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Posts: 33
| I recently purchased an Alumacraft Lunker with a Honda 4 stroke 40, tiller. As my first rig, I love it... very low hours, very very clean, etc. etc. (plus I got a heck of deal). As-is, it rocks for trolling, and is suitable for one man casting. However, there is no rear casting deck. I usually put my dad up front and stand on the rod locker or port side livewell to cast. I want to modify my rig by building a rear casting deck so I have a place to fish from without fear of falling overboard when my dad hooks up.
The plans are to move the captains chair forward, add a tiller extension, and cover the access to the gas can, battery and plug with a door or hatch that can be closed. Obviously, I would plan to be standing on this as my casting area.
Any ideas on this? Materials, etc.? Worth the effort and $$$?
Here is a pic of my rig to give you a better idea...
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Posts: 33
| Well, I would post a pic if I could figure out a way to do it. All of my pics are WAY bigger than 200kb max size allowed by uploader... |
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Posts: 33
| Got it! |
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Posts: 458
| I have the same boat and built a deck. Pm me your email address and I will send you some pictures. |
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Posts: 283
| I would suggest using aluminum to frame it. Check this site out, they have a lot of ideas for decking.
www.tinboats.net |
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Posts: 20178
Location: oswego, il | Just remove the chair all together. Just make sure the rear deck is suitable to the till handle so it's comfortable to use. |
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Posts: 280
| I built mine using a similar concept to Cave Run Legend. I used standard grade plywood and just put several coats of fiberglass resin on it to seal everything. I also did away with the captains chair pedestal. I just set a seat right on the deck if I know Ill be driving a lot. Batteries, tackle boxes etc. slide right under it. I used indoor/outdoor carpeting from Menards. I think all in it was like 25 bucks to build. Its also easily removable If I need to get back there to service the bilge or if I ever sell the boat and the next owner doesn't want it. |
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Posts: 3469
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
On that particular boat, if you put a rear deck in it for a place to cast, It will be very very high to stand on, in any sort of waves, you will definitely be rocking with the rhythm of the waves, and you will find yourself at almost all times standing in the middle of the deck to keep the boat level... I'd even go so far as to bet when the wind picks up, you won't be standing up there.
When I owned my lunker, that made me very uncomfortable in any sort of wind conditions and even in calm conditions...It felt unsafe (to me) due to how much the boat would list to the casting side and it was a bit high for how narrow the boat was.
A deck can be built and you can make it look like it belongs in the boat, but it takes time. When I made mine, I ended up only making it 8 inches wide to cover the battery and gas tank (which I then put in a saddle tank on the starboard side later on to help balance the normal list the boat had with people casting one side and a kicker motor on port side) mostly due to safety after having it wider and didn't feel comfortable with it. I also added a stereo system to the boat, and placed the speakers on the vertical portion of the rear deck.
It is doable, but I think you might find the boat to feel quite unstable when you are up there...especially with how narrow the beam is on the lunker series of boats...76" if memory serves me... It would also be higher than the current navigator 165...that should tell you something right there...
Steve
Edited by VMS 12/20/2012 1:33 PM
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Posts: 1023
| You can build the deck as high as u like. I have used L shaped and square aluminum supports and it was awesome. I then took 3/4" plywood and coated it sealant or exterior paint and Home Depot outdoor carpet in gray color. Worked great. You can make it removable if u want.
You may even be able to leave a hole for the seat post if you want????
Landry |
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Posts: 84
| I understand what you're wanting to do, but personally I'd just fish out of it the way it is, you'll be able to do some really deep figure 8's and end up turning more follows into strikes. |
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Posts: 33
| Cave is correct... all of my rods (for now) are 7'6"...
And I do a lot of trolling (both eyes and skis), which was my reasoning behind buying a tiller... so I would like to keep the captain's chair to save my behind.
Steve... I understand what you are saying, but I fish up there standing on the gunwales now... Just looking to make a bit more room is all. The lakes and rivers I am fishing are all pretty small... not many 2' waves out there... just the occasional rogue wave from a slow moving pleasure boat. If it gets too rough, I stand in the bottom or share the aft deck with whoever is fishing with me. I am pretty comfortable with being that high, but would like a little better footing is all. I was even thinking about something removable to cover the splash tray, with a cutout around the motor. After installing some trim tabs, I get zero prop wash and its rare that I see a wave big enough to let water in the drainholes... plus I could make some brackets for the platform that could easily be fastened down quickly with wingnuts if necessary. This would give me an extra place to stand about a foot wide, without having to modify much else. THoughts?
Also Steve, where did you install your starboard saddle tank? Is that your primary fuel tank, or just for the kicker? I was trying to think of ways to convert my tank to a permanent (ie. non-removable, with gas cap) one. That would also help the slight portside list of the boat...
Thanks for all of the input! |
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Posts: 3469
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
The starboard saddle tank was placed below the decking. I ordered it through Aftermarket marine online and they custom built it. I then cut out the foam, got the tank in to fit, then greased up the tank before I added spray foam around the tank to keep it in place. Added a vent, to the outside of the boat, a fuel outlet for the motor in the splashwell, and the cap on top of the deck.
For the back deck, there are a couple of things you could do to make it solid enough to use, and removable.
If you added some reinforcing aluminum slatsbelow the side decks, you could then use 3/4" marine grade plywood, and some angle aluminum around the edges to make the deck with some of those slide locks you see on bathroom stalls to slide into side holes both front and back of the deck through the reinforcing aluminum slats. The back of the deck could rest on the splashwell, but I would reinforce the splashwell, although it is pretty solid as it sits. That way you could remove the deck if you needed to.
If you don't want to have the deck removable, then you can add a vertical piece of plywood to the front, then use a couple pieces of angle aluminum to attach it to the floor. Good solid foundation as well. The back of the deck could then be screwed down to the splashwell as well. If you chose to add a stereo, it would be a perfect place to mount speakers.
I would say you could add a top seat base and sit on that to operate the motor from there, although you will be sitting a tad bit higher than what you would normally be used to.
Hope you enjoy the deck...I know that I liked my boat as well, and miss some of the aspects of it as well.
Steve |
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Posts: 158
| I did a rear deck for a friend with the same boat last fall and he loves it. Actually his wife loves it more....she layes out and listens to tunes and he fishes. Did it in one full day, total cost including the stereo and speakers was under $300. 2 x 2 treated framing, 5/8 treated plywood, carpet, and all the little misc things you end up needing. For a muskie guy the rear of the boat is a pretty useless design the way it was before I started on it...wish I had those pics but the back looked nearly identical to yours minus those guages you have on the side wall. Boat mods are a good time...lots of options, just have to get creative!
Edited by Shoot2Kill 1/5/2013 9:27 PM
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Posts: 158
| Radio case was from Cabelas. Wanted one with a smoke colored window but they were out. |
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Posts: 1675
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | i know this is bringing an old post out of the archives, but does anyone have pictures of what they built for the tiller model? I have the same boat as the OP and am looking to add something that is removable.
Edited by RyanJoz 9/13/2018 9:37 AM
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Posts: 1023
| I did one similar. Used angle aluminum bar for the supports on each side and made it about 12” high so I could slide milk crates with downspout inside for lure storage. The milk crates provide the platform support in the middle. was easy. I also had a flip forward chair so I could keep the chair in the same spot but flip it forward when casting. |
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Posts: 1675
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | i am contemplating using an aluminum top, aluminum angle, and some sort of material for feet. I also have the fuse panel, switch panel, and light that I would like to keep from covering like the OP. |
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Posts: 134
| Maybe Just-En-Case has something available? |
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Posts: 1675
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | BBT - 9/17/2018 1:50 PM
Maybe Just-En-Case has something available?
too heavy for a boat of this style unfortunately. This deck needs to cover the battery and gas tank. The front will remain open for proper ventilation. |
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Posts: 1675
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | I made this out of 1.5” aluminum box tubing. It is removable or could be securely mounted to either the floor or side tanks with thumb screws and threaded inserts. I am thrilled with how it turned out.
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