1976 Lund C-12

[Gibson]

My old man handed this over to me after he got himself a decked-out Bass Tracker. He's had this thing since I was 8.... I'm now 37, and I can't bring myself to sell it. I kinda learned how to fish in it as a kid.

Then I find THIS site. Definitely not selling it now! All kinds of ideas come to mind, but I think I'll avoid a front deck. It's just not a very deep v-hull at 12' to mess with the instability. So... with that said, I guess I'll be checking out all of your mods and see what's gonna work for what I need.

Some ideas:
-Walk through split center-bench seat.
-New paint inside and out (outside will HAVE TO BE BLUE.... That's the ONLY color in Michigan as far as I'm concerned :wink: )
-Rear bench extend to transom to cover gas tank, etc.
-Run cable to battery housed under front bench to distribute weight a little better
-Close up the front bench for battery compartment/storage
-"New" 70's reproduction "Lund" logos (There's a guy on ebay that makes/sells them)
-Carpet front, middle, and rear benches.

At 12', I'm kinda limited on what I can do. So here's where you come in... What might YOU recommend?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ROBB]

Oh the possibilities!

Enjoy the summer, all off season to work on it!

Nice boat.

 

[TheMaestro]

:WELCOME:

First thing, check out all the 12 ' mods on here,that should give you a good starting point.. If you remove/split the centre, make sure to brace it to retain structural integrity. I look looked at all the mods on here first,then I bookmarked 17 of my favorites, then whittled them to 5, then I start ed my mod! Good luck and keep askn questions

 

[theyyounggun]

What if you did the benches down the side like you were talking about with the walkway in the middle. And deck from that very first bench forward just for a place to sit in the front.And have a small deck in the back to put a seat on so you could fish/drive from there. And you could have your gas tank under the deck in the stern.

 

[theyyounggun]

And what if you did a base coat on the outside yellow, tape off a M and then paint it blue :wink:

 

[Gibson]

All good recommendations so far! I'm going cross-eyed checking out everyone's handywork in this forum. TONS to look through. Definitely some well thought out mods. Looking forward to starting mine!

 

[Gibson]

Well, I wrapped up the modification just today. I started about a YEAR after I first posted here with the 2 pics you see up above.

Here goes....

 

[Gibson]

Got crackin' on sanding and grinding. Not too many pics of that since it's kinda boring.

 

[Gibson]

Reconstructed the middle bench (now walk-thru) with 1/8"x 1" angle aluminum, 1/8" aluminum rivets, and sections of the deconstructed bench.

 

[Gibson]

Removed all wood pieces, cleaned her out, and got her ready for the fun part.

 

[Gibson]

Sprayed out the satin gray and started carpeting the benches. Used medium grade gray marine carpeting. Here in the Midwest, I went to Menards. Seems to be not too cheap and it's not the super expensive stuff.

 

[Gibson]

Went with zinc chromate primer. The stuff is funny to work with because it goes on thick and kind of rough. If you go this route, I found it was best to use 2 coats (sanding with 220 grit in between coats). It will give a better finish in the end.

On another note: You may notice the aluminum is more shiny. I suggest BEFORE you prime and paint, you get some aluminum boat wash. It's usually marked as something for pontoon boats. Spray it on, let it foam up, and hose it off immediately. Shines like it was new.

 

[Gibson]

As I stated originally, I went with BLUE. Not red. Michigan fans... TRUE Michigan fans... don't do red (that school just south), and we don't do green either (little bro' in East Lansing). [-X

Though I know the signature color for Lund back in the day was RED.... I. Do. Not. Care.

Anyways, the paint is Rustoleum Marine Paint. Navy Blue.

 

[Gibson]

Ok, here's the technical part: The floor.

Rather than go with heavy 3/4" marine plywood, I went with a 4'x8' sheet of King Starlite XL from Total Plastics Corp. (or Co., I don't remember). 3/8" thick plastic at $100 a pop. Now you might say, "3/8?! Way too thin!" Thing is, I'm making up for thickness with even lighter weight aluminum 1"x1" square tube for floor support. It kept the overall weight very low but it is very solid, structurally. Everything for the floor was riveted with 3/16" rivets.

 

[Gibson]

After that, it was carpet the floor, install the floor, and construct the storage between the rear bench and stern using the same aluminum tubing as noted above for the floor. I made 1 hatch for access. I decided at the last minute to scrap the 2-hatch design since one right behind the swivel seat would be a pain to get to while seated. You'll see I notched the hatch to accommodate for the outboard clamps for opening and closing. Gotta put a hatch pull or handle on it yet. Nothing major.

Note: Attaching the floor, bench seats, and rear storage, I used ALL stainless 1-1/2" steel self-tapping pan head screws.

 

[Gibson]

This was a fun build. MY FIRST, though I've been thinking about it for years. I had to remember that it's a 12 foot boat. The goal was to keep it functional, make a significant change, and by all means - keep it light and the center of gravity LOW. I'd seen some 12 footers with decks built right over the center and front benches with 3/4" plywood and supported with 2x4's. If that worked for them or you, more power to ya. I wasn't about to risk the instability, so I skipped it in the design all together.

If you take anything away from my contribution, make sure you do the following:
-Keep the center of gravity LOW on a short and not too deep of a boat.
-Use light materials. She'll ride better in the water, won't roll too far when you turn or walk, and it won't eat up a ton of the recommended weight specs.
-Prime with aluminum primer (Duh).
-Use marine grade paint and carpet.
-Rivets: USE ALUMINUM.
-Screws: USE STAINLESS STEEL.

Nothing will rot, rust, or deteriorate on this boat. EVER.

I learned to fish in this thing as a kid... I'm now 38. Lots of good memories. When my dad got his decked out Tracker a few years ago, he handed this down to me and I'd been waiting a long time to do something with her. I finally did, and it feels pretty **** good.

Anyway.... tight lines to ya!

 

[scoot]

Great build sir

 

[Gibson]

Thanks, Scoot!

 

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Good stuff Gibson! Really like the way your boat came out.

 

[riverrat174]

Looks great. Nice work.