Will It Float?

[bankguy315]

I recently purchased my first boat, a 16' alumacraft mod v. Its rated for a max weight capacity of 750lbs. I am in the process of modifying it with a deck and such. when all is finished it will have roughly 250lbs of lumber, plus outboard and trolling motor, 5 deep cycle batteries, 2 fishermen and gear.

Think it'll float?

[Bluebasser86]

Won't matter if you're over the weight limit and a GW catches you out there. 

[Fishing Rhino]

The question is not, "Will it float?"  The question should be, "Is it safe?"

[tomustang]

Whoa, 5 batteries?

[RAMBLER]

I wouldn't get in it.  You need a coal barge for all of that.

I'm curious, what do you need five batteries for?  And, what size outboard?

[K_Mac]

250 pounds of lumber?!?!! Are you building an enclosed cabin? And 5 batteries?!

Yes, it will float until it doesn't. Get someone with a little experience to help with your project. You can make your boat very fishable and safe if you stay within its limitations. Good luck.

[jbw252]

Hopefully you'll add some PFDs to that list.  You may need them.

[buzzed bait]

wouldn't the 5 batteries be somewhere around 250-300 lbs alone?  i know my 1 deep cycle battery is heavy as h***.

i know i push the limits on my yak sometimes, but you'd already be pushing it without anybody in there it sounds like.

[Jaderose]

Absolutely.......give it a go with absolutely no worries at all.

 

 

 

 

(I like to give Darwin a hand once in a while)

[KayakKid]

I think you will be fine. Five battery's seems like to much though, I would just get two at the max. I have an 8 year old size 24 deep cycle battery in my 1448 mv that powers a 55lb thrust trolling motor, and I would be struggling to run it dry in a day running constantly at 1/4 speed. It doesn't charge from the motor and I have spent days traveling around the whole lake with no sign of it getting low. As for your deck, I think you will fine too. Boat ratings are always on the overrated side IMO, and as far as i'm concerned wardens and officers don't give a hoot about weight and hp ratings. 

[S Hovanec]

I recently purchased my first boat, a 16' alumacraft mod v. Its rated for a max weight capacity of 750lbs. I am in the process of modifying it with a deck and such. when all is finished it will have roughly 250lbs of lumber, plus outboard and trolling motor, 5 deep cycle batteries, 2 fishermen and gear.

Think it'll float?

 

I would seriously re-engineer my deck design to shave some weight.  Aluminum channel or pultruded fiberglass instead of wood.  Aluminum sheet for the floor as opposed to plywood.  5 batteries is absurd.  I'd consider 2, unless you have a 24v trolling, then 3. 1 for cranking/electronics and 1 (or 2) for the electric motor.

 

I have stripped down and rebuilt 3 boats over the years and I learned one valuable lesson......the 4th boat, was ordered NEW.

[Way2slow]

Yes, it would float, but it would probably be about as stable as trying to fish off a 4' step ladder in a canoe.

I'm like the others, you must be using deck planes Home Depot drew up for your house for it to weigh anywhere near 250 pounds.

A half sheet of seven or nine ply marine grade plywood with a couple 1/8" thick channel iron or aluminum reinforcements would hold anybody that had any business standing on a deck in a boat that size. Total weight would be approximately 50 pounds. Now, the trick is going to be finding the seven or nine ply. Five ply is more common and on a small area like you would have it would work if reinforced, but it's no where near as strong as seven or nine. Nine ply is super strong, but rather expensive, so I just use the seven ply, which it ain't all that cheap either.

When you say five batteries, are you counting the two in your flash light also?

[VolFan]

It should float, it's not carrying a lot of brains.

[Way2slow]

Ouch! That's a little harsh. I would say more a lack of knowledge, after all, he has already said this was his first boat. My concern is the money and work he is apparently planning on putting into his boat just to find out it was possibly mostly wasted when he puts it in the water the first time, and has to tear it out and do it again.

I'm sure he's no different than the rest of us, he wants to make his new boat the best bass boat he can make it with what he has.

[Ski213]

Forst off congrats on the new ride. I'm not sure exactly how you intend to use it but it sounds like the essentials are the outboard, the trolling motor, and the batteries. I'm not sure why five batteries. Assuming the trolling motor is 24v I would think 3 i sufficient. Again I don't know all the specifics. Get the essential stuff in place and see how she does. Balance of weight is about as important as total weight. Ease into the decks and such once you get her balanced out and figure out how to balance batteries, fuel, etc.

[bankguy315]

okay, my estiment on lumber was high and by deep cycle i only mean the small marine batteries they sell by the car batteries at wal-mart. I may have misspoke a little.  But thanks for taking it easy on me fellas .

 

I have all saftey gear required to be on the water.

Also, i had stripped everything out of the boat to begin with so im building the whole thing front to back. Thats why i have a lot of lumber. You know, rod locker, main deck, telescoping deck, bench compartments livewell houseing, all the good stuff.

[VolFan]

That's a lot of building for your first boat, and on a smaller boat. I'm still curious about the need for five batteries? However you do it, keeping the weight fairly evenly distributed, and water testing as you go will be important. Good luck, and show some progress as you build.

[Way2slow]

Not sure what batteries you are looking at, but if your TM is 24 volt, two of these are what you should be looking at for it. http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-29-Marine-Battery/20531539

Even if it's 12 volt and you want bunches of run time, two of those batteries will fill the bill.

If your motor is electric start, one of these is all you need for it. http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Group-Size-24DC-Marine-Battery/20531540. This will be more than enough to the motor and any electronics and pumps you plan on having.

If you are looking at batteries any smaller than the 24DC, don't waste your money. That's about as small as you can run and expect to get any run time out of them.

Also understand, I think you said you had an early 25hp Johnson, most of those early models did not have a charging system on them, so you have to be sure and charge the cranking battery every time you come in.

You will also probably want to look at getting a three bank, on board charger to help make life easier. It's a pain in the butt having to charge three batteries every time you come in with regular chargers. There are some cheap, off brand Chinese models sold that are fairly cheap, and most reviews recommend staying away from them. Stick with one of the major brand names. They are probably going to be made in China also but the hope is they have some say on the quality control, and most do offer good customer support.

[gardnerjigman]

For what you are wanting to do aluminum is the only way to go. Will lighten your "planned weight" a ton and last forever. I would also foam under the decks to give it added stabilization. You need to pay attention to what that coast guard sticker says, cause just like Blue said in the first post, the fact of it floating doesn't matter when you are getting that ticket...