G3 Fan

It comes down to the question everyone asks, how much do you want to spend? I like the Old Town Predator series http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/canoes/huntingFishing/ but if they are more than you are willing to spend you might want to check out Dick's or Gander Mountain. They have retail stores in my area and they usually have canoes on sale for around $400.00. I am not a fan of aluminum. Square backs are nice for motors. The largest Predator has oar locks and being able to row would make it easier if you are going to fish solo. Weight is another concern if you have to do any portaging. I am seriously considering selling my 14' aluminum boat and getting a Predator canoe. I fish a lot of small water and usually by myself and I guess I am getting too old because launching the boat by myself is getting to be a hassel. (no boat ramps, just get close and push)

Chris, Awesome job on the rig. I have been thinking about doing almost the exact same thing. The only thing holding me back is can two people fish out of it OK? Also is the front deck stable? Great job.

I have some firends that just love to fish from their kayaks. The advice they always give to people interested is to go sit in your yard with your legs in front of you and practice casting. It takes awhile to get used to casting from that position. The predators are nice boats my friend has the 14' and he is happy with it.

I depends on how much you have to spend and how big you want the boat to be. I think you will have to look at all welded boats. Most of the riveted I have seen only have bench seats. Most mfgs. have a front deck/rear bench seat 14' and up. They will have seat pedastals in the front and back. Most boats will be "stripped" but they have options for livewells, storage boxes, floor kits etc. Tracker Marine has some nice packages 15' and up. G3 has some packages as well. There are a ton of aluminum boat makers, I would see what your local dealers carry. If you are looking for something small, Tracker makes a 12' with seats in it, I think it is called the tadpole. If you plan to go the route of customizing the boat yourself I would reccomend a boat with at least a 48" bottom a 20" transom height will increase the hp rating. It all comes down to the almighty dollar

Dobi, Sorry I didn't get back to you soon enough, I see you went ahead and painted the under carriage. I think you will be protected, if you are going to store the boat outside I would put a mooring cover on it to try and help keep it dry. Keep up the good work

That sounds like a good day to me. I imagine you are going to make a lot of new friends when they found out you won the blank lottery.

I don't know about PA. but states have different requirements based off of the length of the boats etc. In Ohio boats under 14' have to registered but not titled. My point is, if you have to get it titled before you can get it registered you might want to see how much time and money will be involved.

I never felt you were doubting me and I am glad to help in any way I can. Can't wait to see the next batch of pictures.

Outstanding work, what are you using on the grips (the dark rings) Hey, you don't care if I show these pics to my wife do you? "See honey, he has more than ten rods too!" Great work, I'm jealous.

Dobi, I found one more site http://www.wolmanizedwood.com/fasteners.shtml Recommended Hardware Hot-dipped galvanized fasteners (meeting ASTM A 153) and connectors (ASTM A 653 Class G185 sheet), or better, are recommended for protection against the moisture often present where treated wood is usually used. For Permanent Wood Foundations, use 304 or 316 stainless steel. Aluminum should not be used in direct contact with this wood.* For indoor applications, while galvanized fasteners are preferable, the use of non-galvanized nails or screws of sizes and types approved by the Model Code is acceptable when attaching joists, studs, or other framing to Wolmanized® sill plate, provided the wood will remain dry in service, protected from weather and water. Likewise, the use of standard galvanized strapping, anchor plates, or mild steel anchor bolts ½ diameter and larger is acceptable for fastening Wolmanized wood to foundations, provided that the wood will remain dry in service, protected from the weather and water. *Aluminum can be used when a protective barrier prevents direct contact between the aluminum and the wood. Direct contact, in the presence of moisture, will create a galvanic corrosion cell between the materials. The barrier may be heavy plastic sheeting, rubber, vinyl, asphalt roofing paper, or even a good industrial coating. The barrier should provide complete separation and remain intact for the period of service of the aluminum. Additional information on the corrosion of fasteners and connectors used with alternative preservative treated wood. Hardware manufacturers

Dobi, I found this site, the brown box on the right quotes the International Residential Code http://www.raisedfloorliving.com/ptwproducts.shtml. Here is a quote from the IRC where it mentions aluminum. Do not use standard carbon-steel or aluminum products in direct contact with pressure-treated wood. In addition, electroplated galvanized metal products generally have a thinner layer of protection compared to hot-dip galvanized and are typically not accepted by the building codes for use in exterior applications. Spacers or other physical barriers are necessary to prevent direct contact from treated wood when aluminum or electroplated products are used, such as flashing or termite shields. Such barriers should provide complete separation and remain intact for the intended service life of the metal. After reading this it dawned on me that maybe we are over-thinking this. What if you cover the top of your aluminum frame and anywhere else the plywood would come into contact with aluminum with something like that sound stop stuff they use in cars? I don't know for sure wat the name is but it is a few MM thick and has an adhesive back. They sell it at car stereo shops you could cut it into thin strips. I'm surethere are other products that would work as well, I think having an adhesive back would make installation easier. As long as you use stainless steel hardware you should be good to go. Another benefit the barrier would provide would be to eliminate any squeaks between the plywood and frame.

I am in the building industry and we had to sit through a lot of training a few years back when CCA was being phased out. We had to change our inventory of fastners etc. One of the classes I went to was at Simpson Strong Tie they make most of the fasteners used in residential construction. This link will take you to a page talking about barriers to use between framing material and fasteners http://www.strongtie.com/productuse/barriersfaqs_print.html. The one thing I don't know is chemistry, The treated wood is so corrosive because of high levels of copper which is a non-ferrous metal. Alumninum is also a non-ferrous metal I don't know if two non-ferrous metals will "play nice" with eachother. In my industry a lot of flashing metal is made of aluminum and we have been told to use copper or vinyl if the flashing will be in contact with treated wood. That beinf said the aluminum used for flashing is very thin. I will try to ask some of our suppliers to see if they can shed more light on this, I'll also check out the web. This link is to a general article about wood preservatives http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00127.asp This link discusses the corrosive nature of treated and how to protect fasteners http://www.toolbase.org/tertiaryT.asp?DocumentID=4029&CategoryID=1869 Here is a clip from that last website in regards to painting steel Impermeable covering. Covering steel with an impermeable coating, such as paint, can provide a mechanical barrier between steel and corrosive agents. However, this method is vulnerable to imperfections in the coating and is not recommended for long-term outdoor exposure of structural connections. Like I said earlier everything I find refers to steel. I'll keep looking

Dobi, I am having fun watching the prgression of your project. It looks like your deck plywood is pressure treated. You need to check the stamp on the plywood to see what chemicals were used to treat it. The pressure treaters caved to the whiners of the world and changed the chemicals they use to treat wood. The old stuff would be marked CCA which contained arsenic which had everyone so freaked out. The new stuff is either ACQ or CBA-A or CA-B this new stuff is ultra corrosive. Fasteners have to be hot dip galvanized or stainless steel. The new products are more corrosive because the copper content was increased by as much as 5 times which is also why the stuff is expensive. There is also a newer Borate based treating processes whihc is supposed to be non-corrosive. I would suggest keeping the plywood from coming into direct contact with the aluminum of your boat and using stainless steel hardware. I don't know if painting the plywood would be enough to seal it or not, fiberglass resin may work better. I'd hate to see that boat give you problems in a year or two.

Thanks for the advice, I may give it a try.

Thanks for the info, it sounds like the squeeze isn't worth the juice.

I have an old Team Daiwa spinning rod, it has EVA foam grips that have seen better days. How hard will it be to replace it? Someone once told me re-gripping a rod is a real pain in the butt.

I want to permanantly mount my transducer to my 14' aluminum boat. Drilling holes below the water line makes me a little nervous. What is the best sealer to use around the holes? should I use rubber washers or something? Any help would be appreciated, did I mention I don't like to bail? Thanks

Thanks for the info, I guess I will give it a try.

I have a 14' aluminum (riveted w/ 15" transom and 48" bottom width) V bottom boat. It has three bench seats and I have been kicking around the idea of making a casting deck using the front seat as a base and running aluminum angle up to the bow with a plywood deck. My thoughts were to create some storage and move the battery forward. My concerns are the added weight and stability. I would keep the deck as low as possible and I don't plan on removing the bench seats. Is this a safe and worthwhile conversion? Should I try and sell the boat and find a jon boat? My main goal is to be able to stand up and fish without having my feet cramp up from standing on the ribs in the bow. Your help and suggestions are appreciated.