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Uber Tom !!

Osakis is a good opener lake. I will get back to ya.

A buddy at work has a place on it. He does well for walleye. You want me to get some info for you? He is a walleye FANATIC, so probably has some good location tips.

If he's a walleye fanatic...you ain't getting any "tips".

Kinda what I was thinking Tom !

he may give a few fishin spots, but he won't be in em

Anything would be helpful. Thanks, Goalie et al.

has anyone ever remodeled an aluminum boat? I got a 14' aluminum V hull a couple weeks ago and it doesn't leak but is in rough shape otherwise. the center bench seat was removed for some reason and it has a horrible rattlecan attempt at camo.


the exterior and painting isn't an issue, plenty of info online on that. I was thinking of gutting it, rhinoline it and start over. any advice, tips, layout ideas or anything like that from guys here? has anyone ever done anything like this? is it a waste of time?

Here's a better pic

Nathan and I refurbed our 14' lund a few years back.

fun little boats.

He actually knows how bad of a fisherman I am, knows I only have a pontoon, and basically is honest due to pity.

Kinda like how I actually try to help him shoot deer instead of giving snipe-hunting tips....

any advice? are there things I should avoid doing?

Here's the inside.

Ryan, I've done a couple boats...mostly for duck hunting. Personally, I like a floor for stability and quietness. I would pull the remaining seats, reinforce the transom, wire wheel the hull, wire it for lights, bilge, and fishfinder, then prime it with good paint that adheres with aluminum. Painting it before putting in accessories is much easier than having to tape.

Fill the boat with water and check for leaks. Alumaweld (sp?) worked for me on some loose rivets.

I like foam underneath the floor for some flotation and to deaden sound. Indoor/outdoor carpet on marine plywood floor, then pedestal seats make for a stable, roomy interior. A deck up front is nice for storage, battery, anchor system, and getting in/out at the dock. Some rod holders and you're good to go.

Love these project boats. Looking forward to seeing pics as it progresses.

How would you anchor the deck to the hull?
I have an auto restore place 2 blocks from my house, I might have them paint the exterior after I clean it all well. then going to use bedliner on the inside. all this after I go over every inch and be sure there are no leaks or anything.
I just need to figure out a layout for seats/benches and put it together how I want. bad part is I haven't fished in a boat in so long I have no idea what a good layout would be.

I have 2 kids so I want it to be rigged right where all 4 of us can go out and mama and I can each have one to look after.

Go to Lund's website and look at the different layouts for a boat your size. Kids are hard to keep still in a boat with benches. A floor with seat pedestals allows them to walk around a bit. Easier to pee when on a flat floor too.

In my experience, the weight of the floor, especially with supporting ribs underneath and everything (people, seats, gas tanks, batteries, etc.) on top will wedge itself in and be more than enough to keep it in place.

I like the two seats side by side in back and then one in the middle and another up front. The one in the middle, I offset to the opposite side of the skipper for better weight distribution. Mama sits there, older kid up front, younger one in the back with me. If just 2 are going extra person sits in offset seat.

I have bedliner on the floors of my current boat. I had a gas line crack in cold weather and gas leaked on it. The bedliner peeled right up. This after getting it down to bare metal and thoroughly scrubbing the surface with acetone. I still have it, but I am not sure I'd do it again.

Where's T-zone on this? He's owned more boats than the United States Navy!

Thinking along these lines, heck some of the work is already done for me!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Aluminum-Boat-Fishing-Conversation-and-Restoration/

That's pretty cool!

Personally, I'd skip the rino-liner. It adds a bunch of weight to the boat. If you're going to put a floor in if,why bother with what the bottom like like any way.

If it were my boat, I'd not anchor the deck to the floor at all. I'd build a frame for support, and screwing the deck to. Use 2x2's or 2x4's or make depending on how high you want the floor. Then make a template from paper or cardboard to transfer to marine grade plywood to cut the shape of the deck. Cover with marine grade or indoor/outdoor carpet depending on how much money you want to spend.? It looks like it had a deck on the front at one time. Support that frame to the sides of the boat with riveted aluminum to the height you want. I would do it level with the front bench, the run more marine grade plywood covered in carpet over that.

I like the open middle. Maybe get two or three seat peristal bases in the floor. One towards the front, one I the middle, and one in back. Then you can have a kid in each spot, but if there is dad, grandpa, and maybe one kid, then just use the middle pedistal base.

I would also use the space under the front deck for storage of anchor, life jackets, etc. you can buy hatches from cabelas or scheels, but you can make your own for a lot cheaper. They now sell bow and nav lights that are battery operated, and the clamp to the boat. I used em on my last boat and they were fine. For interrior lighting, get some battery operated LED's. That have small narrow strips that stick to the boat. They're fan-feakin-tastic!
Hopefully this helps!

dude that's exactly what i'm looking for! thank you, expect texts and calls as this project progresses as I'll likely want to pick your brain.
the more I research this and look at designs the more I'm confused but motivated, LOL.

I want something similar to this


maybe a little minor tweaking to make it to my liking better.
I will probably forgo the livewell. I'm guessing a cooler with ice/water will suffice. the hardest part is not knowing what I will like. but I plan on fully documenting the process and posting it up for everyone. I just hope I don't embarrass myself or bite off more than I can chew. I sure wish Dave lived closer! he's got a talent when it comes to projects like this.

I lost 1/2 my post last night when the stupid page reloaded since I was on my phone. Sorry. Anyway, the floor in the main part of the boat, I'd not fasten to the bottom or the sides at all. You can if you'd like. But in the past, there is always "stuff" you need to clean out of there. Sometimes it's just musty water you want to scrub, or fish slime, whatever...it stinks after a summer. If it were my boat, I'd make that center area "floating." So build your frame and attach your floor. But don't fasten it so you can pull it up for cleaning. You could even do it in two or three parts, with your pedestal bases in the center of each piece, then you can lift the piece out by the seat base.

Either split the boards or cut a 2 or 3" hole in the middle of them for water to wander through there, like the hull on a boat with a floor.

I'd skip the livewell too. It's a 14' boat, you're going to need all the space you can get with 4 people in it. I'd skip the storage in the sides as well. What are you going to keep in there? You'll need that space. I would wire a bilge in there though. Water ALWAYS gets in the boat!

As far as paint goes, Lund, Alumacraft, and Crestliner all use auto paint. You can get the codes right off of the Lund and Alumacraft website for most of the colors. It's a single stage, so pretty easy to do yourself if you have a gun. The Lund "marsh grass" would be a good color to cover up old stuff.

I now have an Alumacraft 16.5' Classic dlx. I'm adding the LED "sticky" lights I was talking about in my above post. I also put one in the box of my truck since you can't see anything in there with the tonneau cover closed. I got them at Radco in Blaine, MN. You can order them online from them. They have a battery box, that can be screwed on instead of the sticker that comes on the back. Do that.

Don't forget rod holders either. You and Kendra will at least need them to set your poles in while baiting hooks and removing fish. I think Frabill makes some that clamp onto the side of a boat like yours. I wouldn't troll with those, at least not with any larger crank baits, unless you secure them better to the hull.

How deep do you want to go? I can spend a lot of your money.