bassniper

Looks Great Pete, Is all of your support structure 1/8" aluminum angle iron? Is there any 1/16" in there? Hopefully it is at least 1/4". Hard to tell. Pete, this is just my advice, take it for what it is worth.... even if what you are using is 1/4" aluminum, you know how soft and how easily it cuts and bends. I would really consider beefing the support structure up a lot more to hold your weight. Remember, when you are on the water and you have some chop, you body weight will increase with the waves thus making your normal gravitational force increase also. If you are done with the support structure, you may experience the aluminum bending, but after that it will kink, rendering it useless. Does your live well have a support under it also? When it is full and sloshing around it is heavy, so if there is nothing under it, just put in a brace. Another thing you will need to do to keep this from happening is to take your boat to a QUALIFIED TIG welder and have him grind some of the interior paint off the hull and stitch weld your support structure with 1" welds to the hull of the boat. This will really help increase the weight capacity of your decking. you can ask him where he would add more framing in the necessary spots. I would not want you to do all of this work and spend all of this money on aluminum only to have you project get t-boned. That's not cool. Remember, I have a TIG welder, and I can MIG, ARC, and OXY weld BUT I can not TIG weld worth a crap! I can weld the others very well, but TIG welding is not my gig. So if your buddy says "hey Pete, I have a TIG welder, I can do it," don't do it unless he is a qualified TIG welder. Beside, you would not want him to crank up the amps a tad too high and boil your exterior paint off for you. Not good. Remember, this is just my advice. Better safe than sorry, but it looks like a great start. I will be posting a couple of shots of my kick boat decking this weekend. I'll make sure you can see the reinforcing I did to it. Check back Sunday night. -Greg

Low budget Hooker, I see how to post a picture under your FAQ, but if I started a new topic say, "Cutomizing a kick boat" how could I post 10 or 15 pictures of my float at one time? Do I have to post 10 or 15 posts? I think I will start a new post so anyone that wants to do what I did can see it all at one time. I will start with one decking picture this weekend. Thanks. -Greg

I will work on posting the deck picture this weekend. Very busy this week finishing a big entertainment center and matching curio cabinet. Also, I am cutting marine carpet to cover the diamond plate to help soften the glare and noise, not mention it feels great on bare feet. I have not done this yet, but will. I am sure it will get a bit noisy if I drop something, but I haven't made too much noise yet. This is a work in progress remember, I was waiting to post all pictures when it is done which will be within three months so someone could google search it and find a lot of good ideas in one shot. . I will just post one of the decks with aluminum only because as I was customizing my kickboat, it was hard to get this type of info in one shot. I searched everywhere on the net and came up with some great kickboats on Bass-n-tubes and Sonoma County Belly Boat Club. These were mostly one person floats, mine is a one or two person model. I think both sites have a customizing page or at least Bass-n-tubes does. I am also trying to talk Dave Scadden into posting my kickboat on his website to show what a bass fisherman can do with one of his floats. That could open up more horizons for guys like me that can't afford the big rig yet. I will look into the FAQ to see how to post a picture. Thanks guys and please check back to see it and the final pictures in three months. I still need to do a little more welding here and there. -Greg

Yes I would love to, but how would I post them? I think you guys are going to freak out when you see what I came up with. "It's pure genius Lloyd" -Harry, Dumb and Dumber.....

Sterling, I'm going to place a small order for some stuff on Lurecraft this week. I'll make sure to get enough thinner and one bottle of black paint. I need a few other things too. I am glad to know you make soft plastics, and others also on this board as well. I might try to pour a few more frogs I made a mold for out of Drywall mud- ha!. I used old plastic and you are right, it did not work well. I thing one needs to get new fresh plastisol. When you thin your paint out, what ratio do you use? 3:1? 2:1? Thanks Sterling. -Greg

Thanks Mr. Dampeoples, Someone said that you have to paint your soft plastics within a few hours after making them. What if I am not making them and just modifying store bought baits? Do I need to clean them with anything prior to airbrushing details? Will the paint not stick to manufactured baits, say a Zoom fluke? If I need to wash them prior to painting them, any idea on what I would use? Is this to wash off the mold release? Just soap and water? it can't be that simple could it? Also, do you make your own soft plastics? If so, I will have a few questions for you. By the way, my name is Greg, what yours? Thanks again for posting back to me. I am new to this board. Have a great week, and just reply when you get around to it. Thanks again. -Greg

Thanks for the reply Mr. Dampeoples, Is that the only two soft plastic paints out there? I also heard it is called a PVC paint. There has to be more than that..... anyone, anyone? Has anyone ever painted soft plastic baits with the luremaking stuff? -Greg

Hello everyone, Has anyone ever tried to airbrush soft plastics? I have some flukes I would like to add some detail to them. I am having trouble finding paint that will dry on soft plastics. I know luremaking.com sells a four ounce bottle for $5. Someone else told me that spike-it makes a good paint but I can not find that. Any tips on cleaning the baits before painting? Does it dry fast and does it last? Any help or tips anyone can offer would help me burn up some winter time blues preparing for ice-out. Thanks. -Greg

Bass boy, I have used one for a few years now. You can see my model at "northforkoutdoors.com". It is the McKenzie Drifter X2 and it is completely safe. I been in choppy water too and they will never tip over. Picked this over a canoe any day. This model can carry up to 1000lbs. That what sold me is the weight of gear it can hold. Do not be afraid of buying a pontoon. Check out Sonoma County belly boat club or bass-n-tubes. That's all these guys use. I know of only a few other belly boaters in my area, so I am kinda on my own. Check ebay for this Colorado kick boat, usually cheaper, sometimes free shipping. Good luck, but pick this over a canoe any day. -Greg

Sorry about that web address. It's northforkoutdoors.com Take a minute and breeze through his online catalog. He also offers a really cool free DVD each spring. That's what got me hooked on his stuff and I waited until he had a special sale on my model, saved a ton but had to wait a while, but worth it. American made and all aluminum- no rust. He is an unbelievable fly fisherman, but these rigs work for us bass fisherman. He does not mess around not to mention he is a very clever designer. Wishing you tight lines.... -Greg

Jon, I just bought a 1/8" sheet of 4 by 8 diamond plate this summer. I paid $125.00. A friend who owns Cross tread industries truck racks was able to order it for me. He uses 1/4" on his rack, mostly in steel. I thought that was a great price and half of what others quoted me. I do not think he did this as a friend thing, but he didn't make any money either. I used it to build box decking for my Dave Scadden drift/kick boat. It was not easy, but as luck would have it my neighbor is a certified Union welder and just loves to tig weld aluminum. So we traded labor. He got a custom linen cabinet for his remodeled bathroom and I got a lot of expensive beautiful welds. I have a two person model called the mckenzie drifter x2 and it totally rocks. It was awesome stock, now it's unstoppable! This thing holds up to 1000 lbs. Livewell, gear rack, sonar, trolling motor, 14 pole rod rack, and next season, the 9.9 kicker gets put on. It is not completely done yet, but will be soon. Like a lot of other guys, I can not afford an expensive rig right now, and when I can, I will not sell this thing on a bet. When I post pictures of this one, you will see it is a very unique way to get me and one other person on the water. If you want to see it the model I have, go to Dave's website: northforkotdoors.com He sells a a kick boat called the skykomish sunrise, a single person boat. about $900.00. check it out. Maybe contact someone in the sheet metal fabrication industry and beg for a good price. Hope this helps. -Greg