14' gamefisher

[rfarrands]

I came across this site over the winter, and I've been itching to do something to my 14' Sears Gamefisher, (semi-v I think). I picked up my boat and trailer and brand new 5hp Merc. last fall, only took it out a couple of times. I saw today was supposed to be beautiful so I figured, what the heck, stop staring at other peoples work and do something!
Sorry, all pictures were taken with my phone. :?
Here's what I'm starting with:

 

[rfarrands]

So I pulled the two forward seats out. Drilled the rivets out and they popped right out. Not sure if I'll be able to use them for anything. Maybe pull out the foam or use the aluminum for brackets. I'll definately use the brackets that were holding the seats to support the sides after it's all together.
Disassembly was much quicker than I figured.

 

[dyeguy1212]

Looks good...what are your plans exactly?

 

[rfarrands]

Next I started laying the framework for the deck. I used 2x2's for under the plywood. I planned for the plywood to sit on the gunwhale where there's a bend where the rivet line is. It is 47" wide and I ran it 8' from the front of the rear seat. If I decide to move the rear bench forward a little I can sit it right on the deck.
In the second picture you can see the brackets that secured the seats to the sides of the boat. I plan on using them for the top of the plywood after it's carpeted.
I can't find any pics of the completed framework for the main deck on my phone #-o . I was sure I took some, but maybe it was coffee or bathroom break time. I'll make sure to take some when I reassemble after I'm done waterproofing.
Here's a picture of the boat with the plywood down:

 

[rfarrands]

My plans are to put in a low deck with a forward storage compartment. A single seat towards the front and a middle storage compartment for battery and tackle. Switches for lights and fishfinder. I have a Hummingbird 565 and want to get a LED setup from Bluewater plus nav lights in case I ever want to go out at night. I'm gonna paint it light gray and carpet gray also. Maybe get some color in the seats and a stripe(?) on outside. Put a couple hatches in the floor too for lesser used items. Im trying to keep it as light as possible b/c there's no budget for motor upgrade.
My fishing buddy is my 8 year old son, and I just want to keep it simple and fun.

 

[authentic]

I wish when I got started on a project it would move that fast. Lookin' good, and nice progress for one day.

 

[rfarrands]

I put the old bench seat in to see how something about the same L&W would work. I'd probably make it about 6" taller. I figure I'd mount a swivel seat in the front for my son,(who is an excellent fisherman) a storage hatch in the center and a battery compartment in the rear with my fishfinder mounted on top.
The only drawback I see is that if he wanted to turn 180 degrees and face the rear, he'd have to straddle the bench. Shouldn't be too bad though, only as wide as my battery.
Got to framing the front deck/hatch area:
You can see there will be a pretty big front storage area.

 

[rfarrands]

Well, after about an 11 hour day, I got the front deck sheathed. the triangular top section was the hardest thing I did all day. I took it slow and took LOTS of measurements.
Last thing I did was take it all apart and into my garage so I can waterproof it. Not sure if I'll use Thompson's or fiberglass resin. Weather's supposed to get cold again for a couple of days, maybe I'll build the center bench/console section in the garage. Carpet is next and then re-install and wiring, which I'm not looking forward to.

 

[MeanMouth]

Looking good! =D>

 

[RStewart]

looking good. you abd your son are going to have a blast fishing from that thing.

 

[Truckmechanic]

Looking good..You are making some fast progress too.

 

[rfarrands]

I'm going to take a couple of days off and figure out the next steps. I want to route the wires for everything, but I don't have the lights yet. Funds are a little low for a couple weeks, but I want to get the sections I have done carpeted and installed so Ican fish if the weather turns nice.
Does anyone know how the Bluewater LED wires run? what kind of wires do I need to run for a pair of small lights on each side of boat. How does the wiring get hidden? Hatch and nav lights and everything else I can hide. I'm just not sure how I'll do the side interior lights. I guess I can just change my plans and mount them to my planned center bench/console, but I'd rather have them on the outside gunwale. Originally, I was going to run rope lights around the whole boat, but after seeing the led's that looks a little cheesy. I have to think. :-k

 

[rfarrands]

Got a little more done today. I had everything out and I gave everything two coats of Thompsons WS over the weekend. What a pain. I never used that stuff before. So I put the deck framing back in today, and spent half the day rethinking my plans. I'm just getting more nervous about having seats up so high. Especially with my son. So... I decided to put one of the benches back in, btwn where the front two were originally. I can always put a post in later if I don't like it.
I spent some time sealing up some holes where I drilled out some rivets, and then I vacuumed out the hull and wiped out the inside with acetone where it's going to be painted.
Then I gave the inside a good coat of gray paint. It looked splotchy and drippy as I was doing it, but it dried a lot better than I thought it was going to. I was surprised how well it looked actually. Can't wait to see it tomorrow in the sun.
After I was done painting, I carpeted the deck and front section. Time consuming, but not too hard. I do commercial roofing and it was a lot like glueing down a rubber roofing membrane. Can't wait till tomorrow to screw in the carpeted pieces. It should really look like something then.
Tomorrow I plan on getting a lot done. Weather is supposed to be beautiful the rest of the week and my son's off from school on Friday, so I want to be on the water by then. Electrical won't be done, but hopefully I'll have fishfinder mounted at least.
Oh- yesterday I found a guy selling some seats on craigslist. I drove out and got 2 decent seats with 2 bases and pedestals and 1 spring mount and a 1 set of arm rests for 50 bucks. went to walmart today and got another spring mount for 16 bucks. Not too shabby.

 

[rfarrands]

Here's the seats & stuff I got off Craigs List, Just have to clean them up. They're different sizes, but pretty close colorwise. Small one up front, and highback in the rear with armrests. :wink:
I got the carpeted pieces screwed in, here's the screws I used, just for wood/wood .
These screws have a washer built in and a drill point, so they work really well.
I touched up all the paint where it needed it on the inside and JB welded a seam on the outside where there was a little leak. Seems like the gasket material was starting to dryrot a little, so I filled it all in pretty good. Leak was minor, but with deck in I won't really see it right away if/when it gets worse. I tried pounding rivets, but lost interest in that pretty quick. Maybe if I had a helper. Anyway JBWeld should do OK.
I mounted rod holders I got from BPS last week, the 2pack they have for 16 bucks. It seems pretty suspect. Maybe it's OK for just holding your rod if you're still fishing, but I suspect they'll break if used for trolling. Here's where I finished today:
Lot's more to do, but the rest of this week I plan on being on the water fishing. Half day of school for my son tomorrow, and he'll love to get on the water. I'm gonna try to get fishfinder installed before I pick him up from school tomorrow.

 

[rfarrands]

My next post should be a pic of a giant.

 

[dyeguy1212]

I used those teks screws on both of my mods.. I think they look really good

 

[Troutman3000]

Looking good. I am going to look into those tek screws.

 

[dyeguy1212]

They're 5.50 a box, and come in lengths from 3/4" to 1 1/4" (at least at Home depot). You can get self tapping or regular for wood.

 

[rfarrands]

Fished all weekend with my son, fish really weren't biting. On the bay we fish the water is still 44 degrees, even though we got into the 80's this weekend. No bass, just a couple sunfish, though we did see some giants under some docks, they wouldn't bite. Got a little more done on the boat, cleaned and installed the seats, got fishfinder installed, a 565 hummingbird which was a lot of fun to use, I used some inch and a quarter conduit straps for oar holders, which worked well, and I put in some eye bolts for bungee straps for rod holdowns. The boat seems to run a LOT better with the extra weight from the decking etc. It is pretty slow, as you can imagine, but my son and I like it. We really had a ball and instead of bouncing around like it did last year, it cruises like a cadillac.

 

[jmowery2333]

I pretty much have the same setup as you, and am looking to do pretty much the exact same thing to my boat. Just not sure how to build the frame for the floor...any tips on how you fastened it to the boat?