the popemobile is getting tired

advTHXance

Well-Known Member
As the title states, my poor old popemobile is getting tired. Shes a 1980 Fiberform thats served me well for about 5 years now or so. Shes been kind enough to take me from the Gulf Islands to Swiftsure and everywhere in between. Shes small in stature (and ugly to some) but offers a lot of room on board to fish, which is really all I cared about in the first place. I owe it to her to let her live out her final years in peace, so Id like to find a hull I can swap everything onto. This has been in the back of my mind since I bought the boat, as I originally bought it to swap the motor and trailer over to my old 17' harbercraft, which I ended up getting rid of after fishing the popemobile for a few seasons.

So the search begins. Ideally Im looking for something I can literally just take everything off my current boat and plop it onto a new hull. Im focused mostly on aluminium boats, in the 16' CC/SC range, nothing fancy just a serviceable hull with a console and bench seat, gas tank, fish box, a couple downrigger mounts and cleats... with as much dance floor as physically possible. Obviously I want something durable that isnt going to tear a hole when I hit a twig.

So I have an idea of what I want, but Im not sure of the best way to get it. Ive checked out a few local metal fabricators, some cnc build kits, looked online at used boats (not much out there that fits my needs), I even watched a guy on YT build one from scratch. Anyways, this is still in its infancy and the popemobile would surely last another couple seasons, so Id like to get some ideas (or past experiences) from the forum populace before I get too far ahead of myself. Chances are several of you have already been through this before.

Thank you kindly fellas and fellaettes
 
A blend of those 2 boats above, with the CC pushed forward to allow for a bigger dance floor, is exactly what Im envisioning. Beautiful lines on those!!
 
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sidenote: My antivirus tells me aluminumboatdesigns.com is unsafe to view, not sure how true that is. When I was browsing ealrier I skipped the site because of the antivirus warning.
 
Have you got photos of the existing Popemobile? You're thinking about installing the pilothouse of the existing Popemobile on the new hull? Sounds like a cool project. That Cope 18' Malaspina has really nice lines
 
The popemobile is my forum avatar. Im not going to swap the pilothouse over, just the motors, electronics, etc.

I plan to call a few local metab fab shops and see whats within the realm of possibility.

Ill try and get a couple more pics of the popemobile up, shes got a lot of deckspace which is why its not so simple to replace her!
 
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sidenote: My antivirus tells me aluminumboatdesigns.com is unsafe to view, not sure how true that is. When I was browsing ealrier I skipped the site because of the antivirus warning.
Seems fine to me, using Edge Windows 10 and Chrome opens without a warning as well.
 
Pics update: my new pc doesnt like my phone so Im having trouble getting the pics to my computer.

Thought update: after consulting with jeffywestcoast, Im thinking an 18' offshore CC model might be more suitable. I dont want to fork out a bunch of cash to build the boat of a lifetime only to have 2footitis. If Im going to spend an ungodly fortune on a forever boat, I may as well do it right. According to the data sheet on the Lifetimer 1800 Offshore, my 90hp yammy will push along at 40mph top speed and cruise at 29mph, which is plenty fast for my purposes. Anyone had experience with the 18' offshore model?

https://www.lifetimerboats.com/18-centre-console
 
To get the dance floor and stability your used to you'd have to go bigger than 18 from what I've seen in 18 tinny's. You don't know how good you've got it with that unique ,one of a kind ,eye catching vessel.:)
 
To get the dance floor and stability your used to you'd have to go bigger than 18 from what I've seen in 18 tinny's. You don't know how good you've got it with that unique ,one of a kind ,eye catching vessel.:)
Believe me, replacing the deckspace is something Ive struggled with for the entire time Ive owned this boat. Sure its a piece of **** and its ugly but to a fisherman its like a penthouse office!
 
Pics update: my new pc doesnt like my phone so Im having trouble getting the pics to my computer.

Thought update: after consulting with jeffywestcoast, Im thinking an 18' offshore CC model might be more suitable. I dont want to fork out a bunch of cash to build the boat of a lifetime only to have 2footitis. If Im going to spend an ungodly fortune on a forever boat, I may as well do it right. According to the data sheet on the Lifetimer 1800 Offshore, my 90hp yammy will push along at 40mph top speed and cruise at 29mph, which is plenty fast for my purposes. Anyone had experience with the 18' offshore model?

https://www.lifetimerboats.com/18-centre-console

I think a guy down in Cadboro Bay has one, he has a mooring boy with it out front, lives in one of the houses that is very close to the tide line with a hot tub right there as you walk by. He shouldn't be too hard to track down if you have a dog to walk.
 
A friend of mine had a mold and has built 2 replica hulls (same as yours less the pope cabin)
If my memory serves me they were copied from a mid 70's fibreform tri hull.
The deck space is huge for fishing.
He has a Yamaha F70 that is perfect power.
The yacht club uses a topless model for their service boat.
 
Mines a 1980 Fiberform trihull, the guy I bought it off built the cabin himself. Id be lying if I said the idea of having an aluminum replica built didnt float through my twisted head atleast once or twice. :p

A little off topic Scott but - does the topless model run the service boat herself? Is she single?
 
A quick go at your boat with a sawzall and you could have yourself a "topless model".Probably not worth it though.:);)
 
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How do you feel about the electric charge on aluminum boats? Wives tale? I just know for a fact the pope mobile is one of the fishiest boats on the pacific
 
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