mattyk Posted March 18, 2007 Report Posted March 18, 2007 I have a 14.5 Legend Vhull standard aluminum boat. I'm thinking of adding a casting deck to the front of the boat so that I can add a bow mount trolling motor to it. Has any body added a casting deck to a boat like this before? Any advice? Is this a lot of work? Thanks in advance.
alexw Posted March 18, 2007 Report Posted March 18, 2007 This is what I did for my 14ft Lund aluminum 2 years ago. Thanks to the inputs from the members of this forum. So far it has been working great for me. If you are a handy man, it should be pretty simple. Took me about 2 days.
GbayGiant Posted March 18, 2007 Report Posted March 18, 2007 (edited) You could just add a little piece of wood like the pic above for the motor. If you want the deck to raise up and see better for casting, they are great. The only thing to consider is the extra weight of the wood and batteries, they can slow a small boat down quite a bit, if you have enough power or you don't mind going a little slower than go for it, they are easy enough to build. There were a few posts the other day a few pages back. Edited March 18, 2007 by GbayGiant
Jigger Posted March 18, 2007 Report Posted March 18, 2007 I just started rebuilding the front casting deck on my 14fter for the reason GBay said. Too much weight in the front. So I am replacing the wood supports with aluminum brackets and tubing... It takes awhile and the aluminum is expensive, compared to lumber. But it weighs roughly a third and is way more rigid. Also, I'm going to put a rear deck in as well. So I felt that the extra cost of the aluminum was worth it for longevity and performance. Heres some pics, hope this helps!
hawg_hauler Posted March 18, 2007 Report Posted March 18, 2007 I used wood braces for the front and rear casting decks and overcame the weight problem by adding 10 more ponies to the back. Boats sits 3/8 of an inch lower in the water with the added weight, but that will be greatly decided by the length and width of your boat. Sorry I don't have pics. Jigger, awsome job on the framework.
mattyk Posted March 18, 2007 Author Report Posted March 18, 2007 thanks for all the info. We have some talented guys here.
pikehunter Posted March 18, 2007 Report Posted March 18, 2007 Some good ideas guys. keram, you can do the same to my boat anytime.
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