Tiny Boat, tiny mods.
Hello all. I picked up a little 14ft, 1960 Alumacraft F a couple of years back and I’ve finally got around to doing some mods on it. It will go to my son, Nolan here soon enough as we just took our boater safety class and he just turned 13. That gives me a couple years to work with him and get his confidence up.
Now, I don’t mind making my own mistakes on projects, but the internet has made it a bit silly to make too many blind choices so I thought I would post up my project and get some feedback back.
Please keep in mind, this is my first boat too so let’s take it easy on me, ok?
First question, deck carpet or covering.
I hit the plywood and 1x4’s and 2x4’s with a coat of thinned (3 to1) Varathane oil based exterior spar urethane. Let that tack up a bit, did the other sides in the same way. After it all dried, I did a light sandin.g and did a second coat in the same way. I feel like this penetrated the wood pretty well. Finally, I did a third coat at full strength and I intend to do a light sanding and coat it with a generous amount of adhesive and fix a carpet or foam to the top.
What is everyone’s recommendation on floor covering? I would like something with a backing as I do plan to lay on the adhesive pretty thick and I don’t want it to come through the covering.
Next, does anyone know weight capacity on the FL?
Next, Bent gunwale. I have this slight bend in the gunwale that isn’t doing anything to the integrity of the boat, but it is poking at my pride.
I did my best to straighten it out with a couple 2x4’s and some clamps, but it only went so far.
I also tried to wrap a tow strap around a tree and pull it back into place. That. Also worked a little but I was afraid to do more damage than good with the power of the ratchet so I stopped.
Any suggestions on how to straighten this out or should I leave it alone?
Final question (for now). Insulation.
Can I use the pink rigid foam insulation you find at Home Depot for emergency floatation under the deck and benches or is that stuff primarily for sound dampening?
Thanks in advance. I’m looking forward to the feedback.
Hello all. I picked up a little 14ft, 1960 Alumacraft F a couple of years back and I’ve finally got around to doing some mods on it. It will go to my son, Nolan here soon enough as we just took our boater safety class and he just turned 13. That gives me a couple years to work with him and get his confidence up.
Now, I don’t mind making my own mistakes on projects, but the internet has made it a bit silly to make too many blind choices so I thought I would post up my project and get some feedback back.
Please keep in mind, this is my first boat too so let’s take it easy on me, ok?
First question, deck carpet or covering.
I hit the plywood and 1x4’s and 2x4’s with a coat of thinned (3 to1) Varathane oil based exterior spar urethane. Let that tack up a bit, did the other sides in the same way. After it all dried, I did a light sandin.g and did a second coat in the same way. I feel like this penetrated the wood pretty well. Finally, I did a third coat at full strength and I intend to do a light sanding and coat it with a generous amount of adhesive and fix a carpet or foam to the top.
What is everyone’s recommendation on floor covering? I would like something with a backing as I do plan to lay on the adhesive pretty thick and I don’t want it to come through the covering.
Next, does anyone know weight capacity on the FL?
Next, Bent gunwale. I have this slight bend in the gunwale that isn’t doing anything to the integrity of the boat, but it is poking at my pride.
I did my best to straighten it out with a couple 2x4’s and some clamps, but it only went so far.
I also tried to wrap a tow strap around a tree and pull it back into place. That. Also worked a little but I was afraid to do more damage than good with the power of the ratchet so I stopped.
Any suggestions on how to straighten this out or should I leave it alone?
Final question (for now). Insulation.
Can I use the pink rigid foam insulation you find at Home Depot for emergency floatation under the deck and benches or is that stuff primarily for sound dampening?
Thanks in advance. I’m looking forward to the feedback.
