kfa4303
Banned
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2010
- Messages
- 6,094
Re: What's your boat speed?
Thanks for the kind words. I love it. It's made it out of 2 sections of 3/4" non-PT, exterior grade plywood attached with SS screws to aluminum angle braces and 2 x 4 wooden pillars below deck for support. It's also tied into either side of the hull well above the water line. Overall, it's rock solid. It can easily support several people's weight, if need be, and is at just the right height for stepping onto from the dock (got lucky there). It's perfect for tossing the cast net, or fishing from too. My little nephew also loves to lay up there and look over the bow at the manatees and stuff as we idle down the rivers around here. The weight up front helps balance out the boat too. There's also another smaller deck below the main casting deck with foam below that for emergency flotation. In addition to having the casting deck itself, the whole unit forms a nice little storage locker to hold the anchor, PFDs, motor oil, pool noodles, junk, etc.... I've also made a couple small removable decks for myself and the passenger.They're also made from the same 3/4" plywood. They let me stand up nice and level while using the grab bar. About the only problem I've had with them is that they're painted with Rustoleum Professional Oil Grade High Gloss enamel, which is great stuff, but it can get slicker than snot when it's wet. I've already found some foam/anti slip mats I can put on them I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I think I'm gonna try to be clever (famous last words) and use velcro to attach the pads to the decks so that they can be removed when hosing out the boat at the end of the day. Here are some other shots to give you an idea of how she's laid out. Thanks again.




Kfa,
Thats a pretty cool setup you have there! How is the stability while on the casting deck? I had a 14' Alumacraft a long time ago and i always wanted to add a deck up front but never got around to it.
Thanks for the kind words. I love it. It's made it out of 2 sections of 3/4" non-PT, exterior grade plywood attached with SS screws to aluminum angle braces and 2 x 4 wooden pillars below deck for support. It's also tied into either side of the hull well above the water line. Overall, it's rock solid. It can easily support several people's weight, if need be, and is at just the right height for stepping onto from the dock (got lucky there). It's perfect for tossing the cast net, or fishing from too. My little nephew also loves to lay up there and look over the bow at the manatees and stuff as we idle down the rivers around here. The weight up front helps balance out the boat too. There's also another smaller deck below the main casting deck with foam below that for emergency flotation. In addition to having the casting deck itself, the whole unit forms a nice little storage locker to hold the anchor, PFDs, motor oil, pool noodles, junk, etc.... I've also made a couple small removable decks for myself and the passenger.They're also made from the same 3/4" plywood. They let me stand up nice and level while using the grab bar. About the only problem I've had with them is that they're painted with Rustoleum Professional Oil Grade High Gloss enamel, which is great stuff, but it can get slicker than snot when it's wet. I've already found some foam/anti slip mats I can put on them I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I think I'm gonna try to be clever (famous last words) and use velcro to attach the pads to the decks so that they can be removed when hosing out the boat at the end of the day. Here are some other shots to give you an idea of how she's laid out. Thanks again.



