I'm not that great with introductions, but I am a welder and I build things out of aluminum.
Here's an eighty Gallon bait tank I made for a friend while it was in progress:
I built my CC from a broken down 14ft Western skiff:
.
To in Progress:
To Fishing:
It's now sixteen feet and very seaworthy. As you can see I ripped out the seats, put in a deck, built a bait tank seat, a console, raised the bow, closed off the stern, added a extension and rigged it with twin sixteen outboards.
It has 45 Gallons of fuel capacity 20 gallons under the deck and another 25 in a special tank I welded up that acts like a forward deck. At 4 to 8 mpg I have more range then I can use.
I take it up to forty miles offshore for Tuna etc..
Never had any problems, though I have had it in some pretty good seas and do get pretty wet at times.
When things get rough I just pull up one moter to save fuel and slow down.
Still trying to get a Marlin on it, but as of yet just strikes but nothing to leader. Mostly I fish Offshore Tuna with it:
Inshore T sharks:
And in the winter I fish Lobsters:
I also Kayak and make stuff for them as well:
Here's the bait tank fishing console and tank I made for my fishNdive.
Here's my hoopnetting rig on the same Yak for hooping lobsters.
As to skills I mig, tig, spoolgun, aluminum Bronze stainless etc.. If it's metal I can weld it.
I make most of my living making custom items, mostly artistic or architectural. For friends I'll make racks t tops etc... and occasionally I repair some old boats mostly Bayrunners in the 18 to 21 class. Once you get a rep for welding old rotten boats people will beat a path to your door.
Here's an old skiff (16 bayrunner) that was falling apart so I added some gunnels for my buddy. He's still fishing it.
So there you have it... I guess now I need to look around the site...LOL
Jim
"IRONWOODTUNA" the Alloy Sportfisherman Battleship!
