Modify aluminum runabout to fishing style

[stublack]

I'm hoping someone will be able to make suggestions on how to convert my 16 foot aluminum boat from the runabout design to something more compatible with fishing. I easpecially want to open up the bow area to house seats and a trolling motor, rather than being limited to storing lifejackets. Can this be done effectively without hurting the structural integrity of the boat?

Thanks for any help you can offer,

Stu Black

[Arrowmarine]

Absolutely. I have done many conversions, both closed bow to open, and open to closed. What you need to look at is how much support the deck provides to the structural integrity of your boat. Some boats are fully supported, and the deck acts as nothing more than a lid. Others rely on the deck tying everything together at the bow. Look for latitudinal(side to side) bracing beneath and independent of the deck. Imagine the boat as a pocket book. Will it spring shut if you remove the deck? If so, than simply add some temporary supports to hold the beam dimensions while you remove the deck. After the deck is removed, then you can layout a new deck, a new bulkhead if needed , vertical panels, etc. What exactly do you want up front? Bow rider? Then you probably need a bulkhead with a walk thru area. Maybe all you need is a flat deck, placed several inches down from the top of the side? You may be able to just trim and drop your existing deck as needed. Remember that if you cut the existing deck out, you will need to add some kind of gunwale to the top of the sides for support, and possibly adding a foredeck. When you say "runabout design",(Ive never been quite clear on what the definition of "runabout" is. (Anybody help me on this?) I assume you have a fully enclosed bow with a slightly crowned deck at the top of the sides. I know exactly what you are after. Something more "fishing friendly". I recently removed a crowned/closed bow deck from a 16' Valco and replaced it with a flat diamond plate deck at the same location, along with adding a pedistal seat mount. Made all the difference in the world as far as "fishability". Figure out what you want to achieve before starting. Look at other boats for ideas. I'm not sure what kind of fish you are after. Obviously, what makes a good walleye boat may not make a good bass boat and vise-versa. I guess I should ask; will this will be a welding or riveting/bolting application? That will make a difference as to what tecniques you can use.
Well, as usual, what makes sense as I'm writing it seems very confusing when I re-read it :-) I hope this helps and not causes more confusion. Keep in mind that this is not a difficult conversion, and whatever you decide to do can be made to provide the same or more structual support to your boat. If you want to send me some pics of your boat(including underneath the deck) I would be glad to walk you thru the whole proccess. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Above All, Have Fun.
Joey

[stublack]

Wow, Joey, thank you for your very articulate and thoughtful reply to my question. In my limited experiences with forums in the past I have never been treated to such a helpful response. I have taken a few digital pix of my boat, but I'm not sure how to get them to you since I don't have your email. If you would like to reach me, my address is stublack@cogeco.ca To briefly answer your questions...the fish we prefer to catch is walleye. Although fishing provides the main desire for change, we now have our first two grandchildren and would also like to be able to create more space in the runabout, which is quite restricted with the closed bow. Ideally, if it were possible, I would like to emulate the bow rider design, and l'm assuming here that the windshield can be replaced with one that opens in the middle.
Thank you very much for your help so far, and if it's possible to send the pictures to you I'm sure you would have a better understanding. It sounds like you are very comfortable in this field...are you in the business, or is this just for fun? My wife, after reading your note suggested that you must be an engineer...is she close?

Thanks, again

Stu Black