Newbie here with an old UGLY flat bottom boat...

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MKJFisher

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So I recently stumbled across this gem out at my dads house (more on that later) ordered some fishing rods and reels from Cabela's to try and find something for my family of 4 to do on our weekend excursions. I didn't realize that a place like this existed for moral support on such large scale. Wow You guys are amazing at what you have done. But I digress...I would really like some opinions on where I should start on this beaut. I originally sat down at my computer typed up google 'how to remove paint from aluminum boats' and somehow I ended up on this forum. I wasn't originally going to turn this project into a online photo gallery, but it seems like fun and could definitely help me out since I am a boating novice.

// So here is the background on this boat--told to me by my dad--he bought it from some avid duck hunters (he probably actually stole it from some homeless guy J/K no offense) who put it through the works (upgrades, mods, etc...) apparently this was some type of floating duck blind. Back in the early 90's which is when the boat was last registered. It found its way to the lake once while in my dads possession and it never made it past the shallow shoreline? And it has been in 'storage' the field at my dads house for the past almost 2 decades collecting dead leaves, lots of earwigs, and spiders. All of the death and decay that was inside could have made some seriously good compost. And now it belongs to me.

// So to start with the mods the duckhunters did to this thing...they added the extra appendage we will refer to as the 'tale'. they installed a 6" lip around the top of the boat (to accomodate the duck blind camo i guess) And they put a lot of holes in the--well you get the point. I must say that they had some mad skills with a caulking gun and probably excelled on arts and crafts night watching martha stewart--all the holes like like they were filled up by a little kid with a hot glue gun. Enough about the duck hunters I wanna get this thing on the water.

// I am looking for suggestions on how to make this boat really shine and restore it back to its full glory and help me and my family successfully catch many huge fish :lol: also it would be nice if my friends didnt drive by my house and ask me "SO did you take her out on the lake?" you get my drift.

P.S. Thanks in advance and here are a couple pictures. Also on day 2 I cut off that trolling motor (I am sure that the motor was seized up anyway)

IMG00273-20090521-1925.jpg
IMG00275-20090522-1959.jpg
 
Huh, what is wild looking. I have never seen a boat with a little extra in the back. LoL

Im sorry i cant be much help, i cheated and bought a boat that had just been redone. Good Luck with yours and learn a lot so i can ask you questions if i ever decide to re-mod mine.
 
ilinimud said:
Huh, what is wild looking. I have never seen a boat with a little extra in the back. LoL

Im sorry i cant be much help, i cheated and bought a boat that had just been redone. Good Luck with yours and learn a lot so i can ask you questions if i ever decide to re-mod mine.

What luck! Maybe you would consider a trade straight a cross haha maybe once I am done. I have alot of work to do
 
welcome, i can't help you on the paint, but i would keep that raised section on there. from the pics it looks like it was done well, and that would give you nice place for rod holders, mine is too short to put any there and that is what i would really like to do. i hate tripping over rods. nice boat, check for leaks and just start modding. good luck.

also, you could put that tail section back on the top, upside down, and have yourself a place for a porta-potty! :D
 
if you look through the boat mod pages, or just do a search for painting... you'll find a ton of stuff.

I know I wrote a pretty detailed post for when I painted mine... look in Boat Modifications for "Alumacraft 1236 Makeover"... it's in there somewhere I promise
 
Well, if you had left that tail section on you could've named it "MUTANT"!!!

What are the dimensions of that boat? I might be a little worried about putting 4 people in it if the 2 kids are upwards of 10+.

Good luck with this project. Before painting it though, do you know if it floats or how many other holes are in it that you may not be aware of?
 
MikeA57 said:
Well, if you had left that tail section on you could've named it "MUTANT"!!!
What are the dimensions of that boat? I might be a little worried about putting 4 people in it if the 2 kids are upwards of 10+.
Good luck with this project. Before painting it though, do you know if it floats or how many other holes are in it that you may not be aware of?

Mutant would have been a good name for it. And as far as my kids they are ages 2 (boy) and 3months (girl) so im not too worried yet.

And as far as the painting and if it floats I dont know yet...But I am not going to paint it until I have all of the 'holes' and problems fixed. I figure if I can restore a 1968 Chevelle SS 396 then I can take on this little project. I have a lot to do I am sure so please make suggestions on repairing holes and rivets and aluminum and and and and :shock: ... I will post some more pictures this afternoon.
 
That boat was awesome pre surgery! I think I saw that boat in the Sir Mix A Lot- Baby Got Back Video! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw that back end on your boat. Was it on there soundly? If so that would've been extra space for all the crap your gonna put in/on the boat! I really like the elevated sides you have on there. It reminds me of a old tank or something.
Like Russ was saying, just type in paint under the search engine and you should find a lot of options. Some people use wire wheels to strip off the old paint, some use a stripper. Primer wise some use inexpensive primers, some use zinc chromate or some kind of specialty primer, topcoat same way- either something that can be submersed or whatevers lying around the shop. You can see what I've done on my link that's down in the bottom of this message. I'm doing an all aluminum build- rivets etc.

Good Luck!
Adam
 
who pooted? said:
That boat was awesome pre surgery! I think I saw that boat in the Sir Mix A Lot- Baby Got Back Video! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw that back end on your boat. Was it on there soundly? If so that would've been extra space for all the crap your gonna put in/on the boat! I really like the elevated sides you have on there. It reminds me of a old tank or something.

Good Luck!
Adam

Haha now that you mention I think so. Dont FLAT bottom boats make the FISHIN' world go round!?

It was on fairly sound... but I think it was really the only part of the boat that leaked so I would've had to do some serious leak fixing and the bottom was pretty hashed on that extension anyway.

I plan on keeping the top extension as mentioned before the extra hight will be nice for rod holders and possibly a nice digital thermometor weather station something fancy im sure. What I will really use them for is on the lake when i get flashed with gang signs i can do drive bys! I guess that is how you would say it LEAN Back skeet skeet!

I will post some sweet pics here shortly.

-Mike
 
Here are a few better quality pictures that I took a couple of days ago before I go ahead and do too much more. So as far as redoing the interior of the boat I am thinking about doing a wooden sub-floor with some type of tweed carpeting, Piano hinge seating to stow away tackle and other miscellaneous items? Any suggestions on this for a guy on a budget and a family. Also the dimensions are as follows...

bow to stern 12'

the stern from side to side is 41"

amidship from side to side is 48"

the bow from side to side is 30"

and the depth around 'amidship' floor to ceiling? is 16"

hopefully that paints a picture for you all

-Mike
 

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First let me say that I applaud your choice to take the tumor of the end of that baby. I wasn't going to say anything at first, but it looked really dumb. I'm with grizzly on the sides, I like em high.

Now, let me give you a word of advice from one who is just about finished removing the paint from his boat... Make sure the existing paint needs removed! On my boat, the paint looked ugly, but was actually in pretty good condition. I found that out the hard way when I took it off. Believe me, I wish I would've just scuffed up the existing paint and painted over. But, I haaad to do it "The Right Way" (when you say that, you throw your shoulders back and stick out your chest and say with a manly tone).
 
Well I just barely went over the entire boat with a very course wire brush removing excess gobs of silicon, a fair amount of dirt. In all honesty the aluminum is in fairly good shape I would like to get rid of some of the rivets that have been done and re-done. But I think if I try to hard to make this flawless as my 1968 Chevelle SS restoration I will be wasting my time. I want it to look very nice but not flawless. Plus it is a boat that is going to get hit by rocks and the trailer so I dont think it will bother me too much. When ever a rock would hit me when I was driving my Chevelle I would be very angry! I dont anticipate that anything like that will happen with this project.
 
Looks like a fun project. I'd be extra careful with 4 in that small of a craft, especially with little ones that young.

Now as far as the Chevelle goes, let's see some pics! I'm picturing black with red stripes for some reason???
 
from one chevy lover to another... give us pics!

i'd pressure wash that unit to get all the junk and flaky paint off, then fill it up with water and see whats leaking then take it from there.
 

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