1972 Mirrocraft 16' V aka "The bigger boat"

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deadkitty

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
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Location
Portland oregon
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After using the snot out of my 12' valco and pretty much modding it to be the perfect one man fish slaying machine, my family decided they too like to go fishing ....

Unfortunately due to the weight restrictions on my lil' tinny, adding 200+ lbs really dragged down the experience. While still fun, I became concerned with safety especially when even the mid size wakes came rolling through. One big wave over the bow and the "Good Enough" would be sleeping with the fishes.

So with a sad heart she is being sent to Ye olde Craigslist.
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But the good news is, I get to start again and take all the knowledge I gained from my first big project and use it to go at a bigger platform. The combination of safety issues with the small boat and the fact that I just moved to a city on some big water (Columbia River) , I'm excited to have something to go chase those salmon in.

So here she is. Craigslist find for $900. Came with an electric start 25hp 1984 evinrude. Tilt lock is broken. But started right up. The transom is shot, and will need replaced immediately. Galvanized ezloader trailer is in decent shape, but the bunk mounts are rusted out. It is also about 3 feet too short, so I will need to extend it for maneuverability and safety. Lights are also gonna need to be replaced. The rest of the boat is in good order.
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Here's my plan of attack:
- Replace transom
- Fix trailer (bunks,lights,length, maybe bearings)

Then on to the fun stuff:
I saw this exact boat on CL with a mod already and I really like the aft layout:
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Nice open flat space toward the rear.
Definitely going to add that in, it'll give large storage areas on both sides as well as good fish fighting maneuverability. I plan on using aluminum square tubing and rivets this time around for framing.

At some point, probably next summer, a new paint job is in order. Will probably use coat-it to seal in the rivets. I'm also not a huge fan of the white and light blue.


I'm not 100% sure what I will do with the bow yet. But I will need to reinforce the cap so my 80lb terrova doesn't rip right off.
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I will likely put the dual batteries for it in the bottom of the bow space (good to balance weight when I'm by myself) then a storage space above the batteries for life vests etc.

I plan on installing downriggers to each side, interior lighting, Bimini top transferred from my previous boat, possibly a stereo. I will once again rock my humminbird helix 5 SI at the tiller and my garmin echo 200 at the bow.


She's definitely gonna go crabbing and bay fishing, so any tips on what I might want to add for such purposes would be much appreciated.

One thing I was considering, in my head it sounds like a lot of fun, but not sure on the practicality. I was thinking of adding a side or center console. My concern is that it might take up all that awesome new space I added by getting a bigger boat, lol. Is it too much of a space killer? Are there ways to make the footprint smaller than a traditional console. I see benefit as far as moving visibility forward, better weight distribution. But not sure it'd be worth the loss of deck space and might be a pain to work around when fighting a fish.

Anyway, TLDR... "Many hours of work yet to done..."
 
Nice lil project boat and a good price too.

On the 12' Alumicraft I redid years back I made a 3/4" plywood deck over the bow that came back about 2.5-3'. Served well for the trolling motor mounting, battery storage and life jackets.


The one thing I dont like in the pic you showed was hoe low the seat is. I had things called something like Jumpups, kind of like a scissor jack that would elevate you 1.5' for fishing and then fold down for driving or rough weather.

Im redoing a 14' boat right now and thought about a console but decider it wasnt for me with this size boat, but on a 16'er it wouldnt be too bad IMO.
 
Should be a fun project. What kind of hp is it rated for and are you sure it's an '84 motor? The decal is a little different than mine.
 
water bouy said:
Should be a fun project. What kind of hp is it rated for and are you sure it's an '84 motor? The decal is a little different than mine.


Huh, good catch, that might not be an 84.

I would think an 84 would have thru hub exhaust, but a picture search gave mixed results.
 
I'm fairly sure it's rated for 40hp, the transom is pretty stout besides the failing wood. The plate that says for sure is long gone.

As far as the motor year, I will take a closer look when I get a chance and confirm the year. I'm really not sure, haven't owned a motor from that era before.


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The motor's serial number can be traced and give you the exact year and model.

As far as a side console, I have now have had a couple. They save more space than a center console but still can be in the way.

The width of the boat is paramount to fitting a SC in. My smallest SC boat was a 48 inch width at the lowest point.

Getting up and down from the seat to run the boat can be more trouble than using an extended tiller with a grab bar.
 
I’d stick with tiller. Those are awesome motors. Super light. I had a 76 that looked just like yours and it weighed in at 98 lbs with electric start (bathroom scale). Unless you’re one of those guys that wants every available mph, I’d stick with the 25. Put a hydrofoil on it to help with low speed planning and getting out of the hole with all the weight you plan on adding. Good luck with the new project!


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Maybe 1981 but a nice one either way. Does it look like the transom was cut to fit the shaft length. I'm giving my boat the same layout with a deck.
 
Nice call water bouy, busted out the decoder ring and it is indeed an '81. So I hadn't thought about the transom being cut down, but it totally makes sense because the motor itself is a long shaft but the cav plates hangs a bit lower than you would want. To top that off the transom cap was definitely not oem, since it's totally rusted through and cut terribly at the bends. So at some point someone adapted it for a short shaft. When I go to replace everything I will raise the height back up to 20". The more freeboard the better and the motor should be more efficient higher up.


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Went on a history search. Emailed mirrocraft and they hooked me up with a brochure from that year. Looks like it is a 16' Deep Fisherman. So surprisingly the "deep" fisherman is built for a short shaft, lol. 63" beam, 35hp, and my favorite part 1200lb capacity.

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Very similar in size to my 16’ Naden. Which performed adequately with a 20 and super with the 35. I can take 3 men at 225lbs and all our camping gear/food for a 3 day trip and still plane albeit with a large bow splash! 3 guys and fishing poles works mint. Just to give you an idea of what you’re in for.


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Weldorthemagnificent said:
Very similar in size to my 16’ Naden. Which performed adequately with a 20 and super with the 35. I can take 3 men at 225lbs and all our camping gear/food for a 3 day trip and still plane albeit with a large bow splash! 3 guys and fishing poles works mint. Just to give you an idea of what you’re in for.


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Sounds exactly what I'm hoping for :) excited to get started, first things first gotta sell my other boat to refill the "boat fund" and get started.
 
Got the transom off today. A few rounded out bolts, had to cut a few screws, but eventually it came out. Busted out the wire brush and found a bit of pitting. What's the best way to deal with that?



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Not much you can do as far as the damage done, using steel alongside the aluminum is most likely why it corroded like that.

Are you going to redo the stepped transom or go full height up to the gunwales?
 
I think I will do the stepped, but with less drop, pretty much will be able to accommodate an 18" short shaft or easily use a spacer and fit a long shaft.


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I always liked the look of the stepped transoms, they just seem more boaty looking.

On mine I have to raise the transom 2" to work with the motor I have and Im looking for the proper width channel to cap the transom with. Im thinking of contacting Mirrocraft to see if they sell a replacement piece to use.

Maybe look into going that route through your mfg?

In any case go with doubled up plywood rather than the board that was in there, much stronger.
 
richg99 said:
18 inch short shaft??? I thought all motors were either a 15 inch short or a 20 inch long. Of course, each manufacturer has his own way of reaching those sizes.


I thought this too but my 20" motor is actually 22".
 
Welp as I found with my merc 9.9 it measures at 18", doing some research I found 18" is actually a fairly common length. So I want to leave myself options if I repower in the future or want to use my 9.9 on hp restricted lakes. If I'm locked into 20", I will have much less to choose from.

For the cap, I guess I'm not sure what it's function would be. I guess in my head it's there to keep wear and tear off the transom would and to add a nice metal trim. Would using thin sheet aluminum be okay? Something like flashing aluminum, easy to cut and break?


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