# "La Flaca" FS18 Build in Texas



## Guest

Sir I commend you for your talent.  [smiley=1-thumbsup1.gif]


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## Guest

Very nice! How much did you shave down the sheer?


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## psonnen

I made the hull to the straight sheer dimensions then shaved 3" in the back half then gradually went to nothing shaved in the bow.


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## Puertoricoinshore

[smiley=cool2.gif] Nice!!!!!!!!! Wish i had does skill.


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## Gramps

That looks great Capt! Where do you plan to fish the boat? I'd love to get a look when it's all finished up, I'm in Houston. That particular boat has intrigued me since the plans came and I still haven't seen on in person.


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## psonnen

I plan on fishing it everywhere in the gulf!


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## WhiteDog70810

Looks like a very clean build. I prefer the hard chine look vs the round chine option. It looks like a boat, not a canoe.

Nate


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## psonnen

That is why I went with the hard chine. The rounded chine looks very canoey, and It'll still be quiet


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## Flyline

This skiff looks sharp!    Any motor in mind?


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## psonnen

Few ideas on motors. For sure need to find a two stroke 20 or 25 with a 20 in shaft. I know one guy who built this and got a 25 yamaha 2 stroke and did the jet drive conversion and it goes anywhere. I might do that or get a jack plate and trim tabs and she'll still run skinny. Texas has a lot of skinny water running. Yamaha or a Mercury. Suggestions?


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## topnative2

yama has a jet drive they use up north in the rivers
however, one looses about 40% of the rated hp >the last i heard
Fine Lady! send us pics when she gets on the H20


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## jacksonrh64

Nice looking Boat. Am I missing something but I don't see any drain or any place for a bilge pump. Where does the water go if you are caught out in the rain?

Thanks
Jack


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## zack_attack

looks Great you going to love it!! I have been running mine for 4 yrs now from the cheasapeake to the keys tows easy rides great. 
Jeff


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## psonnen

Got back to Texas for a weekend and pushed ahead with some of the build. I had the boat deck side up but decided to flip and try and finish the outside hull part of the boat. I applied 3 coats of graphite/epoxy mix to the bottom of the hull. It applied a little weird and there are some tiny little bumps in some spots but its characteristics of being scratch resistant makes up for it. Not a fan of black but I'm going to keep it black on the bottom because of the scratch issue. Also put 4 coats of high build epoxy primer on the sides and have a few colors in mind for the topcoat. Lenco trim tabs arrived as well as a moeller in deck 12 gallon gas tank that will mount in the front. I also finished puting the bouyancy foam in the sole and put extra in the back corners and bow to really cork her. I've realized that storage space is going to be minimal but I pack light and 99% fly rod only (Life jackets, tiny anchor, fly boxes, fly rods, maps, rain jacket, hand held radio, and wading boots) plus I'm mounting a small yeti cooler in the center.

I was going to glue the sole and decks down but am interested in some composite materials for decking like that plascore material. Is it really strong and light? Would it be a smart idea for all of my decking? Can I glue and glass it and is it easy to cut to shape? What thickness compared to okume plywood?








































Another big jump is my new motor that I recently purchased! I bought a bran new 25hp Mercury Sea Pro 20" shaft tiller outboard. Super stoked about it. One bummer is that it recieved shipping damage and the cauling, engine cover, was cracked pretty bad on arrival. Also on inspection I noticed what looks like small water intakes on the bottom of the cone of the lower unit that isn't on other non sea pro mercs.

The transom is 21" right now and I will cut it into a better shape once I decide on what I want to do...So here is my next big question? I don't have trim and tilt but I have trim tabs. And I plan on buying a 4 blade cupped stainless prop. What would make this boat perform skinny and logical, a jack plate(manual or electrical) or a trim and tilt unit. Both have set back which is good but to much will sink my skinny width in the back more. I will primarily be fishing lots of skinny water in Texas.


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## Guest

> Few ideas on motors. For sure need to find a two stroke 20 or 25 with a 20 in shaft. I know one guy who built this and got a 25 yamaha 2 stroke and did the jet drive conversion and it goes anywhere. I might do that or get a jack plate and trim tabs and she'll still run skinny. Texas has a lot of skinny water running. Yamaha or a Mercury. Suggestions?



How fast are you looking to go? :


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## WhiteDog70810

Good to see you back. The graphite turned out nice. I'm looking forward to seeing it progress. 

I am in the middle of a stall right now due to moving. I am only just getting situated enough that I can consider getting back into my build. I need to get to work so maybe I can have it ready for the second split of duck season. Teal season is a loss... again.
:-[

Nate


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## psonnen

This mercury is pretty much a Tohatsu 2 stroke block. This motor was sent in from canada


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## Guest

Good choice on the motor! Also change the carb gasket to a 30hp and the timing should be set to 25 already. It should be plenty fast and run very shallow.

I would call (Bauman propeller)sp? in Texas about a cupped 3 blade or 4 blade. I would also go with a jack plate. Bob's mini hydraulic or TH Marine light weight jack plate.


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## Gramps

Welcome back Capt., it's looking good! You'll be happy with the graphite bottom even if it isn't the prettiest. The oyster rash protection is well worth it.

I would recommend a slim manual jack plate over powered or a TNT setup. (See Tom C's http://tsgcustom.com/Manual.aspx ) After some trial to set the plate correctly, there won't be much of a need to change it.  TNT would be nice but a boat that light is easily trimmed by moving the cooler forward or back.    Baumann props in Houston is a good shop, I'm working with them to setup a custom 4 blade SS.  If you don't have someone local to work with, I would highly recommend them. http://www.baumannprops.com/


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## oysterbreath

The stalker is looking great so far! So are you gonna stick with the plywood deck that you cut out or did you finally track down some info on that plastcore. I've only seen plastcore used in Autraila, stateside I usually see folk use Nidacore but since they recently got bought-out supplies are low. I'm curious about using it too. Is your current ply deck 1/4" or 1/2" ply. It looks 1/4" in the picture. Let us know what you decide. Also, how do you like the Moeller below deck fuel tank? I might get one too. I'm debating built-in vs. portable. What are you going to do for your trailer?


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## psonnen

I bought 4 sheets of 3/8" plascore yesterday from fiberglass services in Sarasota to be delivered to Texas. It sound like this stuff is really cool to work with, is light, won't rot and can be worked with just like plywood. 

If a manual jackplate is all i need to perform skinny then that would save me a lot of money but it is cool to press a button, lol. What if i need to cross some choppy water will it blow out when I have it set for skinny runnin? I guess I can stop and wrench it down which isn't that bad.

My buddy has a trailer that i may be able to mod, but really would like one that is low so that I can launch it anywhere. What are the prices of a decent float on style trailer for a boat this size (18ftx5.5ft)?


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## Gramps

Capt. I agree 100% on the "cool" factor of pushing a button, that's why my boat sports a TH Marine electric plate. ;D But you should be able to find a level on a manual plate that will let you run skinny but still be ok in a chop, that is what the majority of jack plate owning Microskiffers do.

Trailers are going to start around $800 (new) for a galvanized leaf spring trailer, but they won't be low profile. A low profile torsion axle trailer is going to start about $1,200 and are typically aluminum. But with that said, doing a spring under conversion, smaller tires, and pulling a leaf out of the spring pack will drop a typical leaf spring trailer much lower. I would bet a used trailer could be found for around $500 to convert but in the end may cost the same as a new one...


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## psonnen

I just bought a TH atlas micro jack plate off ebay for 520.00 unused in box. I'm pretty stoked about the buy, and really think that this skiff is going to be a blast to drive and fish!! Now all I need is a stainless 4 blade prop and a trailer and a few more man hours and I'll have my own micro skiff!!


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## psonnen

Getting closer, flipped hull, dry fitted trim tabs, cut transom to shape, installed fuel tank, cut out plascore, glassed one side of plascore, and made front deck bigger by adding another frame to make a decent size storage.

Here's the instalation of the fuel tank. I custom made some aluminum brackets that bolt to the stringers









Poured bouyancy foam around the tank, it feels super solid, and will be a pain to get out if I ever have to.









Dry fitted the 9X9 standard Lenco trim tabs. I found them new on ebay and was afraid that I might need the edge mount version instead but they fit good.









A cut the transom to a nice curve. You can see the plascor deck cut out and dry fitted. The sides are just primered.









I'm going to put bouyancy foam under the white plascore below the rear deck and have a little bilge area right behind it. I've decided that I will groove out a little area in the rear of the sole for the water to drain through a tube in the foam under the plascore and drain into the bilge. No self bailing deck, will have bilge pump.


















Dry fitted plascore decks. Made gunnels skinnier, still not sure how I want them.









High build primer and graphite bottom. Really digging the lowered sheer.









Ordered 4 blade cupped stainless powerteck prop to compliment the jack plate.

Also planning on putting a small tiller console like Ankona's in the center to mount trim tab, jack plate, nav light switches and also have a grab rail on it. I'd also like to put my battery in that little console. I didn't make a chase tube for the console but I can shave the foam and still put one in. And a small yeti mounted in front of that.


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## topnative2

sweet! what do u think about a side console might give u more room --especially if ur guiding from it---
you are doing what i only dreamed about-KUDOS!


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## tntwill

i used the plascore on my boat last month from same place. stuff is awesome i cannot believe i could cut it with a box knife and be that sturdy to stand on  GREAT STUFF


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## johnnyhemingway

What is the width at the bottom of your transom?

It's looking great!


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## pole_position

Super nice , enjoyed the build pics!


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## psonnen

Ran a chase tube for the tiller console I'm installing that will house a battery, etc. Also laid down some 3/8in wood down the center for the ice chest mounts








Dry fitted the jack plate and motor. It looks really tall and kind of wish that I would of found a 15inch motor rather than this 20inch, which actually looks more than 20. The transom seems really strong with it all together. I heard that for every inch of set back on the jack plate the cav plate of the motor can go above the transom a half an inch. So with 4inches of set back on the plate I could mount the motor with the cav plate 2inches above the bottom. I ended up mounting it with the cav plate an inch above the bottom but I'll have the 5inches of lift with the jack plate to find a sweet spot and be able to run a little shallower. The atlas micro jacker that a bought has a clamp on motor adapt plate that I bought and It fits wierd and wasn't able to clamp the motor. Had to add a piece of wood too. I'll take some better pictures next time I go back.
























Glued down and glassed the plascore sole, no soft spots at all. The plascore gets really strong once both sides are glassed. Cut out some rod holders and sort of framed up the walkaround gunnels. Not pictured but I'm going to have three rod holder frame supports on each side to help strengthen the gunnels, now 6in wide. Also not picturet, I bought two aftermarket super flush aluminum framed hatches from Greatlakesskipper.com that were made for Mako Boats. I had to rearrange some of the deck supports to help fit and support those hatches that are 30in x 15in








Dry fitted the Livorsi navigation lights








Didn't get as much done as I planned but was only back in Texas for a few days. I should of took a lot more pictures but forgot along the way. Also not pictured that I did was finish the aft bilge area.


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## wely

Love your Build! Keep up the good work and keep posting those good pictures!


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## Guest

Your skiff looks awesome. Get a PT 3 blade cupped S.S. prop and you should be in the mid - high 30's with the motor jacked way up.


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## fishy82

Great looking skiff!! I am pretty sure I read somewhere on bateau not to pour foam around the fuel tank.. Maybe have a look on there site or give bateau a call.. Not trying to criticize, that's a great looking build!


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## psonnen

I ended up shaving the foam down around the tank a good amound to allow for expansion. It should be o.k.


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## hostage1985

> I ended up shaving the foam down around the tank a good around to allow for expansion. It should be o.k.


I don't believe it's the expansion; the problem that occurs overtime is pitting and perforation of the tank.


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## psonnen




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## psonnen

*"La Flaca" FS18 Build in Texas. SPLASHED!!*

Been super busy and splashed her on New Year's Eve. She's not done yet... still need to fair some more and all the other finish stuff, but threw a coat of primer on and went for it. Will post more pictures and detailed report tomorrow. All I have to say is that she blew me a way. Super stoked!!


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## tom_in_orl

Looks amazing. Great job!


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## Brett

That's one skinny floatin' toothpick.
Mighty nice work Captain!


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## iFly

Wow, that looks bad!









And by "bad"... I mean good.


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## psonnen

Ok, I'm sure I'm going to forget a bunch on info but I'll try to summarize what happen over the holidays.

When I first got back to Texas I went to a friend of mines house who had trailer that would work. Luckily he had air tools and torches, so we stripped everything off the trailer and put new hubs, bearings, rims, tires, and tongue on. The next day I got it legal at department on trans. Then brought it to Austin and my build buddy, Dave, and I put bunkers on it and fitted for "La Flaca". Still need a few mods and rollers.

I flipped the hull and painted the sides Sea Mist Green Sterling roll and tip style. Did 3 coats and well, it could use some help but looks good to me for now. I think my rollers were falling apart cus I've got tons of tiny bumps all over it and some brush marks didn't flood out. Step back 5 feet and she looks gorgeous. What I do like is that the Sterling seems like a very strong paint for the outside.

Flipped her back over after she dried and went to Dave's cabinet shop to make a little tiller console out of okume and make new rod holders out of Bamboo that he has been making all his cabinets out of. They look super cool and they're super strong. Plan on accenting the bamboo on the tiller console and poling platform as well. Then glassed the inside of the console. To attach the console I glued and glassed two 1x 2s to the sole that would fit snuggly inside the console. Then glued console to sole and glassed outside of console and glassed to the sole. Seems super stout. Shown in previous post. Just made a small cutout for now. I'm going to have a hatch where the cutout is and have switches above that. 

Installed pvc rod tubes going forward and back. Also figured out how I wanted to drain the sole.  I cut a piece of pvc down the middle and glued it onto my raised bilge area under the aft deck. Water will run through it and fall into the square bilge area that you can see in previous pix. Also ran fuel line and wiring to the bow. Installed livorsi led nav lights. Hooked up fuel vent and fuel line, but did not use it on the splash. I cut out a stuff hatch in the bow hatch that will allow me access to the build in fuel tank and also allow for hooking up and back up fuel supply if needed.

Next I glued down the plascore decks. I put two layers of glass on the bottoms of the plascore previously. My decks weren't very flush so instead of shaving everything, I went with where it lied. I would have to create a beveled edge with filler. The next day I made some strong filler and filled the edge. I really liked how it turned out. Little different look. Routered the inside edges of the walk around gunnels and sanded a little turn over on the rubrails and  then glassed the top decks to the rubrail. The plascore got super strong once glassed on both sides. ended up doubling the glass on the front deck. Dave who is big dude can jump up and down on it! Next cut out the spots for hatchs.

Faired the decks, sole, and console the next day and started sanding.........more sanding......I new that I only had a few more days in town so I just sanded my first layer of fairing which turned out pretty good and then put a primer coat on her. 

The primer dried and we started installing trim tabs, jack plate, then motor. Went and bought a small cheap 12v battery to run the tabs and plate for test run.

Strapped her down and took her away from her Austin home for the first time. I've got a some good friends that I grew up with that have lake houses on Lake LBJ in Kingland, Tx and were having a New Year's party. Plus we could take her up the Llano river that flows into the lake and is mostly a sand bottom in most spots and see how she floats in the skinny.

I didn't hook up the main 12 gallon tank thats under the deck and just put a portable 6 gallon tank up in the forward hatch that was hooked up to our main fuel line. That means I can have the 12 gal full and bring a 6 gal along and not have and fuel cans on deck. For those super long camp trips!

OK, the launch. So with what was said and still needing to do some more fairing, non skid the decks and paint decks, install rubrail, pushpole holders, removable trolling motor mount, yeti cooler, and getting a poling platform made, "La Flaca" was ready to go!

Brand new motor fired up. Running her super rich for the first 6 gal and break in period. The sea pro isn't very loud and seem perfect for my rig. We did the breack in and didn't mess with any taps or plate positions. I also don't have a stainless cupped 4 blade yet. Just ran the aluminum 3 blade that came with the motor. 

She is solid as can be, quiet, takes chop nice, tracks well (I didn't do a skeg on the bottom on the hull, like the plans call for) and performed awesome with tabs up and plate down. And with the motor in a little tilted position, since i don't have trim and tilt, did not bight at all. Might change with the cupped 4 blade. I could let go of the the tiller, stand up and surf the damn thing!! Just lean to one side and she would start tracking that way!

Now for the fun part. With the trim tabs all the way down, she pops right up and planes at a ridiculous slow speed and the tabs start throwing water up like a tunnel hull. I was then able to come up with the jack plate about 2-3inches before blowing out and she was running skinny and pissing plenty of water. Once i get a better prop and maybe a custom cav plate, I think she will perform like a tunnel hull skiff. I know i splurged on the tabs and plate and thought that they would not be worth it but now I'm convinced that they make this hull do some amazing things. The only down fall is that I have to be very careful how much weight is forward when I throw the tabs all the way down. With Dave and full fuel way forward, the bow digs way down with the tabs all the way down. But when your by yourself they're perfect. And when some boat wakes came, I pulled the tabs up and went over some good size wakboard wakes with ease and little manuevering.

In the skinny water at idle speed I can jack the motor all the way up on the jack plate and put around in a foot of water without having to manually tilt the motor up. I wasn't able to get precise drafts but She floats plenty skinny. With Dave and I and 6 gal of fuel and a cooler full of beer she was drafting 5in. The skinnest she floated was with one person in the boat standing on the front hatch. She floated across nothing. Blew my mind. Can't wait to pole her. You can push her around with a pinky finger.

All in all I am one proud and stoked boat owner/builder!! I've been in a bunch of productions skiffs and this thing can don what they do plus more! Thanks Bateau for the help and inspiration!


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## psonnen




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## oysterbreath

Dude that is awesome! Congrats on your 99% done boat! It looks totally awesome!


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## psonnen

I've been doing fish prints for while and decided to get one made into a decal for the back corners of the boat and then have "La Flaca" across the forward bulkhead under the hatch lip.


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## psonnen

She's almost complete!!!! This Last month was sanding and fairing the decks, top coat paint, non-skid, wiring, rub-rail.....etc finishing details. Still have to get a poling platform, grab bar, and tiller extension made, varnish the bamboo rod holders, paint rear storage/ bilge area, finish wiring, mount bilge pump, get stickers of a redfish print and "La Flaca" made, do a few mods to the trailer, and get her registered.  Stoked!


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## topnative2

WOW!
those hatches are cool who makes them?
She is a keeper.


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## DavidIvey

Very, very nice job! The boat looks great! 


Any reason why you went with a 20" shaft?


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## psonnen

Topnative, I searched for hatch's for a long time and found these on www.greatlakesskipper.com they're originally made for Mako boats.

Superdave, at the time, all www.smalloutboards.com had was 20" sea pros. I'm also a Texas boy and like the jacked up transom look that many of our larger flats boats over here have, even though majority are tunnel hulls. At first I wasn't sure about it on "La Flaca" but now I dig it!


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## Guest

That's one the best FS18 skiff I have seen yet. Very nice work!

What are you getting WOT with the stock prop?


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## psonnen




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## TidewateR

What a beauty! nice work capt.


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## Salty_South

Wow, that is something to be proud of !! I love that fish print on the side!


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## tom_in_orl

Really looks good. Thanks for sharing.


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## marshman

did you build it as designed??  seems like you have a little more vee in the front than most...

btw...boat looks great...i like that green ... love the black accent..


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## psonnen

The hull was built as designed, but I did shave the sides down a good amount, with a slight kick up towards the bow. I did the non rounded chive version and with a person on the bow and one in the stern she is dead silent. The plans called for a 6-8ft 1in skeg running down the center. I opted not to do it and she still poles great and performs well on plane.

I haven't got any legit performance numbers, but she seems to do 30+ by myself. I found a big sand flat with multiple depths to test running depth, etc. With the factory aluminum 3 blade she gets up pretty easy in about a foot of water and runs easily in a little less than a foot. With the tabs and jack plate I'm able to plane and run skinny at a very low speed with this hull set up. Should only get better when I get a stainless 4 blade and permatrim cav plate.


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## shanerain55

That thing is beautifully sick! Nice job.


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## John_Rosende

Who makes the front and back hatches? Are they made of starboard? Good job on the boat!


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## psonnen

You can find these hatches at www.greatlakesskipper.com
They were originally made for Mako boats and they are aluminum framed with starboard lid. They are very sturdy for there size, not too heavy, and water tight.
http://greatlakesskipper.com/product/31_250_1010-oem-parts-and-accessories-hatches-and-storage-boxes/19240-mako-marine-international-tracker-127670-mako-off-white-30-14-x-15-14-inch-boat-double-hatch.html


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## iFly

>


Come on sonnen!!!! What are the rest of us suppose to do now?!!

Damn that thing is BAD!


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## Bradleydel

Gorgeous boat! Amazing how skinny it's sitting in the pictures. Careful, a heavy fog may lift her off the trailer!


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## robbycs

Wow...that's one of the best looking builds I've seen. Any idea on the hull weight?


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## 8loco

Here is the original build.


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## Hoyt_Dow

> I'm from Texas but have been in the sportfishing thing for the last 10 years traveling a good amount. I moved back to Austin 2 years ago for several reasons and started this project, then this last August I took a job running a boat for a previous boss based out of Orange Beach, Al. I had to stop on the build for a long time but managed some time off this last month to push forward, get her flipped, and almost finished before returning back to OB. One more trip back to Austin and I'll hopefully have her finished. I've done a few mods, like shaving the sides down and bit from the plans, wider gunnels, and extra frames.
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Bien hecho.


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## TidewateR

BUMP for a cool build

Saw on Insta that she survived Hurricane Sally


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