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Posts: 49
| Hi Guys
I am thinking of putting a platform or making a deck on the bow of my little 12 ft aluminum boat, any suggestions as to how to make this happen?
I have never done this before so i am wondering do I take the old bench seat out or do I make a platform over the top of them. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks |
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Posts: 529
Location: Not Where I Want To Be | Depending on the boat. The old bench seat might be in there for stability. I would go over the top of it personally. |
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Posts: 1756
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | over the top raises the center of gravity too much. I have my front deck in the garage and just got done carpeting it. I will send pics when my wife gets back from the store with new batteries. I have a 1989 Alumacraft t-14s. probably similar to what you have. Do you use a minn kota tm where you can turn the head around? a couple pieces of 2x4 just below the rail, and you can clamp the tm right up front. |
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| I have a deep V fisher 12' boat I use on small lakes, and maybe too big of lakes for it haha and I love it...post pics of your boat. I have done this too 3 different boats. from 12' car toppers to 14's cheap way to build a great boat... |
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| You can kind of see it in this pic its of another boat we did. And some pics of mine with the Muskie Inc sticker.
http://tinypic.com/r/2i6o12s/4
http://tinypic.com/r/16iwhag/4
Edited by SVT 10/20/2009 11:59 AM
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Posts: 1756
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Sorry for the delay, the camera batteries took a crap and had to wait for a new rechargeable. Here are the pics of the front deck I made out of 1" marine plywood, treated 2x4, treated 2x8, and TORX head 3.5" screws. These screws are the best thing for construction since a hammer.
Edited by RyanJoz 10/21/2009 9:16 PM
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Posts: 1756
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | first pic: top view from front
second pic: trolling motor (minn kota traxxis 40 clamps to the left side of the boat and has a quick connect plug on it with the other in the deck). There is also a big foot cut off switch in the deck.
third pic: bottom view shows supports and bracing to prevent warping.
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| perfect start. my boat was a nice set up and only had 2 seats, not that little one up front but that lil one works great to put a finder on. |
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Posts: 3918
| Previous owner of my 14'er threw out the front bench, removed the middle bench and trimmed it down with cutters, then reattached the smaller middle bench as the new front. But he attached it about a foot further away from the bow than the old front bench. He also replaced as much styrofoam as possible under the new front bench. Then he riveted some alum sheeting to both benches so they could handle short seat pedastels(sp) and then fold-down seats. Then a treated plywood floor set as low as possible from the rear bench to the bow. No floor between the rear and transome, that's where the 3 gal gas tank goes. I added a battey box in the front like you, and I ran power to a small fused switch box I mounted next to me at the rear seat. Lights on front and back, fishfinder next to the switch box. The trolling motor has its own power line that includes a 40amp resetable fuse. 15hp merc and a 55# Maxxum w/ an extended handle on the transome. Tool holders attached to the rear bench to hold the mini-bolts and other release tools. On the floor and I put strips of that stuff they put on steps to keep people from slipping for my feet, and I lean my one leg against the rear bench to deal with waves and when doing an 8. Some of that round foam insulation for plumbing pipes on the gunnels so I don't bang the boat doing a figure 8. I have a mini-12 volt battery strapped on the other side of the rear bench for a weatherproof ciggybutt lighter - that's where I plug in the Q-Beam. Some Grateful Dead stickers, a small SpongerBob sticker to remember that dude, and a single "MuskieFirst Pro-Team" sticker that looks pretty #*^@ silly on the side of that little boat. Let's see....that's about it.
I started with a 12 footer, too. But, as time passed I soon had a regular-sized musky tackle box, 5 or so rods and a Frabill PowerCatch net. Add another person and the boat is packed. Too packed; the 12' boat was just too small for all that gear plus people. So I started over with the new old boat described above, but a wider 14' with a relatively deep V.
Your work is great, much better than what I can do. Oh, last, I tried to fish standing toward the bow but couldn't handle waves very well up there. Much easier (and safer) to stand in the rear of the boat for me.
Good luck with your project! Hope I was helpful.
ps- Can you provide more details about "bracing to prevent warping"? How did you go about that?
Edited by Ranger 10/26/2009 11:31 AM
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Posts: 1756
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Ranger - 10/26/2009 11:26 AM
Your work is great, much better than what I can do. Oh, last, I tried to fish standing toward the bow but couldn't handle waves very well up there. Much easier (and safer) to stand in the rear of the boat for me.
Good luck with your project! Hope I was helpful.
ps- Can you provide more details about "bracing to prevent warping"? How did you go about that?
First off thanks for the comment about quality. I did my homework, talked to a carpenter friend, and spent a lot of time on it.
Bracing: I ran into a heavy heavy downpour before I had the wood painted (to see how well i liked it and how well it worked for me. I fished through the rain as I had seen muskies and thought I was not going home yet(this after being pushed in the river by the district biologist trying to help me load up the boat). I then let the boat dry in my parents garage as I was still in college, and the wood warped and did not fit. I used the 2x4 to straighten it back out so that it was perfectly flat. The 2x4 worked very well, but I had to use 3 1/2" screws to get it to pull it down without stripping out the wood. Torx head screws are the only way to go for this situation as the bit will not "cam out"....you don't have to lean on the screw with the drill, you can put them in with one hand if you are strong enough to keep the drill from twisting off your arm.
I too run 3 rods, big kahuna, lakewood monster, and a couple stowaways, one full of tools which I can open up, oil, dry out, and another full of spinnerbaits in ziplocs. I have a 14' alumacraft t-14s, and with a 15 hp johnson, she goes 25 GPS SPEED with a lowrance hds5. I can take more pics with it fully loaded this week if you are interested to see how it all works. The net is a hastle, but it holds fish very very nicely and is worth the sacrifice. For a '89 the boat is not in bad shape. The motor is a '99 and has never seen the shop at all. Dad and I change the lower unit oil and fog it annually, but other than that she sees water for all but about two months (powerplant lakes for bass).
Edited by RyanJoz 10/27/2009 12:02 PM
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