Lowe 1648 Full Deck Conversion

[spagatti]

So I started with a canoe and modified that about as far as I could (pics on the pics of my boat thread). I was able to stand in the canoe as that is how I prefer to fish, but moving around and the loading\unloading of gear had me looking for a better way to do things.
So I was watching CL for a long time, probably about a year...seeing some folks want a fortune for their junk and some giving away a nice boat for a great price. But I was not in a position to buy and I was in the middle of fishing season...so my weekends were spent fishing rather than looking at boats. Where I live in South Jersey, mostly electric only lakes that are filled with stumps and tend to get rather shallow are the main bodies of water for fishing unless you have a serious outfit for the Delaware River or of course the Atlantic Ocean. So I wanted something that coudl get into shallow water, had onboard storage and didn't cost me a fortune. Personally, I don't want a gas motor at this time...I have enough motors to tend to already. This may change but he did set this boat up for a small gas motor so I could always add one later.
This one boat caught my eye, but the seller was in MD...I contacted him and as it turned out he built the boat while he lived in South Jersey for fishing around here...a flat bottom jon does not do much good in most of the Chesapeake so I don't think he was getting much interest locally and most people are not willing to drive 2+ hours to look at a boat when there are hundreds closer. We talked, he sent me some build pictures and I was interested but he still wanted a nice chunk of change for it. Then winter hit, then just before Christmas we were able to strike a deal. He did take the trolling motor you see pictured below; but I ended up getting a 101 Fortrex off amazon for just under $800 with free shipping and no tax. Picked up another new marine battery for $50 (of CL as well) and I was in business. I have over 400 pics of the build process, here are a few. I have done some additional mods already but I don't have pics and I am in the middle of recovery from ACL surgery so I won't have them up and posted for a few weeks until I am a little more mobile.
Anyway, here are some pics of the build.

Rinolined the bottom interior

The bottom was painted with paint they use on fan boats in FL. I don't know the full name, maybe one of you guys do? this paint was used to the water line and it is slick to the touch...makes loading and unloading much easier as well on the carpeted bunks

Trailer was bought new at that point and came with the boat.

Next came the decking.

 

[spagatti]

On to the decking. Aluminum was used for the supports. All the items that have the most weight to them are lined up in the middle of the boat. Such as the gas tank, batteries, two seats and the livewell.

some electrical ran:

then some rough runs of fitting the decking on.

Spar Varnish on the wood.

Then came the livewell.

Then Time for Carpet

 

[spagatti]

Some finishing touches:

[imghttps://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y401/Michael_G_Gatti/TrollingMotorInstalled_zpsb85ae9b4.jpg][/img]

First time seeing daylight.

first trip out:

Last year I very happily fished from this:

this year I will be very estatic to fish from this:

I will post some of my mods when I get a chance. Nothing crazy as I had a solid foundation to work with, but I have customized it for me a bit.

Great website by the way.

 

[Bass n flats]

Awesome build I really like th blue. If I can make one recommendation it would be get some sort of skeg, ruttor, or second trolling motor for the stern. It will hel on windy days to get the boat to track better. You can check with bassboy he makes a removable one out of aluminum.

 

[spagatti]

Awesome build I really like th blue. If I can make one recommendation it would be get some sort of skeg, ruttor, or second trolling motor for the stern. It will hel on windy days to get the boat to track better. You can check with bassboy he makes a removable one out of aluminum.

Thanks for the comment. I did take the boat out a few times prior to my knee surgery. As you suggested it was tough on windy days to get it loaded again. Luckily the boat was already ran with wire to the back for an electric starter...so I purchased a trolling motor for the rear and just need to instal a circuit breaker in the line so the loading process will be easier.
I also put bunk style guides on the trailer as well.
Wasn't too bad with a buddy there, but when I want to go solo or bring my daughter loading would be a heck of a lot harder without these. I am sure some guys are fine with using just the bow trolling motor; but I found in difficult to load properly this way. Even just having my weight at the back of the boat instead of the front made it easier to get further up the bunks.