well sort of...
Here she is, sitting patiently in the garage during the winter of 1998/99. We picked-up this little gem for $700.00 Canadian during the late summer of 1998 including the trailer.
14ft 6in of masterful craftsmanship in aluminum. As the closest that I'll get to a religious experience is parting the mist along the Madawaska River on a Sunday morning, it could be said I was in heaven when I mounted a 20HP merc on this baby.
On
two different occasions while fishing alone I nearly tripped out of the boat while
moving between the front and back. The second time, I cracked my ribs
(figuratively) on the back of the front seat and swore that the boat would be
made more utile or trashed.
And so begins a late winter project, again not really knowing where to begin or how it would end.
After agonizing over the prospect of making the first cut for close to 3 months, I finally chalked the cut line about 5" in from the outer edge, rigged the circular saw with an abrasive disc and started on one side and didn't stop till I ran all the way round to the other.
There was no turning back Either I was going to clean-up this mess or the boat was trash. The second set of seats came out cleanly with the rear divider, and was easily flipped to make a rear facing bench.
In an effort to maximize water-time I opted to fashion some cushion type seats for guests and/or the kids. I made a total of 4 such cushions, their heavy enough that they won't blow-out on the highway but can be arranged as needed, even as a backrest with seat, for two people.
And being removable, they've ended-up in the back of the truck a number of times as the kids like to ride in the back when we head into the bush for Firewood campaigns.
As I would spend most of my time at the tiller I opted for a nice flat, carpeted platform. A chunk of 4 ft by 4 ft 3/4" plywood fit perfectly. The carpet was glued from the top and stapled from the back and has withstood over 5 seasons of heavy to intermittent use.
The carpet-like material that I used for the rear floor and the front casting deck was pulled from our front porch when we installed a deck off of the concrete slab. It is a tight felt like material that seems to be indestructible.
Once the main cutting was done and some of the carpet work was in, I had to get the boat out on the water. An issue arose that required immediate attention... The entire hull appeared to have a significant amount of flex and instability.
Suddenly all the 1/16th " aluminum plate that had been removed had utility beyond rendering the boat dangerous. This was a real concern as I had grown accustom to winding the 20HP merc out to the point that only about the back 5 or 6 ft of boat were actually in the water. As I'm quite a skinny guy, and try to bring a minimal amount of gear, this isn't too hard to accomplish.
I'll have to get a more current and clearer image of the chair and post that that I set myself-up with, as this one is just too dark.
After more hand wringing and agonizing (something that always seems to be going on) the idea of the brackets came to me. In all honesty I'm sure I saw a boat in a showroom that had a similar (but more elegantly executed) bracing system. The thing that really stuck was the idea of carpeting the narrow decking, and the brackets were just another job.
The brackets are 1.5" by 1/8th " alum strapping, that are bent to fit each section. the tops are riveted in 3 places to the top deck, and bolted into place with a 3/16ths bolt and sealed with a small rubber grommet fashioned from an old bicycle inner tube.
Here is a view of the
bow with the carpeted casting deck in place. The deck is made from the aluminum
bonnet that was cut out.
It's dropped down and supported by a series of brackets that are riveted and bolted as the frame brackets were mounted.
Without exception, every person that has used the seat on the casting deck has experienced the buckling effect that has the chair wobble either forward or backward about 6". Also without exception I always reassure them that it'll be fixed for the next trip. After 5 years you'd think that they'd get it that I don't sit up there, so the odds of ever being fixed are pretty damn slim...
Though I did go all out with the pro swiveling pedestal and padded chair.
The worst part of posting older projects like this is that, pictures go missing, like the entire other half that would have had documented a fixed version of the Solar powered fishfinder and trolling motor battery setup and the deck carpeting.
It'll be easy to take more pictures, as some repairs have to be done this spring, though it may be another 5 years before I post them...
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