Got my Ouachita back with new aluminum

[Kris]

My Brother-in-Law did a hell of a job on my 16' Ouachita flat bottom boat.  I have quite a bit of grinding that needs to be done because the old aluminum had to be CLEAN before the weld would hold.  All in all, I think it still looks great.  Here is a picture of the new transom:

There is no more wood in the stern of this old girl.  BIL and I talked and he got it done.  Wood has been replaced with an extruded aluminum box that should be more than adequate to hold my 6 HP outboard and the biggest transom mount trolling motor I can afford after selling the Grumman.  Here is a picture of that:


My nephew has lent me a Mercury 6 HP four stroke to use on it or I can use the 6 HP two stroke Johnson I have downstairs. 
Not wanting to put a lot of holes in this new transom I decided to go with one of the plastic blocks that you mount the transducers to.  It is installed and sealed with 3M 5200, it isn't going anywhere.  Because of the pressure treated plywood that was used in here before I also have those pin holes in the bottom of the boat.  I have sealed the whole area on the floor and up onto the transom with 3m 5200 and it will get coated with Marine Tex on the outside and inside.  You can see that in the picture above.
Here is a picture of the transducer block installed:

Here is a picture of the new bow section he installed.  WOW, you should have seen it before.  There must have been fifty holes in the old one.  I almost hate to drill it and put the bow hook, navigation light, trolling motor and anything else up there.  It is well supported and I can even put my big butt up there.  Here is what that looks like:

My plans are to put the "plastic wood" supports in for the floor using 1X4 Azek for four stringers.  I will bind them together with the same.  I want to put double supports for two bell type pedestal seats.  Then cover the supports with exterior grade plywood that has been sealed, primed and then color coat with sand for traction.
It is going to be awhile before I can do much because I am waiting to sell the 14" Grumman reservoir rig I have.  That should get me most of the rest to complete the Ranger and the Ouachita. 

[Lipripper]

Looks good kris and I know you can't wait to get it all together and out on the water.

[Kris]

You betcha LipRipper.  Once the Grumman sells I should have at least enough to finish the Ouachita.  Most expense will be the 24v transom mount and electronics.  This boat will see multi-purpose with the TM and an outboard of less than 7.5 HP.  Gotta get the Ranger done also.

[Lipripper]

Your going to be busy 

[Donald Garner]

Congrats on getting your boat back.  Keep us updated with pictures has you get things added.

[fishandkamp]

Boy that looks good. He does nice work.

[Kris]

Thanks Bob.  Gotta do some trim up here and there but I love it.  I am going to coat that whole rear section with Marine Tex to make sure it doesn't leak.  The boat will get inverted so I can work on the bottom and coat all the rivets with 5200 and paint it with truck bed coating.  It has already been coated once so I am just re-coating because it is so hard to get off. 

[Kris]

Well, the Grumman has sold and he will pick that up today or tomorrow.  My neighbor gave me the Azek that I need to do the floor support.  All of it is one-inch thick, four inches wide and there are four pieces over fifteen feet long with other smaller pieces.  The floor area is thirteen and a half feet long and four feet wide.  Being a true flat bottom it is just that FLAT.  My plans are to use the long pieces for stringers on the aluminum supports the entire length of the boat.  Then some struts to hold it all together.  Where the bell style pedestal seats will go will get some extra support.  The livewell area will also get some additional support.
I have my ideas sketched out on paper and think this will be great for my Grandson, Jordan, and I to fish out of when completed.  Pictures later today of the Azek and hopefully cut to size.

[Mike Cork]

It's coming together nicely and quickly now

[Kris]

It has to Mike, I own two boats and neither are ready for the water, lol.
Well, here are a couple of pictures of improvements done today.  First is two pictures of the rear section of the floor support.  This is Azek, "Plastic wood", so that I don't have to worry about rot down there where it is most likely to come in contact with it.  I always overbuild because I am not a little guy and it will be equipped with 4 Group 31 batteries and a livewell for bait.  Here are two views of the rear section floor supports:


I also have changed out the winch stand to a different design by my BIL.  Still have to make some mods but it will work real well when complete.  Also put a new dolly on the trailer because the old one has been missing some pieces since I got it.  I also had to grind off some metal left where I cut off the old one. 
It turned out that the new winch stand didn't work right with the hull design so I switched it back to the old stand.
This week will be CRAZY at work since one of the Managers is on vacation.  More to come as time permits.

[fishandkamp]

Looks like the "Fleet" all lined up in a row.

[Kris]

Welcome to Fifth Street Marina.  I deliver the Grumman tomorrow to Parkton>

[West6550]

Looking great. I love projects like this. Enjoy!

[Kris]

Today I really didn't have time to do much with the boat since I was asked to deliver the boat I sold.  so I did go out and try to decide how I was going to handle the floor to the bow.  So I am standing there looking and saw that a four inch wide board would not make it all the way to the bow because it would run out of width.  So I am thinking should I go to a six inch wide board?  That would work but be a lot of work to figure out.
Now I am not a professional wood guy but most everything I build out of wood would hold Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.  I had leveled out the boat yesterday so I could determine what I needed to keep the floor level.  So out of curiosity I picked up one of the four inch wide board and put it as far forward as I can.  I then put the other end on top of one rear section stringer.  I thought, Wow that looks pretty good and grabbed the level.  Guess what?  IT"S LEVEL!  This will put my front deck up four inches higher than the rear deck.  It will also give me the room to put in a foot pedal tray for the trolling motor. 
Now I know what I am going to do with the floor going toward the bow.

[Oldfart9999]

It's looking good, want to see it when it's done.
Rodney

[Kris]

Here are a couple of pictures that I shot the other night.  The supports in the rear of the boat are approximately six foot long.  The open area in the boat is approximately thirteen and half feet long.  I think I will keep the front deck no longer than six feet.  That means I have to extend the rear section a bit, two to three feet, to make it work.  Then I have to figure out if the trolling pedal pan can be used with the large front deck.  I may be contacting Minn Kota to see if they have long cables available. 
Here is a picture of the boards I just sat on the rear deck supports for hahas. 

They will be shorter but I know now that it will work.  When I dropped the level on the board this is what I found.

As you can see, there is room under that raised deck for storage, I just have to figure out how I will access it.  Got a club tournament tomorrow and then a few days to work on it before I go back to work.  With the weather we are having I am glad it is under my Maple tree.

[Bigwrench]

I like how it all falls into place and you try something out and it works !

[Kris]

I got a chance to do some work on the boat this morning so I figured I would send a couple of pics.  I did install a CE Smith Jon boat support bunk on the tongue.  This thing is great btw.  It is a two foot bunk that crosses the tongue and give a lot more support when I am working on the boat.  For the fifty couple bucks I thought it was a really good investment.  No picture on this but one will follow later in the week.
I did add the extension to the rear floor support today.  It is actually about eight feet now.  I know it is hard to tell the difference but, believe me, it's in there.

the front deck will be about six and one half feet long and four foot plus wide.  My next step is to cut the plywood for the floor and figure out how I am going to put Plano box storage in the end of the front deck.  I also need to make sure I have sufficient room for my LeBroc TM pedal pan which should be here soon.
Here is a picture of the six and one half foot stringers for the front deck sitting in position.  Waiting on some more Azek to complete the front deck.

Once completed I think this will be definitely fishable.

[Bigwrench]

Looks huge from that angle !

[Kris]

Boat is 16 feet plus and the inside is 13.5 long.  Thing I like the most is that it's wide open.  There is a MK Edge 55 foot control for the bow and an MK Traxxis 70 for the stern to do reservoirs here.  I also have a Johnson 6 hp short shaft and a Mercury 6 hp, 4 stroke loaned to me but it is long shaft.  Not sure I want to use that one much.  Although I would love to have it if it was short shaft.
Gotta pick up plywood for the floor, seats for the pedestals and figure out what to do with electronics.  I thought about using the HB Helix 5 pair from the Ranger and looking for Lowrance for the Ranger but not sure my money will hold out that long.  Also thought about buying transducers for them and using on both.  Those DI transducers are not cheap.  I will probably end up doing that to survive.  I have already bought four Johnny Ray 400s so I can move them easy.  More to come.

[Kris]

Went to Eastern Marine, Trailer Parts Superstore, yesterday with my fishing buddy Bob, fishandkamp.  Got some new shoes, tires, for the boat and got a spare.  Trailer is going from a 12" wheel to an 8" wheel.  This seems to sit very high and probably does because I have removed a whole lot of weight from it.  I went with 4.80 X 8, six ply rating and have a 745 lb weight capacity. 
Got an inexpensive cover to keep the leaves and stuff out of it when I finally get the floor in it.
New six switch panel with fuses to control all circuits in the boat,
A new winch mount, flat bumper for bow and a new winch strap.  I then found out that the winch I have, 1600 lb., will not fit on the stand.  Smaller winch and back to the drawing board.
Got LOTS of sanding done.  Finished up some places on the sides, sanded some Marine Tex spots from hole filling and part of the inside are of the gunwhales.  Got to finish the lower part of the sidewalls and the front of the bow storage area.   I think I am enclosing this and putting in a hatch that I have to make it a little secure. 
Next step is the interior sanding, cleaning up the welds and painting the rear area with pickup bed liner paint.  I am also going to use that and paint all the rivet areas on the interior floor.  Nothing like security in a 1973 boat that has been abused.
Work continues.

[cojab]

I love seeing the updates on the boat projects.
Great work. It is coming along nicely.

[Kris]

Thanks Cojab.  With all the work left to do there will be more info and pictures.

[Kris]

I said I would include some pictures of some things so here goes.
Here is a picture of the CE Smith Jon boat front support:

Here's a picture of one of the new tires, I bought 3:

I also got a lot of sanding done and here is a picture of one side:

My foot pedal pan came today from LeBroc in Texas.  Looks like a real quality piece to me.  At about half the cost of others I have seen this Old Scrooge is tickled with it. I really want to buy some seats from them but can't afford them right now.

[Mike Cork]

Shaping up to be an awesome rig