Absolute Novice First Project

[Howard33]

First off, hello to everyone. Just became a member of Tinboats after doing a bit of research for my first project. I was fortunate enough to be given a 14' flat bottom jon boat with a trailer, x2 trolling motors and outboard. The boat was originally bought for the son of one of my father's friends and the young man never used but simply left it out in the back yard open to the elements. It already had the benches removed and three seats installed. It was also apparently wired at one point but the boat and trailer both could use some real TLC.

 

[Howard33]

Well, I went ahead and removed the seats and found that floor was actually aluminum that had been riveted to bottom of the boat. The carpet was in serious need of replacement and had been affixed to the aluminum with fiberglass mesh tape. The front shelf plate was screwed into the frame and I have started removing it as well. After I get a chance to vac out all of the dirty and such exposed by removal of the carpet I can start scrubbing the aluminum.

 

[Howard33]

And this. No idea what brand, year, etc. Just know it works, verified that. Guess I'm gonna have to learn to work on it now. lol

 

[DaleH]

Love the seat bases! Add storage to them for some Plano plastic boxes and that would be cool.

OB looks to be an early 70s vintage OMC 20-25hp sized block motor, uses points in the ignition I'd opine.

 

[Howard33]

Love the seat bases! Add storage to them for some Plano plastic boxes and that would be cool.

OB looks to be an early 70s vintage OMC 20-25hp sized block motor, uses points in the ignition I'd opine.

I was wondering if it's Johnson. I'm sure it's early 70's. I'll post up some images later with the cover off the motor. My main direction right now is cleaning up the inside and outside of the boat. Wondering what would be the best way to cleanup the aluminum. Alot of residue and gunk on it from where the carpet was not to mention mold / tarnish discoloration.

 

[BassFishVA]

You could try using wire wheel with drill or angle grinder to get the gunk off. Just depends on what you plan to do with the floor. I have also used goo gone on a lot of projects and that has worked very well. You look like you have a very canvas to worth with especially since you already have aluminum floors. I will be tracking your build. I almost have my garage cleaned out so I can start working on mine. Good luck!

 

[Howard33]

While thinking about the what to do with the floor, I remembered I had some vinyl faux wood strips for kitchen floors that I hadn't done anything with so I decided to mock up what it might look like for the floor and foredeck. I just layed them down in position, took a pick then used Photoshop to fill in where needed. I left the backing paper on and that is what you see peeking up between the "boards".

*Edit*. Decided to play around with color in Photoshop as well.

 

[fool4fish1226]

Nice project you got going on there, be sure to keep us updated and welcome.

 

[Howard33]

Thanks for the interest. I'm pretty jazzed about working on this. Just have to remind myself not to overbuild, if there is such a thing... :lol:

 

[Howard33]

Too chilly today to do much with the boat outside. Still using photoshop to get some painting ideas. Keeping with the idea of using the faux wood for the flooring, I think this desert yellow paint scheme looks sort nice.

 

[swvanglers]

Too chilly today to do much with the boat outside. Still using photoshop to get some painting ideas. Keeping with the idea of using the faux wood for the flooring, I think this desert yellow paint scheme looks sort nice.

I'd definitely consider gluing that floor down if you keep it. I have that stuff in my bathroom and with just light traffic and water it is coming up. Nice boat buddy. Hope she brings you plenty of fish

 

[swvanglers]

How comfortable are those seats? I'm considering buying some of those if they are durable and comfy

 

[Kier]

I have the red and grey seats like those. They are pretty comfy.

 

[overboard]

Nice hull to start with.
I don't know if I would want the vinyl, looks nice though. I think I would prefer to just clean up the aluminum and paint the floor and front deck with good paint with a non skid additive.
I like any of the first three colors, brown, grey, olive drab green, CAMO, all seem to go well on jon boats.
If you are fishing where it's hot, lighter colors are better.
You can paint the outside any color that suits you!

 

[earl60446]

Nice boat, I like the seats and layout and great price. Before doing much with the floor, I would water test the boat, check for leaks and try to fix any you find. I agree with he poster who said paint the aluminum and add the non skid additive.
Tim

 

[DarynCashmark]

Great looking boat! I do agree with some of the other posters... I am not sure how the vinyl flooring will hold up over time. I would make sure that it does not get too slippery when it gets wet. If you are against carpet, many guys have used the do-it-yourself bedliners. I just used some on my project and it turned out pretty well. If you do go with the vinyl, I have to admit that it would look kind of cool, and different. Thanks for the updates, and keep up the good work.

 

[earl60446]

How comfortable are those seats? I'm considering buying some of those if they are durable and comfy

I have those folding seats in my boat. Not the middle one. That style of folding seat is quite durable and comfortable even though they are at the lower price level as far as seats go.
Tim

 

[Howard33]

Well I finally had time and better weather to get moving on the boat again. Paint and carpet decided by the wife. No complaints, I like the color and she helped paint and cut carpet. She's a real partner in that way. She enjoys getting in there with any project, from carpentry to general repairs around the house. Hell, she crawled under the house to check pipes. lol Anyway, to the pics...

 

[Howard33]

Any recommendations on a good trolling motor for a 14'er? The outboard that came with it is fine for my needs but the trolling motor that also came with it is not even 30lb thrust. I think I will need something more powerful.

 

[Howard33]

Got some holes to fill on the transom. Going to uses rivets, 3M 5200 and washers.