14' Appleby V-Hull Mod Conversion

[chad2009]

First off I would like to say that I have been lurking as a nonmember and reading posts from this site for well over a year now but just now have actually registered and this is my first post. I have taken many ideas I have seen from this site and considered them in my own project. Recently I had the chance to buy back the old boat my late grand father use to own. Its nothing special...just an old 1970s model aluminum boat. As a kid, my grand father taught me how to fish out of this boat but later on in his years he decided to sell the old boat. Years went by and the more I thought about that old boat the more I wished it was still in the family. Well, luckily enough I was able to track down the man who bought it from my grandfather and I told the man that if he ever decided to sell it to please give me the first chance to buy it. Six months went by and out of the blue the old man pulled in my driveway and said the boat was for sale. Two hours later I wrote the man a check for $500 and had the old boat sitting in my front yard. Although I was happy to have the boat back in the family again, I could tell it had seen its better days. The boat was covered in mill dew and old oxidized funk. I didnt even know if it would float and by the looks of the old 15hp Evinrude I could tell that it need some work also.

      Well I have completely restored the old boat and I took pictures to document the project the whole way. As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I will put them on here. BTW, the 15hp Evinrude needed a rebuilt carb and a new water pump other than that it runs fine. Ive had the boat out around 20 times. I hope my pictures will inspire someone the same way I was inspired after visiting this site. Enjoy.

[chad2009]

Ok. I think I have figured out how to post pictures. Here are three pictures of the boat after I pressure washed, scrubbed with sos pads and polished with mothers. When I first pulled the boat into my yard it was really funky. I wished I would have taken pictures of it when it looked like that. I also cut out the old rotten transon and put a new one in. At this time the 15hp Evinrude was in the shop getting worked on. The camoed boat was the boat I was fishing out of before. More pics to come later.

[nick76]

Keep at it, nice looking rig.  This was the same style boat my grandfather first taught be to fish in.  It will someday be mine after my father has his way with it.  

[chad2009]

The first couple of days were alot of measuring. I wanted to have a nice level floor to keep storage from rolling around all over the boat but I also wanted to keep the weight down so i went with thinner sheets of wood for those areas. I also sealed every piece of wood with 2 coats of poly. Here are some more pictures.

[chad2009]

After laying the 2x4s to the floor and securing them I started working on the deck. I custome made the hatches to fit my box and battery up front. I ran some pvc from the back of the boat to the front for the future switch panel. This would help insulate the wiring for lights, bildge pump, and other stuff. Again each piece of wood is coated with 2 coats of poly before being permanently placed.

[chad2009]

Here are some pictures of the bildge pump. I hated drilling into the boat but its something that had to be done.

[chad2009]

Here are some pictures of the dash where I have already cut out a space for a radio. I also would add my switch panel on to the left of the radio and eventually a depth finder to the right of the radio. I made a small deck above the dash for a foot controlled trolling motor to be mounted there. Also pictured is the glue I used to lay the carpet and a couple of pics where I started laying the carpet. I bought the carpet at lowes and although it wasnt the most expensive indoor/outdoor carpet they had it wasnt the cheapest either. Ive been happy with the way it has held up so far.

[chad2009]

Ok heres an upclose picture of the switch panel and another picture of the dash with the Depth finder mounted. I ordered the radio online so it still hasnt gotten here yet but I got the deminsions and cut out a place for it. You can also see the back of the boat. I made a notch for the outboard to go and I had to cut out those 2x4s that were sticking in the way. The gas can fits nice and snugg. Having the floor built under it sure comes in handy now.

[chad2009]

On the next pictures you can see the hatch lids upclose that mount flush. I picked them up at bass pro. Also you can see my complete dry box thats lined with carpet. This is a great place for keys, cell phones and wallets. I also installed some vents just so the underneath part of the boat could breath a little.

[chad2009]

Ok I know having a satelit radio is totaly unessesary on a small fishing boat like this but sometimes when you get real far out on a lake the FM signal isnt so strong. No worries with this Sirius satelit radio though. I can listen to over 200 stations nice and clear with this on board. Lets face it sometimes its nice to just sit back drink a beer and listen to some classic country.

[chad2009]

The next pictures show the seats. I bought these at bass pro on sale for around 20 bucks a piece. You can also see that my Evinrude is out of the shop and mounted on the transom. I bought some courtesy lights for tying on at night. They light up red so they wont blind you or attract bugs. As you can also see I havent bought a foot contolled trolling motor yet so I had to rig up a mount for my hand controlled minn kota. I also installed a little 12 volt hook up way on the left. This will power a cell phone or my Tom Tom GPS when I bring it. The trolling motor works fine like this.

[DADto4]

Top Notch Job

[chad2009]

Radio came in and fit nice.

[Wayne P.]

You did a nice job with the decking. You will also regret using that loop carpet. It is a hook magnet. You might as well remove all the barbs off all the hooks that will be in your boat. I have fished with a guy that did his fiberglass bassboat with that kind of carpet. Good luck

[chad2009]

But if I removed all the barbs I couldnt catch crappie like these. Thanks for the advice but Ive taken the boat out about 20 times and dropped treble hooks all over the deck. I havent had any trouble with hooks being stuck in the carpet yet. They may snag just a bit but they come out. I considered that problem before I bought the carpet. Thanks for the compliment on the deck though.

[nick76]

Looks like a well thought out plan and great execution.  How much lower does she sit in the water?  Do you happen to have a final shot showing the entire boat?  Nice work though.

[chad2009]

It may sit an inch or 2 further in the water than before but nothing to cause concern. I weigh over 230lbs and I have a friend that goes out on the boat with me and he weighs about the same as me and water getting into the boat has never been a concern. I can tell that it slows the boat down a little but I havent planned on entering any races either.

I will post a complete picture of the boat soon. Its too dark in Tennessee right now to take a good picture. Thanks.

[tennwalkinghorse]

Nice job I like that you ran your wiring thur pvc pipe that's the right way to do it. If you ever have to pull a new wire you don't have to tear the decking off. Good Luck

[DEISWERTH]

How did you get you aluminum all nice and shiny? Looks good!!

[NHfroggin]

Nice looking boat! i hvae a 14 foot v-hull and im going to start my deck build this thread will really come in handy. about how much did you spend on it? how does it go with the 15 horse?

thanks

        bassmaster6

[BassGuzzler]

really nice job!  I'm getting tons of ideas from you guys. Well thought out and very well executed.

I'm new to bass fishing and just bought a 16' venture. Look out this week for my build thread! ;D

[chad2009]

How did you get you aluminum all nice and shiny? Looks good!!

I used S.O.S pads then buffed it out with Mothers Aluminum Polish. The S.O.S. pads really did a number on the mill dew and other oxidized funk. I wish I had taken before and after pictures of what he boat looked like when I towed it in.

[chad2009]

Nice looking boat! i hvae a 14 foot v-hull and im going to start my deck build this thread will really come in handy. about how much did you spend on it? how does it go with the 15 horse?

thanks

      bassmaster6

I probably put around 300 dollars into the conversion after lights, wiring, carpet, glue, screws, wood, control panel, marine radio etc... The 15 horse pushes it along ok. Im not gonna enter any races with it though. I would compare my motor to an old chevette. It gets you where you need to go and its paid for. I can catch just as many fish as the guy in the 20' Nitro can...just takes me a little longer to get there.

[ImaRapalabeliever]

Very nice mod, looks great!  Do you have any problems seeing the depth finder screen?  was just curious.

[jack1]

Very nice mod, looks great! Do you have any problems seeing the depth finder screen? was just curious.

I was just thinking the exact same thing.  I find it rather hard to see that fish finder the way it is installed...you either have to back up or bend down to see it if you're fishing up front on the deck.

Great job, sure brings back memories of when I was fixing up my 16 footer...fun time.