New Project w/ Questions

[ste6168]

I recently acquired an old, beat up 14' K-Craft aluminum semi-V that I intend to somewhat repair/restore. I am not new to boats, boating, or even aluminum boats for that matter, just new to this restoration game. I live in Annapolis, MD and own an 18' walkaround with a 125hp Merc on the back that I run all over the bay. I bought the little k-craft for a few reasons: cost and ease of running, skinny water perchin', and mostly... duck hunting. I intend to do a few things, but this is where my questions begin...

First. I am going to paint the entire thing shadow grass camo. I had another older Jon a while back, that I primed with a self-etching spray primer, and the spray painted blue and it held up fairly well for the time I had that boat. Is it safe to assume this method will work again, obvioulsy using camo colors and shadow grass stencils...

Second. I would like to either remove or "cover" the factory installed bench seats and install a 6' rod/gun box along the port side of the boat. I would love to build this out of aluminum, but I am not looking to spend that much, nor do I own very many metalworking tools. I am wondering what the best way to do this would be, with some type of plywood I assume, but what is the best method to seal the wood from rotting quickly. I have saw many of you use spar varnish (see questions below).

Third. I do not plan to use any carpet in the boat, so i will be spraying camo on the plywood also. Will the varnish/sealant have any effect on the primer and paint holding up? I would like to do this once, and not do it again for a good while.

I live on the Chesapeake Bay, so the boat will be used 90% of the time in brackish water, although will sometimes make trips to the 3 rivers in Pittsburgh (parents live there) or the Potomac river for catfish. Any help would be much appreciated! First time I have ever bought a boat in non "usable" condition. Also, guess I should mention, I am a tech ed (wood shop/industrial arts depending on where you live/when you graduated HS) teacher, so I am very mechanically inclined and do not see the task being all that hard, just need some direction and questions answered from the pros!

Thanks, Mike

ps. I posted a picture of the boat for your viewing please... name used to be "bass-hunter"

 

[ste6168]

Maybe I didn't actually post the picture...

 

[ste6168]

Few more pictures... The boat was full of leaves, berries, and dirt. I flipped it, sprayed it out, pulled gobs of garbage out and began scrubbing outside an in. Plan to sand major chips and thick paint areas before doing any paint or primer (which will probably not happen until it warms up in the spring).

 

[Derek]

I think you should leave the boat name as it is :mrgreen:

Seal the wood with the spar urethane, then sand it out and primer/paint over that. You can even add sand into the paint once the first coat is tacky, then apply a second coat and you will have a grippy surface.

 

[Jonboat Jerry]

Second. I would like to either remove or "cover" the factory installed bench seats and install a 6' rod/gun box along the port side of the boat. I would love to build this out of aluminum, but I am not looking to spend that much, nor do I own very many metalworking tools. I am wondering what the best way to do this would be, with some type of plywood I assume, but what is the best method to seal the wood from rotting quickly. I have saw many of you use spar varnish (see questions below).

Third. I do not plan to use any carpet in the boat, so i will be spraying camo on the plywood also. Will the varnish/sealant have any effect on the primer and paint holding up? I would like to do this once, and not do it again for a good while.

Welcome Mike. My preference would keep the bench seats which add stiffness and flotation, cover them instead.
Wood (not pressure treated) is lighter and can be sealed with spar varnish, etc. Just follow the Mfr's directions on what ever you decide to go with.
You are correct in not using carpet which holds moisture and prematurely rots the wood underneath. A painted wood surface cleans easier and dries faster also. (my 2c)
You can work aluminum with Wood Power saws (see my build), but the blades will need to be resharpened when you are done.
If you have the money, aluminum will work. However, it is heavier than wood and requires bracing.
Your credentials will do you very well, just take time and think things through. There are some very knowledgeable people here
with a ton of experience. Hope this helps, Jerry

 

[Specknrebel]

If you want to go cheap ..you should stear away from aluminum...1/4 ply is cheaper and just as good. and for the painting question. as long as you find an oil based paint you should be good. i sprayed bed liner on my boat , and its very paintable. helps seal and is very durable.....im alittle more cautious for my own good.. i jb welded the rivets first then i sprayed the liner but yeah remember oil based and bedliner great all around combo...and cheap to boot.. i paid maybe 100 dolar for all the paint and liner at lowe's.

 

[ste6168]

Thanks for the info above. I have decided to go with the spar urethane over top of exterior ply, which will then be painted. Hopefully it will hold up a decent while.

Also, over the past week I have made a little bit more headway on the boat. Didn't get as much as I would have hoped to get done, but all in all, not bad! I don't plan to use the boat till the spring, so I should have plenty of time to get everything done.

Started cleaning up the inside, removed a bunch of screws/eye hooks/extra bolts/etc. that were coming through the hull. Either drilled or grinded them all out, whatever was necessary. Didn't get any pictures of that, sorry!

Next, I removed the old (very rotted) transom wood and plan to replace sometime here soon, maybe tonight! Below is a pic of the transom halfway done, and then fully removed. This wasn't all that hard. Took out all the bolts and drywall screws from the previous owner and then started breaking the wood apart using a chisel, hammer, and pry bar. Got it out, took a little bit of time. I have the wood for the new transom, just needs to be cut, urethaned, and installed.

Last thing I did was build the frame for the gun/rod box that will be installed along the port side of the boat. I am looking to go cheap and keep weight down, so I went to the lumber yard and found the best 8 firring strips I could find to build the frame. I would probably not do that again, and would spring for the 1x's for a few more dollars. Picture of the frame below. Small portion in the back will host my fuse block, switch panel, and wiring... Once the box is complete, along with the benches, I will post so pictures up then...

 

[ste6168]

For your viewing please, here are some pictures taken over the past year.

1st is the other boat, 18' Trophy Walkaround. 125hp 2 Stroke Mercury "murdered out (ie: no logos, painted flat black)". Has a few mods, nothing like the tin boat will be though. A ton of people on the bay have bigger boats and more money, personally I wouldn'y really want anything larger than about 21-22. I like being able to Troll in the early season, switch to light tackle all summer, and switch back at the end of the year. I truthfully think this is one of the most versetile boats on the bay! That's me, third one in, without a shirt on. We are all showing off some summer schoolie stripers. Summer fishing at it's finest on the bay...

2nd is a picture of an early trophy season catch. If I recall correctly, that one was 36"

3rd is a very unusual summer fish. Typically the large rockfish (stripers) head out of the bay around mid-may. I caught this one late August livelining the bay bridge. Very unusual summer fish at 38", but i took it!

I will continue posting my progress of the tin as it progresses!!

 

[ste6168]

Future plans for the new boat include, but are absolutely not limited too:

Installing a small front hatch (same height as front bench) to use as a simple anchor storage.
~Complete the gun box that will be down the side.
~"Covering" both of the bench seat with playwood and installing a short pedestal seat in boat.
~9.9hp gas motor in the transom
~Simple trolling motor on the transom
~Installing battery (on/off) switch, bow light, stern light, bilge pump, 12v outlet, cheap depthfinder, and all the necessary wiring.
~Install a Poly Planar MP3 kit (have a homebuilt kit that is similar on the other boat, love it!)
~Paint entire boat shadow grass camo.

If anyone has any other cool ideas for the boat, I would love to hear them! Please feel free to leave any and all comments here. Seems like a cool way to document the boats progress over time!

 

[LonLB]

I would add carpet. Even if the turf type outdoor carpet....Would make the boat much quieter especially if you were to drop anything on the floor.

 

[ste6168]

I would add carpet. Even if the turf type outdoor carpet....Would make the boat much quieter especially if you were to drop anything on the floor.

I do appreciate the advice, but I will not add any carpet. I have never quite understood the resoning behind carpet in a boat... It get's dirty, IMO does not look good, hooks get stuck in it, and I plain out just do not like it! If I did anything, I would use a piece of rubber to line the floor.

 

[mmf]

Beautiful Stripers!!!

 

[ste6168]

Beautiful Stripers!!!

Thanks! They are definitely my favorite fish to hunt and catch!

As for the boat, I got a few more things done. Last night after work I installed (or test fitted) the rod box along side of the boat and cut out the pieces for the transom. In order to get that transom in there in one piece, I would have had to take the cap off and slide it down in (which I did not want to do!). Instead, I cut the corners off and made it a slightly different shape. It shouldn't effect the performance at all once all glued together and sealed, I am 99% positive of that.

Earlier tonight, I got the front and sides done on the box, will hopefully get the top done tomorrow, and then onto the seats! The box still needs to be glued and nailed together (reason behind the clamps) and then sealed. After all the wood is complete, she will be ready for primer and paint! Now, onto the pics...

 

[ste6168]

Been raining the past few days, so I haven't been able to get anything done... Hopefully will get some more pictures up today!

 

[ste6168]

Almost completed the gun box; still needs a piano hinge (and framing under the door to get rid of the bow in the plywood), sealed, painted, and actually mounted (right now it is just sitting there). Looks decent I think, should look really good once the seats are also finished and the thing gets all painted up in shadow grass.

 

[Ride_Klein]

I like the gun/rod box a lot. Nice way to gain some storage in a small boat, plus it should stiffen her up a little bit when you get it all attached.

 

[ste6168]

I like the gun/rod box a lot. Nice way to gain some storage in a small boat, plus it should stiffen her up a little bit when you get it all attached.

Thanks! I actually changed my plan a bit, I am actually making the box a removable accesory, so if we are fishing, we can take the box out, but hunting we can throw it on. After finishing the box, it just seemed to take up more space than I had originally envisioned, which is the reason for this change!

I finished off the transom, I will get some pics tonight after work, or maybe tomorrow if I dont get a chance tonight...