Hi guys

I am sure you can help me...

I am rebuilding my boat and I would like to get some ideas or suggestions on possible mods

My boat is a 16 feet v-hull starcraft and right now I just took everything out floor included

I need to rebuild everything from scratch

Let me know what you suggest...

is pressure treated wood ok? I use the boat in salt water too...

I do not know everything about fixing boats up but I did do some work on one of the boats I owned a few years ago. I used only pressure treated wood.

I'm not expert, but I have heard that the chemicals/heavy metals in pressure treated wood does not react well with aluminum.  

Have a breeze through this stick.http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1213554116

Must haves would be a well plumbed, large livewell.  

A well wired and well detailed switch board (my boat came with rusty alligator clips, everything was connected this way!).  

A rod locker.

Under deck storage.

Bilge pump, lights, etc. are standard.

Don't deck it so high that you will fall overboard.

No need to put a floor where you can't stand on it.

These old boats are great, your imagination is the limit!

Add an on-board battery charger to the list. Makes things much easier when you get home!

How thick is your wallet?  Is cost no object, or are you on a tight budget?

this was said above but pressure treated wood is bad for the aluminum.  I used thompsons water sealer aerosol and sprayed it on the wood before putting it in the boat.

Start with the links posted on the top of this section around customized boats. They have some awesome examples of what have been done. That's what gave me my ideas.

Looking at the photos may give you a good brainstorm. One thing to note, list out the options you are going to add before the customizations begin. I was not as good at that and it almost got me in trouble when I ended up pulling an extra 20 ft of electrical under the deck. Would have been much easier had I planned it and run it before I did.

That would also allow you to budget the project better. I can't say how much I spent for certain but I would guess I roughly spent as much on customizations as I did on the boat itself.

Ditto on the pressure treated wood with Aluminum. It does some nasty things. That was one of those things I learned on here. Had not heard it before and I am glad I did cause it really seems like a no brainer to put pressure treated wood in the boat.

I would recommend using aluminum for your superstructure. They sell it at Depot and Lowes. It has great strength and really low weight. I went with 1/8" thick "L" beams, grabbed a riveter from Lowes ($30) and some heavy duty rivets to attach it.

If you deck it, I would follow the advice of someone else on here who recommended wearing clothes you don't mind getting wet and going out and really testing the stability of the boat. Depending on how that goes, it may help you decide how high a deck you would want.

The possibilities are endless though.

Thanks to all for all your advices.

The old floor was not pressure treated, but it was hold in place by pressure treated frame.

This time I am thinking of adding a pressure treated floor so it will last longer. I also go on saltwater so I am planning of using stainless steel screws (pricy but they won't rust)

Right now I am starting to paint the interior bottom of the boat.

I will post pictures of the work progress.

Talk to you soon

Andrew

ps can someone point me on where to find visual information on how to install a live well pump?

Would I need two batteries to run fishfinder, gps and live well pump?

If you are going to use PT lumber, a couple of things I would recommend is to buy your lumber and then store in a dry place (preferably indoors) with a fan blowing on it until it is dried out.  After It has dried out, any of it that is going to come into contact with the aluminum, I would coat with resin first.  The resin will protect the wood from moisture intrusion and also act as a barrier to separate the chemicals in the PT lumber from reacting with the aluminum.  Good luck with your project.