Speed Boat Conversion

[Sharky]

Hey Raiders

Ive been thinking about a bream/bass boat lately(I have Swordfisherman to thank) and i got thinking of a

way to make one on the cheap. I have seen alot of speedboats for sale and the more i think about it they look alot like those flash triton boats, now i used to have a 14f bullet with a 140 evinrude and it flew but

i only had it for the summer. Now if i purchased another one bigger that is would it be possible to cut the front section and put in a casting platform seat live well ect ect.

Or would this affect the the sound structure of the boat. There are plenty of speedboats around am i just dreaming?? Others thoughts would be very much appreciated

[Guest]

Hey Raiders

Ive been thinking about a bream/bass boat lately(I have Swordfisherman to thank) and i got thinking of a

way to make one on the cheap. I have seen alot of speedboats for sale and the more i think about it they look alot like those flash triton boats, now i used to have a 14f bullet with a 140 evinrude and it flew but

i only had it for the summer. Now if i purchased another one bigger that is would it be possible to cut the front section and put in a casting platform seat live well ect ect.

Or would this affect the the sound structure of the boat. There are plenty of speedboats around am i just dreaming?? Others thoughts would be very much appreciated

Hey there Sharky , Try talkin to a marine engineer or expert in fibreglass and they could tell you the feasability of it all .If not talk with Yabbie they do some great deals on tiller steer polys as well

Cheers Stewy

[numbers]

Hey Raiders

Ive been thinking about a bream/bass boat lately(I have Swordfisherman to thank) and i got thinking of a

way to make one on the cheap. I have seen alot of speedboats for sale and the more i think about it they look alot like those flash triton boats, now i used to have a 14f bullet with a 140 evinrude and it flew but

i only had it for the summer. Now if i purchased another one bigger that is would it be possible to cut the front section and put in a casting platform seat live well ect ect.

Or would this affect the the sound structure of the boat. There are plenty of speedboats around am i just dreaming?? Others thoughts would be very much appreciated

Sharky

I've had the same thought bouncing around in my head for a while (having spend heaps of time in & around ski boats), however with limited time to complete such a project when the time comes I think I'll be buying a unit ready-to-go (more fishing time! & less nagging "when are you going to finish that piece of junk?!?!?!?" ).

The poly option is looking good for me.

Couple of things i had on my issues list:

Most of the outboard ski boats tend to be pretty unstable (wouldn't like to be walking around on the nose of one)

Most of the bullets, machos, matras etc tend to have really old outboards on them (heavy, thirsty & could be unrealiable - i'm no mechanic)

Some of those older skiboats have pretty suspect transoms & floors (i'm not a boat-builder or carpenter either).

I had been keeping my eye out for a 16 foot lewis with an outboard - Rare as rocking horse poo!!!!!!!

The lewis boats are pretty flat, so are stable & have a nice big front deck (perfect to cut open for a casting deck.

The ultimate Fish & Ski!!!!!!

Mate, i hope you do give it a go & make sure you post pictures when it's done.

Numbers

[Jethro]

There is a fella that fishes a few bream comp that has done just that... I think it is Tom from Mars Lures.

The boat the converted is a jet boat. He added an electric, live well, etc and it came up quite well.

[heckendorfmortgage]

Would a keel of some sort, like a small centreboard, create the required stability?

Just a thought

MH

[DaveW]

I was looking at the same option a while back, looked at tons of hulls and kept coming back to the Haines 1600/1700 series (some of them are 's' models). I even think the mechanic at Yabby marine has/had one for sale.

Very nice hull, fairly stable for that kind of boat and goes like the clappers........... I want another way, but for around $15K or so (and a LOT of hard work) you'd have a beast that would compete with the best of them.