I fished a lot in this boat as a kid and I knew it had had one owner and had been pretty well cared for. Also, the hulls of these Gregor aluminum boats are among the most stable out there and the modified deep-V chops through waves like a hatchet through melted margarine.
Of course, I wanted to do more with this boat than just troll. I wanted to be able to easily maneuver into tight places to flip soft baits, cruise the shore casting Rapalas and other crank baits, drop-shot in the shallows...I wanted versatility. So, I decided to put in everything I could that the limitations of space, weight and my tiny budget would allow. I decided to try to make this a boat with a bow-mounted electric motor, decking, rod and under-deck storage, a live-well...the works! I figured I could pull it off with a little (turned out to be a lot) sweat and creativity.
Here’s how the boat looked when I brought her home:
The wood on the seats (original) was rotted from 30+ years of weather. A few dings and dents…a few spots that had required welding…JB Weld here and there. Overall though, it was in really great shape for a boat its age.
I got hold of it late in the summer and decided to forego purely cosmetic touches in hopes of finishing in time to still be able to use it a few times this year.
I started by doing a lot of measuring and a lot of thinking. A boat like this is tough because of all the angles. I also didn't want to have to weld anything or re-think supports much so I decided that the bench seat (at least the aluminum parts) would stay and I would work around them.
I also wanted to maintain or improve the boat's level-flotation capability. My dad had actually put that to the test a time or two and said that it did in fact still float when filled with water...a feature I hoped never to need but wanted to retain just in case.
When I drilled out the rivets on the seats and removed the wood, I was surprised to find that only two of the seats actually had foam in them. That was actually great news because I could put that extra space to good use.
I decided that the back seat would stay mostly unmodified. So, I cleaned out the 30+ years of fish hooks, shotgun shells and other unidentifiable muck, then cut, carpeted and installed a new wood plank. Off to a good start.
Next I decided on the layout for the front half of the boat. I needed to find a place for two gas cans, a battery, a livewell, a rod locker and as much storage I could get while keeping the same or increased volume of foam in the boat. I also needed to be able to mount a trolling motor on the bow.
I wasn't quite sure where (or if) I'd be able to fit a livewell on board so I kind of made that a tentative requirement while I was trying to figure out weight distribution and placement of everything. Finally, I started laying things out and framing and slowly it started taking shape.
Here's how the framing originally started out...
I used a piece of 1/8 inch angled aluminum to create brackets on the bow to hold the deck for the trolling motor. I had to use a heavy sledge to bend them to match the shape and angle of the hull.
One challenge this boat had faced in the past was that after years of anchors bouncing around under the front seat, the weld in the front of the hull began to come loose and had to be repaired. You can see some of that repair in this photo.
Needless to say, I wanted to keep anchors (or anything else) off of that new weld to avoid having any more problems in the future. The front seat mounts were welded solidly to the hull and I decided that building a storage compartment in that space would be ideal for anchors since it is near the front of the boat and the weight would be well distributed and not put pressure on that repaired weld.
I also figured I could stuff some of the foam on the sides and directly under what used to be the front bench seat.
In part 2 I'll talk about measuring and cutting the deck, ports, braces and the building the rod locker.
Thanks for reading and Think Outside!
Jason,
Nebo Creek Discount Outfitters
www.NeboCreek.com
