Well, the boat's almost done and I figured i'd put up some pics. I finally got everything for it and spent a ton of time after work this week trying to get it done. I had a bunch of ideas of what I wanted to do with it, but I finally settled with putting a deck on the front, adding a floor and carpeting everything.

Tommorow might be my first trip out. We'll see what this storm is gonna do. If it's rainy I don't care, but the wind is another story.

Here's some pics of the front and back. Notice the hinges on the front deck for storage.

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/873.jpg


http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/874.jpg

Nice job!...I know the feeling, got a new toy and cant play with it. I bet youll put it to good use.

Looks killer. More pics, more pics!!!

Here's a few more.

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/881.jpg

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/880.jpg

Yeah, good good. Looks like you've got lots of deck space up front there. Should work out perfect, looks awesome.

looks great is right. how hard was it to do anyway? im getting a basic aluminum boston whaler in a couple weeks and would like to make it more fishable. first boat and havent got a clue yet. any advise would be great thanks

The labor wasn't hard at all. The hardest thing was just trying to figure out how I wanted it, and the rest was easy.

I thought the middle seat, containg the livewell was going to complicate building the front deck. It actually ended up being neccasary to hold the beams that the deck sits on. I was able to build around the livewell and now it acts as a step up to the front deck. I might still build a deck on the back, but for now it's just fine.

Great job. I modified one several years ago with the decks and toys. It was a blast. I cut the center portion of the middle seat out and glassed the well area of the seat for a livewell. Dropped in an pump for air and drilled a hole right through the bottom of the hull in the livewell. Everytime I launched, I had freash water circulating through the hole into the well (with the plug out of course). I screened the hole and it worked as a great live bait tank. You did a sweet clean job on yours. Have fun with it.

Just wanted to know where you got your trolling motor at? I need one bad. I have a 12 foot aluminum extra wide and need one before the shad come up. Got the boat from my buddy for $800 bucks and built seats like you did with storage. by the way how thick is the plywood you used for your deck, I need to keep the weight down. All I need now is a bow mount trolling motor and i'll be ready to go.....Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Warren....email warrenus74@yahoo.com

I would use 1/4 inch marine grade plywood and have the wood fiberglassed before you install it in the boat. This will protect it and keep it sturdy,waterproof and light. I made the mistake once of putting 3/4 inch on the bow and it was sturdy all right, and waaaay too heavy too ! If you install wood anywhere, water and rotting is your enemy. The marine grade plywood is better but if you fiberglass it , then the life of it will last alot longer. I know if you carpet the wood and use carpet glue to hold down the carpet, the carpet glue will help protect the wood . I found that out myself. If I could do it over again though, I would have glassed some 1/4 inch. Also spend the extra money on true stainless steel hinges or use the plastic hatches / lids that are made to be walked on too. They seal alot better and will last longer. Sorry to ramble on but I have alot of useless information in my head.

Hey, I really appreciate the help, I'm going to look into the fiberglass thing, very clever,my boat is a V-hull and my buddy that owned it before me took out the front seat so I need to have some Heliarc welding done for new brackets for my deck, this project is really burning my brain,lol, I don't want to get the angle wrong due to bow weight and when you go up there you slide into the water and run yourself over with the trolling motor,lol, glad to hear that you were in the same situation as me when you were building (customizing) your boat, i'll see you on the water when I get done, hopefully with a new deck. I'll be the one in the water hanging on to the front of my boat.......Warren

Phil, gotta say - awesome setup :) You're going to open a door to a whole new level now with your boat. Margarita hogs are in your future I think :) Thanks for taking the time to put up all the great detail pics.

Bassphisherman, Sorry for the late reply, i've been a little busy. The trolling motor i'm using is a MinnKota 40# all terrain. It's got plenty of power for my boat and is one of the most inexpensive motors out there. I wasn't really planning on going cheap on the motor, but it was actually what I wanted and they had it at walmart for $280.00.

The deck is made of 3/4" plywood. I was concerned about the weight factor and figured I had two options. One was to use thinner plywood, but then i'd have to use more supports and that would bring the weight up anyway. The other was to use thicker plywood that could basically support itself, with minimal supports underneath. That was what I ended up doing and it didn't seem to throw the boat out of balance at all. With everthing else I added, i'm still well below the weight limit of the boat. Even with everything I have in the front of the boat, it still sat nice in the water. I'm sure with more time on the water I will be changing things often until I get it excactly how I want it. Until then I would recommend taking advice from someone more experienced, like Muskyman. I obviously don't have much experience as far as customizing boats go, and i'd hate to steer you down the wrong path.

There is also one difference between our boats. Mine isn't a deep v. I used to have a 12ft Valco V bottom and it was pretty sensitive to weight distribution. I think Muskyman's idea of glassing the wood might be a good option to cut down on weight for your boat.

Phil, thanks for the info, If you see a little 12 footer pull up its me. Thanks to this website (i'm a new user) I have had many offers for used trolling motors and advise from people who know a lot about boats. I have been hesitant to ask for help but thanks to people like yourself. It makes it a lot easier for me to do it right the first time....I'll be sure to post up some pics when I get done with it.......Warren

Hey Phil nice job on the boat. I am thinking about doing something like that to my jon boat. Any chance I could look at it. I live in santa margarita. Thanks Doug