My 15' Smokercraft Bass Boat Conversion

[Jordanporritt]

I thought I would share my conversion I did on my 15' Smokercraft Alaskan with you guys! I've been wanting to do a little bass boat style conversion on it for quite a while now just to get a little bit more room and have a decent platform to cast from and run a bow mounted trolling motor.

I didn't get too crazy with it just because I had never done any work like this on a boat and wasn't sure how it would turn out but basically I made a deck that goes from the middle bench forward with two large storage compartments in the middle and one smaller one in the front for the trolling motor battery.

I also made everything removeable so if I decide to go trolling or something or don't want the extra weight it can be removed fairly easily.

It isn't 100% complete, I still need to get some pedestal seats installed and I'm going to wire up some permanent courtesy lights and make a small switch box to control everything rather than unhooking the cables from the battery everytime but I can at least fish out of it the way it is until I get all that done.



The boat before modification:



Making a template for the deck (what a pain in the a**):


The deck before final trimming:


Working on the framing:


Front frame with storage compartments (I know its not perfect, I'm definately not a carpenter):


Coating the wood to help waterproof it a little:


Cutting the storage compartments from the deck and starting on the front frame:


Rear deck trimmed and carpeted:


Rear deck and doors carpeted:



Front deck carpeted, storage door cut:


Main deck complete:


Plenty of storage space:


Fitting top deck for trolling motor:


Hinges and handles installed on all storage doors, built hinged box for trolling motor foot pedal/misc storage:


New (to me) trolling motor mounted:


Finished product getting a final inspection from my co-pilot:




I know there is a lot that probably could have been done better or different, like I said I've never done any work like this before and to be honest I'm not very good at wood working lol. But I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I took it out to Pineview yesterday to test it out and was really pleased with it. Having the storage underneath the deck really opens up a ton of space instead of trying to walk around everyones tackle and gear. Also having the raised deck was much better than standing in the boat or trying to stand on the benches and not fall off. Not to mention what a world of difference the Minn Kota made.

Thanks for looking!
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[Kent]

Looks great, no need to apologize for not being a carpenter.
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[Jordanporritt]

Thanks!
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[dma_ayotte]

That sweet looking! I like it. Ive been thinking of doing this for my boat. Thx for sharing!
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[Jordanporritt]

I would definitely recommend trying it! It made fishing in such a small boat so much easier.
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[WaveWolf]

[#502800]Hey I've done some work with wood and you did a fine job. [/#502800]
[#502800]I would suggest some of those rubbermaid boxes with lids to go underneath.[/#502800]
[#502800][/#502800]
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[Jordanporritt]

I considered that, I was actually going to build enclosed boxes. But leaving it open gives you so much more space. Unless you are talking about smaller ones that I can just slide underneath which wouldn't be bad.
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[fish_or_die]

Very nice! I did a similar project on a similar size jon boat and have really enjoyed it!

How's your motor handle the extra weight?
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[Jordanporritt]

I was really worried about that but It seemed to do pretty well. I only had one other person with me when I took it out yesterday and it did fine. I'm hoping I can still manage to get by with two other people. I guess It will depend on how big my passengers are haha.
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[kochanut]

that looks awesome great job!
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[fish_or_die]

Running a merc 25?

on a 1548 ish boat with that setup and one person I'd guess you're around 22mph,

with three guys I'd guess you're looking at 15mph or so, plenty fast for the lakes I fish with my boat!

Oh and if you don't know it yet, that electric up front will make you sing it's praises every time you use it! Best toy ever!
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[Jordanporritt]

Yep 25hp merc. Yeah that sounds pretty close. I haven't actually checked speed because my fish finder doesn't have gps but the one time I checked on a handheld we were hitting about 26mph with two guys in the boat.
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[Wildcat94]

looks good bro, I decked my basstracker in the rear and it made a huge difference for my rear passenger.
looks good
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[Jordanporritt]

So do you think that even if it only runs at 15mph it will still be safe on the motor? Someone told me that if the boat is too heavy and it is lugging the motor down that it can cause problems.
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[submoa]

Looks great!
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[fsh4fun05]

GET SOME!!!! I like it! Don't worry about the motor, if anything you can downgrade the pitch with an aluminum prop but I doubt you will notice a difference.
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[fish_or_die]

nah, can't hurt the motor as long as it has water to pump through it, the prop just slips is all.

What I have for my boat is a three blade higher pitch (13) prop for low elevation, low load situations and a four blade, lower pitch (11) for high load or high elevation trips like duck hunting with four guys and gear or running up at fish lake.

Changing your prop is like changing your gear on a bike, you want your motor to be running at it's specified WOT (wide open throttle) RPM in order to get the most out of it.
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[Jordanporritt]

Maybe I'll have to look into a different prop if it becomes a problem but so far it seems fine for what I do with it. Thanks for the advice!
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[WiperMac]

I was a carpenter for many years and from what I can see you did a great job! I'm in the middle of a conversation as well but nothing to the extent of your project. Adding usable space is always a good thing.
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[TheCarDoctor]

Very nice work.
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