12' Valco Project w/ pictures

[Huron Angler]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

Looking good there riverrunner

I think this will be a very functional and comfortable rig, great layout. I actually almost did the same thing with my 12' but it has really low sides and the weight becomes an issue quickly. Your Valco is much wider and deeper and perfect for what you are doing.

Glad to hear that school takes a priority over the boat, I guess there are some people out there who value an education (I graduated from MSU in '05)

Now just don't let anything else get in the way of the boat

BTW if you're on break from school does that mean you're gonna splash the rig soon?

 

[boatflipper]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

Very nice rig! You are doing an awesome job with everything. It all looks well built and designed to last a while!
Good luck with everything!
-boatflipper

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

i wish thats what it meant Huron. unfortunately my boat is covered for now (few days of rain coming in soon). i don't have a garage or anything to work on finishing the boat, so until weather permits me to get the decks finished up, i won't be getting my boat back on the water.

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

now i need all of your opinions...im thinking i might want to paint the bow plate (not sure if that is what it is called, but it mounts on the bow of my boat and has a bow eye on it to hook the winch up). i am thinking about painting it black to give the exterior of the boat just a touch of contrast and to tie it in with the inside of the boat.

the picture on the left is how it is now (bare aluminum), and the picture on the right is with it "photoshopped" to show what it would look like painted (or close to what it would look like at least).

let me know which way you guys think looks better please!!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

I prefer the not black.

 

[BWR1953]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

Yeah, the natural aluminum looks more balanced.

 

[Azonic]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

yeah, I think the black was a good idea,
but prefer the look of the other!

But wow, boat looks good!

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

it has been over a month since i have posted anything. once finals came around i had no time at all to work on my boat (no matter how much i wanted to), then once finals were over i went home for about a month to visit my family.

I am back in chico now, and thankfully we got a break in the rain for the last 2 days. after i got off work on friday afternoon, i started to make the templates for my decks. the templates did not take nearly as long as i expected them too so i was done by the time it go dark. here are a few pictures...

the weather-man said there was going to be rain all day saturday so i was planning on not getting any further with the decks until sunday. i was very pleased to see the sun shining when i woke up on saturday morning and decided to run out to home depot to grab a few sheets of plywood and get going on the decks. i was able to get the decks all cut, test fitted, and adjusted if needed in about four hours. here are some pictures of the plywood fitted but not secured...

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

apparently i tried posting too many pictures in my last post, so heres is the second part of it...

since i raised the back deck 1.5 inches higher than the original bench was because of the deck supports, the gunwale support would not fit correctly. i was able to drill a hole on each side of the plywood for the supports to pass through and connect to the aluminum bench supports below the deck. it worked out pretty well i think...i was a little worried it wasnt going to. the pictures below will show what i am talking about a little better...

 

[jonathantacoman]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

hey buddy i have a couple question for you .I just got the same motor as you did I BOUGHT IT FOR 40 dollar do you know how fast does this motor go and it and also what does 27 trusts means will it move a 18 footer v bottom boat or will it go really slow because if it does that would be great I CAN USE IT FOR emergency

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

That's pretty much the smallest electric motor you can get. It may be somewhat useful on an 18' for moving along the shoreline fishing but will be pretty useless in an emergency. It may get you to shore but it won't get you back to ramp. Especially if the wind isn't in your favor.

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

hey buddy i have a couple question for you .I just got the same motor as you did I BOUGHT IT FOR 40 dollar do you know how fast does this motor go and it and also what does 27 trusts means will it move a 18 footer v bottom boat or will it go really slow because if it does that would be great I CAN USE IT FOR emergency

hey jon, sorry i never responded. its been months since i have been on here. i'm not so sure i am the right person to ask about trolling motors. i'm no expert or anything, but i do know that cabelas has a buyers guide section that give some good info on trolling motors. i believe cabelas recommends 5# of thrust for every 200# of weight.

...if your boat, gear, and all persons in the boat weigh a total of 2,000# (to keep the math simple)...

then...2,000# / 200# = 10 x 5# of thrust per 200# of weight = 50# thrust.

on the other hand, earlier today i was watching bill dance and he happened to be talking about trolling motors. he recommended 5# of thrust for every 400# of weight. putting 400# in the equation above, that would mean you would only need 25# of thrust.

i dont know if this helps at all, but what i would do if i were you is take the trolling motor out and test it...see how it performs on your boat and make your decision from there. personally, i would rather have more than enough power and not need it than need more power and not have it.

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

OK, i know its been a while, but as soon as i finished getting my decks in i have been fishing every chance i got which left me no time to show my progress. here is some catch up pictures...

font deck after i applied carpet

rear deck getting carpet

still need to carpet the middle bench

decks are done!

i was gonna use some cabinet pulls for the storage hatches, but instead decided to get some 3/4" rope and tied one knot underneath the hatch and one knot on top with a little slack. that way, when i pull on the knot, i have more rope to grip, but once i close the hatch, the knot lays down against the deck and there is no tripping hazard.

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

Some more pictures after decks were installed

fuel tank storage

tools/gear storage

pfd, anchors, ropes, etc storage

after i finished with the decks, i started worrying a little bit whether i had distributed weight correctly and whether or not the boat would still get up on plane as quickly as it did before...very pleased to say that the boat ran just as good as it did prior to resto!

i have to go to class no, but more pics to follow tonight when i get home or possibly tomorrow...

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

The Valco is looking good there...what kind of fish have you been chasing?

Got any pics?

 

[bananaboater]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

Very functional and nice clean restore, good work.

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

here are the rest of my pictures up until this point. these pics were taken at lake oroville a week ago. (the quality of the pics is not the best because i forgot my digi camera and had to use my phone)

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

The Valco is looking good there...what kind of fish have you been chasing?

Got any pics?

thanks huron, i have been getting skunked on my boat...not a good way to break here in! i originally got the boat for striper fishing in the river. their spring run is in full swing right now, but it been tough fishing because we have been having 70 degree weather with a day of rain mixed in every week for the last couple of weeks so the river just will not clear up.

my buddy has recently got me into bass fishing and i caught these at a pond behind the local mall. urban angling at its finest!

on saturday, my dad came up to chico to visit and go fishing. i took him out to the sacramento river kind of knowing we wouldn't catch any stripers, but i was hoping he would hook on to something/anything because i just recently got him into fishing and he hadn't caught a fish yet...

i've never seen my dad so excited, he nearly jumped out of the boat!

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

recently i installed a rod rack in my boat. i went back and forth, back and forth trying to figure out what rack would work the best for me. i was going to use the Berkley horizontal rod rack that holds 4 rods, but i realized that it is nearly impossible to get an ugly stick into those rod racks because of the rod thickness. after looking around some more, i decided to buy an attwood rack that i saw at walmart and try it out...if it didn't work, walmart will take anything back!

i made some mounts out of left over plywood that i had and then mounted the racks to those. overall i am pretty happy with the outcome and if anyone is looking for a rod rack to use in a small aluminum boat i would definitely recommend these!

i dont have any close up photos, but you can see them in this picture...

 

[1970RiverRunner]

Re: 12' Valco Project w/ pictures

a few weeks ago i finally got around to testing out that old trolling motor i got for free. i cleaned up all the wire connection on the pedal control and hooked it up to a battery; i got power up to the head of the unit, but i could not get the prop to spin. i took apart the motor housing and the insides basically crumbled apart from so much corrosion. after that i pretty much viewed the trolling motor as useless, but held on to it anyways.

last week i picked up a minn kota endura 30 from walmart. i knew i wanted to mount it on the bow (i'd rather pull the boat than push it), so i made 2 different mounts to try out.

the first one, i made mounting platform for the bow and then attached 2x material for a place to mount the motor. i thought this way would be much more stable than just mounting to the hull of the boat near the bow, but it raised the motor too high and it was not submerged enough.

Next, i made a mount that had 2x material sandwiching the top rail of my hull, with plywood over the top to keep everything secure. although i did not want to do it this way because it did not seem like it would be as secure, it was the only way to get the motor submerged enough. it worked, but if i ran the trolling motor above speed 3, it would flex the hull of my boat so i did not like that.

you can kind of see the second mount i made in this picture...

now i am thinking about cutting the new trolling motor shaft and "splicing" in the thicker part of the shaft of the bow mount trolling motor i have and extending the wires to make it work in the mount i have for that motor, so it would be just like a bow mount motor, but hand controlled. does anyone know if this is possible? or is there a way to buy a spacer to use the thinner shafts of transom mount motors in a bow mount?