GF-14 Completed

[alegath]

I finally finished my GF-14 (except for installing the battery& putting the clearcoat on the rubrails) & couldn't wait to
post some pics. I made some changes (all of which added a lot of extra work) but I think it came out pretty well. It
is 6 1/2" longer, 2" higher, & has the D-15 seats, + the console & splashwell. If there is 1 thing I would do over it is
I WOULD NOT USE THE MARINE FIR PLYWOOD!!!! If the okhume/muranti is even 1/2 as good as the posts say it would have
saved more than it's cost in fillers and 3/4 of the time I spent block sanding the hull in order to get a good finish!!
I can't wait to get it to FL for the first launch (hopefully next week if I can get the trailer finished before I leave Saturday).
If not I will have to wait until April, & I think that will seem like forever!!

It's a little dusty & I put the motor on since the picture (15 HP Nissan Remote)
You can view more pics @ http://photobucket.com/albums/v219/alegath/GF-14/

[nort]

Beautiful boat, I really like your color scheme. That looks like a very practical layout and I would guess with the forward console you are not going to have the balance problems some of the the others have had with their GF boats. Congratulations on a job well done.

[jacquesmm]

Nice job. Despite the dust, we see the gloss of the paint and the beautiful finish. What paint did you use?
Where will you launch in Florida?

I wonder about the changes . . . the GF14 was not designed for a console.

About balance "problems" with a GF, we know about one GF18 with a side console all the way back but no other.
Maybe you are thinking of bad trim when, alone in the boat, people insist on sitting in the back. That is not a balance problem, it is a matter of sitting where you should, in the middle.
The GF's have no balance problem but changes and wrong weight distribution may provoke some.

[nort]

Trim and balance are interesting terms. I'm afraid I think of balance as how you put the load in and trim as the minor adjustments you make once everything is loaded. The balance problems I was referring to is loading to much in the back, such as yourself with tiller steering. Having the console forward will keep him on the center seat. The problem is in how you load the boat not with the boat. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[jacquesmm]

I must add that such a forward console works in some very special circumstances.
For example, it was a common arrangement on gillnetters. They had to compensate for 500 lbs of nets in the back.

[alegath]

The paint on the outside is industrial Imron, I used a spray booth (a friend of mine manages a body shop) or due to the toxic qualities & smell I would have used something else. I used Imron on several motorcycles & choose it becuase it is both durable & slippery. The inside is exterior latex over the urethane primer/filler, with Durabak-18 anti-skid on the deck. It is sponge painted to provide both texture and to keep it from being just 1 plain color. I put the console in front because of all the posts mentioning they had to use tiller extensions & sit on the middle seat. I have a 3 gallon gas tank under each of the rear side seats & can slide these back & forth 4' to change the trim slightly. I also cut a hatch in the front deck to the size where my 30 qt. cooler will drop in to the handles. The 4 stroke Nissan is also kind of heavy at 118 lbs. & most of the time it will only be my wife & I in the boat. I am planning on launching in the Rainbow river, but as I write this it is freezing raining with 2-6"of snow forcast for tonight & I still need to cut, weld, & paint the front stop and paint & install the rear guides on the trailer before I leave on Saturday.

[Yoda]

alegath, that finish is very good. Hope I can do as well.
Is your Nissan a new or recent model? I went to photobucket and looked at all the pics. Could you take a close up of your steering setup at the motor. I'm trying to decide what I will need for my Tohatsu. Yours should be similar.

[jacquesmm]

Imron is great but you are right about the spray booth etc. It's not for amateurs but amateur builders can bring their boat to a professional for that type of finish.

About the balance, let's try it and see how it works.
I should pay more attention to some of the comments and respond by hammering the point down that in a small boat, one has to sit in the middle.
It is not a design flaw, it is not specific to our boats, it is normal, it is plain physics and proper seamanship.
If somebody sits alone in the back, he is wrong, not the boat. He sits in the wrong spot, period.

[alegath]

The Nissan is a new one, the best price I found was from Austin Action Marine in Austin, TX. Due to the lousy weather I won't be able to get to the garage tonight ( It's at my father-in-laws across town) but I will take a picture of the steering & post it ASAP. I used the steering kit from Teleflex & it went right in, the cable screws right onto the motor & the linkage came with the motor. The "secret" to a good paint job is the preperation, if you can see defects in the primer the paint will just magnify them, the specific paint you use isn't as important as a good prep job.

[MadRus]

Alegath,

I like it! Nice additions, I love to see a modified boat. I'd love to see some on the water pics when you get them. As Jacques has said, in my 13' boat I have to sit toward the middle of the boat when I'm alone at the console. With you and your wife in the boat, it should balance out fine I'm guessing. It doesn't bother me, with a five foot beam, you're only slightly to the left of the console to get proper balance. And moving fuel around and other stuff will help even it out too. Nice job.

-Dave