I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

josh6780

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 19, 2005
Messages
169
imgur: the simple image sharer - Here she is.

I got this boat about 10 years ago and have not done much to it. I replaced the transom wood, re riveted a few holes and cleaned it up a bit.

This boat has a small aluminum plate over the bow and used to have a seat installed at the tip. I was in the process of installing a new seat there and putting that medal bar there has a foot rest. Then I got to thinking that I might want to stand up and down and also have the option of actually installing a foot controlled or (even better) One of those wireless controlled bow mount trolling motors.

So I would like some advice. My options are installing a front deck down in the bow leveling the whole thing just above the seats. Adding a pro seat. (one of those tall seats with a 3 inch back rest.) but if I did that, I woiuld also still want another pro seat at the tip of the bow. Which means if I want to have a small free standing space as well, I would need to extend the small bow deck I have there already. So that I can put a tall pro seat there to rest my butt and also have something to grab when wakes come.

My other option would be to just cover the whole font bow area with a deck on the top like this http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1434&d=1177260562 All the way back to the first bench seat. I would still need to add some sort of extension to the tip of the bow if I still want a seat right there.

The second option just sounds much easier as far as installation would be able to make a front deck one entire piece of whatever material I decided to make it out of and bolting it to the top lips of the boat. Which would also give me more storage space underneath as well. I am just concerned about the C.O.G and how tippy it will be. The bow seems like the most stable place when I sit flat on my but. Just not sure about standing.
 

26aftcab454

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
1,510
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

Personaly I think unless your boat is 16 ft long or you weigh 75 lbs it would be tippy like a canoe.
Lay a board accross the front then stand on it while floating to see how fishable it is.
good luck!
 

Mel Taylor

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Messages
489
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

Personaly I think unless your boat is 16 ft long or you weigh 75 lbs it would be tippy like a canoe.
Lay a board accross the front then stand on it while floating to see how fishable it is.
good luck!

Just be sure to put on a life jacket before you try this experiment.
 

blackhawk180

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 14, 2012
Messages
367
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

Personaly I think unless your boat is 16 ft long or you weigh 75 lbs it would be tippy like a canoe.
Lay a board accross the front then stand on it while floating to see how fishable it is.
good luck!
That is actually a pretty good idea before you invest in aluminum or start drilling lots of holes. You might be surprised how tippy it may become and Mel's suggestion is not out of line.
 

crabby captain john

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
1,823
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

Evidently you have a motor so why not look for a boat designed like you want. It would be safer, possibly less work involved, and maybe even less expensive.
 

cannonman

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
92
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

I agree, a v-hull of that smaller size would not be very stable to stand on.
 

kfa4303

Banned
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
6,094
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

Nonsense, people stand in fish in dugout canoes and hunt alligators in Pirogues and Glades skiffs. I have a deck in the bow of my 14' semi-v hull tinny and I can stand up there all day without issue. You can see it in my avatar pic.
 

mrmamiller

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
167
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

I had a 14' Sea Nymph (aluminum, looks like yours) and I pulled the front seat out. I then made a plywood floor for the bow area and supported it by 2x6's contoured such that they fit the interior perfectly. It was 30 years ago, so I can't remember how I secured the platform to the hull. But, I had a pedestal seat mounted to the platform and I could stand on the platform and move around on the seat all I wanted. NOTE: the platform was not elevated, it was no more than 6" from the bottom of the hull. By the way, there will be (should be) floatation in your seats, so pulling one will decrease your level floatation.
 

colbyt

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
824
Re: I want to put in a bow deck on my aluminum vhull.

I think the one thing that has 't been mentioned is body weight and number of people in the boat. Both of those greatly affect the stability of any boat. The movements of a 175 pound person and 275 pound person have markedly different effects.

Now I am of the latter category and there is no way I would stand in vee hull tinny with anyone else in the boat. I want my mass as close to the water as I can seat it.

YMMV. Wear a life jacket while you figure it out.
 
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