New project 14ft Meyers V Hull

[perchjerker]

hey thanks Derek! I was beginning to think no one was reading this

the reason I made the front deck like that was to accommodate the rod locker. I did not want to remove the front bench and the rods go over the top of it so I had to provide room for them.

Also, I dont think I would ever stand on a front (or rear) deck on this boat, I just think it would be too unstable. And I dont really see the advantage anyway to standing on the decks in this small of a boat.

It would be nice to have a bow seat now that I have the trolling motor up there, but that was not in the plan when I built it. I may change it at some point.

I do have some concerns with my build. One is the helm seat being too high. The other is have I added so much weight the stern will be sitting so low that it will easily get swamped. Hopefully adding the bowmount and battery in the front will help that. Also trying to reach the bowmount to deploy and retrieve. We will just have to see how that works out

I would highly suggest that you consider vinyl for your build, I think its the best covering and its really easy to work with. I dont see that many builds with it, I dislike carpet for a few reasons. Holds in water, harder to clean, hooks can get stuck in it, etc. None of that with vinyl

 

[richg99]

Lookin' good! What with a salmon boat and this one, you've got almost all of the water column covered. All you need now is a kayak for those 5-inch deep spots. Ha Ha richg99

 

[perchjerker]

yeah Rich! Actually I am thinking about getting a canoe to use at my cabin. We are close to a well known trout stream

Here's pics from this past weekend's efforts. Got the bowmount installed, a little painting and some other tweaks. Even fired up the little outboard, it has not been run in 2 years, fired up 1st pull like always

 

[derekdiruz]

Very very good point of the rod locker. I thought of hollowing out the bench on the side to accommodate the rods but your way seems much less intensive lol. Also, the only difference I'd add is a front seat because I have them already and I generally fish with another in my boat. Great job!

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[derekdiruz]

Oh yeah, when you put it on the water can you provide a pic? I'm interested in how the plywood decks affected the weight of the boat. I have access to aluminum for relatively cheap but I would have to pay for labor whereas I can do 1/2 in ply myself

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[perchjerker]

yeah I will get some pics

actually yesterday while I was working on it I was thinking about the weight. So I tried picking up one of the back corners just to see how heavy it felt

there was not really a whole lot of difference then before I started, I know the weight is spread out so its not really that great of a test but I think it will be ok. I was afraid I would not be able to pick it up lol

time will tell!!

 

[Duke62]

Great job. Good looking boat.

 

[perchjerker]

hey thanks Duke!

The build got a little side tracked. When I bought this boat and motor about 3 years ago, I noticed that something did not seem right with the swivel bracket. The seller knew what it was and showed me, the bracket was cracked and had a hunk missing out if it

For some reason I forgot all about it, when going over the motor to get it on the boat I looked at it and decided this needed to be fixed before I lost the motor in the drink!

So I found a bracket on ebay, the shaft (called a king pin) was also bent, I did not notice that until I took it apart. I ended up making a new one on the lathe at work out of aluminum bar stock.

Here is a pic. If you look close you can see how the centerline of the shaft running though the bracket shows how bent it really was





So thats fixed now, I was up north at my cabin this past weekend to spring commissioning my Grady White and remembered that the brake actuator needed replacing (leaking) so I pulled that off and brought it home.

So now I have a few boat projects going on at once...

 

[perchjerker]

did a little more painting yesterday.

Then I put some white lipstick on the pig :wink:





another thing I see I need to do is extend the trailer bunks or see if I can move the winch stand forward some. I dont like where those bunks end

 

[richg99]

Good progress. However, I am not sure how long those white lines would stay white around here. Too much scum in the water.

It's kind of like my vans. when I go to buy one, I try to get one the "color of dirt". That way, when I don't wash it often enough, my wife doesn't notice so easily. Ha Ha richg99

 

[perchjerker]

if they dont hold up I still have lots of gray paint left over

was getting a little cabin fever yesterday with the rainy Saturday we had. So this is the result lol

the lakes where I fish are mostly crystal clear, some of them you can see 20ft down on a good day!

 

[bigjeff05]

Looks awesome! I plan on doing the same thing with the rear of boat. I'm curious if u had any additional supports on sides of hatches or just that middle piece? I can't decide if I need more support for mine. Here's what I have...thanks!

 

[perchjerker]

thanks!!

I also have supports along both sides of the boat (but not against the sides, rather under the openings) and along the transom, as to frame the openings.

I don't plan on standing on this, (but I could) it was more to support the hatches themselves and to give the rear of the deck support as well

 

[perchjerker]

getting close...

got my registration numbers today.

Hoping for a short sea trial Sat morn

 

[richg99]

Looks ....Purty.... You sure all of the ice is out up there??? Ha Ha richg99

 

[perchjerker]

Oh yeah. The crystal clear lakes of the north are ready!!!

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[perchjerker]

Took her out yesterday morning for a short sea trial.

Did not get too far lol

I was by myself, launched at a lake not too far from me, a real nice place and I was the only one there.

It floats almost perfectly level. I was going to take a pic while I was walking from the truck to the boat sitting at the dock but forgot my camera in the boat. But it looks really good, almost just like it did before all the work.

I get in it, walk around, sit in the seats, seems fine. Steadier than before since it now has a floor and the added weight. But I still have to be careful, I could not imagine standing on a deck and fishing.

Pretty happy to this point. Now the fun begins. Try starting the outboard. Wont start! I just had it running the day before, this motor always starts right up and runs like a champ. After fiddling around with it for a while I think now its flooded. Then I realize I dont have tool one in the boat, I am going to make up a simple tool kit for it but had not yet.

At this point I am just sitting there tied to the dock resigned to the fact that the motor wont start and I need to pull the boat back out and head on home.

So I decide to try the bowmount, I was a little concerned it would be hard to deploy/retrieve. But that is not the case. Its real easy to do, so I was thinking about just tooling around a bit on the trolling motor.

But now I decided not to press my luck and just packed up and headed home.

Here at the house, took out the plugs (nasty and gas soaked) I bought new plugs which I should have done before heading out, this motor has not been run much and I just took for granted they were fine since I had been starting it up in the drive for the past few weeks with no problem. And I kick myself since I know better LOL

I think it may have flooded since I put the motor in the back of the truck to take it to the lake, I did not want it on the back of the boat and this may have caused raw gas to leak into the cylinders. And I did not run the motor out of gas the night before

I noticed that the rear of the bunks are not under the transom like they should be and I did not have time to move the winch post forward (there is room) so the transom is properly supported, so I decided not to tow with the motor on the boat. So that will get fixed today, along with a tail light that is out.

Also I have been running a strong seafoam solution through the motor, mostly for the carb, since like I said the motor has been sitting a while.

So all in all the boat seems fine, even though the trip had its issues

 

[richg99]

Sounds good. Only operator errors. Welcome to my world.

Let us hear more. richg99

 

[perchjerker]

well I towed her up to my cabin in Northern Michigan.

So now I have mama glass and baby tin!!

 

[richg99]

Hmmmm looks nice...but.....

One has to wonder who "mama Glass" was messing about with to produce "baby tin".

Has the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz been in town? Inquiring (dirty old) minds want to know.

Ha Ha richg99