'79 Lund V-bow

[ArmyJayhawk40]

Well I finally did it. I went out and bought myself a 1979 16' Lund V-bow (pictures to follow) with a '76 15hp Johnson and trailer. I have titles on all three. Now I'm dying to do all this work on it and feel overwhelmed. I mean it works now... but it could be made to be so sweet right? Right! I've been looking around on this website and have found so many ideas but am not sure where to start. I was hoping that someone would help me out with a few questions I'm having though...

1. What are your thoughts on taking out the middle bench seat? I would love to open up the main floor to make more room, but I am concerned about the gunnels losing too much strength. I have seen several posts on here where people have already done this and if you have I would like to know how it has held up over time.

2. What is the best way to go about painting this bad boy? I mean the '79 paint job has held up ok, but I would prefer something a little nicer looking than puke green on the inside. And while I don't have any leaks right now, I would like to put some kind of seal layer on the inside or out... or both. Thoughts?

3. Has anyone ever bolted a pole holder rack to the transom? or to the metal corners in the back? I catfish and would like to have a rack out back with some driftmaster pole holders on it.

4. LED lights... I would like to put some red ones inside for night fishing. However, I'm not crazy about paying $15 for one 10' light. Anyone know of a reputable company that makes a good LED for cheap???

Right now I have a working boat that floats and runs just fine. I would love to spend my weekends doing some small projects here and there while sneeking in a fishing trip from time to time. Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated!

 

[sawmill]

I have a 1982 16foot Lund that I am just about finished with, I did not remove the center seat but I cut it out in the middle and took the foam out and used one side as a storage compartment and added a tank to the other side for a livewell. I don't know how deep your sides are but mine are 24 inches deep so I added the braces back in it. I built a compartment in the very nose where the seat used to be and put my trolling motor battery up there. I also added a floor so that it has a flat floor now. I used cedar for the floor and front compartment as I have several thousand board feet of it here and planed it all to 3/4 inch thick then put a tonge and groove in it before glueing it into one piece. I made the floor in panels so if I ever have to take it out it comes out easy. I used 1/2 inch 5 ply plywood for the seats and then coated all the wood surfaces with 2 coats of epoxy paint befor covering all the wood with carpet. I added plastic pipe under the floor and ran the wires in one and the lines for the livewell thru another so I can replace them without tearing the floor out. I added foam flotation all over the floor to replace and add the the foam I took out. I have to finish the wiring up and build a jack plate for the motor yet and then it is all done. As for paint I stripped it down to bare metal on the out and inside because it had been brush painted several times. I then used a self etching primer inside and out the used BehrUltra paint to match the red outside and light gray inside. It took forever to dry but it is now hard. I used a spray gun on mine. I used a quart of paint outside and a quart inside which was enough to get 4 coats outside and 2 coats inside. I got need lettering off e bay to match the lund name.

 

[HahnZooKeeper]

Both of your boats sound real nice, but a picture is worth a "thousand words". Do either of you have any pics to share with the class?

 

[Brandon]

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