Boat mods DO's and DON'Ts for newbies?

[cfh1177]

Hey everyone, I’m obviously a newbie around these parts. I have a few questions for you all. I have a 1985 16’ Alumacraft Mod V 1670. Looks almost identical to the 1648 model. My title says the model is ACB? Or ABC? Something like that. I couldn’t find too much about it. I have a few questions below to get me pointed in the right direction.

I’m just in the beginning stages of planning out my mod. As long as I can fish, I’m in no rush to get it done. I thought I read somewhere that certain types of woods for framing, decking and flooring are not a good choice to use with aluminum boats but I can’t find that thread now. Does the wood need to be treated with something first? With what? And what about metal screws and nails? Which type would be best? Galv or not, stainless or not. When using screws, should I use some kind of adhesive? This is and will be a fresh water boat if that matters.

Any other do’s and don’ts that I and other newbies such as myself should be aware of?

Thanks all!

Mark

 

[krawler]

Basically, you want to stay away from treated wood whether it's plywood or boards. You can treat the wood yourself with epoxy or spar to help waterproof it. For fasteners, use stainless or aluminum.

Framing is best done with aluminum angle, but some use wood, and either aluminum rivets or stainless screws and/or some combination of the two.

The best sealers/adhesive would be 3m 5200 or 3m 4200.

3m 5200 is a slow cure, permanent adhesive and 3m 4200 is a fast cure semi-permanent adhesive. Both can be used above or below the waterline.

Another question that might come up is whether to use carpet or not. An alternative would be to use a roll-on truck bed liner like Grizzly grip or Herculiner, etc.

 

[cfh1177]

Thanks Krawler. I haven’t decided on the type of material to use for the flooring just yet. Wood/Aluminum, Carpet/vinyl/bed liner. I understand there’s a lot to consider. I’m still debating if I want to take out the middle bench and have an open floor after I extend out the front deck a bit. I don’t want to compromise the stability of the hull though.

 

[chrispbrown27]

Removing the middle bench is the cause of a lot of debate on this site. I can see both sides...it's nice to have a wide open floor and I can see that it might weaken the boat. It's a fairly simple matter to strengthen the sides after removing the bench, but it will require that you lose some of the openness that you were looking for. I opted to split the middle bench so I had a clear path down the center plus storage in the portion of the seat that is left on each side, in my case I moved my accessory battery up there. I still have room for seats on each side but can make it front to back without having to climb over the bench. I reinforced the sides by anchoring what was left of the bench on each side with angle and flat aluminum to the ribs and under the floor. I have had it out on some pretty windy days and so far have noticed no flex to the sides, so I guess it is going to work. I also put foam under the floor to make up for the loss of flotation from the bench, is it enough? Probably not, but my boat doesn't stay tied to a dock all year round and if conditions are dangerous I stay home so I am not concerned about swamping the boat.
As far as decking goes, if you can afford it use all aluminum. Once it is done, it is done for life, or at least until you decide to change it. Nothing at all wrong with using wood, but wood ages and weakens and will eventually need to be replaced. Seal it well and you can hold off replacing it for longer. There is also marine grade plywood which is supposed to last a lifetime, but at the price you pay for it I bet you can get aluminum and it will for sure be for a lifetime. I prefer rivets myself, but if you might tinker bolts would be better. By all means use 5200, it is great stuff! But be aware that it takes a looooooong time to cure when you are chomping at the bit to get the boat on the water. No experience with 4200, but it is supposed to be just as good. Best of all is welding, but there are a lot of skilled welders that won't touch aluminum. It is tough to get clean and easy to burn through. Be sure of who is welding on your boat and that they know what they are doing. If it is done right it will last a long time, though I know some areas they don't use welded boats because of welds breaking from rough water on big lakes. (personally if the water is that rough you shouldn't be out there)
One last do......do think long and hard and plan things over and over in your head and on paper! Even if you do that there is a good chance they won't work out as you planned but if you have put that much thought into it you will have a better chance of working around the problem. Some things can not be taken back....so do your best to think of all scenarios.
Chris

 

[cfh1177]

Thanks Chris. A lot of solid points to consider. I agree about the thought process. Plan, plan, plan and plan again. I'm sure i'll drive myself nuts as I usually do. Yes, one of my concerns is climbing over the middle bench especially while night fishing. My last glass boat had an open floor which was nice. Not neccesary but if it's possible then its something to consider. A lot of planning a head. Thanks again man.

 

[earl60446]

Do replace every bit of flotation foam that you take out. Most boats need every bit they are equipped with to float level and upright. The blue stuff at big box stores will work.
Tim

 

[assaultcraft8993]

I am also a "newbie" to the aluminum boat mods. I have a question about the supports pictured here in my picture. Can I get rid of them and replace with something that will allow me to install a storage box down the sides for either rods or tackle? They were attached to the old bench seats. Also the transom has the old wood taken out and ready to be put back in NEW, in the picture it only went from top to flush under the angle going from side to side, but the new one I made is going back in from top to bottom of transom. Will this give it better support since there was no support brackets other then what is shown in the pictures? The old owner said he used a 40hp OB but wasn't on there when I bought it. So I don't want to try it with here say...
This is a 1961 Lone Star 16' semi v-hull

 

[chrispbrown27]

I don't like the looks of those transom supports halfway down like that, looks kinda weak to me. I think if it were me I would talk to a metal shop and see if they can come up with a brace for the top and then 2 or 3 that anchor to the bottom of the boat in the center, like most boat have these days. The bigger piece of wood on the transom will help some, but you will want as much support as possible on the transom. Think of trailer the boat down the road...one bump and there goes your motor and transom....or running across the lake and finding a shallow stump. I have hit some stumps before and even with a strong factory transom it makes me nervous.
If the braces you are talking about removing and the ones halfway down the transom, then no as it sits right now I would say you can not get rid of them without doing something like what I mentioned. If you are talking about the bench seat braces then I would incorporate them into the rod locker design to hold the sides in. You could also build the rod locker into you flooring and anchor the sides in that way.
Chris

 

[assaultcraft8993]

In the second picture you can see a flange on the top right corner of the picture. There are two like this right and left side they were bolted all the way through and the angle peice had bolts going all the way through. So your saying I should get braces from that angle down to the boat bottom? Becasue that is what i was thinking. :-k

The top picture is a picture of one of tha braces from the side to the bench. I have two that are bent pretty bad and was going to replace with angle but was wondering if I can use angle on all the rest to look uniformed so I can incorporate into rod boxes or storage boxes..Just picked up 63 ft. of 1" sqaure tubbing and 84 feet of 1x1 strutual angle (all aluminum)

Do you know where you can get ahold of old road signs? I'll have to check with VDOT..No luck yet..

Thanks for your input and hope to get this done soon..
Scott

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Do think long and hard about your mods before you jump into them.

 

[BigTerp]

Do think long and hard about your mods before you jump into them.

THIS!!

I had mine out at least a dozen times waterfowl hunting and just screwing around. My plans have changed quite a bit since I first got the boat based on this experience. I've still yet to get started on my mods though :-k

 

[bigwave]

Do think long and hard about your mods before you jump into them.

THIS!!

I had mine out at least a dozen times waterfowl hunting and just screwing around. My plans have changed quite a bit since I first got the boat based on this experience. I've still yet to get started on my mods though :-k

Both of the above statements are spot on........just want to add one more. Do not be afraid to trial and error on your mods......we all did that. Ask lots of questions and take pics. This site has some very good garage engineers that are more than willing to help. Welcome

 

[chrispbrown27]

This is what I am talking about. I know of no aluminum boat that is not made with something similar to this bracing the transom. As I said, the way yours is set up would make me a bit nervous....there just doesn't seem to be much to support the weight of a motor, but I could be wrong. I would either make something up or have something made up to anchor it to the floor either by rivets or bolts. Better safe then sorry!
Chris

 

[assaultcraft8993]

Thanks Chris..I think I'll add two supports on either side of the area where the motor mounts to. I was thinking about three inches down from the top to the bottom of the boat. Also the shape you have pointed out is spot on. I am getting a in town welder soon to do this work.

 

[BigTerp]

I would also consider putting some caps on each corner of that transom for some added support. Your welder should be able to easily do this.

 

[assaultcraft8993]

I took the caps off because it was easier to pull out old wood of transom. I just got done snading them and pounding out the dents that were in them. So it has caps and soon the new wood in the transom..onto the sainding of the hull and inside to prep for paint....LONG LONG process...Due to the lovely weather we have here in central VA couldn't do much. The garage is full of wood working tools and new table saw, so all work is done outside. One day it's in the 60's and next we have a dusting of snow...So time to get all things needed. Use to build fiberglass Wahoo boats so i have ten boxes of parts peices all my hatches and electrical stuff I would ever need. The wife finally realizes "what is in all those boxes" and ooooh you don't have to buy the expensive peices "glad you kept all those boxes" :LOL22: