58superseaman
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- Joined
- Apr 10, 2011
- Messages
- 13
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Hi guys. I've spent a lot of time researching in this forum to prepare for my project. I acquired an aluminum boat and trailer from my uncle for a great price last summer. The boat was used as a duck hunting boat and is painted with what I would call "brush slap camo". I was able to get the boat stripped of parts over the weekend. My plan is to remove all the old paint and take it down to the bare aluminum, how it originally came. What's the best way to do this without removing too much of the aluminum? I'm thinking either a wire wheel or a combination of 100 grit sandpaper and paint stripper.
After I have the paint off and polish it, I'll be putting in a shallow floor and casting deck/storage from where the aluminum plate stops to the third rib. The plate on the bow is not original, but I plan to keep and store my battery up there, with a little modification of course. I'll also be putting a small deck from the last bench to the transom to cover gas tank, bilge pump etc. I'd like to put a roll on bedliner on the floor so I can throw wood in the boat when I'm heading out to camp on a sandbar. The decks will be carpeted.
After the floor/deck is all planned and ready to be installed I'll be wiring for radio and 2 speakers, bow mount trolling motor, bilge pump, docking lights, bow/stern lights, and 1 or 2 power outlets. The radio, speakers, and trolling motor won't be installed until later, since my budget is a bit small for this, but I don't want to have to deal with rewiring after everything is done.
Here are some pictures about halfway through this weekend. I also took the bow cover piece off, separated the wood from the benches, and removed all the random pieces of hardware and useless bolts to be patched.
I'm looking forward to hearing any advice or words of caution you guys may have. Time is running out on this so I should have pictures up every weekend.
After I have the paint off and polish it, I'll be putting in a shallow floor and casting deck/storage from where the aluminum plate stops to the third rib. The plate on the bow is not original, but I plan to keep and store my battery up there, with a little modification of course. I'll also be putting a small deck from the last bench to the transom to cover gas tank, bilge pump etc. I'd like to put a roll on bedliner on the floor so I can throw wood in the boat when I'm heading out to camp on a sandbar. The decks will be carpeted.
After the floor/deck is all planned and ready to be installed I'll be wiring for radio and 2 speakers, bow mount trolling motor, bilge pump, docking lights, bow/stern lights, and 1 or 2 power outlets. The radio, speakers, and trolling motor won't be installed until later, since my budget is a bit small for this, but I don't want to have to deal with rewiring after everything is done.
Here are some pictures about halfway through this weekend. I also took the bow cover piece off, separated the wood from the benches, and removed all the random pieces of hardware and useless bolts to be patched.
I'm looking forward to hearing any advice or words of caution you guys may have. Time is running out on this so I should have pictures up every weekend.