15v Fisher Marine..

[Travis91]

I have a 15v fisher marine that I inherited from my Grandfather. It had sat outside for 10-12 years and the open cell foam under the paper thin aluminum floor had been waterlogged last year i tore the aluminum floor and side panels out and threw away all the soaked foam.. My goal is to put down new foam, floor, wiring, lights, switch panel, and redo the wood in the transom, I have the 1969(?) Johnson 9.9 That came on the boat when my Grandfather bought the boat used in Virgina. (he had bought a 25 Yamaha but took it to a repair shop a few months before his heath turned south and He passed away before we figured out that the motor wasn't at the lake house) .. I keep looking at boats on Craigslist and realized i have a nice boat that just needs to be finished and i could be out on the water in a few months..

What I am looking into now are the ways to put a new floor into the boat.. I'm leaning towards some sort of plywood with sheet foam underneath cut to fit between the ribs of the boat. Not sure how to go about that tho.. Especially in the front of the boat where the modified V hull shape forms. Ive even thought about using some sort of tongue and groove pine flooring.. So Ill post some pictures at some point. But if anyone has pictures of flooring i would love to see.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

Hi Travis. There are really only a few rules when it comes to aluminum boats: 1.) NEVER use pressure treated lumber as the chemicals used to preserve it can cause pitting in your hull. Instead, use high quality, exterior grade, non-pt plywood (1/2" - 3/4") and seal it with either 2-part epoxy, spar urethane, or exterior paint. 2.) You'll then want to attach it to the hull using either stainless steel sheet metal screws/bolts and/or aluminum pop rivets. Be sure to use some 3M 5200 marine caulk on any through-hull pieces of hardware as well. 3.) As far as flotation goes, remove any and all of the old, white styrofoam and replace it with pink/blue closed-cell foam insulation board from Lowes/HD. In fact, you can get everything you need for the job at the big box stores with the exception of the epoxy, but they do carry Spar Urethane which works very well. That's really about it. The rest is simply limited by time, money and imagination.

 

[Travis91]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

I was planning on using the pink/blue foam and 3/8s ply.. The ribs are close together, and with the foam underneath 3/8th will save weight and still be plenty strong. My question is how to get the floor to lay right on the front of the boat in the V area. i will try to get some pics later today

 

[kjdunne]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

As for shaping the flooring at the bow, make a cardboard template. Start at the rib before the taper starts.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

There are a couple different ways to attach the deck. Some folks simply attach them directly to the ribs, which usually creates a slightly concave surface. While handy for drainage, it tends to be awkward to stand on for long periods. As a result, lots of folks will fab stringers out of either aluminum angle, or 2"x2" lumber. By spanning the rips from one side of the hull to the other you create a level layer of stringers. This will not only provide a level deck, but it should create a bit more room below deck for flotation foam. Here's one example.

 

[Travis91]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

Hmm The boat is full of leaves.. ill have to clean it out today and start lookng at how to go about this.. should i run conduit under the floor to run wires in.. or is it better to do it along the side of the boat for easy access.

 

[Travis91]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

Do you know if that is channel or angle?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

HI Travis. Sure you can run conduit below decks to house the controls and electrical wiring. Most folks just use PVC pipe run along the keel. The only advantage to keeping all that above decks is that it's easier to service. In the pic I think he just used 1/8" aluminum angle, which you can get at Lowes/HD, but you could also use channel and/or square tubing, but that's probably overkill on such a small boat. An old aluminum ladder can be a great source of material, if you can't find the aluminum stock. If you're going to go this route, I would suggest you rivet everything together as it will be much cheaper and easier than using stainless steel screws, which is pretty pricey.

 

[Travis91]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

I think the angle would be plenty strong once it was braced and the floor was screwed to it

 

[Travis91]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

I'm going to remove the factory seat mounts and mount the new seats to the floor of the boat

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 15v Fisher Marine..

That's fine, just be sure to through bolt it to the deck using a backing plate and/or some large fender washers on the underside so the hardware won't pull out over time.