Alumacraft 16/65 Deep V Upgrade

[Fish Fighter]

Upgrading the old boat into a poor man's bass boat.

 

[Fish Fighter]

Got a start, priced aluminum and got my feelings hurt. Guess I will make the lumber work.

 

[Fish Fighter]

 

[Gators5220]

Nice start man, your gonna have some serious gunnels with those 2x8's or 2x6's whichever they are!

 

[Fish Fighter]

I know, they are 2x8's. The boat is so deep and wide that I couldn't afford to go with aluminum. I hope to use aluminum angle for the cross bracing and compartment boxes. With only the seats in the boat I was able to stand anywhere in the boat or on the seats and never had an issue with feeling like it was tipping to far one way or the other.
Also, I hope the added weight will help in windy conditions. Before I was like a tin can in a mud puddle, every time the wind blew I was traveling.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I was going to say the added weight might make it unstable but since you could go without any uprights and using aluminum everywhere else it might not be too bad. If needed you could lighten the 2x8's with a hole saw.

 

[Fish Fighter]

That might be a good Idea, I will have to look into maybe a hole saw. Thanks!

 

[Fish Fighter]

Well due to weather and work, haven't accomplished much. But, I do have alot on order and waiting for delivery of Tuff-coat, piano hinge, and circuit breaker for the trolling motor.

 

[Fish Fighter]

Trolling motor (Minn Kota Edge 45/45) calls for a 50amp circuit breaker or in line fuse. I found that Bass Pro has one for $61.99 and Academy Sports has the exact same circuit breaker for $29.99.

 

[tonynoriega]

Nice.

You platform is close to the same height as mine.

I am guessing that "16/65" means a 16' , 1965 boat?

Looking good... I used 2x4s on mine... and just went back to the first bench (including the bow step).
Mine is a 1952 Model k 16'....

Am curious to see what you do...

I am in the same spot... have a ton of stuff on my list, but just cant get it done because it's so freaking cold outside.

Am getting carpet and glue here soon and gonna finish up sealing the wood.

Good luck.

 

[Fish Fighter]

Tony, the 16/65 means it is a 16' boat with 65" gunwale. The boat is a 1964 alumacraft. I thought about carpet but decided to go with Tuff-coat rubberized decking with the two part epoxy sealer that goes with it. It will be easier to clean and I can re-apply in spots if I need to. Trying to get everything together is getting expensive. I just ordered aluminum piano hinges for the compartments, stainless steel was more than I wanted to spend on it.
Good luck with your boat, I will have to check out the pictures.

 

[tonynoriega]

How do you think that Tuff coat holds up when wet?

My buddy and I have been debating whether or not to do something like a non skid on our bowfishing platform, versus carpet...

Although carpet does feel good on the knees after standing up there for an hour...

 

[Fish Fighter]

tonynoriega » Today, 18:55[/url]"]How do you think that Tuff coat holds up when wet?

My buddy and I have been debating whether or not to do something like a non skid on our bowfishing platform, versus carpet...

Although carpet does feel good on the knees after standing up there for an hour...

They say it holds up really well, I will be giving an opinion on it in a couple of months, hopefully it will be a good one. A lot of people seem to like it.

 

[Fish Fighter]

Compartment doors cut and hinged

 

[RStewart]

Looks good so far. Keep it up.

 

[rscottp]

Nice job! What type of piano hinges did you use? Can you post a close up pic of them? Thanks!

 

[Fish Fighter]

rscottp » 25 Feb 2014, 23:24[/url]"]Nice job! What type of piano hinges did you use? Can you post a close up pic of them? Thanks!

I used an Aluminum piano hinge, 3" wide. Its basically flat, I wish I would have waited and found an offset hinge to make the gaps a bit smaller, but this hinge will do. I will try to get you a better pic. The aluminum was a lot cheaper than stainless steal.

 

[ccm]

Very Cool! Working on doing the same thing to mine. Cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[txninja]

Keep it up, looking good

 

[rscottp]

Fish Fighter » 03 Mar 2014, 21:37[/url]"]

rscottp » 25 Feb 2014, 23:24[/url]"]Nice job! What type of piano hinges did you use? Can you post a close up pic of them? Thanks!

I used an Aluminum piano hinge, 3" wide. Its basically flat, I wish I would have waited and found an offset hinge to make the gaps a bit smaller, but this hinge will do. I will try to get you a better pic. The aluminum was a lot cheaper than stainless steal.

I thought it looked like a offset hinge. I couldn't find what I was looking for so I am gonna use these nylon hinges that I used before, they should work fine and they are cheap. I couldn't justify paying $75 for the only offset piano hinge I could find.