Here we go: 32'x10.5' going to 16'x42'

[AlaskaFisherman]

Multi year project because of short building season and as money goes.
Taking a 1962 Commerical Stern Drift Boat from 32 ft. long to 42ft. and from 10.5' wide to 16 ft. wide.
This year will increasing width because of also making decks all flush. This means raising net reel and other equipment up 32".
Welder and I looked over project today and plan to build tent in March and start welding in April. Boat has to be ready to fish last of June.
Welder and I both work in the oil fields on the North Slope of Alaska so we are only here in Kenai half the time and only one week out of a month are we here together.
Wish me luck.

[Dr. J]

Are you doing this to meet new licencing requirements? I don't know much about how things are done in Alaska as relates to gillnet fishing. Here we have very strict rules regarding boat length/ licence requirements. I am curious as to your methods. Do you plan to simply ad sponsons from the chine up, or are you planning to split and fill? What do you plan to do about the need for a different shaft length and angle and greater drive thrust due to the added length and beam? Will you have to increase draft or ballasting to accomadate the raised deck heights? Adding ballast to skeg built boats usually means strengthening the hull to accomadate the added weight to the skeg. I know that I had to perform many structural adjustments when widening a 65' steel seine boat and a 32' glass bowpicker a few years ago.
Good luck, it looks like a really cool project. I hope that you will post updates and pictures as you proceed.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Width is being added to allow for two things: 1. Restore stablity from moving a few thousand lbs. of equipment 32 inches higher inorder to build the flush deck. 2. Width will be needed to install twin engines = a good 3000lbs counting reduction gears.
The law I am dealing with is the Jones Act = No foreign built vessels can fish in US coastal waters unless they are less than 5 Net Tons. My boat was grandfathered in by ruling it to be less than 5 net tons. I worked this problem 9 years ago by having US Congress adding my boat to a law allowing it to be documented and enlarged. This problem has raised it's head again in the past week and I am waiting for the Coast Guard to rule on it. May have to go back to congress again.
Shaft length will be addressed when new engines are mounted in the last 15 feet of the vessel.
There may even be a third engine installed as the last stage of the project - time and money will tell.
Thanks in the interest of my little project. I hope to add pictures as each step goes. Infact a new trailer will be put under the boat next week and I will brack off it for tenting in the boat for welding.
Winston

[Dr. J]

Excellent! I don't see too many people submitting commercial boat projects in the boatbuilding forum. In addition to working as a shipwright, I fish commercially during the summer Fraser runs (when we are allowed to...). I have heard that your gillnetting methods might be different up there. In addition to your refit photos,I would also be curious to see some photos of your boat during a fishery. good luck !

[AlaskaFisherman]

Welder wants to start a job in Fairbanks Alaska in April, so my boat starts this week. Will not have time to put trailer under boat and still have not heard from salesman on Boom blocks. We will have to firgure something else as to how to handle 20 ft. sheets of aluminum.
Dr. J, I could not find much on fishing pictures - here is two and I will post more as I find some. Do you use Tangle nets, we just got permission here to use them this next season.
Pictures Not Attaching - I will try later.

[AlaskaFisherman]

The one on the bouy should be a good one to compare to when she is back in the water after adding 5 and ahalf feet to width.
The fishing picture is a day last Aug. I took my future deckhand out for a one set training.

[Dr. J]

Thanks for the photos! I see that you use monofilament nets up there. The dept. of fisheries and oceans (d.f.o.) doesn't allow us to use them here. I know people who use them during the native food fisheries( which are legal, though not used very much...) and they say they work real well except that you can't just snap the fish out when you are in a hurry. Here we use woven nylon gillnets made in Japan. The limit for the Fraser river is 60 meshes deep and no more than 200 fathoms long on the cork line. Most guys hang their nets at about a 2 1/2 or 3 to 1 ratio, unless they want more of a tangle type net .Then they will hang them at 4 to 1 or even more if they are fishing large meshed nets . Anything more than that and it would take too much time to pick the fish before you got in trouble due to the amount of boats on the river and the speed that the river flows. The other problem is that the net wil not fish as well because it will keep collapsing up like an accordian. This is mainly because we use a more flexible river leadline that can break when pulled too hard. Lots of snags in the river...
Good to see that you start your deckhands young. Those are priceless memories ! As concerns moving your aluminum plates around, are you talking about lifting them off the truck and putting them in place? During a replating/refit job, I once made up a travelling overhead type of set up using 2 heavy duty travelling chain hoists attached to a big steel cross beam ( I-beam) supported on either side of the boat by big stands(pipes) that resemble a kid's swing set support stand (only heavier duty...).Basically they looked like 2 capital A's with the cross beam in between... Once it was welded together, complete with gussets at all critical support areas, it was very strong and usefull ! I laid timbers in a parallel line with equal and even heights on either side that ran the length of the boat plus 15 feet to give room to back the delivery trucks up to and under the aft end, and then screwed 1" flat bar steel on the top and down the middle of the timbers to form parallel mini train type tracks. I then attached industrial type steel rimmed wheels to the bottom of the frame. It allowed me the convenience of moving plates into place from the cutting area at the aft end of the boat (where the truck backed up to... ) right up to the forward end. It even had enough strength to lift engines and fuel tanks into place. I made up a spreader bar to use when lifting the plates to provide better plate support and balance. This little side project took a little bit of effort to make, but it saved valuable time and money in the long run. Perhaps this is something that might work for you! Good luck with your project! I look forward to seeing the photos.
Regards, Jay.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Thanks for brings up the ideal of A Frames, I had thought of building some for next year engine setting project. We will not be back together on the boat project until Tuesday. I have half a day Monday to build the A frames. I ordered in some big wheels that will allow the A frames to be moved around. If I build the A frames shorter than needed for the engine placement I could use them for moving sheets from storage and then to lift to welding position.

Dr. J About fishing - does your fish come out of the net alive. Some of ours do if we pick ever hour, but I hear tangle nets give more live fish - so you can bleed them better. I support the Kenai Wild branding program up here and I want to bleed more fish this year.
Winston
Clearing snow to start project , started tent frame, pumped gas from tanks, cut old stern edge away exposed old fish picking area.

[AlaskaFisherman]

It was 32 deg. f this morning and warmed all the way to 33 deg. by mid day. i did see it melt ice at 7pm so maybe tommorrow will be warmer at Gillies Boat Yard - Ha! Ha!
Tacked up the first and the hardest sheet today - all we have to do now is finish!

[AlaskaFisherman]

We got the hardest two fits behind us, now it's smooth sailing. I go to the oil fields for 7 days, so Randy the welder carries on. He hopes to have the starboard finished by the time I get back.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Making progress - two more weeks and should be very close to wrapping up.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Starboard hull all but finished. Randy waited for my inspection of new Bow configuration. It's as I wanted it. Had to undercut outside edge so as to move bow water to the outside with as little force as possible.
Side hull stiffeners and strength and looks to boat.

[AlaskaFisherman]

More of the same - this time Port side. Still have ice under boat.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Back deck plate tacked. Next week both will be tacked and opening for hatches cut. Randal's Welding gone to Kodiak for next two weeks to work for old customers. I'm having to go back to US Congress for Fishery Endorsment - should be next fall before I get that. I'm looking to lease a boat to fish this season.

[dr.j]

Winston, how is your project coming? The picure that you have posted show a fine looking boat. Keep posting if you can! Good luck with the government also.
Regards, Jay.

[AlaskaFisherman]

Just got a permit for a private bouy in the Kenai river. Also have Senator Stevens Office working on documentation - they think I will have it this summer.
I'll post pictures later to day - didn't think anyone was checking them.
63 pound / 10 year old granddaughter wants to fish with me this season, so I added a 20 inch high wall to the handrails.

[AlaskaFisherman]

All is going well with the project. Welder will finish his work this week and I have to dump water out of fuel tanks, connect hyd. hoses, run & connect stern steering cables, start eng., check out hyd. equipment, install new bilge pump discharge lines. O - yes, forgot I have to install new fuel vent hose and tank fill hose because I want them on the outside of edge of new deck.

I did not get to weld as much as I had hoped to do because of other duties coming us plus I did all the old hull surface grinding and prep work for the welder.

I hope to build the new cabin my self next winter and also do most of the new stern fitting before the welder shows up.

[dr.j]

Great photos! It is good to see that your project is nearing completion. I am curious to find out how the sponsons affect performance. Do you anticipate problems with turning or with water flow past the old hull/new hull point ? The new sponsons seem to resemble mini pontoons. Very interesting... It is amazing to see the difference when comparing the early pictures to the most recent! Am I wrong or does your drum stand slide fore and aft during the fishery or is it mounted on the tracks merely to make it easier to move it into position after your work is complete? Looking forward to more photos. Regards, Jay

[AlaskaFisherman]

The net reel will be pinned to the rail at locations to match what ever we are doing at the time. I will pin it so I have around 8 feet to pick the net and also get into the center foward hatch, then relocate and pin all the way to the rear if I need the ice under the center hatch. The center three hatches will be ice boxes for carrying more ice. I maxed out my hold last year with ice and fish. "That will not happen again."
The bow would have been sharper in shape if I had been on site when the new bows were formed. Better water entry. But I will live with what I got. He did it just like I told him, instead of knowing the bowes were a little blunt.
Turning will be slower and the side bowes will catch and pull when I am coming down off a big wave.

[dr.j]

Having an adjustible drum stand is an excellent innovation ! We don't use this method in the south of B.C. Our drums are usually mounted in a cockpit set up that is lower than the deck height,attached to the aft bulkhead and deck and sit about 4-5' forward of the stern. The problem with this is that it can get pretty crowded if more than a few fish come over the stern roller at a time. Being able to move the drum stand furtherforward to make more room would definitely make things easier. Sorry to keep asking questions about this, but do you use a stern mounted power roller to help when you are setting out or do you just move the drum back prior to setting your net out? I also run into problems with keeping enough ice on board, slush ice seems to be my only alternative. Very impressed with what you have done so far.

[AlaskaFisherman]

I too am going to Slush ice this year for the first time. I believe it will reduce work on our part, plus I can go back to putting a 1000 pounds in one bag. If we just ice the fish we can not stack them deeper than 30 inch.
The power roller is free spooling / not used, unless we are in 8 plus waves, then I use it to help the drum bring the net in or if we have to get the net in with out picking the fish out. This new big deck will allow me to stack the net and pick while we are traveling if I have too.
The old configuration of picking was as your boat is now. I only had three feet of picking room - made for so slow work. With 8 feet of net on deck at a time I should get the net cleaned and back out fishing much faster.
The drum will stay in one spot as much as I can let it. Next year after I add more stern deck length the reel will not move at all unless I need to repair nets on board.
It's good to talk to a fisherman about the boat.

[dr.j]

I like the theory behind why you have set things up. being able to get the net back in the water quickly is so important when the fish are running. As far as slush icing, after filling the hatch, I put a few inches of ice on top and mix up two or three handfulls of coarse salt in a bucket of water and throw it on . Once the hatch is covered up, the temperature drops considerably and really keeps the fish fresh! Of course, if you can't pump out the hatch before removing the fish, you better have a good pair of insulated gloves. The water gets bloody cold!!!

[AlaskaFisherman]

I've heard about adding salt and may try this. Our quaility program does not want the fish below 32 deg. but I might start talking against this.

[AlaskaFisherman]

I sell a pump that can pump 3/4 solids mixed with water and I hope to use one of them to pump out the slush just before unloading.

[AlaskaFisherman]

All is well with the goverment - I now have a double endorsement - Fishery & Coast Wise Trade.
Moving on to Phase Two - putting engines in the new Sponsons. Most all work will be started next March / April.
Working to pull old engine and rebuilding it and a small diesel.

[AlaskaFisherman]

She is very stable - 10+ waves and nothing hitting the cabin floor!

[D'ARTOIS]

Congratulations, she looks like a warship!

[AlaskaFisherman]

I still have a lot of work to do. The stern is a make do design so she could fish this year and move to the next phase. Bow needs to be recut to allow water passage easier - time and money.

[AlaskaFisherman]

She has more changes to go through.

[dr.j]

Winston ,it looks like things have progressed well so far. I can see that you might have some adjustments to make, but she looks good! Looking forward to more photos. Regards, Jay

[dr.j]

Winston, I struck up a conversation with a gentleman the other day and he mentioned to me that he had some similar issues to deal with once he had widened his boat. Although he knew that he would have to sacrifice a bit of speed and deal with some "plowing" while underway he was very happy with the added stability and extra carrying capacity. His problem came when he tried to turn in close quarters. Especially when the tide was moving and he was packing a lot of fish. The extra beam made quick response a problem. He installed a hydraulic bow thruster and that made things an awful lot easier. Prehaps this might work for you. Look forward to you photos in the spring.

[AlaskaFisherman]

I was going to install two eng. this year and that would solve the turning problem, but I have dicided to wait until I can add more length. This makes me fish the boat one more year in this configureation and a bow thruster is starting to look more like something to install. I have no knowledge as to good or bad manufactures, so I'll just have to pick one.