty stout for a 12'. I've had a variety of motors on it ranging from 6 to 18hp. It really did well with a fastwin 18 johnnyrude and would plane with 3 people, or 2 guys and French River camping gear. I currently have a 9.5 which will push it ok by myself or with someone light up front and no gear. Maybe the 9.9 is up to the task but I recommend a 15 swap or conversion.

 

[waterant]

I have one of those boats. They're pretty stout for a 12'. I've had a variety of motors on it ranging from 6 to 18hp. It really did well with a fastwin 18 johnnyrude and would plane with 3 people, or 2 guys and French River camping gear. I currently have a 9.5 which will push it ok by myself or with someone light up front and no gear. Maybe the 9.9 is up to the task but I recommend a 15 swap or conversion.

I've got a new(ish) 15hp 4-stroke Evinrude (Tohatsu) for it because it already has a tube for remote steering and an electric start. As I understand, it's possible to convert those to 20HP by changing the carburetor. My "upgrade" made the boat much more rigid and it will not have any trouble with a little extra HP. I'll try it as is first.

 

[waterant]

Jan 28 update.

The front deck and mid cockpit are ready.
Electric system and lights are all done.

 

[LDUBS]

The fit and finish sure looks good.

Looks like a spot or flood light mounted on the gunnel right there in front of the remote control. Did you fabricate the bracket?

 

[waterant]

The fit and finish sure looks good.

Looks like a spot or flood light mounted on the gunnel right there in front of the remote control. Did you fabricate the bracket?

yes, it's just 2x U-shaped brackets with bolt and wing nut to rotate the light out of the way inside the hull when it's not needed. we used a dinghy a fair amount of time at night, so I wanted something better than a handheld flashlight; plus, there is plenty of 12v power available.

 

[GilK]

It looks good. Great job!

 

[waterant]

It looks good. Great job!

thanks. i'm getting a bit frustrated with the speed of my progress but we still have at least a couple of months until the boating season here so I should make it

 

[waterant]

all done.
even the capacity label and serial number are reattached.
just waiting for the engine remote control kit.

check this out:

 

[Stand Up]

Really good job. You're going to have a lot of fun using this boat. Enjoy.

 

[flatheadsteve]

Looks great awesome job!