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Author Topic:   front deck on 13ft whaler

wd posted 06-11-2003 07:02 AM ET (US)
i have a 63 13ft whaler I would like to know if anyone has put a wood deck on the front of there whaler
Gep posted 06-11-2003 08:09 AM ET (US)
My dad put a wooden deck on the front of our 1959 13' Sport. He carpeted it and put some pedestal seats on it. It worked pretty good for fishing. He also put a foot controlled trolling motor on the front deck.
Look at the first couple pictures on page 51 of the cetacea.
Mike
wd posted 06-11-2003 09:11 PM ET (US)
gep
thank you for the info
could you tell me how he made the deck level with the front also what are the 2 pieces of wood on each side of the front
Duckin Whalers posted 06-11-2003 10:34 PM ET (US)
My Brother in Law made a platform out of marine grade plywood and carpeted it, he did a very nice job. It accually looked nice. It was a casting platform of sorts. He built in storage panels for batteries, life vests, and a live well. He also had a bow mount Minn Kota and a casting seat. It was a nice set up although, it drastically affected performance(negatively). He had a 55hp Johnson?(I think, it may have been another brand, he got rid of it quick) and the weight of the platform really made the boat bow heavy. He tried to trim the motor(it was a manual trim) up to little effect. In my opinion it was not worth the effort to build. A 13' has ample amount of room to cast from and the casting seat really wasn't of much comfort. He used the platform for about 3 years and got rid of it. The best set up for a 13' is to leave as much open space as possible and keep the weight down. Just my opinion. In my 13' I have a mid mounted aluminum 15 gallon tank with a bench above it and I built a center console that stores the battery too. It works well, is light and if, I decide I don't like the way I built it, there are only about 10 screws in the boat to pull out and I can start over. In a 13' keep it simple. I have a 50 Merc., a few people and gear really bog the boat down, The more weight you add to the boat the worse it gets....Thats only my opinion though,,,some might disagree.....Have fun with whatever you chose to do, the 13' is one of the funnest out there. Small boats are much more fun than the big ones. Unless its cold outside...HA!
Gep posted 06-12-2003 08:55 AM ET (US)
I would have to disagree with Duckin Whalers.
After taking the front deck off for a restoration, I figured out I liked the way the bow was heavy. It didn't slam or bounce as much. My wife liked it better with the deck also as there was a place to lay out in the sun. I liked it better than the thwart seats because you sat about 3" higher and wern't always sliding around.
What isn't shown in the pictures is the deck that went behind the piece where the driver sits at the console. There was a piece of deck that covered the battery and gas tank and basically you had a deck covering the whole back of the boat.
The piece of wood on the port side was for the minn-kota foot controlled trolling motor and the one on the starboard side was for a crank-in anchor. Everything could be controlled from a sitting position in front.
The deck is made out of 2x4's and plywood with marine carpet.
It looks like he just followed the curve of the front. It was screwed down by the two pieces of wood that you see there, that's why the one piece in the photo doesn't have the carpet on it for the picture. He must have screwed it down and then carpeted the wood boxes.
He also had a piece of wood that came down underneath the bow locker and bolted it through the aft wall of the bow locker.
He ran wiring up to the deck with a piece of 1/2" pvc tube.
I actually saved the decking because I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out.
I would take pictures for you but it is buried in my garage and I don't forsee being able to get to the back of my garage until some time late in July.
Mike
wd posted 06-12-2003 03:53 PM ET (US)
mike thank you for the time
all the info you gave is very helpfull
again thank you very much
william
adaps4 posted 06-13-2003 08:52 AM ET (US)
I made one a couple years ago. It was finished with varnish and non skid additive. I liked the way it weighed down the front. blasted through chop, and raised the engine for flats fishing. Now, I have removed it and gone back to the orig. I am playing with the idea of weighing down the front(with lead weights or something) for fishing alone, but other than that I do not miss the platform. I just made a removeable casting platform from old teak swim platforms butted together. This is a great tool for fishing, but when I want more room or more of a classic look, I can just take it out. I will post pics when done.

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Author	Topic: front deck on 13ft whaler
wd	posted 06-11-2003 07:02 AM ET (US) i have a 63 13ft whaler I would like to know if anyone has put a wood deck on the front of there whaler
Gep	posted 06-11-2003 08:09 AM ET (US) My dad put a wooden deck on the front of our 1959 13' Sport. He carpeted it and put some pedestal seats on it. It worked pretty good for fishing. He also put a foot controlled trolling motor on the front deck. Look at the first couple pictures on page 51 of the cetacea. Mike
wd	posted 06-11-2003 09:11 PM ET (US) gep thank you for the info could you tell me how he made the deck level with the front also what are the 2 pieces of wood on each side of the front
Duckin Whalers	posted 06-11-2003 10:34 PM ET (US) My Brother in Law made a platform out of marine grade plywood and carpeted it, he did a very nice job. It accually looked nice. It was a casting platform of sorts. He built in storage panels for batteries, life vests, and a live well. He also had a bow mount Minn Kota and a casting seat. It was a nice set up although, it drastically affected performance(negatively). He had a 55hp Johnson?(I think, it may have been another brand, he got rid of it quick) and the weight of the platform really made the boat bow heavy. He tried to trim the motor(it was a manual trim) up to little effect. In my opinion it was not worth the effort to build. A 13' has ample amount of room to cast from and the casting seat really wasn't of much comfort. He used the platform for about 3 years and got rid of it. The best set up for a 13' is to leave as much open space as possible and keep the weight down. Just my opinion. In my 13' I have a mid mounted aluminum 15 gallon tank with a bench above it and I built a center console that stores the battery too. It works well, is light and if, I decide I don't like the way I built it, there are only about 10 screws in the boat to pull out and I can start over. In a 13' keep it simple. I have a 50 Merc., a few people and gear really bog the boat down, The more weight you add to the boat the worse it gets....Thats only my opinion though,,,some might disagree.....Have fun with whatever you chose to do, the 13' is one of the funnest out there. Small boats are much more fun than the big ones. Unless its cold outside...HA!
Gep	posted 06-12-2003 08:55 AM ET (US) I would have to disagree with Duckin Whalers. After taking the front deck off for a restoration, I figured out I liked the way the bow was heavy. It didn't slam or bounce as much. My wife liked it better with the deck also as there was a place to lay out in the sun. I liked it better than the thwart seats because you sat about 3" higher and wern't always sliding around. What isn't shown in the pictures is the deck that went behind the piece where the driver sits at the console. There was a piece of deck that covered the battery and gas tank and basically you had a deck covering the whole back of the boat. The piece of wood on the port side was for the minn-kota foot controlled trolling motor and the one on the starboard side was for a crank-in anchor. Everything could be controlled from a sitting position in front. The deck is made out of 2x4's and plywood with marine carpet. It looks like he just followed the curve of the front. It was screwed down by the two pieces of wood that you see there, that's why the one piece in the photo doesn't have the carpet on it for the picture. He must have screwed it down and then carpeted the wood boxes. He also had a piece of wood that came down underneath the bow locker and bolted it through the aft wall of the bow locker. He ran wiring up to the deck with a piece of 1/2" pvc tube. I actually saved the decking because I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out. I would take pictures for you but it is buried in my garage and I don't forsee being able to get to the back of my garage until some time late in July. Mike
wd	posted 06-12-2003 03:53 PM ET (US) mike thank you for the time all the info you gave is very helpfull again thank you very much william
adaps4	posted 06-13-2003 08:52 AM ET (US) I made one a couple years ago. It was finished with varnish and non skid additive. I liked the way it weighed down the front. blasted through chop, and raised the engine for flats fishing. Now, I have removed it and gone back to the orig. I am playing with the idea of weighing down the front(with lead weights or something) for fishing alone, but other than that I do not miss the platform. I just made a removeable casting platform from old teak swim platforms butted together. This is a great tool for fishing, but when I want more room or more of a classic look, I can just take it out. I will post pics when done.