Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

[ezmobee]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

so ive got to ask..... is having an open bow everything i imagine it to be?

Yes.

 

[Starman8]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

EZ, a little 1/2" plywood and a trip to Jo's and you can FAB the bow cushions 4 Cheap

Used those sleeves with the teeth before covering with foam and vinyl and bolted from inside gunwale

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

EZ, a little 1/2" plywood and a trip to Jo's and you can FAB the bow cushions 4 Cheap

Used those sleeves with the teeth before covering with foam and vinyl and bolted from inside gunwale

That may be a future project. For now, I've gotta rebuild the whole bow deck as the improperly supported 1/2" ply has failed miserably.

 

[zigzag]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

thats what im talkin about!!! man, id love to be able to do that!

im really liking the looks of the front end of Wallenpaupack River Rat's resto... thinking of scraping the CC idea and going this route..

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

Yah, you have a whole extra 3 feet to work with than what I have. All sorts of fun stuff you can do!

 

[zigzag]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

im thinking about modifying the rear of the boat... shortening the splash well, and fitting a bench or couch style seat for three people across the back.. and two pedestal seats up front.. and just a platform up front.. i don't want to clutter it up with too many seats. im looking for space.. i love the size of the 18... its just right for me. i want it opened up.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

shortening the splash well

I have a little of that going on in the Jet thread too. That was a much more reasonable job compared to the bow trim work.

 

[zigzag]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

mines a little unique but i think it would be manageable.. my splash well doesn't run the whole width... there are two seats built in.. one on either side.. i may just leave alone besides the fact that id need to rebuild the seats themselves.. the only thing that i don't like about it is that i cant fit a 6 gal metal tank under them.. id like to be able to carry 2 tanks with me and have them stored under those seats.. maybe just a little modification would be in order.. we will see.

 

[zigzag]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!



THIS is one of the reasons i want to open her up! need the space to haul these monsters aboard! Gotta love the Finger Lakes... I wasnt there that day but it was the second biggest my buddy caught.. the biggest musky was too much for him to lift (notice the brace... broken back) that and he was too scared!! They had the big one at the side of the boat (14 foot jon) .. they weren't sure what to do with him so they just cut the hook and away he went.. they had another that bent and uglystick in half and snapped 50 lb braid like it was nothing! said it sounded like a gunshot.... haha.. id probably scream like a little girl.

 

[Starman8]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

That may be a future project. For now, I've gotta rebuild the whole bow deck as the improperly supported 1/2" ply has failed miserably.

Rebuild? Yikes!!

I used 1/2", but if you recall, I made modifications in framing and made a 2-piece deck instead of three.

I borrowed some of the bow well walkway for a perm casting deck, see the previous picture. The original alum framing on each side bench was retained, but extended over the storage void with alum angle 3/4"...........the new front wall made of 2x4 stick framing(wallstud/plate) is bolted into each original sidewall, and the lumber was corner capped with 3/4" alum angle and riveted into same original framing.

The green lines are where I modified the framing. The center section which has a seat base is now filled with foam flotation since I removed the styrofoam that once was in the side storage areas. I added additional foam planks under each console.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

Nice Musky

 

[Starman8]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

the only thing that i don't like about it is that i cant fit a 6 gal metal tank under them.. id like to be able to carry 2 tanks with me and have them stored under those seats.. maybe just a little modification would be in order.. we will see.

They make nice flatter metal or plastic permanent gas tanks, around 12-22 gals that would fit under your splashwell.

http://www.boatline.com/showproduct.php?id=38343

As an example.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

You've already got kinda the minimalist Starcraft splashwell version. How much are you going to realistically be able to shorten that and still have room for the motor to fully tilt up?

 

[zigzag]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

i could actually cut it back about 10 inchs or so. i had a wooden top covering most of the splash well for a time and had to account for the motor up.

@ starman.. yeah, i have a flat 16 gallon tempo tank that's installed under there right now... put it in this spring.. was great the first trip out with the tank.. but, the second time out was another story.. water got in the tanks and ruined about 10 gallons of fuel!.. it was my fault though.. i needed to replace the gasket for the fuel gauge sending unit... it was old and cracked.. after a few good rains, water ended up sitting in a dip on top of the tank and leaked right in.... luck i had a 1 gallon emergency can with me! a little surgery to the fuel line and we got her back to the dock.... i like being able to remove my tanks and mix and fill on the ground.. filling and mixing through the fuel cap wasn't really for me.. i've only been running omc motors for a while now so i like the idea of being able to use up the fuel with a smaller motor.

 

[Starman8]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

It appears by looking at a Holiday, designed for bow storage, a forward console, and generous cockpit, that trying to make a bow rider could end up disappointing as the bow space is small, and would force repositioning of the helm, thus reducing aft space?

There are 2 SS18's on the CLIST thread for cheap. I would spend the fabrication monies on one of them and restore one of them?

Good Luck on your choice

 

[zigzag]

Re: Thinking the unthinkable..... talk me out of it!!!

yes ive been looking at that.. there definitely is not as much length to the bow on a holiday compared to a SS. my first though was to go with a center console.. that would solve that issue. i was then considering just leaving the helm in place. i may not be opposed to moving them helm around a bit...

i saw those SS listed.. wish i lived a little closer to them. if one comes up closer to me i would rather go that route.. but that being said, i know my boat... kind of like an old car, you know it inside and out, you know what to expect out of it.. buying a boat from someone else may be opening a whole other can of worms..