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Old 02-08-06, 12:57 AM   #1
WTL
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Default Replacing homemade deck with aluminum...

Just a quick question. I'm considering pulling out the 3/4 inch plywood deck I installed on my 13 foot V hull last year and tinkering with a new lighter design. Someone said that aluminum is lighter than 3/4 inch plywood, is it really? Would it be lighter/superior/cost effective then to replace the deck with aluminum and how thick should that aluminum be?
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Old 02-08-06, 12:20 PM   #2
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We replace decks here all the time for aluminum boats, guys take out the plywood and go with .100 alum or .125 thickness, then re enforce it with aluminum gussets...Aluminum like all metals have gone up alot in the last few years, a 48x120 sheet of .100 thickness sells for about 90 bucks, it probably is more where you are at , due to the fact we buy tons of it a month to manufacture with..it def. will last forever and is lots lighter than
soggy ol plywood.
While you're at it, you'll end up replacing the deck carpet too.
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Old 02-08-06, 08:21 PM   #3
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Well...I guess if the aluminum is $90 bucks or more I'll put the idea on the shelf till maybe next winter. I'll have the cash soon enough to do all that I want, new deck, carpet, depth finder/gps, full livewell, larger dry storage. Thanks for the info though.
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Old 02-08-06, 08:24 PM   #4
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Yea and thats just one sheet, you'll end up using more that that if you make a big flipping deck. It would be a worthwhile investment tho once ya can afford the expense.
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Old 02-14-06, 01:59 AM   #5
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WTL, great minds must think alike. Ive been pondering the same modification to mine for about a year. Thinking about running my deck all the way to the console and putting livewell midship and centered. Also gonna replace rear deck and extend it slightly. Probably add a padded bench to sit on while driving.
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Old 02-14-06, 07:08 PM   #6
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spray it with some very good primer. then get a marine based paint add the traction grit in the first coat. add second coat weight should be 1/2 what carpet is.. plus a pressure washer makes clean up a snap..



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Old 02-14-06, 09:45 PM   #7
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Just thought I'd post a pic cause they are worth thousands of words. As yall can see, I don't need a full sheet of aluminum to replace this deck. Eventually I think I'm gonna put a true hatch with a roomy dry storage area in the front of the bow, and I've been thinking of ways to actuually make a fixed livewell that a second man can sit on when going down the lake (that cooler has to come out when two are in the boat, its too tall and dangerous to sit on). My idea was making a form that conforms to the bench seat and middle out of thin plywood and 2 x 4s and having it coated with rhinoliner to hold water. Of course a lot of this is down the road but its fun to think about.
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Old 02-16-06, 07:46 AM   #8
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I'd extend that deck from the point all the way back to your cooler, lots of room to boogie down! son!
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Old 02-16-06, 12:07 PM   #9
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Pictures of restored boats are great - we all like to look at them.

For me - I went from this P.O.S.



To this





New wood, new carpet, seats, pedestals, Merc30, controls (not shown).

Took about 3 weeks.
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Old 02-16-06, 09:22 PM   #10
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how do you plan to hold the aluminium deck in place
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Old 02-16-06, 09:23 PM   #11
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and what size outboard do you have on that 13 footer
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Old 02-17-06, 09:28 PM   #12
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I have a family friend who owns a welding/metalwork shop, I figure they could handle it more proffesionally than I. If I had to do it myself I would probably resort to liquid nails and ducktape!

Seriously though to hold it in place you already have 2 advantages....

1, the shape of the boat is so that it gets smaller the towards the bottom. So any cut peice of metal will not move past a point.

2, theres a bench seat already underneath the wood deck - so it would be easy to drill and secure at least the middle of the new deck to that.


And that a 25 Mariner on the back. She flies for a small boat, I can beat many larger trackers in a race.
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Old 02-19-06, 06:39 AM   #13
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WTL

Have done MANY custom rigs for people. Be sure of what you want and then go for it. One thing to keep in mind. A deck with a average person changes the center of gravity. From your pics I am assuming that it is a v-hull. If doing this mod to your boat I would not recommend putting the deck as high as I could. I definatley would stay below the top of the rails. Personally I would not go any higher than the exsisting seat or maybe 3 or 4 more inches and no further. Being that it is a v-hull if I am correct when sitting on the pedestal the boat will be rocky. Not real bad but definatley more rocky especially on a windy day. As far as attcahing the aluminum be sure and look at some examples of aluminium welding from the people you have chosen to do this. Aluminum aint easy to weld and not everyone can do this. TRUST ME ON THIS Dont beleive me ask jb, but on the same hand welding is the BEST way to attach. Will add that the boat will be more rigid and have a more solid feel. If you do the mod be sure and place the weight correctly and you will be much more happy with the mod. EXCELLANT choice for a motor I might add. You running a stainless prop I hope. They are great motas and I love seeing the homemade bassers beating them that trackers. Gives me a warm feeling. LOL I owned a tracker ALONG time ago and wanted to shove it up......Jonny Morris but thats a differant story.
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Old 02-19-06, 08:05 AM   #14
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Laser you are correct again sir!....there are many options on using aluminum decking and gussets. After viewing the boat of wtl's and the area he wants to improve, you could use gussets that bolt on to the deck or sides, a good weld would be better....
Welding aluminum requires a lot of heat, and it not done correctly, the area right beside the weld if often weak and can crack...
the welders at work lay about dime size layers of filler when doing aluminum and the arc itself(mig or tig) throws off a huge white glow and also produces a louder humm when they are welding.
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Old 02-19-06, 07:22 PM   #15
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Lazer, I anticipated much of what you said regarding the balance. You are dead on, with a boat this size I came to the realization that I cannot apply the rigid plan of a ranger, with its high mounted decks, to a 13 1/2 foot boat that is at most 4 feet wide. That concept just doesn't transfer. Have you seen guys like Ike standing on their outboards to get a better view? I can't do that either! It just doesn't work, unless you want to get wet.

That doesn't mean I can't make the best out of this boat. I am planning right now a modest deck, covering the front area as you see in the pic, attached more or less to the bench seat, maybe an inch or two higher. This portion will be hand welded, I can get those friends to do it (and these guys are pros - the best welders in North Alabama by some accounts). It will be as you said rigid, but I will have a dry storage hatch in the front large enough to accomodate the cell phone, camera, flashlight, Yum spray, sunscreen, glasses and boat registration.

Behind this I am considering a large swinging deck...how to explain this...if you can see where I am stashing those plano boxes in the pic - I must preserve that storage space. I don't want to continue the deck that far back and just supplant that storage area with hatches, that would add unnessesary weight and waste too mcuh good space...so I am thinking that maybe we could mount aluminum on a hinge way back on that middle bench seat (the one with the net on it). Basically it would be a deck that you could lift up from the front to get at the tackle, maybe a small cooler with drinks...stuff you need for fishing. No doubt this will take some designing and engineering, but I feel its doable.

Then, I want to add a built in livewell. The large cooler was a decent idea because it afforded incredible space as a livewell - but ultimatly it failed cause the thing sat too high up in the boat. The floor of the boat is round, cresent shaped - what I need to do is maximize the livewell area while still providing that crucial seat that is low enough for someone to sit on when riding up the lake. I'm still thinking its possible by building a form, about 18 inches out from the bench seat, creating a canal under neath this form in the very bottom for drainage from the front of the boat to the rear, and coating this form with the stuff they spay in the back of pickup trucks to make it water tight.

There are 5 things I'm really having to consider in this project.

1. Balance. The decks cannot be so high as to make it dangerous to stand in, that would nullify the point of decks altogether.

2. Maximization of storage space.

3. Aerodynamics - must have a low profile going down the road and the lake. Part of the appeal of having a deck is that it makes the boat cleaner and more organized, so everything must be smooth.

4. Weight of the nose - must avoid adding too much weight, it does affect the plane.

5. This is a 2 angler boat. Meaning I have to take care with the middle section, when sitting there you have to have a place to put your feet and the best place for a second guy to sit has always been on the cooler. The fixed livewell will supplant the cooler and maximize the area of the livewell while also affording a comfortable seat for that second angler.

Right now we have the stock aluminum prop. It had to be replaced one year after we hit some rocks on Pickwick and sheared it too badly to fix. I was talking one night at the ramp near the decatur flats with a fellow who recommended the stainless props and I'm planning on getting around to it eventually, but its expensive. I only go all out on the channel, I'm more cautious driving up the lake than probably 95% of anglers out there on the water.
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Old 02-20-06, 08:24 AM   #16
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Dang post of yours disappeared with the pic of your boat WTL. Thank you for the thumbs up JB. As someo of you know welding is just one of my daily tasks at work. Working from memory WTL you got the right idea bout the front deck placement and glad to see you thought this out. Just remember to run supports at the point of the latch opening on the front. As far as the livewell and rear deck you can close off completley the portion of the boat from the front of the rear seat and then place your livewell in front of that with a lid that opens any of 4 directions to add length to the rear deck and still have room for your feat while piloting the boat. Run the livewell length ways in the center of the boat. Just an idea to think about. Need anymore help or ideas give a holler.
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Old 02-20-06, 12:50 PM   #17
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WTL,

Unless you are planning on using this boat for tourneys, why waste the space on a livewell? I have a Aerator, with clips that I just put directly to my spare battery in'f I want to use it. The a cooler or bucket works fine with it. I don't use mine for tourneys so no need for a built in livewell, just takes up valuable space for other FISHING TACKLE, life jackets, raingear etc...

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Old 02-21-06, 12:26 AM   #18
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I figure that I pretty much always have a cooler in the boat - and that a large cooler turned livewell takes up more space than a fixed livewell that conforms to the shape of the boat will use. The key feature in my mind for this fixed livewell is that it will be half-moon shaped, 18 inches in width, conforming to every inch of the bottom allowing the maximum amount of water to be as low as possible in the boat, giving the fish more room to swim, the 2nd angler a lower seat to sit on, and actually saving maybe a couple inches of space as opposed to going with a big cooler.
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Old 02-21-06, 12:58 AM   #19
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Being a aluminum welder with several years of experience maybe I can help.A aluminum vee hull boat flexes alot as it runs down the lake. I suggest you rivet the angle deck supports to the hull and then either bolt or weld the deck to the angle peices. The reason for that is that Aluminum is very difficult to weld when its been exposed to the elements such as a boat has been,The metal contains all sorts of contaminates that bleed into the weld which may lead to an nasty looking weld, or a broken weld when the hull starts flexing alot.The brackets and the deck will be new so they will be clean and should be easy to weld.I hope this helps you. P N J
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Old 02-21-06, 07:37 AM   #20
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What a small world. I bet JB and PNJ and me could get together and tell some war stories. PNJ you did point out something I fergot to mention bout the contamination of the excisting aluminum.CLEAN is the word for welding aluminum huh buddy. Nothing like dropping the hood and gettin the puddle started and thinking yea this gonna be a pretty weld and POP. Crap there goes the weld. Sorry for straying off the post.
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Old 02-21-06, 06:32 PM   #21
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Let me throw something out here for you on that SS prop. If you hit something hard enough or fast enough the prop won't be damaged but you lower unit. Whats cheaper a prop or whole new lower??

Thought I'd just mention that for you. You did say you would stay in the channel but you never know.

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Old 02-21-06, 07:50 PM   #22
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Laser, when its aluminum, the easiest tasks can become a real chore if the metal is not clean.Without a doubt JB, has got a million all on his own. P N J
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Old 02-21-06, 08:43 PM   #23
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As I understood it theres a shear pin in there that would preclude the damaging of the lower unit. But yea, I asked the guy at the ramp the same question.

You're right, you never know. I know everyone here has hit logs before while going up the middle of the lake, sh** happens. I see people go all out on some rivers and lakes that are full of floating debris as if they are impervious to that stuff - maybe they are. I'm sure not, and hitting a big log with that motor is fun as its a tiller - it will pop up right there behind you.
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Old 02-22-06, 06:25 PM   #24
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mig and Tig welding is so fun and i am awsome at it the only thing is the equiptment is so exspensive $2700 for a good Mig or Tig set and our shop has the best
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Old 02-22-06, 08:38 PM   #25
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Just as an aside, would JB weld work? What about liquid nails, I know its strong...but do yall think its strong enough?
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