# another aluminum boat project



## kurtloup (Jul 16, 2009)

I've been working on this boat for the past couple months on the weekends.  I'm getting close to finishing.  Essentially, all I have left is to finish the poling platform and install hydroturf.  Last week I got the bright idea to try to use an aluminum tailgate extender for a poling platform.  I looked in the local Craigslist and found one for $20.  I couldn't have purchased the aluminum for that amount.  I think I will make the platform a bit narrower (gunnel to gunnel) so that I will be able to step around it so that I can reach the motor trim levers.  I also experimented with stepping up onto a 5 gallon bucket from the rear deck.  I will cut the platform down a couple inches to about 16" tall making it easier step up onto it.  I'll add aluminum plate to the top of the platform. 

Kurt



















This is what I started with:


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## JaredFacemyer (Jul 29, 2009)

Looks great, I like that poling platform idea. Looks like it will work great.


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

thatll be a nice rig...those old duracrafts are  hard to beat...good work...great motor...i suggest a good stainless prop...hope that jack works out for ya... baton rouge is my hometown...im out near amite...where do you fish?? where did you get your aluminum sheeting?? and what kind of paint?? im doing a complete rebuild on an older than dirt rivet jon, i think it may have been the original aluminum jonboat(it has tumblehome built into the rear...)...lol...


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## kurtloup (Jul 16, 2009)

Marshman,

Thanks. I usually fish out of my canoe anywhere from Galliano down to Grand Isle. My brother and I purchased the aluminum plate from the salvage yard in Port Allen that is at the foot of the old MS River bridge. The aluminum tubing was purchased from Samuel and Sons off of Airline and Tom Dr. I used enamel paint recommended by Sherwin Williams. Maybe it was my lack of prep work, but it doesn't appear to be very durable. I have a sprayer, so it is no big deal to touch up if needed.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

looks good dude


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## Dilli1 (Aug 26, 2009)

I'm going thru the same thing now....what HP is the Merc and is it a long shaft?


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

hah...i can see now....another section to the forum..jonboat rebuilds...

yeah man...what kinda primer did you use?? and did you strip down to bare aluminum?? if your paint isnt sticking....maybe you didnt sand or scuff up the surface...theres some high dollar and techinal primers and whatnot for aluminum, but i dont think its necesary...ive painted several jons in the past and am fixing to do another real soon...all ive done is strip to bare aluminum with aircraft stripper, scuff up the metal, prime with brush on rustoleum "bare metal primer", and then scuff the dried primer coat, then paint with whatever color ....always been camo for me....ive never sprayed, only have used brushes with great results...


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

oh yeah...and stay out of my fishing holes along la 1 between fourchon and grand isle....seriously....theres some fant-acular fishing to be done in the fall and winter along la 1....you have the rig to do it now...just becareful in that marsh running....youll be in 5 feet of water, and then in the next turn youll be pushing out of waste deep mud, or high and dry on a sand flat...


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## kurtloup (Jul 16, 2009)

> I'm going thru the same thing now....what HP is the Merc and is it a long shaft?


It is a 2002 25 hp with electric start. I believe it is a short shaft. With the Mini Jacker jack plate the cavitation plate is slightly above the bottom of the boat.

Kurt


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## kurtloup (Jul 16, 2009)

> oh yeah...and stay out of my fishing holes along la 1 between fourchon and grand isle


Have you been over the new toll bridge?  I've never fished the area to the northwest of where you enter the bridge at Leeville.  I think that is the first area I want to check out.  Lots of marsh left.

Kurt


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## kurtloup (Jul 16, 2009)

> yeah man...what kinda primer did you use?? and did you strip down to bare aluminum??


The boat was sandblasted and painted with epoxy paint.  The epoxy paint was very durable, but the color left something to be desired.  My wife called the color suntan pantyhose.  I didn't scuff up the paint since it still had a rough texture due to being painted over the blasting.  On the bare aluminum, I sprayed self etching primer first.  Even over that, the Sherwin Williams enamel paint seems to scratch easily.  No big deal as I won't obsess over it as long as it doesn't peel off.


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

yeah ive been over the toll bridge plenty in the past few months...i havent fished the marsh near leeville since i was a kid...i pretty much always go on down towards fourchon/grand isle....i had been catching some huge trout on the grand isle bridge not even using a boat....once the cool weather starts, those bigger trout will move into the marshes......


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## marshman (Feb 9, 2007)

dont know what to say about the paint...other than maybe the enamel/sherwin williams paint is not compatible with the epoxy?? 

btw..that is definitely a short shaft motor....you will be fine running with the cav plate an inch or 2 above the bottom of the boat with the few inches of setback from that jackplate...


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

You need to sand the surface to put new paint on no matter if it's rough or not. 
The paint just will not adhere to a non-scuffed surface.
For jon boats, I have always used the "CAMO Paint" they sell at Bass Pro.
It's about $15 a quart, and it's REALLY durable.
I just sand the surface with 180 - 220 grit and spray 3 coats of the paint on there.
It's great.
I have painted 2 of my previous jon boats and used them a lot including dragging them across rocks and hills in the STA's and so on.
And the paint never failed me.
The spray paint that I used for the camo print did scrape in areas, but the actual base wasn't affected. 

Also painted a friends 16' jon boat using the same paint and we use it a lot around Biscayne Bay and down in Flamingo and the saltwater hasn't affected the paint either.


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