I had the camera out when at Margarita so I took a couple of new pictures of the front deck while I was at it.
http://calfishing.com/gallery/Boat-project
Take a look at the last two pictures (on page 3). I've mounted a foot operated trolling motor and a fish finder. I've found the boat very stable and now that I'm comfortable with it I've taken to standing on the front deck and not worrying about putting the pedestal seat in. Makes for a very good fishing platform and I can always put the seat in if I get tired.
I'm having a lot of fun with it!!

Great looking boat Ken,is it the same one you have been working on in the past posts? you really turned that boat from rags to riches!
tight lines ,im also in santa maria,
brian

Brian,
Yes, same one. Now I'm enjoying the work that I put into it last year. What do you fish from. I'm usually at Margarita, maybe I'll see you on the lake. I saw someone last Friday in a kickboat, I almost stopped by to ask if they were a calfishing.com regular but didn't want to bug them!

Hi Ken...That was me. Next time say HI!! I wanted to row to the back end but ended up staying in the White Oak area....The back end there is going off! Caught some nice ones back there the last time I was out.

Bryan

I'll say HI the next time I see you fishing. I caught just one that day but it was a quality fish, a 5lber full of eggs...so she wasn't spawned out yet. Way in the back like you said!
You row all the way back there?

Yeah I row back there, sometimes....at least this year I will be more so...It is going to be even better as soon as they let us go back further....That whole area back there is great bassin....a few years ago I caught, my "previous" Personal Best an 8LB'r, back there in the channel on an Osprey. The lake is lookin great with all this rain...very happy about it...

That boat looks awesome Ken! Gonna have to bug you for tips when I get my own. What kind of glue did u use on the carpet. Someone told me to use liquid nails. Oh, what was the final cost of the boat if you don't mind sharing w/ everything including motor and electronics and parts.

Thanks

Alex,
I just used the regular indoor/outdoor carpet glue that I bought at Home Depot. Worked out OK so far. It's cheap and it allows you to work with the carpet for a little while before it sets.
I'm probably into it for about $1500. Sometimes I wonder when I see ads for a boat/trailer/motor for about the same price if I should have gone that route, but I had a lot of fun figuring this project out and put in the work. Here's by breakdown on major parts:
Boat...$350 (old Lopez Marina rental, he as more)
Trailer...$300 (Harbor Freight kit trailer, new)
Motor...$300 (1982 Johnson 15HP, runs good. Looking for a newer motor soon)
Supplies like lumber, carpet, etc...$200-$300. (Doesn't include tools that I buy high quality for future projects).
Then there are all the extras that seem to be "must haves" that add up fast. These are the ones my wife complains most about! Foot operated trolling motor (my old hand clamp on worked just fine!). Fish finder (need another one up front!) New tackle storage for what I can bring that got left behind in the kickboat! Come to think of it...I need some new rods/reels since I have all this extra room. ;)

You did an awesome job on that boat buddy, you should be proud

Thanks John. I think I'm enjoying it more knowing what I've done. The hardest part was the cheapest part, cleaning up that old piece of stuff rental boat that was sitting in a field for a couple of years. That just took a lot of time and elbow grease. The adding the decks and carpet and finishing it up was a blast!

Thanks for the info Ken! You did a fabulous job on that front deck. Looks as sweet as any bass boat, especially because you did it yourself. I planned a flat deck without the hinged doors. That was sweet! Enjoy that baby, I know I would if I did all that myself. I got the tools, just need the money now, lol:P .

Alex

Impressive. Good job!!!