Smoker Craft Restoration..Need advice..

[Freshtrax]

Wireings not complicated. Just replace one wire at a time till your done.

[Tom McCutcheon]

Suggestion.....Take the above two photos with you to the automotive shop and tell them you want it to look like that.....

 

Wow...what a neat and tidy installation.

[tb4me]

So here is yet another progress update.. Yikes there is a Boat load of work here..Pun intended. lol

I got lots of interior lighting in for night fishing eyes. Got a nice stereo system for days at the beach- dock for when beers are in order.
I still haven't found an automotive electrician comfortable enough to touch my gauge issue. They all want proper wiring diagrams from the boat manufacturer. Mission impossible to say the least. Any way I have all the marine grade ply cut to fit and primed, and ready to be installed. Quick question. Can I use stainless screws to install the wood floor? I have a ton of them that I inherited from my grandfathers work shop years ago, so its not like its going to cost me anything extra to use them. I was going to pre drill and countersink so screw heads were completely buried.

[cheaptackle]

I only used either stainless steel screws/hardware and/or big (huge) aluminum pop rivets on the restorations I've done. Usually I prefer screws if I can use them - thinking ahead to removal in the future. Lucky me I haven't had to yet take out a floor I've put in, but the main reason I finally chose to use the pop rivets would be it's easier to drill them out than it is to drill out a stainless screw if something goes wrong (glue in the head of a screw comes to mind).

 

Michael

[LeXXington]

Looking very nice!!

[porkpie]

Looking good, you'll love that old smoker when it's back on the water!!

[landry]

Wow. Looks great. And looks like fun but hard work.

[Tom McCutcheon]

I think you can use the stainless screws, but I recall somewhere reading or being told to that stainless and aluminum are not compatible and will react against each other chemically???

Can some one else confirm that or am I mistaken? Am I thinking about aluminum and pressure treated?

 

I know that a lot of the hardware (cleats, eye bolts for tie downs etc.) on most boats are stainless, but are they coated or protected from contact with the aluminum?

Edited August 16, 2016 by Tom McCutcheon

[cheaptackle]

My understanding is that it's steel and aluminum that react, stainless steel and aluminum is ok. At least that's what all the research told me - checked with vendors, mechanics, iboats, marinas etc. over the years. Think I even saw Wayne contribute to the discussion as well, even offering specific grades of stainless that were superior. If I got it wrong then I've put a lot of stainless into aluminum over the years - hope I'm right!

 

Michael

[tb4me]

My understanding is that it's steel and aluminum that react, stainless steel and aluminum is ok. At least that's what all the research told me - checked with vendors, mechanics, iboats, marinas etc. over the years. Think I even saw Wayne contribute to the discussion as well, even offering specific grades of stainless that were superior. If I got it wrong then I've put a lot of stainless into aluminum over the years - hope I'm right!

 

Michael

you would be correct. Aluminum and stainless are indeed ok. I just called the marina to confirm that. What I was asking is if there is a perfected fastener over screws? I think ill predrill every hole and fill it with silicone before cranking in the SS screw. I could use Aluminum rivets too but the SS screws are free. Not sure where id find rivet long enough to go thru 3/4 inch ply and bite into the framing below

[Tom McCutcheon]

Must be my aged memory thing kicking in.

Thank you.

[cheaptackle]

I used aluminum rivets to hold down 3/4" in all the floors I didn't use screws on. Didn't worry about the silly cone as the glue for the carpet (imho) locks the screws in. They can be bought from Brafasco, but I found Acklands in Barrie to be much cheaper. Think it was 3/16 or 7/32 x 1-1/4 that I used. Bear in mind different people do stuff differently - this is what worked for me. As I said earlier, the main advantage of the rivets is they can be drilled out much easier than ss screws (think you need cobalt bits for ss) if something goes wrong with the screw.

Good luck as you finish your project - it's a labour of love that's looking good and will be something you'll appreciate every time you use it - ain't nothing like a good job well done and used by oneself!

 

Michael

[leaf4]

If you're using a 3/16" rivet make sure you have a compressor lol

[cheaptackle]

I'll have to see if I have any left overs - I know when I did my tool trailer I bought one of those big two handed riveters so I may have used something smaller in diameter on the boats as I didn't have the big riveter then. At any rate, the two sources I named have a wide variety of rivets available, Acklands website was very detailed the last time I used it, Brafasco not very much at all.

 

Michael

[DRIFTER_016]

you would be correct. Aluminum and stainless are indeed ok. I just called the marina to confirm that. What I was asking is if there is a perfected fastener over screws? I think ill predrill every hole and fill it with silicone before cranking in the SS screw. I could use Aluminum rivets too but the SS screws are free. Not sure where id find rivet long enough to go thru 3/4 inch ply and bite into the framing below

 

You could use plus nuts and stainless bolts if you wanted also.

I have 5/16" plus nuts and stainless bolts holding my seat mounts in my boat.

1/4" would be good for holding your floor down.

 

 

[tb4me]

 

You could use plus nuts and stainless bolts if you wanted also.

I have 5/16" plus nuts and stainless bolts holding my seat mounts in my boat.

1/4" would be good for holding your floor down.

 

 

Im not sure how these would hep me with holding my floor down. Would there not be ahead sticking up? How would one go about gluing down vinyl over them things?

[DRIFTER_016]

Im not sure how these would hep me with holding my floor down. Would there not be ahead sticking up? How would one go about gluing down vinyl over them things?

 

They get put in the aluminium angle the floor attaches to.

The sticking out part is under the angle leaving the flat side up.

A 1/4" cap screw or bolt goes through the wood and into the plus nut anchor below.

[Viking]

What did you use for lighting. It looks real slick. I'm looking to put courtesy lights in my bowrider

[Old Ironmaker]

That boat is really coming along. To me all wiring looks like Spaghetti. I have found the 1 wire at a time works until someone spliced in a few different colours, then I'm done. We actually found some extension cord wiring spliced into the harness on a Bayliner in the shop last week. I can't imagine what some people are thinking. A fire on the water can't be fun. I leave electrics to electricians. The joke at the plant was when I called for an Electrician on the radio some smart ass would pipe in and ask if I needed my batteries changed in my flashlight. That I can do as long as I remember which end is positive.

 

Skin Em Hydes (Don Hyde) Marine in Hagersville had a brand spanking new 16' 150 E tec in the showroom last month for less than 9 grand. It sure would look nice on my 19 foot StarCrafts transom. But my 1995 115 HP Mariner just hums. My kicker is louder I swear. You either love the style of the new E Tecs or hate them and the new fangled colours. I love them. A nice powder Blue or white E tec would look perty on mine. Even the Ferrari red would turn heads.

 

That project is really coming along, keep it up, good work there.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Old Ironmaker

[tb4me]

What did you use for lighting. It looks real slick. I'm looking to put courtesy lights in my bowrider

they are LED strip lighting that you have to solder. We soldered every joint and covered them in liquid electrical tape.We also gutted out the light bulbs from the courtesy lights on the boat and soldered in LED strip lighting in them too.

[tb4me]

That boat is really coming along. To me all wiring looks like Spaghetti. I have found the 1 wire at a time works until someone spliced in a few different colours, then I'm done. We actually found some extension cord wiring spliced into the harness on a Bayliner in the shop last week. I can't imagine what some people are thinking. A fire on the water can't be fun. I leave electrics to electricians. The joke at the plant was when I called for an Electrician on the radio some smart ass would pipe in and ask if I needed my batteries changed in my flashlight. That I can do as long as I remember which end is positive.

 

Skin Em Hydes (Don Hyde) Marine in Hagersville had a brand spanking new 16' 150 E tec in the showroom last month for less than 9 grand. It sure would look nice on my 19 foot StarCrafts transom. But my 1995 115 HP Mariner just hums. My kicker is louder I swear. You either love the style of the new E Tecs or hate them and the new fangled colours. I love them. A nice powder Blue or white E tec would look perty on mine. Even the Ferrari red would turn heads.

 

That project is really coming along, keep it up, good work there.

I wont go to Hydes ever again. They charged me over $600 to rebuild my carb on my old Evinrude 9.9. Thats what you get I guess for just dropping it off and saying here fix this..But that was a steal of a deal for 9k. I was quoted 12k for a 90 at Proctor marine..That was financed and tax in..That was for the regular 90 not the HO The price included installation

Edited August 18, 2016 by tb4me