15 foot smokercraft V bottom.. open to suggestions

[Queencitybassman]

Let me start by saying I came across this website and could not resist becoming a member because I will be fixing up my own rig now and I see all the advice and tips and everyone seems so helpful.. great website. I have just recently purchased a 15 foot v-hull made by smoker craft. No leaks and it is in pretty good shape for the age. I am open to suggestions on how to go about my rebuild. Money is tight so nothing too crazy. Right now i am thinking about making a casting deck from the tip of the boat to the middle bench and having a built in cooler livewell between. Also building a pedestal to be able to mount a foot controlled trolling motor in the front. I have a fish finder id also like to stick in the front of the boat but I am wondering how to go about wiring both the troll and fish finder. I am new to this so the where to start with the wiring worries me. Between the first bench and second id like to build a level flooring and finish the interior design by painting then carpeting the whole boat. Is it a smart idea to build a built in cooler livewell on the casting deck.. and how should i start going about making a level floor in the middle. Any advice ideas and pictures would be appreciated guys. Thanks. Here are some pics of what im working with.

I have stripped most everything from the boat and cleaned it now

 

[Queencitybassman]

Alright so far no comments lol.. but I hope that someone can help me with this question I am trying to take off this piece of metal but I am wondering how to go about getting these screw type things out

 

[perchin]

Those there are rivets.. steel ones by looking at the rust. Just take a angle grinder and grind the head of them off, then if they still don't want to come off drill em out. looks like fun.

 

[Queencitybassman]

Thanks man I was starting to think no one would help hah.. this is my first project boat so the more help the better

 

[ober51]

What is the metal on the port side of the transom? looks dissimilar to aluminum, and it will corrode further if not taken off. Looks like a nice clean slate to start with - post pics and people with gladly help.

 

[Queencitybassman]

Ya definitely working on stripping it and running into a few more problems then I originally thought so I gotta see if my father in law has got a angle grinder so I can get some of this rust off I hope to strip it down and sand it down by next week and Ill keep you guys posted with some pictures.. my guess is I will run into more questions thanks guys

 

[Brine]

What is the metal on the port side of the transom? looks dissimilar to aluminum, and it will corrode further if not taken off. Looks like a nice clean slate to start with - post pics and people with gladly help.

Looks like an anchor pulley.

Ya definitely working on stripping it and running into a few more problems then I originally thought so I gotta see if my father in law has got a angle grinder so I can get some of this rust off I hope to strip it down and sand it down by next week and Ill keep you guys posted with some pictures.. my guess is I will run into more questions thanks guys

If the FIL doesn't have a grinder, a few of the members have used the cheap one from Harbor Freight and been happy with the results.

BTW, :WELCOME:

 

[Queencitybassman]

Hey Brine thanks a lot that tip is helpful.. what size angle grinder should i target or does it not matter and i just get the cheapest?

 

[Froggy]

You get the 4 1/2 inch angle grinder from Harbor freight for 15 bucks, a couple of cutting and grinding disks, 5 bucks and you are on the way. That rusty thing on the transom looks like an inverted flag pole holder....weird Man! its a good rig to start out, do what I did, check the search option on top here for a lot of answers, for photos, check the thread on Mods and go thru them, lots of stuff to be had.

Good luck

 

[Queencitybassman]

I am having a hell of a time using the angle grinder to get the rivets out.. any suggestions.. Also should i continue to use the angle grinder for sanding the boat and just use a soft brush?

 

[Queencitybassman]

Got everything stripped and ready to sand but I am wondering if a soft wired brush is a good way to sand/clean the boat

 

[rasmotherman]

if you take the head of the rivit off you should be able to pop the rivet out. i put a small socket on my ratchet, hold it firmly over the back of the rivet then hit it through. it work pretty good. as for the floor, what is the width at the height you want to deck it? (i would keep it as low as you can)

 

[rasmotherman]

Got everything stripped and ready to sand but I am wondering if a soft wired brush is a good way to sand/clean the boat

it it takes the paint and grime off, without taking off much aluminum, then it is better than sanding by hand

 

[Brine]

You are only trying to remove the rivets from the bow piece right? A flapper disk should make short work of the rivets, but I'm not sure what you are using.

Many of the guys have had good sucess with the braided wire disks for removing paint. If you do a search for "removing paint", it should come up.