Trophy Pod Project

[myles]

Great work on this project. Hope you are enjoying the boat, its got excellent lines. I have the same model in my yard right now but hard top version. A buddy picked it up for almost free. I like the layout and the removal of the doghouse you did. I was struggling on leaving it or keeping it but after seeing yours I would say take it out and gain that dance floor. Congrats on a well executed project. Would you do anything differently next time? We decided to use fiberglass to put pod load into the stringers lucky for him everything was very solid minimal rot.

 

[A-a-Ron]

Great work on this project. Hope you are enjoying the boat, its got excellent lines. I have the same model in my yard right now but hard top version. A buddy picked it up for almost free. I like the layout and the removal of the doghouse you did. I was struggling on leaving it or keeping it but after seeing yours I would say take it out and gain that dance floor. Congrats on a well executed project. Would you do anything differently next time? We decided to use fiberglass to put pod load into the stringers lucky for him everything was very solid minimal rot. View attachment 112818View attachment 112819View attachment 112820

Thanks, it was definitely a labour of love. Gotten great use out of her so far, almost 300 hours on the main already. Rides noticeably better overall.
Grinding out that lip where the old doghouse was, and making it an inset for the new floor piece, was a real pain in the arse but worth it at the end. Those gussets should be ample, definitely add a large plate when you bolt your pod on as well. You got someone for your pod yet?

 

[myles]

Thanks, it was definitely a labour of love. Gotten great use out of her so far, almost 300 hours on the main already. Rides noticeably better overall.
Grinding out that lip where the old doghouse was, and making it an inset for the new floor piece, was a real pain in the arse but worth it at the end. Those gussets should be ample, definitely add a large plate when you bolt your pod on as well. You got someone for your pod yet?

Do you find a lot of water gets into the old motor bay? I'd like to have whatever hatch we make allow that space to become a storage compart/fish hold so it needs some sort of gutter to stop water from pouring in unless make the hatch slam shut on a gasket perhaps. Whatever we do is a 2025/2026 project i think.

Does your new doghouse cover easily open up I can't remember how it looked in the picture. Or is it screwed down?

Brendan is making the pod at some point this winter. I added 8 layers of glass to the back of the transom i was suprised it was just wood back there. I don't know if a big plate is required maybe just some big washers, if a 1/2 bolt pulls through i think we have bigger problems lol The wood in thr transom was nice and dry this boat seems to be a bit of a barn find so far.. any other words of wisdom appreciated. Excited to see this baby fishing.

 

[A-a-Ron]

Do you find a lot of water gets into the old motor bay? I'd like to have whatever hatch we make allow that space to become a storage compart/fish hold so it needs some sort of gutter to stop water from pouring in unless make the hatch slam shut on a gasket perhaps. Whatever we do is a 2025/2026 project i think.

Does your new doghouse cover easily open up I can't remember how it looked in the picture. Or is it screwed down?

Brendan is making the pod at some point this winter. I added 8 layers of glass to the back of the transom i was suprised it was just wood back there. I don't know if a big plate is required maybe just some big washers, if a 1/2 bolt pulls through i think we have bigger problems lol The wood in thr transom was nice and dry this boat seems to be a bit of a barn find so far.. any other words of wisdom appreciated. Excited to see this baby fishing.

I went with a powder coated aluminum plate for the floor (screwed down & sealed) with an access door about 16”x16”. Just to access the bilge pump, washdown pump, fuel/water separator, etc. and yeah a decent amount of spray-down water gets in there thru the access door gaps and where I circled in the pic.
I suppose that area could be sealed and used for a fish box as others had mentioned but I never thought this was practical, with the pumps etc and the reinforcement I had done, just not that much room leftover in there… to me just a glorified bilge area. Plus the boat has 2 fish wells and a bait well already.