What is the length/width of that boat?  Something about where that butt seat is located says, "tippy" to me.

You and your son are going to have a blast fishing out of it once its done.

Yeah something tells me one wrong move and I’m swimming lol. It’s a 1436

The plywood decking is going to be the weakest link over time.  When I did mine, I made all my cuts and fit everything the way I wanted it, then painted every bit of exposed wood the eye could see with OIL based paint.  Then carpeted.  The marine carpet is rubber backed, so that is a layer of protection, but if it ever gets torn, or moisture gets behind it, the rubber will work against us and hold the moisture in.

 

I figured the paint would take it to the next level.  No fasteners pierced the carpet, everything held with fasteners from underneath, etc.

 

Your build looks very nice, the carpet takes up a crap ton of space between the hatches and rim of the deck, I made my hatches slightly too big, when I carpeted they were super tight, so I took a hair clipper to the edges.  They were still snug for a while but have since loosened up :).  You look to have gotten the spacing and thickness of the carpet issues licked, because your hatch appears to sit perfectly level with the deck, nice work.  Mine had these aluminum "L" channels around all the deck openings, some were deep enough for 3/4 ply with carpet, some only 1/2in.

 

Remember to work "with" the water that gets in the boat.  It's a tinny, I WILL get in, as long as the water has a path to the drain plug if there is one, you are golden. If no plug, I would install one to let any water out after use, to help protect the work you have done.

I used minwax sealant on all the wood and then used oil based paint two coats on all of it on both sides. I am really nervous about it getting wet though. I’m using silicone on my screws. I honestly had no idea how to do any of it but YouTube is my best friend. Hopefully it holds up. It does have a drain plug. I did all this after buying the boat and not even knowing if it floats lol but before I fastened anything in I finally put it in the creek and it seems like a dry boat thank god. Next is mounting my low back seats. I think I’ll buy a g5 slider track for the back seat so that I can offset it to run the motor and then center it to fish. I pretty much just got into fishing last year and spent all my time in a kayak but that gets hard on the back. Looking forward to this. It’s been a fun build but has gotten more expensive than I expected. 

Did you use Marine grade plywood..?

No I didn’t. All the videos I see people usually don’t. I for sure would have but I just did it the way all the other guys seem to do it. Hopefully sealing and painting does the trick. 

Well, keep an eye on anything you built out of plywood. Should last for at least 5 yrs or more. Also, Never use MDF on a boat. 

Dry rot

Why dry rot?

Looks great. I had thought about doing the same thing your doing but caught a bass raider on sale at Academy and got it instead. you and your son will enjoy fishing from it.

8 hours ago, Chris244 said:

Why dry rot?

The only thing that could go wrong using plywood as decking is dry rot. When you seal wood that isn't treated for moisture fungus the end result is dry rot.

Teak, cedar, oak are wood that doesn't dry rot. Marine grade plywood is treated to resist dry rot. What happens when moisture finds a path into wood that is sealed it rots and turns into a paper like pulp.

70' to to early 80's glass over wood transums and stringers boats failed from dry rot.

Tom 

 

Nice job on the rebuild.  That narrow beam could pose a problem with the high seat on the front deck.  Another thing, you'll be trying to figure out how to get a motor on the bow before too long.  My first rebuild, I didn't put one on either.  The boat saw water twice before I installed one.  It was absolutely unfishable without one.

Yeah hopefully I don’t go for a swim lol. 

Both benches and rear hatch are done. Next is mounting the seats and I think it’ll be done. 

Lookin good Chris..

All done 

Looks great! Did you weld the aluminum angle?

No I riveted it all. Used stainless self tapping screws on floors and then rivet nuts to run the bolts through the seat bases into the aluminum bench seats. 

What type of aluminum angle did you use? Where did you get it? What thickness of regular plywood did you use? How hard was learning how to rivet?

 

btw, build looks great. You'll have a fish finder and bow mount up front in no time, trust me

I used 1 1/2”x1/8” thick aluminum angle from Home Depot. It was a bit pricey. Riveting is super easy and honestly it was my first time using them. I used 5/8” plywood up front and then the floor and bench seats and rear hatch are all 1/2”. I have a portable fish finder I’m going to use. I’m hoping just find a spot and anchor and not really troll but I’m sure I’ll change my mind. Thank you

4 hours ago, Chris244 said:

I used 1 1/2”x1/8” thick aluminum angle from Home Depot. It was a bit pricey. Riveting is super easy and honestly it was my first time using them. I used 5/8” plywood up front and then the floor and bench seats and rear hatch are all 1/2”. I have a portable fish finder I’m going to use. I’m hoping just find a spot and anchor and not really troll but I’m sure I’ll change my mind. Thank you

thanks for the info

@Chris244, Most excellent work. I need your services...........

I have literally never built anything really and just gave it a try and surprised myself a little bit. It came out really well. Thank you!

how long is the back part of the boat, like from the transom to the edge of the seat, (measurement of the plywood from front to back in the last picture), trying to calculate how much seat room and foot room I need to have. according to my plan, if I have a 7'6" (84") rod locker, and use 42"