Revamping a MonArk 1464 jon boat late 70's model

[pegleg]

This boat had a rough life before it got to me. I'm a fair weather bluegill guy. The object was to make a comfortable boat for a one legged guy and stability to keep Momma happy. I redid a 16' AlumaCraft V-hull years ago and wanted to avoid a few things. No drawings or formal plans, just knew in my head what it should be.

I took quite a few pics, hopefully I can explain what I did so it will make sense. First up was the fact that the boat didn't have any leaks. This is a major accomplishment due to the fact that something had fell across the bow while upside down. There we large cuts across all three ribs. I repaired them 10 yrs ago when I got the boat. Alum license plates, silicone and pop rivets have been used in half dozen spots. The wide beam and 900 lb capacity made this worth the time and money for me.

Well lets see if I can get the pic part to work first. I have 5 pics of what I started with.

I said it had a rough life. Hopefully when not on the water it will be in the garage awaiting it's next outing.

 

[pegleg]

Tear down: Starting with removing the two alum seats. Center punch the rivets and drill from the outside (head side not the flattened side) with a 3/16" bit. If you keep it centered the head will spin right off onto the bit. Then use a punch to push the rivet from the hole. If the head doesn't spin up the bit you'll have to chisel it off. It's alum so it's not all that hard. You'll need some 3/16 x 1/2" alum rivets to fill the holes later. I picked some up at True Value Hardware.

The flotation inside the two seats was supposed to be sufficient for the 900 lb capacity.

Now the decks are clear.

The transom looked to have been poorly replaced. Looked like three sections were slipped in to keep from removing the corner angle and the rear floor brace which were riveted in.

I only had to remove one corner angle to get it out.

Keeping to use as a templet after laminating new transom. I also painted the alum behind the transom while it was out. Keep the plate to reinstall on the new transom.

 

[pegleg]

New transom clamped in place to enable drilling of mounting holes.

A couple of the new rivets installed to fill the hole left by the seat removal. The bracket to the right was removed along with all others inside the boat and the holes were filled. I did leave some holes open until after painting the bottom as I wasn't sure how I would mount some corner supports and rod boxes later.

Upside down on a couple of folding sawhorses to prep for painting the bottom.

Alum license plate patches. They ain't purtty but they don't leak none.


My extent of prep was a quick wire wheel once over and a wipe down with acetone. I didn't want a showroom shine. I used Duralux Marine Green Boat Paint, a hair over $80 shipped to the house. Supposed to be a one shot application onto alum. I used chip brushes and am by no means a painter, I hate painting. The finished job has a few bristles and some runs but fish wont know it and it looks nice to me. I won't be setting any speed records with my 6 hp Yamaha with elec start. One legged guys don't need to be pulling on ropes in a boat.

Bottom back down and sometimes it looks green, sometimes brown but mostly a lot better than before.

A lot of time was spent waiting on the weather to cooperate with the instructions on the paint can, well close anyway. This stuff is potent, I painted outdoors but with your head bent over the gunnel this stuff will make you wonder why people waste their money on drugs when this is available.

 

[gunpackinpanda]

looking good man! what kind of floor / decking you gonna do?

Your local maker of blades
AB knives

 

[pegleg]

Now for the fun part. Well at least the polystyrene is easy to handle. I used 1 1/2" thick and exterior 3/8" ply for the floor. With the foam underneath the floor feels sturdy but after reinforcing the seat bottoms if I did it again I'd use 1/2" ply. 3 sheets of foam and 2 of the plywood.

I chose 1 1/2" because that's the height of the ribs above the floor. Once the pieces are fitted between the ribs I glued a single solid piece on top. You can glue the poly with Gorilla Glue or the Expanding Foam filler. I have used both.

The front sheet stopped where the bow deck will meet. Now filling in the bow space with some more foam. It was easier to glue in pieces than try to shape a block to fit in the angled space.

The cover will be the forward wall in the under deck storage. With 3" of foam under the floor and the front cavity filled there should be more flotation than they originally had under the two seats.

 

[pegleg]

Plywood floor: Once I had the shape of the floor I used a piece of a cereal box to make a templet for the ribs.

I placed the templet around the rib and marked the edges to locate the correct placement for the cut.

Align the edge of the templet with the edge of the floor and mark the area to cut out for the rib clearance.

remember the rib is running at an angle from the gunnel to the floor so tilt your blade to match the angle for a nice fit. Allow some room to fold over the carpet cover if desired.

Carpet was glued with a outdoor waterproof glue, rolled down, trimmed to fold over, glued to the back and stapled with stainless steel staples. Bottom was painted after adding extra support for the seat mount.

Below is my no expense spared router guide. This is clearance for the extra support under the seat.

With the extra material thickness of the carpet folded over around the edges, I decided to cut extra relief on the polystyerene board. To do this I made a hot wire cutter from a piece of stainless steel saftey wire and powered it with my battery charger. Several experiments were made to accomplish this.

Here's my wire cutter. The bend in the wire makes the inside corner of the cut.

The floor with my diy seat supports. I hated those pipe things years ago. I can trim these to height if need be. Once the height is settled I can come back and add a bit of under seat storage.

 

[pegleg]

Deck: I screwed a piece of wood to the edge of the alum step on the front and then built the aft wall.

More foam, mainly to level out the dry storage floor.

The framing was odds and ends of lumber put together with pocket screws. Extra support under the lid because of the bigger area.

Deck complete.

Paint the bulkhead, cover the seat bases and viola, ready to use. Will add some rod boxes later.

With the rips across the ribs and other problems this boat had some would have sold her for scrap. If you have an alum boat, most likely she can be made usable with a little effort. Go the extra mile and you won't be ashamed to take her home to meet Momma.

Now I can paint a name on her.


Official Boat of the Titanic Swim Team