And so it begins....

[ReelSlim]

Good stuff. Some incredible craftsmanship going into that boat, she going to be a beauty..

He is doing a great job for sure. I know when I was out in November it looks far better than the pictures show. I also saw his 30' build that he was finishing in July when I put the deposit on the boat and it was truly on a different level. That boat was considerably more elaborate than the one I'm getting done but I know the quality and finish will be the same. It does look a bit scary at times when it's just raw aluminum and unfinished surfaces etc. but it's a ways away from delivery...

 

[ReelSlim]

with the right boat you will be a sitter, that boat is looking great

Still being optimistic that I will be too busy with fishing to be sitting for long! lol

 

[Stizzla]

A little update this evening. I got an email earlier in the week with the plan going forward. They were finishing the visor and starting the bow rails and cleats. He makes his own since he says the store bought cleats these days are made of less than questionable metal and a pain to weld. Anyways a few pictures of the outside progress.

Cool design on the rails. I like how they terminate at the front! Boat looks absolutely stunning.

 

[ReelSlim]

Cool design on the rails. I like how they terminate at the front! Boat looks absolutely stunning.

Thanks Stizzla! The rails are one of the many little things that have been fun to decide on during the build. All his style but you do get to tweak things.

 

[NDT]

Yep just not a flip down one. In a coiple of the pictures you can see a piece of pipe that looks like a grab rail on port side seat box. There will be one welded on both sides to the cuddy wall. I had a flip down one on my last boat and it was nice not to get sore knees from your legs dangling all day.

Do you know how high the top of the butt cushion is from the floor?

 

[ReelSlim]

Do you know how high the top of the butt cushion is from the floor?

Are you talking about the helm seat or the box seat behind it?

 

[NDT]

Are you talking about the helm seat or the box seat behind it?

Helm seat.

 

[ReelSlim]

Helm seat.

I can't say for sure but I can ask him to take a measurement. I think he had placed the one seat there for the photo shoot to give me some ideas on space. From what I remember he was going to make the rear box seats 15" (Then 3" of foam) If that is the case then I would put the top of the cushion at about 30" if you say the helm seat box is 17" and the S5 base is 10" and a few inches for the seat.

 

[NDT]

I can't say for sure but I can ask him to take a measurement. I think he had placed the one seat there for the photo shoot to give me some ideas on space. From what I remember he was going to make the rear box seats 15" (Then 3" of foam) If that is the case then I would put the top of the cushion at about 30" if you say the helm seat box is 17" and the S5 base is 10" and a few inches for the seat.

Thanks reel slim, gives me a starting point.

 

[ReelSlim]

Good news...for me...lol. I got my weekly update pictures tonight. That goes a long way to making a good start to the weekend! Lots of little things have been started or completed. The rails look to be completed and the cleats are placed as well. The fish box is tacked into place and they have begun some the wiring and mounting all the auxiliary stuff. I can see the trim tabs are on in one picture and they have started building some of the brackets for the roof for the radar arch and that sort of thing. Making some good progress...

 

[ReelSlim]

And a few more......

 

[NDT]

I really like the way the fish box is mounted, lots of room for batteries and fuel filters etc. Under the tramson. I may have to borrow that idea haha

 

[ReelSlim]

A couple more....I had some resizing issues and was a pain on the phone to do.

 

[ReelSlim]

I really like the way the fish box is mounted, lots of room for batteries and fuel filters etc. Under the tramson. I may have to borrow that idea haha

I have to admit it is very functional but a little bigger than I originally planned. It won’t look so out of place once the steering gets mounted to the left of the box and possibly a third rigger on the other side. He is covering under the transom with two large doors for access to all the hardware and plumbing. Should look good when it’s done.

 

[BCI]

Looking good. What is the height from cockpit sole to top of gunwale?

 

[ReelSlim]

Looking good. What is the height from cockpit sole to top of gunwale?

Thanks BCI. I’m pretty sure that I measured 29” when I was there in November. From the measurements he gave me on the fish box it puts the top of the box at 39” and 2” for the lip on the lid. I know some guys like higher sides but it works for me nettting fish when I’m solo.

 

[BCI]

Thanks BCI. I’m pretty sure that I measured 29” when I was there in November. From the measurements he gave me on the fish box it puts the top of the box at 39” and 2” for the lip on the lid. I know some guys like higher sides but it works for me nettting fish when I’m solo.

29" is good - you will be happy. Tall enough to hit your thigh, and low enough to swing the net over.
For reference, 29.5" on Whaler. 29" on my Eaglcraft.

Lots of boats are shorter at 24-26". 24" is very hard on the knee caps in rough water.

That fish box looks taller than 10" above the gunwale height. Hard to get scale in the picture. 39" will be a good height for your back for cleaning fish.

Make sure wherever you put your aft steering you can still see the kicker and which direction it's pointing. Pain in the butt if you have to keep walking back / looking around to see. Gets old quick on 10 hour days.

 

[ReelSlim]

29" is good. 29.5" on Whaler. 29" on my Eaglcraft.
Lots of boats are shorter at 24". 24" is very hard on the knee caps in rough water.

That fish box looks taller than 10" above the gunwale height. Hard to get scale in the picture. 39" will be a good height for your back for cleaning fish.

Make sure wherever you put your aft steering you can still see the kicker and which direction it's pointing. Pain in the butt if you have to keep walking back / looking around to see. Gets old quick on 10 hour days.

It was 26” on my Striper which was borderline but at least it had coaming pads.

After looking at the pictures again he might of only set the box in an inch so the box may be at 40” or so. You are right it is very hard to get scale especially from the angle and lighting of his more recent photos. The ones early in the build had more natural light and he seems to get a lot of glare from his shop lights.

The steering is going to be opposite side of the kicker. However I’m having it linked by a tie bar so the kicker will be pointing the same way as the twins. I know a lot of guys like the remote steering but this system worked well on my last 2 boats so I’m going to go with it again unless I hate it.

Some things will be exactly what I want And a few things might get tweaked after. It’s a bit harder building the boat from a province away unfortunately.

Thanks for the comments and ideas....much appreciated!

 

[ReelSlim]

I really like the way the fish box is mounted, lots of room for batteries and fuel filters etc. Under the tramson. I may have to borrow that idea haha

Another idea worth borrowing is how he mounted a large piece of black starboard on stand offs under there. Nice to have a flat surface to lay everything out. Also you can bolt everything in place and get stuff off the ground. In his design with big scupper channels that are fully welded there shouldn’t be any water in there. However....water is magical stuff and always finds a way to get in at least a bit.

 

[Stizzla]

The lines of this boat are unreal! It’s one of the most amazing aluminum boats I’ve ever seen! It’s truly a one of a kind.
Are they a “one at a time” building company?