Cider,
I told you I would post some pics of the big project nehusker13 and I took on. We got this boat from nehusker13's dad and when we got it it was rough. The inside was full of leaves and cat $%$%##@. The engine didn't run either. To say it was a challenge would have been a misstatement. Here is a full pic of the completed boat as of today. Sorry about the pics. I don't have a digital camera except a DVCR so the pics look grainy and #$$#@#@.
Here is a pic of the front view..
Inside view from the back.
Ok, I decided it was easier to post the pics and then explain what we did. First of all we gutted the entire boat including all the aluminum benches and wood in the floor and such.
Then we built the front deck out of 3/4" pine boards and 3/4" brown treated plywood. We measured and cut each piece individually and fitted it to the hull of the boat. After finishing that we cut a hole out of the deck for the door so we could use the front part for storage. We then covered the entire front deck with indoor outdoor carpet. We then bought a 4x8 sheet of 5/8" brown treated plywood and cut it to fit into the bottom of the boat all the way to the back and built the bottom up to support it. We went to Menards to get more carpet and wouldn't you know it they didn't have any red so we got some grey.
Next we decided that we didn't like the back being so flimsy since we took the seats out so we built the deck in the back to both support the back of the boat and for another seat. All in all it worked out really well.
We had the trolling motor mounted in the back but found it to be too intrusive to the steering arms for the motor so we moved it to the front. I had to build a bracket for it because they don't make one for that spot.
We added a cigrette lighter in the front for a spotlight in the dark. We also added the stern and bow lights for night fishing.
Fishing isn't fishing without talk radio or tunes so I went to the boneyard and got a radio and 4 speakers for $5 and mounted them in the only place I could find for them.
We found the old tub to be a little leaky and gave up trying to fix all of the leaks. We got most of them sealed up, but still have a little water coming in so we put a bilge pump in to pump the water out in the event that we have more water than fish. (bad thing)
I will finish later nehusker is bitching about going mushroom hunting.
Ok I am back. We scored about 4 or 5 pounds of shrooms. Here is a few I took out to eat tomorrow. Screwy Pic. Sorry
I also put 6 rod holders, 3 on eash side, in from Scheels sports. I am sure they got me good for them, but it was the only place locally I could find them.
Lets see...I guess that about covers it. When we got the engine running it ran like @#$#% so I took the carb off and dunked and put a kit in it. That little 35 hp Johnson has been running like a champ since.
What I would do different...The two seats in the front and rear I don't like. It was the best I could scrape up the money for at the time. I would liike flush mounted adjustable height pole pedistals so we can take the seats out when not needed or for transporting. It would cost me anoither $200 to do that so I am going to wait. I would also use 2 batteries instead of 1 that we have. We have never had any problems, but we always watch this closely. I would also put a 13 gallon gas tank in instead of a 6. That little 35J is very thirsty running up and down the river. If I put the 13 in I will also add a filler neck flush with the side so I can fill up w/o taking the tank out. I don't like that either. If I think of anything else I will post, but that about covers it.
Oh yeah one more thing. The trailer was a POS when we got it. The boat would fall off during transport. I made some brackets with rollers and welded them to the trailer to stablize the boat. It made it much easer to load also. I also rebuilt the axle and put new spindles, bearings, tires and rims on it along with the fenders. It didn't have any when we got it. Then we painted the whole thing smoke grey and re painted the boat too.
You know it isn't much and it probably isn't worth anything, but we have gotten hours of enjoyment out of it and the look on peoples faces when they look inside and see such an old tub that nice inside, is priceless. That boat is a 1962 Herters. I had never heard of one and when I first saw it I didn't think I would ever want to see it again, but I like it a lot now. When Rick asked me to look at it I honestly thought it probably was better off being sent to the fiberglass gods. I wasn't sure I was capable of bringing it back to life. Now, it fits our purpose perfectly.
