bowfishing boat, poor boy style

[froghunter]

wish i had more pics of the boat when i first got it. these are a few off my phone, so the quality isnt so good.

-fist is right after i pulled out the homemade side console and dead 35 hp motor.
-next i put a base coat of camo on it. AFTER i fixed over 40 leaks. includeing 1 bullet hole. i plan to add the stencile work later to the camo job.
-i also removed the old transome. it was so rotten that i pulled the wood out by hand. it was replaced with aluminum. NO MORE ROT! its plenty strong. i hit a stump in Gibbons and didnt break a thing.
-the dead 35 was replaced with a good running 25 hp.

[froghunter]

just to get me through the summer i ghetto rigged a deck, rail and lights. it was ugly but worked. we put a ton of fish in it. i had 3 3oo watt halos ran by a wee 900 watt genny. there were also 2 27 watt led lights but i didnt have a battery to run them, so they just sat there.

the trailer tounge was bent when i got it and there where NO lights. i dont have any pics yet but the wires are all ran in pipe and the tounge was replaced as well.

[offshore2005]

Nice job!

[froghunter]

i have big plans and a wee budget. this thread should be here all winter, because its gona take me a while to do what i want.

my plans include an aluminum front and mid deck. light rail around the front deck. led lights and a poleing platform on the back. along with a ton of other things that i will make up as i go along.

i priced the aluminum that would be needed to frame up the two decks. it would run around 250$. JUST for the frame work! i stopped by our local metal recycle center and found some EXTREMELY heavy gague ladders. might not look like much now, but its basically aluminum I beams and C channle. they sold them to me for current metal prices based on weight. 80 bucks later i had all the metal i needed. the cool part is i get to take back what i dont use and sell it to them.

[TxSuperDad]

You have a boat that floats and a means and the way to get it done. That is all that matters.

I miss not being able to go whenever I want anymore...

[froghunter]

tonight i removed ALL the wood from the boat. maybe saturday i can start the deck frameing goning to be hard to find time with it being BOW SEASON!

[froghunter]

cody you still have an open invite on my boat!

[TxSuperDad]

cody you still have an open invite on my boat!

I still plan on taking you up on that as well. Soon as I can afford the trip down we will set something up.

[froghunter]

keep up with this thread. when its put back together, its time to go!

[Z7_Matt]

Man you made out like a bandit on the ladders! Subscribed :thumbup:

[froghunter]

the ladder idea seems to be working! i plan to have 2 decks on this boat. the first 2 pics are of the mid deck frame work. dosnt look too bad and will be covered any how. plenty strong too.

other pic is of the front deck. i didnt have the stailess bolts needed so the metal is cut and just laying in place for right now.

[froghunter]

the light rails are a major upgrade from the 1x4 boards i had. they are also led, so no more somkeing genny to listen to.

the nave lights on the front are my own idea.(as if you couldnt tell)
the are accent led lights made for motorcycles. one red and one green. they shine out straight and 90 degrees opposite each other. GW saw em and said i was good to go!

im not 100% done with the rails or nav lights but this gives you a rough idea of what i am doing.

also ALL wire is in conduiet(sp*) so that none are exposed.

[bowenarra]

Great job!

[Shiner5455]

Great job so far. I love the thirty ideas.

[Grizzly1]

Nice work!